Sunday, May 3, 2009

Gazelle in Club Monaco, Boston

The Gazelle Toer Populair for Club Monaco has arrived in Boston. These bicycles look incredibly beautiful lined up as a window display. Sadly, while you can try them on for size, you cannot ride them inside the shop or the Prudential Center - store policy. It is not clear to me how one can make a decision of whether or not to purchase a $1,000 bicycle without riding it, but never mind.

This version of the Toer Populair is a 3-gear, with rod brakes (see close-up below). Club Monaco offers these bicycles for a special price of several hundred dollars below list price. Delivery is free.

I would have purchased a Club Monaco Toer Populair on the spot, if it weren't for the brake system. The bicycles are glamorous and quite comfortable, but I am worried that the rod brakes may not be sufficient.

Edited to add: I have since learned that the rod brakes are actually rod-activated drum brakes, which have much better stopping power than traditional rod brakes.

Alexandermetoden håller

All self-respecting kettlebell sites contain testimonies of achieved goals with the help of bells. So here is one letter from a friend that I helped with weight loss with the title Alexandermetoden håller, the Alexander method delivers:
Kanske något för din blogg: på ett par veckor gick jag ner tre kilo och nu efter två månader håller jag fortfarande min nya vikt, runt 88.
Sen fettoppen runt jul är det ännu mer, fem kilo minus.
Inget smör, inga bullar på jobbet, inget godis och riktigt mat istället för skräp när kvällshungern sätter in.
Din gamla boxsäck gör säkert sitt till också.
Fast ska jag vara riktigt ärlig mådde jag rätt bra med de extra kilona, det kändes bara som om något höll på att accelerera iväg med fysionomin.
Hur går det med mästerskapen?
/Thomas

Saturday, May 2, 2009

Pashley Roadster Sovereign

As I was riding the Pashley Princess, my handsome and agile co-habitant tried out the Roadster.


Here he graciously models the Roadster Sovereign's charm in the lot behind Harris Cyclery.


Aside from having the male frame and being of greater size, the Roadster is distinguishable from the Princess in that it comes with a solid black dressguard, whereas the Princess dressguard is semi-transparent with a netted pattern.

The Roadster and the Princess are truly magnificent creations. They are sturdy, perfectly proportioned, and remarkably well made, with striking attention to detail. It is too early to tell, but I am possibly more impressed with Pashley than with Gazelle.

Impending New Arrival ...

I know I am supposed to be downsizing and I have done pretty well really BUT, when the chance to welcome Saffron into the family came up, how could I refuse?

Saffron's human Mum and Dad are having a bit of a change of direction which involves selling their LSB in Wellington and this means that Saffron needs to find a new home. Hamish's fillies are very few and far between (only 3 have been born) and with the tragic death of Kismet Farm's Storm earlier this year, there are currently only two! I have always regretted selling BJ (although not regretted the home she went to - it's fabulous!) but now we have a beautiful half TB filly by Hamish (out of a Centro - Kaapstad mare) coming to live with us, I am thrilled! I can't wait for her to arrive!!!

Saffron was a very late foal (March '08) so unfortunately is unlikely to be an in-hand prospect, which is disappointing as I have yet to show any of Hamish's progeny in hand - perhaps by the time she is a rising 3yo she will be mature enough to look ok - only time will tell. I do hope to keep her as a future broodmare so my plan at this stage is to keep her, get her backed, ride her myself initially and then find a nice rider to take her out and about for a few years - I want her to have a performance career before she is retired to the broodmare paddock.

Saffron at a few weeks of age
Saffron
Missy - By Centro ex Capsimation by Kaapstad

Now finger's crossed that the weather behaves itself tomorrow for branding and gelding and then we are off to collect Meg from Gavin and Nicole's place - She's all ready to go! Very exciting!!!

Friday, May 1, 2009

President Obama's First Supreme Court Appointment

With yesterday's announcement by Justice David Souter that he will be retiring at the conclusion of this current United States Supreme Court term, speculation has begun by those feverishly anticipating who President Barack Obama will appoint to replace the retiring Souter. One name that is at the forefront of the speculation is Judge Sonia Sotomayor. Many have opined that as a Latina Judge from the Bronx in New York City, that Judge Sotomayor represents the diversity and intellectual acuity that President Obama has indicated will guide his federal judicial appointments.

Those that follow Sports Law and this blog will readily recognize Judge Sotomayor's name as she has handed down some very important and controversial decisions in the realm of Sports and the Law in recent years. As a judge on the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit, Judge Sotomayor famously authored the Clarett v. NFL opinion that rejected the District Court's finding in favor of Clarett and essentially approved the NFL's age restriction rule in connection with the NFL draft. Judge Sotomayor in reversing Judge Scheindlin's finding in favor of Clarett, held that the NFL's eligibility rules were protected from antitrust attack by the nonstatutory labor exemption. Both Maurice Clarett (Ohio State) and Mike Williams (USC) were prohibited from entering the NFL draft early and both flamed out of the NFL spectacularly after being drafted in 2005.

In addition, "in what may be her best-known ruling, Judge Sotomayor issued an injunction against major league baseball owners in April 1995, effectively ending a baseball strike of nearly eight months, the longest work stoppage in professional sports history, which had led to the cancellation of the World Series for the first time in 90 years."

Whether or not President Obama selects Judge Sotomayor to replace Justice Souter, her impact on sports related jurisprudence has been significant.

Pashleys at Harris Cyclery!

Having discovered that a local bike shop, Harris Cyclery imports Pashley, I hurried to West Newton. They had four different floor models, ready to try. When I saw them, my jaw dropped: Pashley bicycles are absolutely stunning. I approached the Princess Sovereign, touched her, and felt weak in the knees. But thankfully, not too weak to take her for a ride out back.


The model in the photo above is the 20" (medium) frame in the gorgeous Regency Green colour. I am 5'7" (170cm) and this size is perfect for me. When the seat is in its very lowest position, I can just touch the ground with my toes.

One feature that this bicycle lacks in its standard form is a coaster brake. However, the master wheel builder at Harris Cyclery can install a coaster brake with a 7-Gear Shimano hub at a reasonable extra cost, should I decide to purchase the Princess.

Profiles of Traditional Bicycle Manufacturers

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