"...the Fly-Away Horse
Speedeth ever and ever away -
Over meadows and lanes, over mountains and plains,
Over streamlets that sing at their play..." - Eugene Field

That sense of freedom one gets on a long bike ride, exploring the "lanes, mountains and plains" is something I can relate to having ridden for decades.

It's a good time to be an XTC fan.  The Swindon group that formed in the 1970s and released their last album proper in the 2000, has recently been profiled in a solid documentary.  We've also been blessed with a new book compiling the old fanzine, Limelight, along with additional material including interviews with the band and other fun art.  The agony of being an XTC fan is that they never quite achieved the acclaim they deserved.  But perhaps that is being rectified.

So if there is a time for the band to be discovered anew, or rediscovered, this is it.  Emerging out of the punk/new wave era and evolving into postpunk and then chamber pop, the band has a career arc that is extraordinary enough that even founder Andy Partridge "immodestly" claims XTC, like one other well-known British band, "started pretty damn good and got better."  The fact that their career spanned almost 30 years says much about the tenacity and quality of the music created by the band.

For the purposes of this article, I'm going to divide the 13 albums into three categories before going through and "ranking" them.  Part of the impetus for this essay is that it is not uncommon for someone who is unfamiliar with the band to ask me, "where should I start," when jumping into their varied discography.  That is still a tough question to answer, based as much on my mood as their own tastes in music.  If it's helpful, the three categories define what I'll call the larger phases in their oeuvre.

Phase 1:
White Music
GO 2
Drums and Wires
Black Sea

Even though there is a distinct shift in sound with the departure of Barry Andrews on keyboards and the addition of Dave Gregory on guitar between GO 2 and Drums and Wires, at heart there is an energy level to these songs and the ability to flex the bands considerable ability to play live that, for me, links the albums.

Phase 2:
English Settlement
Mummer
Big Express
25 O'Clock/Psonic Psunspot (Dukes of Stratosphear)
Skylarking

English Settlement still belongs in the touring years I suppose, but it really feels like the band is getting better at adding textures that we had not seen before.  Likewise, the departure of drummer Terry Chambers, can't be disregarded with post ES records.  More importantly, these albums clearly demonstrate an embracing of the Beatlesque studio pop as well as a whole bevy of other '60s influences, culminating in Skylarking, one of their best, and most notorious, records.

Phase 3:
Oranges and Lemons
Nonsuch
Apple Venus vol. 1
Wasp Star

The full flowering of the band's strengths as studio wizards, this period is marked by the long gap (aka "strike") between a Nonsuch and AV1.  All three of these phases really do bleed into each other and are somewhat arbitrary.  It's difficult enough to rank the albums in each of these three phases much less the entire canon.  But here goes....

13. GO 2



The ubiquitous "sophomore slump" isn't really much of a slump.  It has some stellar tracks, specifically Battery Brides, Meccanik Dancing, and Are You Receiving Me.  It's a very good record for its era.  It's also the last album I'd likely recommend to someone who is wanting to dip their toe into the XTC pond. The Barry Andrews keyboard energy is still on display here and I have to admit, as much as Dave Gregory was one of the best things that happened to the band, I missed Andy Partridge not getting more free reign with his slashing, unique guitar style on subsequent records.

12.  Drums and Wires



Ok, let me admit from the get go, I would anticipate many a fan asking how in the hell I could put this album as the second to lowest in my rankings.  I feel your pain even as I write this.  First, let me say that this is XTC we're talking about here.  They don't have any bad albums.  Period.  This album has their first big "hit" with Making Plans for Nigel and explodes with energy, from Gregory's guitar playing, to...well, the whole band is just on fire.  Look at some youtube clips of them touring these songs and you can see a live band at the height of their powers. 



 It makes the tragedy of not getting to see them play live for real all the more painful.  Other highlights include a host of songs that are much more confidently written than the earlier material: Helicopter, Ten Feet Tall, and Complicated Game.  The only reason I'm putting...

11. White Music



...ahead of D&W is the unabashed exuberance of their first record.  Who rips through songs like Neon Shuffle, Into the Atom Age, This is Pop, Statue of Liberty, and still has the guts to cover All Along the Watchtower in such a fashion?  This record is ballsy and they got a couple of bonus points for that alone.  I remember reading a long time ago that the only purpose for a keyboard in a punk band is as a percussion instrument.  Barry Andrews proves that's absolutely not true.  And even here, in their debut during the time of punk, they demonstrate how much more advanced they were than so many other bands of that era.



10. Wasp Star



The last album released by the band and if there was a last song, on your final album, to fade out on, you'd be hard pressed to end with a track as strong as The Wheel and the Maypole.  And thematically/lyrically, it seems prescient: 

Everything decays, forest tumbles down 

To make the soil, planets fall apart 

Just to feed the stars and stuff their larders 

And what made me think we're any better 

And what made me think we'd last forever 

Was I so naive? Of course, it all unweaves

Wasp Star has some gems on it from Moulding's, Standing in for Joe, a playful romp of a song to Playground, by Partridge, with it's pointy guitar riff.  People lament the loss of Dave Gregory on this record and they're not wrong.  But I must confess the pleasure I feel in hearing Andy assume full responsibility for the guitar play.  Other highlights of course...The Man Who Murdered Love and Stupidly Happy.  Some of these songs feel like they could have lived quite nicely on Black Sea.

9/8.  Mummer/The Big Express

 

This is a cheat I suppose but for some reason I've always filed these two albums together in my brain, in spite of them sounding drastically different.  In some ways I see them as Mark 1 of the Apple Venus/Wasp Star template.  One more pastoral and orchestrated, followed by a more angular, electric guitar based record.  In the recent documentary, This Is Pop, Colin Moulding talks about these two albums right after the touring years concluded and the loss of drummer, Terry Chambers, as albums that left the band in the wilderness so to speak.  They didn't sell all that well.  But to ignore them is a grave mistake.  There are some beautiful songs on these two records and lyrically you can sense that both Partridge and Moulding were sharpening their wordplay.  With more time to write since the touring version of the band was no more, you can see the extra time and attention to detail paying off.

 On

Mummer, there are the obvious catchy songs, paired with the more interesting and adventurous tracks.  I'm thinking Love on a Farmboy's Wages and Wonderland next to Human Alchemy, Beating of Hearts, and Me and the Wind, respectively.  The Big Express has that clanging, almost industrial sound to it best exemplified by Wake Up, Seagulls Screaming Kiss Her Kiss Her, and Reign of Blows.  Both of these albums are pretty regularly on the turntable.



7.  Nonsuch



We're getting to the point where I could start flipping a coin as to which of these last few records are their best.  They are all so strong, sometimes in different ways.  Nonsuch is one of their records that feels like a fully formed vision from top to bottom.  Great songs, and the quality of the sounds coming from the speakers is near perfect.  Perfectly written, arranged, and mixed.



The obvious catchy songs seem almost too easy.  Sometimes I think Andy Partridge could write songs like Then She Appeared and Holly Up on Poppy in his sleep.  But that's not giving him, and the band, enough credit.  The songs have clearly been obsessed over and the layers work so well together.  The contributions of Dave Gregory seem, from my perspective, to really lift a lot of these songs.  His guitar on That Wave may be one of his finest moments with the band.

6.  Oranges and Lemons



There was a time where I would have put Oranges and Lemons at number 1 on this list.  Much of what I love about the record is how top to bottom solid the songwriting is.  But even though it has some really catchy pop songs on it, the record transcends the genre with the "weird" songs.  What is to be made of Across This Antheap?  That is just a strange song with all of its layers upon layers.  It's also one of the most impressive songs the band ever released.



The production on this album is so crisp and while I know others have suggested that it went a little too far in some regards, it feels like it captures a moment in time both musically and lyrically.  Highlights for me have been the wall of sound opener, Garden of Earthly Delights, Scarecrow People, and some of the quieter tracks later on the record, like Pink Thing and Chalkhills and Children.  Just pretty melodies throughout.

5. 25 O'Clock/Psonic Psunspot



Every band worth anything needs to reinvent itself, even if it's only for an album or side project.  The fact that this album is so strong attests to what great songwriters they are.  I love that the EP feels knocked out and trippy, while the full-length PP creates a concept record vibe.  The music references are a hoot as well for nerds like me.  I'm not even a big Beach Boys fan but I delight in Pale and Precious, the best Brian Wilson song he didn't write.  Actually, I think it's better than anything the Beach Boys ever did but I'll be strung up by my buster browns for saying that out loud.




4. Black Sea



Black Sea feels like the culmination of the band's years touring.  Each song is a perfect pop gem and there is simply no filler.  After Drums and Wires, an album that had some of Colin Moulding's catchiest compositions, Partridge's work came roaring back, from the opener Respectable Street, to my personal favorite, No Language in our Lungs.  This is not to slight Colin's songs in anyway.  Again, there is no filler here.  They are a tight machine of a band at this point and it shows in particular when you hear some of these songs played live on the various releases or videos of the band.




3. Apple Venus




Some of the finest moments XTC ever had are on this record.  At turns catchy pop, musically adventurous, and absolutely sublime.  It's an album to put on your headphones to and immerse yourself in from the opening drops of water to the final refrain of the Last Balloon.  The album marked the freeing of the band from what I'll diplomatically call unjust servitude to their former label.  And you can really hear how freeing that was on the record.  Easter Theater is one of the best songs they recorded and still gives me chills as it builds.


The simple, I'd Like That, is deceptively so and the obvious first single I suppose but the unplayable on radio, Your Dictionary, is my favorite.

2. Skylarking



A masterpiece.  Whether you prefer the early version without the "hit" Dear God, or the version with the track, this is an album to take you on a journey.  Much is made of the Todd Rundgren production and the strife in the studio but you can't really argue with the results.  I will say that if you haven't listened to the remastered version you are missing out.



The quintessential Sunday Morning Album for me, I like nothing more than to grab my cup of coffee and listen from the first sound effects of Summer's Cauldron to the end.  The wordplay is a delight throughout (listen to That's Really Super Supergirl or Season Cycle) and the music itself is so perfect, tight, and controlled.  Everything feels just so on the record.  The album takes you on a journey and is one of the best examples of the greatness of the band and how good pop music can be.  It stands alongside the best in pop music by anybody.

1.  English Settlement



Full disclosure, if you ask me tomorrow to name my favorite record, it might not be English Settlement.  The last four picks could have gotten this spot.  But this record has a special place in my heart besides the fact that it is just a stellar double album.  I first heard of XTC via the single, Senses Working Overtime, as a kid in the midwest.  That song in many ways, captures the heart of what XTC does.  It begins with a really odd, almost medieval sounding melody, that sounds like not much else from the 80s, and then bursts at the seams with the catchiness of the chorus.  That's exactly what XTC did from album to album during their career.  One track might be strange and a "grower" in terms of rewarding the listener.  And then it's followed by another song that you swear should have been a #1 on the charts.



ES is full of great examples of this.  It's energetic like their early live stuff, but adds textures that suggest where the band might possibly go on subsequent records.  The guitar play between Gregory and Partridge is wonderful, the drumming perfectly suits the songs, and Moulding's bass is the glue holding it all together.  It's by turns raucous and sublime, transcends any sense of their "punk" roots and leaves most of their contemporaries in the dust.  If someone said I had to pick one XTC album for my 10 album Desert Island list this would be it.  Just don't ask me tomorrow.

Considering my bike commute into work looks like this throughout the Tahoe/Pyramid Bikeway (i.e. Riverpath) it's welcome news that there seems to be movement on some better accommodations for the homeless in Reno.  Pretty much every bridge you ride under in the morning is populated by 6 to 12 people living in tents or laid out on the path in sleeping bags.  I'm sensitive to the needs of the homeless and understand why they populate the river.  But as someone who uses the path almost daily it seems reasonable to expect that the city would take care of the needs of the homeless, while also doing a better job of making the Bikeway a safe place to walk or ride.  If the Truckee River is such a selling point for the city it should include more than the 4 or 5 blocks in the urban core.

Here's part of the article from the RGJ.  I know Neoma Jardon has made the homeless one of her signature issues, so a hat tip in her direction is in order.   More photos below, and it should be noted that the encampments along the river have spiked again.  I'd guess since the usual post Burning Man surge, we are seeing on the order of 10 times the numbers, at least in the section of the river path I frequent, from downtown to the Mill and Rock exit.

Excerpt:

A coalition of faith-based and human services groups is working to build a tiny house village for the homeless, but they need money and land.

They would also need the city of Reno to change its zoning and building code laws to allow for such homes to be built without bathrooms, kitchens or other code requirements that other builders are held to.

At the Reno City Council meeting Wednesday, Pat Cashell of Volunteers for America and Sharon Chamberlain of Northern Nevada HOPES presented their ideas for a tiny home village to help house the chronically homeless.

The plan is modeled after similar villages in Seattle; Portland, Ore.; and Eugene, Ore. It would include 40 bare-bone houses that one councilwoman likened to a "tent with hard walls," including a roof and a locking door. The houses would be situated around a central building with bathrooms and kitchen facilities.

Cashell said the group would count on volunteers from youth groups, church groups and other community members to donate supplies and labor. He estimated each house would cost about $3,800 to build.


Chamberlain estimated the project would need a $270,000 operating budget, which would fund a project manager and case managers who could help connect residents to other social services and permanent housing.

The village would help close a housing gap that is widening as Reno comes to grips with an economic recovery that is driving housing prices up and vacancy rates down.

Human services agencies have seen wait times triple as they try to find transitional housing for chronically homeless individuals who can't make use of the shelter because they have a partner, a pet or a health condition that puts the shelter out of their reach.

Cashell, who spent 10 years homeless as he battled addiction, stressed such a project is critical.

"People without shelter die," he said. "I can’t stress this enough. These are human beings who actually die."

Picture 1 in the sequence...seems clear enough.

Pic 2...All clear?

Pic 3...Safe passage?

Whoops!

When Are Cyclists at Fault for Car/Bike Collisions? Almost Always

This post has stuck with me in part because it relates a close call I had with a car, and partly because I see cyclists often doing dumb things on the road.  Not necessarily illegal things, but not identifying danger zones and riding cautiously but assertively in traffic.  That is the fault of the cyclist, but also the fault of our lack of driver and rider education in this country.  It's no wonder that some of the best cycling countries in the world have extensive bicycle education programs that start at a young age.

It seems like a good time to revisit this Portland to Reno bike tour post considering I've just spend the last few weeks in Portland.  This tour stood in pretty stark contrast to the first tour I ever did crossing Nevada on highway 50.  Green, green, green seems to be the theme of this ride.  I also learned the benefits of front loading the bike on this tour.

Look at that beautiful Stronglight Crank!

[NO] Camping?...one of the encampments along the Tahoe Pyramid Bikeway As I've been riding to school more regularly you can see the ongoing battle over where the homeless encampments are located along the Truckee River Bike Path.  One week they are on the Sparks side, the next they reside on the Reno side.  I rarely witness any law enforcement ousting them from one jurisdiction or the other (or any law enforcement at all unless it is in the downtown area of the path where tourists are likely to be) but it must be happening because it used to be that an encampment would stake out territory for months. There are so many issues and layers to address when it comes to the homeless situation in many communities.  Economics, mental illness, drugs, crime, providing basic human services, etc....  I've written about this all before on this blog.  Yet I still ride the path because I like the river and I would love to see this connector being used by more residents for commuting by bike and recreation. As it is, the Tahoe Pyramid bikeway is feeling increasingly less safe to ride on in the 4 mile stretch that I regularly commute on.  And it should be noted I'm riding on it around 3 in the afternoon, not late at night or in the early morning hours when I take an on street route to school.  In the mid afternoon I've witnessed public exposure, drug deals, and physically threatening behavior, along with altercations between different homeless people.  I don't mean to portray this as some scene out of the film Escape From New York.  More often than not I exchange a polite nod or wave with several of the residents along the river that I've seen there for years.  But it does seem to feel increasingly sketchy in particular stretches and some of what I will call body language has increasingly felt more threatening as I've ridden home.  Particular the woman cracking a bullwhip and a man swinging a golf club to and fro.   Like I said, there are many complexities to the issue of homelessness in our communities.  And it's easy to ignore it if you don't navigate the same urban space with the homeless in our communities on a regular basis.  But one thing I know is that there is very little in the way of systemic problem solving.  It mostly seems like band-aids no matter how many Reno Works photo ops I see posted on social media, as well meaning as the program is.  The Tahoe Pyramid path should be a jewel of an urban space shared by all of the residents of Reno and Sparks.  There seems to be mounting evidence that "housing first" approaches are actually much better, more cost effective, and frankly, more humane than many band-aid programs we often see in towns like ours.  For more on that check out this article:   The most cost-effective way to help the homeless is to give them homes

Ramble On

I haven't been posting much of late with life and priority changes.  Good changes to be sure but I've missed this forum a bit and as I'm stuck at home on a sick day it seems a good time to revisit my Reno Rambler blog and reflect on a few things.

First, the RR has become a skier!  Ok, I've only done it less than 10 times but I'm somewhat competently navigating down intermediate runs at Mount Rose and eagerly looking at snow accumulations to see when more runs will open up this year.  As a season pass holder it's hard not to constantly eye the weather forecasts.  Skiing is a whole different animal than cycling and a nice change of pace...though I still consider myself a cyclist first.  The interesting thing is that my attitude about why I do these activities is the same...they're fun!  I'm past the point of pushing myself on a bike because of some sort of make believe aspirations about racing or being the fastest.  Likewise with skiing I'm content to just enjoy the views and the feel of gliding down a mountain.

This reminds me of a recent article by the Eben Weiss on the subject of biking as environmental statement that my dad sent me.  It was published in Outside Magazine and is a good reminder that while cyclist can talk a good game about how biking is better for the environment, the real reason to do it is because it's fun

Excerpt:

"...as environmentally friendly as cycling is, you’re not going to reap the benefits of that anytime soon, and the sad fact is that the planet is going to be just as fucked at the end of your bike ride as it was when you set out on it. Therefore, if your goal is to get people excited about cycling, it makes much more sense to emphasize all the great stuff it will do for them right now. Telling them to try it merely because it’s good for the environment is about as sexy as telling them to eat their greens. The bicycle, on the other hand, is low impact, doesn’t take much space, puts money in your pocket, and, when used regularly, naturally inclines you toward doing all that other stuff you should be doing for the environment anyway. You don’t bother with plastic bags at the grocery store when you have panniers. You don’t eat those earth-destroying Big Macs because eating Big Macs makes you feel like ass. You don’t vote for politicians with earth-ravaging agendas because riding a bike makes you healthier and happier. The planet looks very different from behind the handlebars than it does from behind the windshield.

In recent years, some people have attempted to debunk the notion that cycling is better for the environment than driving. Some have even claimed it’s outright bad. I say: Let ‘em. Spend five minutes in a shopping mall parking garage and tell me that cars make the world a better place; spend some time cycling and tell me that bikes don’t. Oh sure, there’s a certain visceral pleasure that comes from car ownership, but if you want something you can polish once a week that makes a nice throaty sound when you start it up, then I recommend investing in a new toilet."

A 40 mile ride heading south of Reno and looping through some of my favorite spots in the Truckee Meadows has become my goto ride for mostly road with a little dirt of late.  You can see from the pics why.

Mechanical with a good view

The Della Santa Gang

Increasingly this is a problem on California Street in the bike lane.  Grrrrrrr.

Leave it to me to buy a bike that is "obsolete" before I even got a chance to take it on a real ride.  In the last few months I'd been mulling the idea of getting something more dirt worthy since I sold off my Specialized Epic Comp a few years ago.  At first I was really attracted to the simplicity of the Specialized Crave/Carve SL 29er.   I'd never owned a single speed mountain before and the idea of an aluminum and carbon big tired bike was intriguing in its simplicity.  Truly a bike to ride hard and put up wet in the mud and muck of winter trails around here.  And the added bonus was that the Carve was reasonably easy to convert to a geared bike if I found I needed the extra gearing.

But it wasn't long before I was being lured by that ever present love of steel and a number of friends were suggesting a look at the Salsa El Mariachi.  It's a pretty bike to be sure and has a great reputation but I found myself annoyed that it was less easily converted to a geared configuration.

Then it occurred to me that my OCD was a little out of control and that if I was so concerned about whether I could convert to a multi geared bike that perhaps I needed to just get over the single speed thing and it was at that point that I came across this 2013 Jamis Dragon 20th anniversary model being sold new from a shop for a blowout price.  I suspect they were trying to get the bike off their inventory and were dumping it for less than half of what it was listed at.

The more I looked at that bike I realized it had what I was looking for.  And here I am looking at it in my living room and dazzled by its beauty and realizing what an odd duck of bike it is in our current mountain bike industry.  Here it is, a steel hard tail with a strong lineage.  I remember first seeing a Jamis Dragon in 1993 in Lincoln, Nebraska, when I was first getting into serious riding.  It was a pretty bike but I as already smitten with my Bridgestone MB-2 and the Bstone cult.

Twenty years on the Jamis Dragon is still a great bike.  But I look at it and think how odd that it's a steel hard tail, celebrating the two decades of the model, and has 29 inch wheels that apparently are now no longer the best choice for trail riding.  This video (below) came up when I was looking for a tutorial on youtube about tweaking my front brakes.  Apparently 26 inch wheels are virtually no good for anything now.  Oh how oh how did we ever ride trails with 26 inch wheels these past couple of decades?


It's interesting to me that the 26' is now "dead" and the 29er may be following closely on its heels.   Strange too because I have been quite invigorated by renewed love for the Bridgestone MB-1 I've been using as my snow bike this winter.  That quick aggressive handling (and "small" wheel) is wonderful and something that I think people who have never tried a high quality early '90s bike that has no shocks are missing out on.  Everything feels so precise on that bike.

So here I am with an obsolete new bike…celebrating its own 20 year history.  How will I ever be able to ride it now that the 650b is the new king?  I guess I'll just ride it and take my chances.  It'll be interesting comparing the ride of the Jamis with the Bridgestone and with the Specialized Epic Comp that also had 26 inch wheels but was full suspension.  One of the reasons I sold the Epic was that I was not using it much because it felt so niche.  And yet being full suspension and with disk brakes it was probably the bike that was most readily in the shop getting tweaked here and there so the suspension was dialed or the brakes didn't squeal.  Perhaps the new bike will be the perfect compromise.

A gallery of photos of my new bike:








And for good measure, a little Tina in honor of the title of this post.  I couldn't help but think of this song when all the pearl clutching was going on about Miley Cyrus singing and dancing provocatively a few months back.  This is just as scandalous in its own way, except...you know, Ms. Turner is really, really talented.

It's always nice to go to the North American Handmade Bike Show when it makes its way out west to Sacramento.  Smaller builders, some quirky and esoteric stuff on the floor, and interesting people to talk to.  This year I was particularly pleased to see that Roland Della Santa had more than his usual line up of pretty frames, but also had a few built bikes that demonstrated a bit more range (a touring bike....shhhhhhh), as well a nice banner signed by a young Greg LeMond.

Other than that, I was looking to see if there were any bamboo fat bikes....because where else are you going to see that, came across even more wood bikes, a pretty city bike made by Porter Cycles and a few other odds and ends.  Not surprisingly (yawn) it felt like 80 percent of the bikes disk braked road bikes that you could fit a wider tire in.  Not a bad thing...but it felt like I was looking at the same bike with a different paint job too much of the time.

A gasp...touring bike from Roland Della Santa...shhhhhhh!

What are you looking?  Something quite rare.

Not the usual color combo but it works

It's the little touches

A crowd looking at the Della Santa entered in the best Campagnolo built bike competition

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Suspension...

Returning to their roots

This Porter had the most style points for the show but I don't know where you use it.  I wouldn't lock it up outside and it's not really a tourer.  Still, I'm a sucker for the Deco look

One of many disk braked fattish tire road bikes...nice paint though!

Devising a way to get a Brooks saddle in every color.  How many bikes do I need for that?

Is it bad that the thing I most desired from the show was this cute Mini?

Friend and fellow Rambler, Jake, unveiled his new Della Santa at the club dinner last night and this is definitely a situation where the pictures are going to say more than my words.  Be that as it may, the bike is built up for riding L'Eroica with this parts spec and has room for 32s (or perhaps bigger?) on it.  The Molteni paint scheme, the fork crown, those lugs...just lovely!  Sorry the photos are a bit dark but it was...dark outside at night.  Go figure.

There will be a talk/presentation given later this month on Major Taylor, one of the most amazing athletes in the history of the sport.

Rear suspension that's over 100 years old.

The Pierce bicycle was a particularly amazing historical example of a bicycle

RIP Roland Della Santa

Roland at NAHBS

 I've been reeling from the news of Roland Della Santa's passing.  For decades he has been something of a legend in Reno and beyond due to his skills as one of the finest bicycle frame builders in the country.  His notoriety as the builder of frames for a young Greg LeMond didn't hurt his standing in the bike community.  The World Champion stripes you see on his bike frames were earned.



Roland was a character.  He was also a storyteller.  Anybody who talked to him or visited his shop, was regaled with stories about the Navy or other bicycle industry types that he'd interacted over his many years in the industry, from racing to building and sponsoring young talented riders.  He wasn't one to hold his tongue or even be particularly politically correct in his opinions either.


Roland had specific ideas about the way a good racing bike should look and ride.  His frames and process were dialed and in an age of increasing micro niches of types of bikes in the industry, his frames were generally simple, elegant, and very clean looking in terms of features.  Beautiful lugged road frames with a ride quality that rivaled the best in the world.

As a cyclist who moved to Reno you couldn't help but notice the many Della Santa bikes being ridden.  Whether it was subtle color or a more bold paint job, they were all stunners.  I dreamed of owning one.  And when I inherited a small amount of money when my grandmother Lola passed away, I could think of no better way to honor her memory, than to buy something that was beautiful and that I would use and enjoy for decades.  I promptly ordered a custom frame from Roland and I still think of my grandmother when I ride it.

My first Della Santa

Roland in his shop

Reno Rambler Cycling Club dinner from December 2016...held at Beaujolais Bistro

Over the years I've written quite a few posts about my experiences with Roland and his bikes.  Here's a link to check them out.

A few year's back Roland was interviewed for the Outspoken Cyclist Podcast.  Worth a listen.

If you look closely you'll see some footage of Roland racing at the Nevada City Criterium here.




Gallery

From Roland's shop

Roland (center) in action in Nevada City.

 

A nice example of his later work Room for 35mm tires

Born in 1890, making it the longest running active cycling club in the Truckee Meadows, The RRCC met for its (sort of) monthly dinner meeting this past week.  The photo was too good to not pass along.  The Samurai Cowboy aesthetic...plus flannel.

This was a short tour but perhaps the best of my cycling adventures because of the company and the many things I learned along the way about the joys of touring.   It doesn't hurt that I learned that Brooks saddles are totally capable, and actually excel, at opening beer bottles.  Kind of hard to top that after a long day in the saddle.

"Originally, BOB was an acronym for "Bridgestone Owner's Bunch". It was started by Grant Petersen, American marketing Director for the Bridgestone bicycle company, based in Japan.

He wrote the advertisements for the company, and they were a bit unusual by including very little or any marketing hype. Instead, Grant took the effort to explain why the bicycles he helped design were good. He did this without puffery and without running down the competition. They were...thoughtful...advertisements. Thought-provoking. Cyclists who took the time to read and ponder them almost always found something of value. Sometimes, that led to purchasing a Bridgestone bicycle.

The Bridgestone bicycles Grant helped design were also unusual in bucking fashionable cycling trends. His felt bicycles should remain functional and high in value. Part of that value came from selecting parts and components that worked reliably, were repairable, and were proven. This philosophy was controversial, and Grant/Bridgestone were labeled anachronistic by some magazine editors and industry insiders. One magazine editor labeled Grant a "retro-grouch" -- someone who crabbily held onto old stuff instead of embracing the new.

In many ways, time vindicated Grant and Bridgestone. His mountain bikes led the field in many areas -- short chainstays, steeper angles, more lively handling, repairability. His road bikes -- The RB-1, RB-2 and RB-T -- were solid values that road well and were prized for their handling. Grant took the risky but courageous step of specing components outside the groups offered by a single manufacturer. As a result, Bridgestones often sported an eclectic parts mix. For example, the MB-0 (it slotted in above the MB-1) had a Mavic crank and hubs, Dia-Compe brakes and SunTour derailleurs. It may seem a bit ironic, but Bridgestone lead the industry in these key areas while holding fast to a philosophy that bucked cycling fashion for fashion's sake. For a small player in the American bicycle market, Bridgestone set some real standards -- practical standards -- for the competition that shaped the development of MTBs in particular.

Along the way, Grant introduced an early hybrid to the market. Actually, there were several models, and they were called the XO-1, XO-2, and XO-3. Instead of equipping a road bike with flat handlebars and knobby 700C tires, Grant's XOs (pronounced Eks-Ohs) used slick 26" tires and lightweight road bike frames. This was unusual in and of itself, but whatreally made the bicycles controversial was their handlebars. Grant designed them, inspired by the semi-drop handlebars used by Japanese schoolchildren (full drops were considered a temptation to speed contests and the flattened type was a compromise). Imagine a drop-type road handlebar that has been squashed almost perfectly flat. He called it the Moustache Handlebar.

Some people really like these handlebars, and they are still available through Grant as an aftermarket component, made by Nitto and Hsin Ling, depending on the model. They require a willingness to adapt to the new shape, and their comfort and utility depends on a combination of stem height and reach as well as creative placement of the brake levers.

Unfortunately, many people were unable or unwilling to adapt to Moustache 'bars and some of the most vocal worked as magazine editors. The handlebars were loudly panned in the press, and it was in one road test of an XO-1 that an editor coined the "Retro-grouch" label and applied it to Grant. When Bridgestone sales fell off, some industry insiders cited the Moustache 'bars as an example of Grant's retrogrouch philosophy, and an example of the "adapt or die" rule of market share.. Some went so far as to blame the company's pullout on Grant's excessive sense of ownership. While there is a grain of truth to that there were larger reasons for Bridgestone leaving the American market, including a changing economic climate and Yen-Dollar valuation. I'll come back to this in a moment.

Grant was unique in the industry, and his input made Bridgestones different from other bicycles. They embodied a philosophy of lasting value, function and craftsmanship.

Certain kinds of cyclists found this philosophy appealing and liked their Bridgestone a great deal. Grant wanted to create a community spirit and feel for the owners of Bridgestones, so he started the Bridgestone Owner's Bunch, or "BOB". For an annual fee, subscribers (or "members" as he called them) would receive a newsletter and the opportunity to purchase some unique merchandise, like a Kwickoin coin purse imprinted with the BOB logo, hats, T-shirts, canvas wallets, Brooks saddles imprinted with the BOB logo, and so forth. In the newsletters, Grant shared his thoughts and philosophy and views as an insider in the bicycle industry. As a community, BOB was a real success. This was quite remarkable, as the community was based on the newsletters that arrived by post. The organizers (Grant and B'stone employees) were readily accessible by telephone or in person to local members.

Bridgestone was never a major player in terms of American bicycle sales. Because the bicycles were different and didn't sport the latest components, they required a great deal of explanation in order to sell. They were a great value, but that value wasn't immediately obvious to many potential buyers, especially in an industry that was increasingly dependent on creating and selling "the latest". Also, there were price breaks available to manufacturers who speced one company's components throughout their product line. There were a number of other reasons why Bridgestone lost market share, all related to changes in the industry.

Shimano introduced whole component groups designed to work well as a system. The market changed and buyers demanded easy shifting that made it easy to master the mechanics of shifting. Bicycles that didn't sport the latest innovation also did not catch the buyer's eye, and dealers found that "If it doesn't click, it won't sell". Much the same thing happened when MTB suspension forks were introduced.

All of these and more were factors in Bridgestone leaving. When the Yen gained in value compared to the American dollar, many Japanese companies felt the pinch. Miyata pulled out. SunTour eventually went bankrupt. Manufacturers switched production to other countries with cheaper labor rates. Materials other than steel were introduced to the market. TiG welding often replaced brazing and lugs in mass-production assembly. Glued composites became viable as the cost of production declined and the technology matured. Taiwan bloomed as a bicycle producer. In this climate. Bridgestone found it was uneconomical to continuing selling bikes in this country, so they closed their American operations.

When Bridgestone closed, it liquidated its remaining stock of bicycles and frames. Some were sold through dealers, but much of the warehouse stock was sold to BOBs at reduced prices through the last several newsletters. Grant lost his job, as did the other people involved in Bridgestone's American operation. Of course, this also meant the end of the BOB group and newsletter-based community.

A Stanford graduate named Piaw Na started the newsletter anew as an e-mail listserv, using the Internet. Because it was Internet-based, it became known as iBOB or I-BOB. There was no membership fee, but it did foster and maintain much of the same sense of community among Bridgestone bicycle owners. More importantly, it attracted other bicyclists and those people interested in the same basic philosophy espoused in the bikes Bridgestone marketed under Grant's direction.

What is this philosophy? In a nutshell, BOBs value proven equipment that is repairable or long-lived, which adds to the value of a component. BOBs recognize that expertise comes from involvement, and it can be satisfying to learn enough about an activity to become good at it. BOBs also realize that expertise can be bought -- but if one does, it sometimes comes at the cost of personal involvement. There is a long list of things that fit these general categories and philosophy: Wool over synthetic insulation, waxed cotton canvas over nylon with a urethane coating, indexed shifters with a friction option or pure friction shifting over dedicated drivetrains.

In several of the BOB newsletters (called the "BOB Gazette"), Grant waxed eloquent on the uses of beeswax, and told how to prepare it by kneading the raw beeswax until it was soft. After kneading, it wouldn't flake and could be used for any number of things. For example, beeswax makes a dandy thread-locking compound for threaded headsets and other threaded fasteners. Beeswax typifies the BOB philosophy, and so it has earned the term "BOBbish". In many ways, you could say BOB is about beeswax!

Grant was careful to craft the original BOB on sterling values, and these (hopefully) continue to the iBOB list of today. BOBs are friendly. BOBs are tolerant of other's views. BOBs are always willing to help new cyclists or fellow cyclists. BOBs are honest, and they never, ever lie. They're probably also thrifty and loyal. iBOB is -- or =should= be-- a safe place to ask and ponder questions and philosiophies as they relate to things BOBbish.

After several years of very dedicated effort, Piaw stepped down as list administrator and the position was assumed by Canadian iBOB Michael Slavitch. Michael did a terrific job of transferring Piaw's archives and put up a web-based site for the archives and list administration. He ran the list on some older equipment that sometimes failed. The list was actually down for awhile until it found its present home.

iBOBs have a lot to be thankful for, including the creation and continuance of a pleasant community of like-minded cyclists. I know I look forward to reading my iBOB email each time I turn on my computer. It is amazing how much I have come to care for my FellowBOBs, and I am pleased to consider them among my circle of friends. I have met several in person and it is gratifying to find iBOBs are nice folks in Real Life too!

No explanation of BOB would be complete without a postscript about Grant Petersen. After he left Bridgestone, he founded Rivendell Bicycle Works. In many ways, it is fair to say Rivendell (or "Riv") is the successor to both Grant's Bridgestone and the mail-based Bridgestone Owner's Bunch. In his catalogs, flyers and website, Grant continues to espouse a BOBbish philosophy, and _all_ of the products he offers are, well, BOBbish. You can expect to find Nitto stems, Brooks leather saddles, waxed-canvas Carradice saddle bags and wallets made of tin cloth. Rivendell offers a newsletter full of interesting articles and interviews with industry members and history. In many ways, it is the old BOB _Gazette_ come to fruition and full flower.

Grant has full creative control of his company and this has allowed him to produce some products wholly unique to Riv. This now includes framesets built to his philosophy. They range from semi-production to full custom and have been produced by several contractors, including Waterford, Joe Starck and match (little "m"). There are several models, ranging from a pair of road bikes to an All-Rounder, a sort of spiritual successor to the Bridgestone XO- series. Rivendell has offered mountain bike frames and cyclocross frames in the past and are willing to consider a rider's needs within their fit, design and build philosophy. All Rivendell frames are known for their beautiful and intricate lugwork and fork crowns and are considered by many to be among the most aesthetically beautiful frames available.

And so BOB has grown and continued from Grant's early efforts at Bridgestone. It is a loose club of sorts, with a membership that is based on a shared philosophy. Its members are an involved and resourceful lot, willing to share their knowledge freely with others. There are riders, dealers, frame builders, distributors, collectors, painters, mechanics, messengers, commercial and fine artists, historians and academics in the field. iBOBs have designed the BOB logo, the Rivendell logo, and the first Rivendell website. Lots of iBOBs own Rivendells and Bridgestones, but you don't have to own or ride a Bridgestone to be a BOB.

So. That's what BOB is all about. That and beeswax.

Welcome!

Dan, Eugene, OR


"Bridgestone was one of the first companies to jump on the mountain bike bandwagon in the 1980s, but from a "road" perspective. Early versions of the MB-1 came with drop handlebars and 126 mm dropout spacing!

I'm not partial to barends but I'll leave them be for now.

I've been enjoying riding this sew-up adorned Della Santa for awhile now even if I find myself a bit paranoid about riding tubulars.  I've taken precautions putting some Stan's sealant into them and it is wonderful how smooth they are on the road.  There is a gliding feeling to them that just hums along and is only rivaled, but not matched, by the really supple clincher tires that Compass makes.  In a region that has goatheads it can be a gamble to be riding on these in early to mid fall before some rain and snow has swept the thorns off of the road.  I'm probably jinxing myself having not had a flat with these yet but I will be curious how that Stan's/sewup combo works out when I do get a goathead.

The other night I attended the unveiling of the first Jake Barrett bicycle at The Dropout Bike Shop for the Reno Rambler Cycling Club.  Built by Jake for his dad as a birthday present, it's a stunner.  Just what you'd expect from Barrett and not surprising since he has been working with Roland Della Santa for the last few years honing his skills as a framebuilder.  I'll let the pictures do the talking but it's hard not to fall in love with the details, the build, the paint, and those pretty lugs.  Just some nice touches all around.

Galapagos Rambler

This post is going to be something of a photo dump rather than a full write up of my experiences in the Galapagos.  I've been doing some private "smash journaling" on my experiences in an analog fashion that might at some point get transferred to this format but for now I thought I'd at least post some photos of my experiences kayaking, hiking, and cycling on my trip to this, one of the most extraordinary places on earth.  Fair warning and enjoy...

Port Aroya with its protected cycle track throughout the main street of the entire town

White tip sharks under my kayak

Such a gorgeous beach

Feels like the dinosaurs still roam the earth

The water is so warm

hydration

The ever elusive and rare wild chicken of the Galapagos

Rented a bike and rode all over Santa Cruz