Scotland again

Hans Hornberger photo http://cargocollective.com/hans-hornberger





Interview with Ian Parnell from Hans Hornberger on Vimeo.





I can't embed this one but worth a look.



http://www.vimeo.com/13582765

The Patron Saint of Bicyclists

"Here, this is for you."



I put out my hand to receive what resembled a brass bracelet, crumpled and oxidised with age.



"I've rescued a few of these off of trashed roadsters over the years. Lovely things they are..."



And that is how I came to possess aSt. Christopher bicycle medallion - a Catholic charm given to me by a Protestant, in Northern Ireland. "Behold St. Christopher and go your way in safety," reads the inscription.






The patron saint of travelers, St. Christopher has been popular with bicyclists in some cultures. In Ireland, various bike accessories with images of the saint can be found - most commonly bells. Medallions like this one are rarer, but this particular one seems to have been popular in County Donegal in the Republic and adjacent areas of Northern Ireland throughout the 1930s-50s. Every so often, the local priest would hold a "blessing of the bikes," with these medallions made for the occasion. Members of the congregation would bring their roadsters to be blessed, at which time the priest would affix the medallion around their seat tubes. The bikes and their journeys would thereupon be protected.





Soldered onto a bracket, the medallion is thin, lightweight and flexible, with a closure that makes it adaptable to a wide range of surfaces.





Local Catholics seem to hold differing opinions regarding St. Christopher. Some have told me he is a made-up saint, just a lucky charm for superstitious travelers. Others say he was indeed a real saint, but has been "retired" by the church. Others still remember people riding with such medallions on their bikes decades ago.



TheBlessing of the Bikesritual has been revived in recent years, mainly in the US. As far as I know, St. Christopher is not mentioned in the proceedings.

Of Sand, Wood and Crossing State Lines: The Quest for a Curvy Fork

Because I like to keep things simple, the bicycle I am making is of course a low trail design. And low trail means a fork with a lot of rake. A very curvy fork, in other words. Not only did I want it to be curvy, but I wanted it to be that special kind of French-curvy where instead of a gradual "banana" bend, there is a dramatic flick toward the tips of the blades (like so).






When you buy supplies for making a fork, what you get is two straight blades that are (hopefully) a bit longer than you need them to be, and a crown which those blades plug into. It is then up to you to rake the blades. The style of bend I wanted requires using blades that are designed to withstand such dramatic manipulation. I went with the Kaisei Toei blades, which were already familiar from other projects I've been involved in.






To get the fork blades bent as desired, we needed a special setup that was not locally available. So we payed a visit to Cirlce A Cycles in Providence RI, about 30 miles from Mike Flanigan's shop. They have a fork bender that was made specifically for the French-style bend and could produce the 73mm of rake I wanted. The furry receptionist granted us permission to use it.






Since 73mm is a pretty dramatic amount of rake, Chris Bull suggested filling the fork blades with sand before bending. This would reduce the possibility of damage during the process.






The blades were taped at both ends to contain the sand.






The fork bending press consists of a wooden block curved according to the French bend design (they have several of these presses, used for different styles of bends). There is a notch along the curve where the fork blade sits, held in place by a vise.






A giant lever is then pushed up, forcing the blade to adhere to the curvature of the wooden block.






The further up you push, the more dramatic the bend.






At first we did not have an idea of exactly when to stop, so Chris eyeballed it and stopped when he thought the rake was around 50mm. Confirming that this was correct and that the bend was forming properly, he then continued the process until we finally had the 73mm rake we wanted.






This is the dropout placement mockup. To determine the rake correctly, you need to know how and where the blade will be connected to the dropout.






One thing that can go wrong during this process, is that the steel can get distorted. When this happens, you can see and feel a rippling on the inside of the bend. Thankfully this did not happen.






For the second blade we now knew exactly when to stop and had a marker in place. I did part of this bend myself and it was pretty cool to feel the blade give under the force of the lever. It is interesting that Circle A's setup makes you push the lever up rather than pull it down; I have never operated this kind of press before.






Thanks to Circle A, I now have two symmetrical, beautifully raked fork blades that are waiting to become a fork. All I have to do is braze it.

Another Bumble

Ancient Giants

Northern California is home to one of the most amazing natural sights that I have ever seen: the Redwood Forest. It is truly awe-inspiring to stand in the shadows of these gigantic trees. This photo was made in Jedediah Smith Redwoods State Park just outside of Crescent City, California.

Adieu Salt Lake City...

Last Friday (June 3rd), Man joined us for lunch at the Garden Room Restaurant on the 10th floor of the Joseph Smith Memorial Building. The fish and chips were the best I've ever had. Delicious. And because the waiter forgot to give us the discount with the coupons we had we ended up with a bonus – free desert! The crème brûlée was to die for!



There were outstanding views from the observation areas:





The Temple.



Looking towards the southwest.



Reflections of other buildings...

But the interior of the building was magnificent:





The carpeting approaching the east observation area on the 10th floor.





There was even live music in the lobby.



And, gorgeous chandeliers.

My time here in Salt Lake City and the Family History Library has come to an end. Yesterday (Wednesday, June 8th) was my final day of research and I'm heading east back to Indiana. I've had a terrific research partner while here who has been willing to let me “bounce things off of her” and who has helped figure out a few things when my brain went blank. There have been ups and downs. We've laughed, we've even shed a few tears. We've gotten frustrated when we couldn't find something we knew was there. And we've both had occasion to do the Happy Dance. Not just once, but several times!



We've had a good time photographing the flowers in Temple Square; it was our “chill out time” which was sorely needed some days. The excursions to Antelope Island and Park City with Carol and Man were also necessary and fun too! It was a pleasure to get to know Carol and Man a little better and to meet the fur kids - Gallagher, Tilly and Cappy. (It's taken me more than two weeks, but I think I've got their names straight and can tell who is who!)



And what fun it was to meet the You Go Genealogy Girls too. And seeing Kathryn Doyle and Tim Cox was a real treat. I even introduced myself to Michael John Neill whom I've had the pleasure of “meeting” before at several northern Indiana seminars (I'm sure he remembered me. Yeah, right!). Seeing A.C. Ivory again was fun too, we talked several times - the lucky kid lives in Salt Lake City!



I've made several wonderful discoveries while here, which I'll be writing about in the near future, however, the next few days will be traveling days for me so I've scheduled several “easy” posts – more flowers, of course! They really do have an incredible variety of beautiful flowers in Temple Square.



I'll definitely miss it all - I really was just getting into the “research groove” again after having not done much in the past two years – but I'm also pretty sure that I'll be back!

Ragweed

Ragweed. This is the weed that is making me sneeze, and itch with allergies. It is just one form of ragweed as there are many many different times from what I understand. This is the kind that grows here in our desert but is not a native plant here. I fight it and fight it and it always seems to win. On the plus side the horses seem to think it is as good as candy although how they can eat the stickery stuff is beyond me. These are little ones that escaped my figures and hoe. I have seen them get up to six feet tall with multiple stems full of flower stalks and seeds. And it is a very ugly, very tiny flower.