New England Bicycle Expo!

Last weekend we visited the New England Bicycle Expo - held right here in Somerville, MA. We weren't sure what to expect: Would it be a handmade bicycle show? or a trade show of larger manufacturers? Turns out, it was a bit of everything: a mix of local framebuilders, artisans, manufacturers, and various cycling-related organisations. The show was relatively small and had a "country fair" feel to it - which was pleasant and personable.

The Expo was held at the Armory - an old military structure, refashioned into a community arts center.  I did not have the right lens on my camera to photograph the entire building, but you can see it here. The Armory basically looks like a cartoon castle, and I always get excited upon seeing it in what is otherwise a normal, residential neighbourhood. It's just so unexpected: House, house, house...castle!

Booths were set up pretty much all over the place, making use of the interior's pre-existing structures. Some areas were well-lit, while others were cavernous, which created interesting contrasts and a sense of mystery, but made it all darn difficult to photograph.

Some exibitors set up their spaces inside tents, which contributed to the country fair vibe. Wandering around the tents, I found myself craving a corndog on a stick. Ciclismo Classico had a large information tent.

Geekhouse booth - shaped like an actual house, with an actual geek in it. Those guys do not disappoint.

Royal H. Cycles took the stage - literally. There is a stage in the Armory, and that's where he set up. Naturally, the crowd kept expecting a performance.

Instead, they got to look at Bryan's beautiful bikes, including the Randonneur we are collaborating on.

Those curious about framebuilding got to see a frame in progress, with filing marks visible and flux still caked onto it.

Icarus shared the stage, the delicate details stunning anyone who examined the flawlessly fillet-brazed frames.

The finishing on Icarus frames is just amazing.

Tiny stainless steel feather details in unexpected locations on the frame and fork are his trademarks.

Folk Engineered displayed a very memorable bicycle that was designed to look like it was stitched together.

Like this!

The seams are not painted on; this is a fully tactile experience. And I believe that's a rendering of New Jersey on the seat tube.

ANT had some new mixte basket-bikes built up, with lots of nice custom touches. A few of us rode one of the bikes and I will write about that at some point in the future.

An aerial view of "ANT Bike Mike" (the framebuilder Mike Flanigan), looking very cool in his shades and cap.

And another local framebuilding legend, Christopher Igleheart.

I was impressed with the Igleheart bicycles we saw on display - in particular this unique Randonneur, built especially for Paris-Brest-Paris.

Notice anything unusual here? Hint: Look at the handlebars. There are two sets of shifters, enabling the cyclist to shift both while on the hoods and in the drops, without changing hand positions. You would think such a set-up would be clunky, but here it is executed so elegantly, that nothing even seems out of the ordinary until you look closely.

Two sets of shifter cables, neatly routed.

Another interesting feature this bicycle had was this button built into the stem. It's a switch for regulating the headlight beam. I want!

More Igleheart work. How about these dropouts!

Dynamic chainless bikes were giving presentations.

These bicycles use shaft drives and have enormously wide bottom brackets. People were test-riding them outside, but we didn't have a chance to.

Alongside the framebuilders and bicycle manufacturers were makers of cycling accessories. I really liked the Alchemist wool jerseys.

2nd Suit cycling caps were on display, made of thrifted garments.

I found the colour and textural combinations they used appealing.

Very popular at the Expo was this belle of bicycle helmets. Belle helmets are handpainted in acrylic, with the coolest motifs. Although you may have noticed that I neither promote nor wear this particular accessory, I can't help but want to promote a fellow artist.

There is one painted like an apple. An apple!

An apple(!!) The ridiculously realistic rendering is just awesome. It makes me imagine some giant accidentally biting off a cyclist's head.

Speaking of edibles, Zipcar was at the expo, giving away mints. I reviewed my experience with Zipcar here earlier.

And a cafe was set up by the entrance, selling coffee and surprisingly healthy food.

Lots of people brought their own interesting bikes to the show as well.

Owners of the above Bullitt- Brian P. of Bummels and Jaunts, with family.

Interesting wooden trailer, belonging to another family.

Vintage cruiser advertising a gas and oil company.

And a true piece of history - an 1895 Eagle with curved seat tube.

Wooden grips and spoon brake. There are many more picture of this bicycle here, if you're curious; it's really something.

Expo organiser, Rob Hill. This was a great event he put together, and I hope it continues for years to come.

If I have to assess how the expo turned out, I would describe it as small, friendly and low-key. The upside of that, is that the atmosphere was comfortable, open and inviting. The downside, is that it was perhaps too small and low-key for what the name of the event suggested. Frankly, I think the expo could have been promoted more extensively, and could have benefited from more media coverage. Boston has a huge cycling culture, and I saw only a small fraction of it reflected among the attendees. Many people I told about it locally simply did not know it was happening, but would have loved to go. Perhaps that is something to consider for next year - and I hope very much that there will be a next year! This was an exciting and promising beginning that I would love to see become a local tradition.

Additional images of the New England Bicycle Expo can be viewed here. There are more coming, and they will be added to the same location.

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First Group Ride!

Yesterday, I went on my first group ride. Yes, there were only three of us and we're all friends. But those who were reading this blog last summer understand what an accomplishment this is for me.

Ever since I began to ride a roadbike, I've been whining about wanting to learn how to ride in a group... yet refusing to go on group rides. Yes, it was paradoxical. But you see, I wanted to learn the skills of riding in a group, while at the same time being afraid of it - convinced that I would perish in a high speed crash, images of the most gruesome bicycle race pile-ups flashing through my mind. I toyed with the idea of joining the women's training rides offered by a local cycling team, but ultimately the entire summer passed and I did not do it - opting for solitary rides and occasional rides with the Co-Habitant instead. I had to be coaxed into joining yesterday's ride, and I did try to back out as usual... but in the end something just clicked in my head and I went. And I'm very glad. Yes, I know you told me so!

My cycling partners were the Co-Habitant on his nearly-finished Surly Cross-Check (notice the fenders!) and our neighbour Somervillain on his vintage 650B conversion.

I was on my Rivendell Sam Hillborne. How happy he was to be out amidst the cherry blossoms!

Though we were riding different bikes, the aesthetic was amusingly similar. We all had candy-coloured frames with fat tires, cantilever brakes, aluminum fenders, leather saddles, classic bar wrap, and even twined water bottles. All three of us were also wearing wool. We looked like a team of eccentric bicycle obsessionists. The plan was to go on a roughly 40 mile loop - starting on the Minuteman Trail, then going through the hilly parts of Lexington, and arriving in Concord, MA - where we would stop before returning along a similar route.

Any nervousness I had about the ride dissipated as soon as the three of us set off in city traffic on the way to the Minuteman Trail. I expected this to be stressful - keeping pace with the others while paying attention to cars and negotiating treacherous intersections - but instead it was easy. Easier than cycling in traffic alone and easier than cycling in traffic with just the Co-Habitant. I still need to think this through in order to understand why, but possibly because three cyclists really do constitute a group in the eyes of motorists and are thus given more space. Maybe. Whatever the reason, it was great.

For the first part of our ride, we went in an unchanging single file procession - with the Co-Habitant first, Somervillain second, and me last. We cycled fairly closely behind one another, which I did not find problematic. It took me some time to get used to the rhythm with which Somervillain started from a stop, and to time my own starts the same way so that I wouldn't run into him. But otherwise, it was all very intuitive. I did not have trouble pacing myself to maintain the same speed consistently. And I also liked it that they hand-signaled every move they would make on the road. When we cycle alone, the Co-Habitant and I don't do this - which sometimes results in miscommunication.

We went along the Minuteman Trail at 14-16mph, then headed for the hills in Lexington. We've had an especially long winter and rainy spring this year, and I had not done major hills like this since last Fall. I was physically unprepared for them. I also forgot how steep and long this one particular hill was. We began climbing it, and almost immediately I was spinning in a low gear and my speed dropped to 7mph. I just couldn't do any better. It was at this point that we dispersed, so that the stronger riders would not lose momentum. Somervillain took off uphill and the Co-Habitant followed him at a slower pace, but still faster than me. I eventually made it, but the climb was such a huge shock to my system that even the downhill decent that followed made me unable to catch up with them. As soon as the distance between us decreased, came another uphill and I would lose them again. While I found this frustrating, I also appreciated having a true sense of the differences in our abilities. And I certainly preferred them going ahead to slowing down for me - that would have made me feel excruciatingly self-conscious.  We cycled over a series of hills in a similar style - the distance between us decreasing on the descent, then increasing again on the ascent - until finally the elevation changes lessened and we were able to cycle in a single file again. I did not have trouble keeping up on flats and mild hills, so that was a relief. The day had been beautiful and sunny up until then, but now it started to rain, which was a relief as well. The raindrops cooled me down.

We stopped in the Concord town center to have lunch and coffee. The sun came out again by then, and the small town looked ridiculously picturesque - blue skies, green grass and cherry blossoms everywhere.

We filled up our water bottles.

And Somervillain showed us his clever iphone-charging system.

The socket is built into the light mount and derives its power from the dynamo hub. He made it himself. I don't own an iphone, but still want this on my bike!

At some point in the course of the ride, the Co-Habitant's brakes suddenly became stronger, solving his brake dilema. Looks like they just needed to wear in.

My writing skills are not strong enough to make the canti-comparison conversation that followed sound interesting, but I'll show you Somervillain's Mafac brakes.

And my Tektro brakes.  After a thorough examination of my bike, we may now have a diagnosis for my complaint about the drivetrain fussiness: bent derailleur hanger, possibly. So I will have to take care of that.

After the town center, we cycled a bit further and stopped by Walden Pond.

Even with lots of people there on a Sunday, it is still such a quiet, meditative place.

We chose a slightly less hilly route home, and the return part of our loop was more casual. We switched places in line frequently, and at times cycled in a cluster instead of a procession - all of which I was fine with. I got a sudden burst of energy on the way back and did not feel tired.

It is fair to conclude that my first group ride was a success. I enjoyed cycling in a procession at a controlled speed, and I did not have problems riding in close proximity to the others. I guess my sense of incompetence in this respect was exaggerated. The losing them on hills aspect I will have to work on, but I think it is to be expected given the differences in physical strength between us.

I looked up the schedule for the women's training rides this summer, and the first one of the season is this Tuesday - tomorrow! Before I lose my nerve, I think I need to just force myself to show up. Will make my best effort - now off to shop for a certain required accessory!

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Superba Give-Away Recipient! ...and On Give-Aways in General

I would like to announce that the special edition Bella Ciao "Superba" bicycle that has been kindly donated for me to give away, will go to Julia D. - a reader from State College, PA. The picture above is one that I took earlier, and which she then marked up with "anatomical labels" and posted on her blog. Julia, congratulations and I hope you enjoy this bicycle! I will email you details regarding its arrival and everything else you need to know.

There was a total of 45 entries for the Superba give-away. Some were eliminated, because it was clear that the applicant could afford a new bicycle. Quite a few other entries were eliminated based on the applicant's height. This still left me with many applicants to choose from, and at this point it became quite difficult to read the emails. There are so many people out there who are in financial need, and I am just not in a position to help them. It would be wonderful if someone - like a large bike manufacturer looking to promote their product - would host a give-away on a grand scale. But this give-away was for someone who specifically wanted the Superba... which eliminated all but a few applicants. Most of the emails I received were fairly general, some even asking questions about the bicycle that made it plain they did not know much about it, other than it being free. Again, I am very sorry to have to choose, but as described in the original give-away post, this bicycle was intended for someone who wanted it and not just a free bike. With the remaining applicants I chose at random, and Julia was it. I hope that this explains my selection process satisfactorily and I thank everyone who took part in the give-away. For me, this was very difficult.

As a general note on give-aways... I've been getting all sorts of emails about them since I began doing them, and so I would like to address a few points. Some readers - including industry members - have suggested to me that "I'm not doing it right," in the sense that the way I go about it does not generate publicity. I am supposed to say that you have to "follow me" in order to be eligible, to write about the give-away on your own blog, to post it on facebook, and so on. So I wanted to clarify that my not doing these things is intentional. It's not that I don't want publicity for my blog. Of course I do. Just not like that. I want my give-aways to be friendly, low key and without stipulations.

The other thing, is that I've also received emails from manufacturers offering various products for me to give away on their behalf, most of which I have politely declined. Though I am willing to do this in theory, I have two criteria: First, the product has to be of interest to me. And second, I am not comfortable with stipulations of the nature I described in the above paragraph: namely, telling readers that they have to "follow" the manufacturer in order to have a chance at getting the product. I am all for collaborating with manufacturers in giving away stuff, but I am not a free-for-all marketing vehicle. There is a line between those two things, and every blog author must decide for themselves where to draw it.

To end on a positive note, I hope to have more give-aways for you soon. The lovely touring bike project got somewhat derailed by the unexpectedly long winter (which made it impossible to test the bike in between stages), but it has now come out of hybernation and I will post about it soon. The give-away should take place some time in June. Stay tuned, and thank you for reading Lovely Bicycle!

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