Love

Love, originally uploaded by John the Monkey.

To whom I owe the leaping delight
That quickens my senses in our wakingtime
And the rhythm that governs the repose of our sleepingtime,
the breathing in unison.

Of lovers whose bodies smell of each other
Who think the same thoughts without need of speech,
And babble the same speech without need of meaning...

No peevish winter wind shall chill
No sullen tropic sun shall wither
The roses in the rose-garden which is ours and ours only

But this dedication is for others to read:
These are private words addressed to you in public.

T.S. Eliot, "A Dedication to my Wife".

It seems that I use other people's words to say what I feel quite a lot, (the flickr post attached to the image above being an exception, from a rather dark time for us) and as I recall I wrote these words by T.S Eliot in one of the first Valentine's cards I sent my wife. I love her even more now than I did then.

Happy Valentine's Day everyone.

Bikes Are Like Cameras

In that so long as you have one, it seems that the total rises no higher.

However, get another bike (maybe you keep a commuter, and a "good" bike, or a road bike and a mountain bike or hybrid for canal towpaths and trails) and the sort of acquisition that affects camera purchasing comes in to play. I was reminded of this looking at these quite wonderful machines from British manufacturer Pashley. Given that i have a road bike (for full lycra speed merchant biking), a hybrid bike (for casual, shorts wearing mud plugging) surely it is only natural to have a bike on which I can bowl along wearing a tweed three piece suit (perhaps with a terrier riding in a basket on the front).

Of course, I'd have to buy the tweeds first, but it would be worth it, I reckon...

For doubters, I present for your consideration;

The Phantom

The Guv'nor

Incidentally, may I also refer you to Katie Doncaster's flickr page?

She toured Europe on a Pashley Princess, and the (rather good) photographs she took are posted on her flickr page.

Enfin

Blakemere Moss, originally uploaded by John the Monkey.

So, back to posting again.

We start with two braces of shots, separated by a few months in time, several hundreds of miles of space, and a good few degrees on the thermometer. The first two here were taken on a very pleasant trip to Delamere forest, in Cheshire (somewhat more local to me now since the house move). It was bitterly cold, and the lake here (Blakemere Moss) had frozen over.

I'm not entirely sure I did the scene justice, but it was good to be out and about with the camera again after a long while where packing boxes, and recovering hard drives was rather more important.

Delamere Path, originally uploaded by John the Monkey.

The shot here shows one of the paths through the woods - you can probably tell that the light was "challenging" here, hence the decision to lose the shadows and keep the lighter tones in the sky.

Villeray #1, originally uploaded by John the Monkey.

Lastly we have two shots both taken at the Chateau de Villeray in Condeau, in the stable yard of the Ecuries De Villeray, a fantastic equestrian centre that uses the chateau grounds for accompanied pony rides.

Villeray #2, originally uploaded by John the Monkey.

The area around Condeau, and nearby Nogent-Le-Rotrou is quite wonderful, and was near enough to the gite at Forest View to make it a good stop on the little circuits I did on the bike.

All four shots were converted using Bibble, a RAW converter I decided to try after my hard disk crashed wiped out my photos and photo software. It's very good, and I'm seriously considering a switch to it from Capture NX. If any of you are considering trying some alternatives, have a look at RAW Therapee too - a very interesting project, and a free piece of software (I strongly suggest making a donation to support the work being done on it though).

Hiatus

Hiatus, originally uploaded by John the Monkey.

I'm not sure if it's the dictionary definition or not, but you take one of these when the disk with your photos crashes, and you have to boot your computer into Knoppix while ddrescue attempts to recover your data. In some ways, it's quite nice to be using Linux again, although most of my photo software was on the damaged drive (and works in windows in any case) so I'm having a bit of a break from flickr and processing photos while the recovery runs. As Knoppix is a livecd, running from a RAMdisk, there's not much point in setting up permanent alternatives either, although I did make sure that ddrescue's logs go to a permanent location.

In other news, we should be moving house soon, and the fact that I *can't* do much photography stuff is, if I'm honest, probably helping to get more packing done, so it's not all bad.

Lastly, Mr. Boncey has an interesting blog about his experiences of cycle commuting (he seems to have started at roughly the same time of year as me). I found it on CycleCluster, and thought it might be worth adding my experiences from my commute to the general fund of knowledge too.

Clothes
I did the first couple of days of my commute in cotton t-shirts and generic baggy shorts. I found quite quickly that I'm not fit enough to do 8 miles each way at a decent clip and not sweat. I also found that cotton gets wet, stays wet, and rubs under your rucksack very uncomfortably. For that reason, I invested in some "proper" cycling tops, which wick sweat away, dry quickly, and keep me feeling comfy.

I like the "road" style jersey myself, fairly slim cut, and two or three useful pockets in the back. People not wanting to look too hardcore could go for a technical t-shirt, or "freeride" style top. Although opinions very, I'd say get them brightly coloured, and make sure they have decent reflective bits on them (or suplement with something like this). Loose tops will flap about at speed, so unless you're a pootler, or incredibly self conscious, a degree of snugness is good.

In terms of shorts, what you wear really depends on what you carry, and where, in my experience. If you're using pockets, cycle specific baggy shorts make a lot of sense, because they're cut to allow things to sit comfortably whilst you're in the riding position. I favour Altura's "Ascent" short myself). I supplement those with either cycling shorts (cheap Decathlon ones) or dhb bib 3/4 longs in winter, worn underneath the baggies.

Incidentally, you can find some useful rules of thumb for Winter/cold weather here - (see "Knowing How Much is Enough"). I like a short sleeve jersey with a l/s base layer myself, although long sleeve jerseys can be good too.

Whether you need padded shorts or liners will depend very much on your ride length, saddle/bike type, and how comfortable you are - I reckon they're a worthwhile purchase, but then I ride a road bike with a fairly unforgiving saddle.

On Gear
Even in summer, you'll need gloves - they protect your palms in the event of a fall or crash, and help soak up some of the vibration from the road. If you ride straight bars, especially using grip shifters, they'll stop you ending up with blisters too.

I favour Specialized's BG Comp mitt - the body geometry padding works fantastically well, and my hands feel far better at the end of the commute than they did in my old mitts. In the colder weather, I've simply added Altura glove liners underneath. The jury is still out on this - my fingers are warm enough, but I'm not sure the liners will last more than one winter.

A nice addition to a saddle bag is a tri-bag - these are small, top tube mounted bags that sit just behind the handlebar stem. I use a Topeak one with a rain cover that holds a small cycle spanner and a glueless patch kit, it'll also fit a mobile, keys or energy bars too. Keep stuff in here that you might want to get to mid ride without having to get off and go into the saddle bag.

Also on my bike are;

• an Exertec saddle bag with spare tube, spanner (to fit seat tube clamp and saddle adjustment bolt) and glued patch kit. On a more modern bike, this would contain a multi-tool, but my bike (aside from the handlebar stem) is entirely allen key-less meaning that a spanner for each bolt is necessary. (I'm a fairly firm believer that it's a good idea to be able to tighten/loosen anything on the bike as necessary, wherever you are).
  
• Blackburn Mars 3.0/Quadrant Light set (plenty bright enough to be seen by, but if your commute isn't streetlit, you'll need a more powerful front light to see with).
• Kryptonite Cable Lock - basically because my bike is locked up in a fairly secure building - if I left it elsewhere, I'd add a good D lock to that.
• Pump - riding a road bike, you'll quickly realise that there is a reason that cheap pumps are cheap, and that's because they can't get your tyres above 60psi (if you're lucky). When you're looking for pressures of 100-120, I recommend this Topeak Road Morph G as the best portable pump I've used. 120 psi is easily achievable using it, and it doesn't start to leak air/become impossible to move above 40psi either. It's only downside is the mounting bracket (it mounts to the front, rather than side of the bottle cage bosses, meaning you have to give up a bottle cage to mount it, or use the supplied (and admittedly very good) zip tie kit). I carry a Revolution mini pump as an "enough air to get me home" back up too.
• Last, and probably least, I have a ping bell - I'm not entirely sure why, as everyone ignores it, other than people of a certain age (who probably remember what the sound means).
  

On other people;
I think my favourite response to my saying that I was cycling to work each day was a friend who said "Well, I think you're very brave" in the tone of someone consoling a friend with a serious disease. As Boncey says, I've been surprised at how much fun I've had, even at my lamentable level of fitness (and how rapidly that has improved). My commute is currently 8 miles, give or take, and I honestly reckon nearly anyone could do it. The key to the route, as Paul Dorn has said, is not to think like a car driver;

"A big reason why many people don't commute by bike is because they think like motorists. As drivers, they know that the quickest way to get from Point A to Point B is by Route C. Unfortunately, Route C features abundant high-velocity traffic, plenty of potholes and rough pavement, a few steep hills and several dangerous intersections. Not very attractive even for a seasoned cyclist, let alone a beginner. ...

However, there just may be a Route D that runs parallel to Route C. Route D features slower - and thus less abundant - traffic, and is flatter with good pavement, more trees, interesting scenery and many smiling pedestrians."

Obviously there were no TfL maps for me, but the guys at my local bike shop suggested a great route, which is the one I use every day now.

Confiserie

Confiserie, originally uploaded by John the Monkey.

You might be surprised to know that this particular patisserie & confiserie was still in business, judging by the state of the sign, but it is. It's in Chartres, just off the Place Des Epars, and splendid it is too.

L'Esperance, originally uploaded by John the Monkey.

This sign feels like something of an icon to me, although there are many in this pattern all over the area of the Perche. Although L'Esperance is on the excellent Michelin road atlas of France, it was sadly missing from both Tom Tom europe and the (truly dreadful) folding map I bought on the ferry. We were fortunate indeed to encounter a motorcyclist in Remelard who was able to give us directions, and offer a cheery "Bonne Route!"

It stands at the cross roads where "Forest View" is, and as such marked the start of a lot of memorable trips, and the return to what felt like home for the weeks we stayed there.

Tour Group, originally uploaded by John the Monkey.

This is the sort of candid I normally do, i.e. somewhat accidental, and largely due to people being in shot. I've spent a fair bit of time going through the shots from Notre Dame, trying to whittle them down somewhat. It's hard with such a spectacular location, so there'll be a few more yet, I'm afraid.

Cathédral Notre Dame de Chartres, originally uploaded by John the Monkey.

These arches are one of the many incredible features of the cathedral. The artistry and skill with which these individual pieces of stonework are carved boggles the mind.

Cathédral Notre Dame de Chartres, originally uploaded by John the Monkey.

Lastly, here's an addition to my "Best Side" set. People taking photos of other people fascinate me, and I've neglected that particular interest for a while lately. Hopefully I have a few more to add to the set on the memory cards from my travels lately.

France, Digitally

Marked, originally uploaded by John the Monkey.

Just to show that it's not all film, here's a quartet of digital pictures from my holiday in France a few weeks ago. I enjoy digital sometimes, and like the D70 (with it's Agfa Optima custom curve) a lot.

The shot above was taken on a walk near Forest View - basically you turn left out of the entrance, and head up the hill to the road running through the forest. I was on foot here, but it's a great ride on a bike too, with an 8km run up to Bretoncelles available once you leave the forest, or a leisurely freewheel back the way you came. The markings are, I assume, something to do with forestry - I never saw anyone working in the woods while I was there, although there was a sign for a forestry company on the opposite side of the main road.

Meadow, originally uploaded by John the Monkey.

Walking up the road to the forest, you'd have passed this meadow, and the farm pictured below. The meadow is a shot I'm quite disappointed with, as I'm convinced there's something better to be had from this, although none of my shots captured it.

Ferme, originally uploaded by John the Monkey.

You can see the same field pictured in "Meadow" in the lower part of this frame, I assume it belongs to the little farm you can see nestling in the trees. I love the colour in this one, I have to say, and it's a testament to the quality of the D70 that it renders this scene so nicely.

I've placed this shot with the one you see below to contrast the colour rendering used for each shot - I felt the forest needed to be more muted than the greens and yellows of "Ferme" (I'd have shot it on a neutral film like Astia, had we been doing things on 35mm).

Stop, originally uploaded by John the Monkey.

Pedants may wonder "Why not Arretez?" I don't know, is the honest answer. I'm very pleased with this shot though, I think the muted colour suits the light and tone from the forest really well.

Posting these was a bit rushed, as a 10 minute job I had to do for work at 8pm last night turned into an hour of head scratching and database querying. Prior to that, I had, of course, decided to re-wrap the handlebars of my bike (Bike Ribbon Cork Plus, and I went for C35, thanks for asking). In fact, I'd not only decided to, I'd already taken the old wraps off :/

Wrapping the bars didn't take too long, and as with any little bike maintenance job, I learnt a fair bit doing it (largely what not to do next time, sadly). I'd recommend Park Tools' repair how-to on the subject as an excellent resource for the first timer. (I wrapped using the method described for making the wrap self tightening on the dropped part of the bar, as I ride here a lot). The tape feels lovely to ride with - much grippier in the wet than the thin, shiny ribbon that was on the bars, and more comfortable because of the extra cushioning provided by the fairly thick, spongy tape.

Incidentally, I was unimpressed by Bike Ribbon's finishing tape - use electrical tape, as you'll end up covering the finishing tape with it anyway.

Today also marked my first commute with rain all the way - not as unpleasant as I thought it would be, although the gate in Bruntwood Park (a nice, traffic free cut through) was locked, causing me to have to retrace my steps, and cost about an extra 5-10mins on my journey.

If anyone's interested, my cycleometer (thanks Kellogs) shows that, including this morning's commute (3 journeys, as I only fitted the unit on Monday night), I've done 1hr 52mins on the bike, 24.53 miles, at an average speed of 13.14 mph, and a top speed of 23.71 mph (probably downhill, with the wind behind me).

The End

Place Des Epars, originally uploaded by John the Monkey.

...Or at least, the end of the DVD Forums photo a day challenge, in any case. I could have completed this sooner, if I'd stuck to my original plan of dev'ing each film at the end of the week. It was the last roll, of HP5+ that threw me though - some unseasonably nice weather, (or a bit nice for shooting at 400ISO, anyway) and then a period of not having much time to shoot meant that it was finished very late. Anyway, the roll provides the last shot of this year's challenge, so perhaps the waiting wasn't all in vain.

The shot above is one of two considered for the 30th - this rather conventional view of the Place Des Epars won out in the end at least partly because of the desire to show off some APX25. The light this day was incredible too, making this a better choice perhaps than the other contender.

Lux, originally uploaded by John the Monkey.

The last shot of this year's challenge is this, taken in the Gite at Forest View, largely to fulfil my 5 shot a day quota for the last day of the challenge. I do like the light and shade of this, and I'm a sucker for a lot of space in the frame, so this ends this July's shots from me.