I saw this over on the Cycle Jerk yesterday and sent it over to my 5-year-old grandson, Malcolm, who is laid up with some kind of intestinal disorder that I hope he hasn’t passed on to me.
Artist, not dresser
His mother replied, “He liked it. He said she’s a really good drawer. That’s draw-er, as in artist. Not drawer, as in dresser.”
That brought back the Nightmare of Art 101
Art 101 was a requirement for Ohio University photo majors.
I was pathetic.
I couldn’t draw a conclusion
One of the first assignments was to fill a sketchbook with renderings of a common object you see every day.
We weren’t on the same page
The first problem was that we weren’t on the same page when it came to defining “rendering”
He was thinking, “picture: show in, or as in, a picture; “This scene depicts country life”; ‘the face of the child is rendered with much tenderness in this painting’.”
My work came closer to “melt (fat or lard) in order to separate out impurities; ‘render the yak butter’; ‘render fat in a casserole.'”
My first subject was my desk lamp
After a number of attempts that made primitive art on cave walls looked advanced, I tried to fake it with a collage.
Some of the sketches showed some real bursts of talent
That’s because the girls working on either side of me, recognizing that there was no danger of ME raising the grading curve, agreed to “help” me with my sketches if I’d “help” them with their required photo course. After a couple of contributions, I had to pass on their work. The contrast between my stick drawings and what they were doing, even after I asked them to “dumb it down,” was too obvious.
Here’s a photographer’s workaround
Then I found that I could put a negative in the enlarger, project the image onto my sketchbook and use my pencil to make the reflected image a solid gray color, ending up with something that actually could be identified.
This, obviously, wasn’t a good long-term solution.
I become an object of pity
Finally, the prof said, “This isn’t working out. You’re trying, but….
“Since you’re a photographer, I’ll accept a photo or a contact sheet of whatever you’ve taken for the day as being your “sketches.”
At the end of the quarter, he pulled me aside and said, “I’m going to give you a passing grade, but, thank god you’re a photographer.”
My sketch book is available for purchase
If anyone sees real talent in my primitive art, I will make my sketch book available to the highest bidder.
If you’d rather ride than read, skip straight to the video
I stuck my video camera on a RAM mount on my buddy George Primm’s bike and asked him to hang with me on a ride through West Palm Beach and Palm Beach. George was a copy editor in his former newspaper life, not a photographer, but he did an OK job.
His bike had some fairly low-powered lights, so the reflectors would have shown up much brighter in car headlights. Still, you can get a pretty good idea of how your signaling is much clearer with the Glo Gloves.
For you detail-oriented folks:
I’m a night rider. I like it because it’s cool and traffic is calmer and better behaved at night.
To see and be seen, I have a SON generator powered B&M Lumotec IQ Cyo R N Plus light on the front, along with at flashing 5-LED ViewPoint Flare.
In the back, I have two taillights. A huge 4×6-inch 18-LED RealLite flashes like a billboard and a solid generator-powered B&M Busch&Müller 4DToplight Senso Multi with battery standlight. I used to have a NiteRider taillight, but my battery died and I haven’t felt the need to replace it.
I’m a fan of reflective material
I have a large Slow Moving Vehicle Triangle on the back of my CamelBak M.U.L.E.. I also stick my Glo Gloves where they add some flash back at vehicles behind me when I’m not wearing them.
One is attached to the back of my helmet (you’ll be able to see it flashing in the video); the other is on the Camelbak.
So, what are Glow Gloves?
In 2003, someone named Glolady asked if any of the folks on the phred bike touring list would like to test some prototype gloves. Shortly after I volunteered, a pair of Glow Gloves arrived. They looked pretty much like the Original Glo Glove shown on the web site.
I really liked the large red triangle on the palm, but they weren’t overly comfortable on the bike and they tended to slip on the bars. They were redesigned with the red reflective material higher on the wrist and a better gripping palm and named the Sport Glove.
Not enough padding in the right places
I still didn’t like them as a standalone biking glove, because they didn’t have enough padding in the right places for my taste.
What I DID discover was that they were stretchy enough to pull right over my normal gloves when I wanted that extra bit of visibility.
I rediscovered Glo gloves recently
I’ve been riding with some new folks lately and I’ve been stressing about how you need to claim your space on the road and to clearly convey your intentions.
I pulled on the Glo Gloves and found myself interacting with drivers more (and not just with a single digit). If I’m coming up to an intersection and see a car that looks like he may pull out, I’ll holler or whistle loudly while holding up a highly reflective hand. It’s actually more effective than my Delta Airzound Bike Horn in some cases. As I pass the intersection, I’ll give a friendly wave “thanking” them for doing the right thing, like not running over me.
Another nice thing is that the gloves add reflectivity to the front and sides of your bike when your hands are on the bars.
Editor’s note: My Glo Gloves were provided for evaluation in 2003 and GloLady was kind enough to send me a new pair for review to make sure that I had the latest version. You can go to the Glo Glove website to find a dealer.
I mentioned last month that my wife found the Palm Beach County Full Moon Drum Circle “pleasingly primal” and promised to take her back this mont The Ultimate Junior Golf Guide h. We were accompanied by D-In-Law Sarah and 5-year-old Grandkid Malcolm.
The radar was full of reds and yellows
The radar looked iffy, but we decided to give it a shot anyway. The closer we got to the Lake Worth Beach, the darker the clouds looked. When we got to the parking lot, it was spitting rain.
After some consultation, the decision was made to set up the drums in a covered pavilion, even though it doesn’t allow for a true circle and the acoustics aren’t as nice as on the beach. One of the drummers explained that the circle lets the drummers’ energy feed off each other and being able to see everyone makes it easier to keep the beat.
Darker than the inside of a whale’s belly
The light was better than on the beach, where there is NO light, but it was still one shade less dark than the inside of a whale’s belly on the ocean floor. I gave up shooting stills early on when it became obvious that folks beating on drums were going to be blurry. Not artistically blurry. Ugly blurry.
Drum Circles make better video than stills, anyway
How did the 5-year-old like the Drum Circle?
So, how did 5-year-old Malcolm like it? He boogied to the beat from a branch in a nearby tree with as many as seven other kids. Drumming was a side benefit, but he was perfectly happy tree-climbing for close to two hours.
Looks like this is going to be a regular entry on our schedule. I may give up on trying to shoot it, though.
I just bought a Busch & Muller Lumotec IQ Cyo R N Plus (hereafter referred to as the Cyo IQ) headlight in my eternal quest for the best and brightest light I can pair with my SON generator hub.
A review on one of my favorite bike blogs, EcoVelo, tipped me over the edge. Alan@echoVelo promised to write a letter to spouses because his endorsement generated lots of comments from folks like me who were going to reach for the plastic.
I’ve only had a chance to do one quick ride with it. Son Matt and I went out on shellrock roads in the middle of nowhere the other night, but we were hurrying back to beat mosquito o’clock and I didn’t have a chance to see it in complete darkness. I’ll post a full performance review later.
Here’s an overview of the light and how to install it in this review.
One Cyo IQ will replace two lights
I’ve used three generator-powered headlights with my SON.
(SON, by the way, has no relationship to Son Matt or Son Adam. It stands for Schmidt’s Original Nabendynamo. That mouthful is why most folks call it a SON.)
I started out with a Lumotec Oval Plus halogen bulb light as the primary, with a Busch & Müller Lumotec as a secondary.
The primary light would get up to full power at about 10 mph, and the secondary would be at full brightness at around 14 mph. The bad thing is that halogen bulbs get progressively dimmer as they age and eventually burn out. You can’t get one of these bulbs at a 7-11 in the middle of nowhere.
DLumotec offered more light at lower speed
Then B&M introduced the DLumotec Oval N Plus, which used a 1-watt LED as a light source. It reached full power at slightly over walking speed, never dimmed down and was rated at 100,000 hours, so there was no reason to ever turn it off.
The old Missouri safety slogan, “Lights On for Safety” was drummed in my head at an early age, so I LIKE to ride with my lights on.
The LED light was powerful enough that I rarely switched on the secondary light unless I wanted to aim the LED light close to the bike and the secondary down the road.
If you hate to read, here’s a video of the Cyo IQ installation
What comes with the Cyo IQ?
You get the light, with a bracket suitable for mounting to your fork; two female spade lugs (more about those later), a spare piece of wire and a couple of pieces of heatshrink tubing and a multi-language instruction sheet.
Coming out of the end of the light are two sets of wires.
A short pair with two male spade lug attachments.
A longer wire with no connectors.
The Cyo IQ R N Plus light comes in different flavors
The N designator means that it has a straight On/Off switch. A Senso version comes on automatically. Since I run with it on all the time, that didn’t appeal to me.
The R means it has a reflector, which is required in Germany, where it’s made. The R models are set up so that the “nearfield” is lit, something that is useful for low-speed commuters and loaded tourists. The standard model projects a brighter, more focused beam farther out for folks who go fast.
Both of them have a sharp cut-off at the top of the beam pattern to keep from blinding oncoming traffic, just like your car headlight. Peter White’s site does a great job of comparing light outputs.
The Plus means that it has a standlight. A capacitor stores enough energy from just a few minutes of pedaling so the light will stay on when you’re stopped. That means your light doesn’t go out when you’re at a traffic light.
I mounted it on my Surly Nice Rack
The light is designed to mount on the fork crown, so it’s shipped in a forward-leaning position to give clearance. I opted to mount it on the front of my Surly Nice Rack, where that would have had it sticking way out in front, vulnerable to being knocked about.
I reversed the mount, which allowed it to sit back where it’ll be less likely to be hit.
I’m very pleased with how neatly put together and compact the unit is. I had some issues with the dLumotec switch being a bit finicky sometimes. The On / Off switch on this light seemed to be much more positive. (Of course, in my case it’s really just an ON switch.)
Plastic split tubing protects the wiring
I used plastic 3/8″ spiral cable wrap or split tubing to run the wiring down the rack and to protect it. You can pick it up at Radio Shack or on Amazon.
It’s quick to apply, holds well and blends in with the black rack so it’s hardly noticeable. I like it better than black electrical tape which can turn into a gummy mess if you ever have to deal with the wiring in the future.
What about those terminals?
I have one major nit to pick.
The light came with two small female spade lugs to go onto the end of the wires leading to the hub. I’m a belt-and-suspenders kind of guy, so I carefully soldered the lug in addition to crimping them. You can’t beat both a good electrical AND mechanical connection. Then I put heatshrink tubing over THAT.
Then, and only then, did I look closely at the male connection points on the hub.
Think Great Dane mating with a Chihuahua. It ain’t gonna happen. Or, even if it’s possible, it’s gonna require some serious bending and stretching.
On top of that, they’re some funky metric size.
Instead of chasing all over trying to find new terminals, I opted to reuse the ones off my old light. I didn’t really want to do that, but it was the easiest and fastest solution to get on the road.
Son Matt shot this on the light’s inaugural run. For the record, I don’t usually wear white socks with my Shimano sandals. We were going to Bug Country at dusk and I wanted to be prepared to cover as many gnawable areas as possible as quickly as possible.
Where can I buy a Lumotec IQ light?
Alan, at EcoVelo, got his review light from The Bicycle Business in Sacramento, CA, so I decided to throw them some business, even though I usually buy this kind of thing from Peter White.
My only complaint – and it’s my fault for not looking at a map – is that California is a L-O-N-G way from Florida if you’re shipping by ground. I placed my order on Monday evening, August 17, it was shipped by Bicycle Business the next day, but didn’t arrive in South Florida until Monday, August 24.
I may stick with East Coast vendors in the future, not because I’m unhappy with Bicycle Business or manager Bob Rolke, but because I can get faster shipping from companies on this side of the Mississippi.
The light cost $103.95 plus $11.23 shipping.
I’ll have another review when I’ve logged some nighttime hours.
Bruce left a comment on my review of bicycle mirrors: A shameless plug – I couldn’t find a mirror I liked or could afford, so I made my own. Please take a look… messengermirror.com
He and I exchanged some email, I went to his website and he sent me a mirror to review.
First reaction to the MessengerMirror
Holy cow, this came in a regular business envelope with part of a Wild Bunch fruit punch box as a stiffener. No wonder he can sell it for $4.99 plus .88 postage.
Second reaction to the MessengerMirror
This ain’t gonna work. This thing looks really Mickey Mouse. (OK, Mickey has been around a long time, so maybe that’s not necessarily a bad thing.)
I wear wire rim glasses. I’ve never been able to get a Chuck Harris eyeglass mirror to work with them.
I wasn’t happy when I installed the mirror the way Bruce’s instructions show it on the bottom right. It didn’t give me a tight fit.
Bruce sent me a picture that another user had taken where he ran the glasses frame through in the opposite order. I tried that and it held the mirror much better.
How did the MessengerMirror perform?
Not too badly. With a little adjustment, I could see behind me. I was a little more aware of the mirror frame in my peripheral vision than I liked, but that might go away with practice.
The mirror vibrated more than my Chuck Harris mirror, which is made from a bike spoke and is rigid. The mirror itself tended to “drift” from the initial left-right adustment. I could actually see it moving until it got to a place where it was happy. After a few adjustments, it must have figured out who was boss and decided to stay put.
It would work better on wider framed glasses
There was more movement than I liked. There was sort of a bounce to the mirror, which tugged on my glasses. I kept wanting to push up my glasses to compensate for it. In fairness, there’s not a whole lot for the mirror to grab on to with my skinny wire glasses.
Would I use or recommend the MessengerMirror
I’m going to give it a qualified endorsement. If you’ve always wanted to try a head-mounted mirror, but didn’t want to spend in excess of 20 bucks, this is a good introduction. If you like the MessengerMirror, then you’ve saved some money. If you like the concept, but don’t like the hardware, then go with a Harris or equivalent.
I don’t think I like the concept of an eyeglass mirror since I wear the same glasses on and off the bike. I’d rather have a helmet mirror that stays in the same place instead of having to be put on and taken off.
And, I’ve got to be brutally honest here, the thing looks dorky even by MY standards. The piece that holds it to your glasses looks like something I’d rig up, and that’s not a compliment. Still, you have to keep saying to yourself, I can’t see it, it works and it cost $4.99 plus .88 postage.
Will it fit on a helmet?
I eyeballed it to see if I could make if fit on my helmet, which might erase some of my objections to the mirror. I’m going to let some glasses-wearing friends try it out first, then I might experiment with helmet mounting.
Bruce’s MessengerMirror video
Here’s a video that appears on the MessengerMirror website. It does a good job of telling you how to adjust it.
Art 101 was a requirement for Ohio University photo majors.
My first subject was my desk lamp
I’m very pleased with how neatly put together and compact the unit is. I had some issues with the dLumotec switch being a bit finicky sometimes. The On / Off switch on this light seemed to be much more positive. (Of course, in my case it’s really just an ON switch.)
