Leather Saddles from Cardiff and VO

A few years back, both Velo Orange and the Merry Sales/ Soma/ IRD group began releasing Taiwan-made leather saddles, which have been available as less pricey alternatives to the racing, touring and commuting models from Brooks of England. The saddles from Velo Orange are VO-branded, and the saddles from Merry Sales are sold under the Cardiff brand. Though both companies use the same manufacturer (Gyes) and offer equivalent models, they are not identical; subtle differences in specs are apparent. Still, the overall construction and design are the same. Since many have been wondering about the feel and quality of these saddles, I thought it would be useful to describe my experiences.






My first experience with a VO Saddle was when Velo Orange donated one for the vintage touring bike give-away I was doing last year. The model is what they call the Model 3 Touringandis equivalent to a Brooks B17 in width and general shape. The VO Model 3 features chromed rivets, side lacing, saddlebag loops, and a pebbled surface.






When the saddle arrived and I took it out of the box, I was initially not impressed. I thought the feel of the leather was somewhat "cardboard-like." To the touch it felt both stiffer and more brittle than a Brooks saddle. The underside had a grid-like surface to it, almost as if the material was some sort of compound. I did not have high hopes for what something like this would feel like to ride.






However, my expectations proved wrong once I started test riding the bike on which the saddle was fitted. Saddle preferences are highly personal, so I can only say that I found the VO Model 3 extremely comfortable. It did not need breaking in. In action, it felt neither too stiff nor too soft. The width and shape felt just right for my sitbones on a roadbike set up with the bars level with saddle height. The nose did not dig into any sensitive areas. My first ride on the saddle was 20 miles without padded shorts and it felt great. It felt equally great on subsequent test rides. As this was not my own bike, I was not able to provide feedback as to how the saddle felt on longer rides and how it held up over time, which is why I did not post a review. But based on my limited experience, I was impressed and made a mental note to go for this model next time I needed to buy a touring bike saddle. The VO Model 3 is not as luxurious as a Brooks B17, but to me it felt more comfortable out of the box.






When Soma offered to send me a Smoothie roadbike for review earlier this spring, we discussed specs and I asked them to include a green Cardiff Cornwall saddle. I was curious whether this saddle would be suitable for a more aggressive roadbike set-up, and I also wanted to see how it compared to the VO version I'd tried earlier. Overall, the Cardiff Cornwall looks very similar to the VO Model 3, except for the colour choices. Also, the Cardiff has a smooth surface, whereas VO's is pebbled. There might be other subtle differences in design, but I have not noticed them.





Like the VO saddle, the Cardiff Cornwall features chromed rivets, side lacing and saddlebag loops. The width and shape of the Cardiff Cornwall saddle feels just as I remember the VO Model 3 - perfect for my sitbones. It needed no breaking in. Nothing hurts, the longest ride so far being 30 miles. The Soma Smoothie is set up more aggressively than the vintage touring bike I'd test ridden with the other saddle, with the handlebars 1" below saddle height. However, the Cardiff Cornwall does not feel too wide for the bike. The saddle feels great to ride on.







As far as the quality, look and feel of the leather, my impressions are the same as with the VO: cardboard-like to the touch, with a general sense that the materials - including the leather, the rivets and the rails - are not as high-end as what Brooks uses. Additionally, the green dye on the Cardiff has begun to rub off after some use. Good thing I wear black cycling shorts.




All things considered, my impression is that yes there is a difference in the quality of materials used in the Velo Orange and Cardiff saddles versus the equivalent Brooks models. However, the real consideration for me is how a saddle feels in action. While I have good luck with Brooks saddles on upright bikes, for some reason I have bad luck with them on roadbikes. On the other hand, the Velo Orange and Cardiff saddles work surprisingly well for me in that context. This, combined with the reasonable pricing, make them attractive alternatives to the other leather saddles out there. If you are having trouble with the fit of other saddles, these are certainly worth experimenting with. It is good to have options at different price points.

Aerial Mount Rainier, Climbing Route Images

Moving the bear aside... This picture tells a long story. Here is Mount Rainier on May 30, 2006. I was able to capture a few climbing route images during a flight.

A series of recent storms dumped a lot of snow on the mountain. In some places, there were reports of 3 feet. There are rumors that more is expected later this week too. Winter is not over...

Today, however, climbers contended with blue bird skies and light breezes (and quite a bit of postholing.) The tracks indicated that a few made the summit too! Here, two climbers took on the arduous task of breaking trail up the Emmons Glacier... It didn't appear as if anyone else was on the route either. These climbers are at roughly 11,400 feet, exiting the top of the corridor to the left.

Parties were having a hard time making it to Camp Schurman until Sunday, so it's good to see a team getting up the route. This may mark the first successful ascent of the route in 2006.

And here is a nice image of the Ingraham Direct and Disappointment Cleaver routes. The green line traced the visible climbing route up the Disappointment Cleaver. Notice how directly it climbs the spin of the cleaver... Nice...

More images later, this week. All images by Mike Gauthier

Maple Canopy

Taken along Rengo Road on the Grand Portage Reservation in Northeast Minnesota. The Maples were already past their peak but the trees along the road were still plenty beautiful. One nice thing about when the leaves begin to fall is that they usually fall from the tops of the trees first. This reveals glimpses of the blue sky above while the lower halves of the trees still have plenty of color. While most people are concerned only about when the peak will occur each year, I find every stage of autumn to be equally enjoyable.

Delicate Yellow Columbine and a Happy Dance - Finally!

Saturday, June 4th - - We almost made it back from lunch without stopping to take photos of the flowers! Almost, but not quite. These were in the “Pioneer Garden” near the Library.









Photos taken Saturday, June 4th

Oh, and in case you think all we've been doing while in Salt Lake City is photographing the pretty flowers, I did on this day, late in the afternoon, have occasion to do the “Happy Dance” after finding a Deed where the heirs of my 4th great grandmother sold land in 1849 that had been willed to her by her father Andrew Brinker!



Previously all I had was her name Mary C. (wife of Jacob Switzer). Turns out her name was Anna Catharina, aka Catharine. A book with several updates has been published on the lineage and descendants of Andrew Brinker that take me back three more generations (with names of spouses and their parents) to Zurich Switzerland... way cool.



It was an amazing feeling when I read that little sentence in the Deed Book “It being a tract or parcel of land willed and devised by Andrew Brinker, late of Columbiana County, dec'd, to his daughter Catharine Switzer & her heirs..” The transaction was signed by her four surviving daughters and their spouses (whose names I already had from Jacob's estate settlement).



A little squeal of delight. A few tears. Lots of laughter. A “new” ancestor found – the first one in many, many years. Can you say Happy? Oh yeah. I still have the smile on my face!

Mt. Rainier, Kautz Glacier

After climbing the easiest routes on Rainier, we wanted to climb something a little more challenging. So we decided to try the Kautz Glacier.

We crossed the Nisqually Glacier, then we went up a gully called "The Fan." It is full of rocks that break loose each day as it warms up.




We headed up the Wilson Glacier and found a great camp site just below the Turtle Snowfield. The rock wall would serve as a windbreak and there was running water close at hand. Unlike Camp Muir, we did not have 99 people camping right beside us. Mt. Adams in the background.





Jonathan in the kitchen area.





The main challenge of the Kautz Glacier route is a short section of 45 degree ice.










The shadow of Rainier just after sunrise. If you want to get the most out a sunrise, you need to be above 11,000' in elevation!





Jonathan finishing the fun part of the route.





Dave just above the icy section.







One of several large crevasses on the upper mountain.








Dave and Jonathan on the summit. The upper mountain was really windy and covered by a cloud cap.










Doug (holding onto his hood) and Jonathan. We took pictures and headed right back down.










Jonathan found a hidden crevasse on the way down!









Here are 3 tired and hungry climbers just a couple of hours from the car and some real food. Jonathan was able to summit an intermediate route for his first attempt on Rainier! It was fun to climb something new and challenging in this awesome part of creation.

Striped

An exotic leaf in the Berkeley Tropical House.

Wildlife Along the Alaska Highway

In spite of eagerly obeying a multitude of signs imploring me to “Watch for Wildlife on the Highway” I saw very few wild things along the 1400+ miles of the Alaska Highway. But the lack of wildlife may have been due to my driving habits – starting the day on the road between 7 and 8 am and quitting by 6 pm. Apparently (very) early morning and late evening hours are best for seeing the critters.

A large billboard tells me what the signs mean...

Smaller signs, like this one, dotted the sides of the highway.

The guide book that I've used for the drive to and in Alaska is called “The Milepost” and it provides a mile-by-mile breakdown of what to expect along the various highways - from towns and attractions to highway conditions – and it has been a huge help. It too provided some dire warnings about what wildlife to expect and where it would be.

What little wildlife I did see was on August 3rd (my second day on the Alaska Highway) between Summit Lake and Watson Lake (milepost 373-613). Oh, and that bit about not stopping on the highway? Forget it – everyone was doing it whenever an animal was sighted. Besides, the shoulders were nonexistent in many places and those animals certainly never appeared where there were turnouts!

Stone Sheep at 8:20 am near Summit Lake, exactly where The Milepost said they would be! But there was only one, all alone. It was right along the highway just a few feet from the van.

It posed for me for several minutes and was still standing there as I drove away.

Bear at 10:35 am. On the off-chance that I'd see any wildlife I had gotten my other camera out (it has 15x zoom but takes lower resolution images). Otherwise this fella would have been a small dot in the photo! Berries were its idea of a good meal.

These two bears (taken at 12:58 pm) were some distance away when I saw them and stopped. I was able to get just one photo before they scurried off into the forest.

A small herd of Buffalo at 1:20 pm. Another small herd was several miles further on. It is possible that these are “domesticated” buffalo since several of them appear to be wearing a collar of some kind. Or perhaps it is a tracking device?

That's all folks! That's it. That's all there was!
(Well that's all that I saw...)

Note: This post was written at 11:30 pm Friday night using the available daylight only. There was still an orange tint to the western sky. Even later in the night the sky does not get dark. I haven't seen the stars in the night sky since leaving Montana. Temperature was about 55 degrees with a light breeze. And, this is being posted from the public library in the little town of North Pole, Alaska which is about 15 miles south of Fairbanks.

Yard Birds

There has been a flurry of activity at my bird feeders the past two days. The pine grosbeaks showed up yesterday and today they were joined by some blue jays. The blue jays always make such a racket when they are around. There were 6 of them in the big pine tree out in front of my house, but you would have sworn there were 3 times that many by how much noise they were making. The birds hung around for most of the afternoon, and I spent about an hour shooting images of them with my telephoto lens. I have also had flying squirrels at my feeders just about every night, but strangely there have not been very many "regular" ground squirrels at my feeders this winter.

Dry creek

Even though it rained (yay!) one whole inch (yay! yay!) the day before yesterday, the creek still looks like this... mostly rocks.



The ground was so dry that it sucked up all the excess water like a sponge. Nothing left over to trickle down into the creek. Fish, crawfish, snails, etc., survive only in places where the water pools.

One of the ponds is so low as to be practically non-existent. The Great Blue and Green Herons are constant visitors -- to them it's a treasure trove of little fish with nowhere to run, nowhere to hide. (And Red-shouldered hawks seem happy the creek is so low, since they seem to love crawfish dinners.)

The garden loved the rain. I can water and water and water with the hose, but it's just not the same as getting rain. The garden and I had been pretty miffed lately... it was getting on our last nerve to hear the thunder and see the many dark clouds, only to have it all pass by just out of reach. Day after day after day.

But now I have to go pull weeds, or rather, grass, before it gets too hot. Always trade-offs!

-----

Alabama's governor has asked everyone to pray for rain. I had to roll my eyes. Call me cynical, but I don't see him asking people to pray for our dysfunctional state constitution. (Or to end poverty, stop the pedophiles, achieve world peace, etc.) So why pray for rain?

Those three words (pray for rain, not our dysfunctional constitution) always make me think of Guadalcanal Diary.

Don't call for love
Don't ask for gold
our daily bread
or no more pain
pray for rain

Thinking about Guadalcanal Diary always makes me feel better. Highly recommended for washing the bad taste of politicians out of your mouth.

-----
Visit the Friday Ark for your weekly dose of crittery goodness.

And don't forget the fantastic latest edition of I and the Bird. (It's Frodo-licious!)

The Estate of Jacob Switzer (My Guy) :: Executors Bond

My 4th great-grandfather, Jacob Switzer, died November 2, 1859 and his estate was entered into Probate Court in Columbiana County, Ohio on November 7, 1859 (packet number 4962). Unlike John Rupert's file, there was no will in the probate file of Jacob Switzer.



The bond was a printed form. Text shown below that is bold and italicized was hand-written in the document. Daniel Deemer was the son-in-law of Jacob Switzer.



=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=

Know all Men by these Presents, that we Daniel Deemer, Daniel Stouffer, Joseph Wallance and Abtill Sturgeon of Columbiana County, State of Ohio, are held and firmly bound to said State of Ohio, in the sum of Ten thousand Dollars, to which payment well and truly to be made, to said State, we bind ourselves, our heirs, executors and administrators, and every of them, jointly and severally, firmly by these presents. Signed and sealed this 7th day of November A. D. 1859.



The condition of this bond is such, That if the above name Daniel Deemer Administrator of the Estate of Jacob Switzer late of said County, deceased.



First – Shall make and return into the Probate Court, for said county, on oath, within three months, a true inventory of all the monies, goods, chattels, rights and credits of the deceased, which shall have come to his possession or knowledge; and also, if required by said Court, an inventory of the real estate of deceased.



Secondly – Shall administer according to law, all the moneys, goods, chattels, rights, credits of the deceased, and the proceeds of all the real estate that may be sold for the payment of the debts of the deceased which shall at any time come to his possession, or the possession of any other person for him.



Thirdly – Shall render, upon oath, a just account of his administration, within eighteen months and at any other time or times when required by said Court or the Law.



Fourthly – Shall pay any balance remaining in his hands upon the settlement of his accounts, to such person or persons as the Court or the Law shall direct; and



Fifthly – Shall deliver the letters of Administration into said Court; in case any will of the deceased shall be hereafter duly proved and allowed; then this bond to be void, otherwise to remain in full force and virtue in law.



Attest:

W. E. McLaughlin



[signed by]

Daniel Deemer

Daniel Stouffer

Joseph Wallace

Abtil Sturgeon





Executors Bond. Estate of Jacob Switzer. Probate Packet 4962. Columbiana County, Ohio.

Hoya Vine

And here, finely, is a half way decent photo of one of my hoya vines flowering. I have been trying each time it blooms to get a good photo and this is the best yet but still not as good as some I have seen online. There are hundreds of these kind of vines but all have simular flowers even though the leaves might be different. This leaf is long with white spots. And some have flowers that are very from a pale white to this dark pink. This one has a lot of sweet sent to it. In fact I find the sent so powerful that I don't like it, and frequently have to cut the flowers off and throw them out. This one hasn't been as bad this time. As they dry they shed their flowers all over the floor under them which can be a problem, too. But I love the hoya vine as it is so easy to grow and care for. I treat mine very simular to a cactus as they take only a little more water than a cactus but do like good light.

Some times I am amazed at just how far.....

behind the outdoor industry is from their consumers and what is available on a limited basis.



Classic examples of what is still missing in a broader sampling or simply still missing.



Tech fitting in a alpine climbing boot?







Universal umbilical attachment point?




















Alpine skiboots that you can *really* climbin?












Ski packs that easily carry skis?












Along those lines:




It takes so little to carry a pair of modern lwt mountaineering skis. Two simple straps is really all that is required. A cut resistant bottom loop. The loop just needs to be big enough soboth ski tails will go through. And a top strap to latch them to the pack. If you want a quick transition ski set up just add a bungee cord and a simple hook (if you are making your own a peg board hook is perfect) to latch the edge of your skis instead of bucklingyour skis tight in the upper position. Camp and Dynafit have had this one figured out for a while now. I've been using one or another ffor the past 3 seasonsand really like them!




50+ year old ski carry technology









Still a good working arrangement are simple side or sidecompression straps. Again 50+ year old technology. But there are better, more simple answers, now. And a much easier system to use in the mountains.









Start with a cut resistant bottom loop that will take both ski tails at one time.

This one is Kevlar cord and a plastic tube over the top of the Kevlar. Perfect use of materialsimo.











Add a simple strap or a hook as thetop strap (or better yet, both)depending on what you require for ease of transition or security.







strap here with a Fastex buckle fixed atthe shoulder harness






Hook here with a bungee going to the shoulder strap.

I broke my original aluminum hook, catching it on a chair lift. Fretted about it for days until I found that a peg board hook again, covered in plastic tubing, made a perfect replacement.









Even with a super light weight and small (-20L)you can carry some good sized, modernskis in comfort..




Off you go now!"a happy clam" ;-)




















Both Dynafit and Camp offer a limited selection of ski mo packs that use this kind of ski carry system. These packsaren't for everyone and certainly an acquired taste. But no reason the ski carry system can't be Incorporated into other packs. It is a system we'll eventually see more of. Be nice if it were sooner than later.




http://www.camp-usa.com/products/categories/camp-packs.asp




http://www.dynafit.com/products-winter/backpacks-bags.html