Oil Slick From 40,000 ft

I flew from CCS to IAH last Tuesday. As we approached the TX/LA region of the gulf, I started looking down and this is what I saw. 

Note: I've tweeked the contrast on these photos for the oil spill to be more visible. 

737 at 40,000 ft.

A line of oil stretching out on the sea.

Several blobs of oil...

Orange booms to corral the oil as it approaches the coast. The plane was descending into Houston at this point.

Some of the wetlands on the LA/TX border area vulnerable to the spill.

Home for a Few Days: Post #1

Some pics from my quick trip to New Mexico. These are CCS to IAH. 

 

X-ray scanner at CCS

737-400 coach section

 Over Grand Cayman Island (note the how the clouds are the same outline as the island)

Back in Venezuela...an easy trip

Back in Venezuela. Had zero problems at customs. My residente visa was still valid even though my passport is nearly expired and now have a new passport. The Venezuelan customs agent seemed apathetic and didn't care one way or the other since I hadn't had the chance to complete my entry form.

When I sent my roller-duffel bags through the X-ray machine, they only questioned the Chinese wok I had bought. It showed up as a big opaque disk. Other than the interior hallway to the domestic airport not working, I had to go back to the old way of getting there by walking outside and make the 500 meter walk awkwardly pulling the two roller-duffel bags.

BTW...don't count on Jeep brand luggage being very durable or rugged. Needing a 2nd suitcase, I bought the duffel at Wal-Mart (I tried boycotting Wal-Mart this trip...did pretty good) because it was large and relatively cheap. After one flight, the pull out handle does not deploy because it got bent by baggage handlers somewhere between ELP and CCS. My Lands End duffel has now made about 10 round-trip international flights and is showing very little damage or wear. Simple, rugged , and well made.

The Litespeed Toccoa [travel bike]

First Hardcore Ride: Summit of Gomez Peak, Gila N.F. [2006]

Note: The bike has since been tweeked and will
be undergoing a major refit summer 2009.

The Problem: I work and live overseas. I soon found out that traveling with a full sized bike is a real hassle. On my first trip to Venezuela, my bike was left at CCS because it couldn’t make the commuter flight into the interior. Fortunately, it made it on a later flight, but then and there I knew I needed a bike which would travel easier. One I could take with me back and forth to the USA or wherever I wanted to go.

A Possible Solution: It was during this first year living overseas that I thought about retro-fitting my old trusty Merlin with S & S bicycle torque couplings. Ultimately I could not bring myself to hack my buddy in two halves. I didn’t trust any frame-builder to do the job. If someone was going to do it, they had to do it right or I’d lose my favorite bike.

Experimenting: This project/idea was put on hold for a few of years. I tried other options like riding my road bike exclusively [see Bridgestone post], borrowing a friend’s mountain bike; I crashed hard and hyper-extended my elbow, due to radical geometry. And once I tried renting a mountain bike which turned out to be a performance pig, and I crashed hard due to a weird mushy feel due to heavy wheels, and a cheap, non-responsive suspension fork. None of these options were an adequate solution.

Problem #2: In the following spring (2006), I started getting a wild idea of buying a high quality travel bike. At first I was thinking of a Dahon Flo. It seemed a good design; high-end steel, quality components, designed by Joe Murray, etc. I found a shop on eBay selling them, and almost bought one, but my research found that the Flo travel bike had a weight limit of 230 lbs. Being a Clydesdale rider [about 215 – 220 lbs (98 – 100 kg)], I decided I needed another option. It was back to titanium.

The Solution: I am a big fan of titanium. I like it for its strength, lightweight, and ride quality, plus I like the look of titanium. I needed a Ti bike that I could convert into a folding bicycle.

The Quest for Ti: Working from Venezuela, and with a fairly quick Internet search, I found a complete 2000 Litespeed Toccoa for a very good price. After many e-mails, a phone call, and a leap of faith, I sent the guy a cashier’s check. I made an arrangement with Bilenky Cycle Works in Philadelphia and I asked the seller to send it there instead of my USA address. Bilenky hacked and retrofit the bike with S & S bicycle torque couplings then sent the bike on to New Mexico.

A Titanium S & S Coupler Up Close

First Impressions: When I got home [my New Mexico hometown], the bike was waiting for me at the bike shop where I assembled it for the first time. That afternoon I rode it offroad for the first time up on Boston Hill. My first riding impression was very good. The bike seemed unstoppable. I found the Litespeed a great riding bike…smoother than the Merlin and still very light even with the big couplers; about 23.5 lbs. It climbs like a goat and it descends like a rocket on rails. It is firmly in the super bike category.

A Real Travel Bike: So far it has been to the all over Venezuela, including the Venezuelan Andes, the hills around Caracas, and a border run into Brazil to get sugar [an ongoing Venezuela problem]. On travels, it has been all over the mountain trails of New Mexico, the mountains and deserts of Arizona, the Colorado Rocky mountains, deciduous forest trails of Kansas and Missouri, Palo Duro Canyon in the Texas Panhandle, and a supported trans-Scotland tour.

Conclusion: It’s great to be able to pack a bike into an airline legal 26” x 26” x 10” case and fly with it at no charge. The retrofit has paid for itself in bicycle fees already. It has traveled by Venezuelan buses and taxis, and it easily fits in the trunk of my small car and goes anywhere we go. It is a very cool bike. My mom says it is the best [bicycle] purchase I have ever made. I agree…but then, I like all of my bikes.

Litespeed Packed in it's case


Case Closed!

Update: (19-09-09): I had the Litespeed totally rebuild this summer. Now the only original piece is the frame.

Riding the Winsor Trail near Santa Fe, NM

The Toccoa has all new parts, only the frame is original.
- Frame: 2000 Litespeed Toccoa retrofit w/ S & S couplers
- Fork: 2009 RockShox SID Team (big improvement!)
- Handlebar: Groovy Cycles titanium "Luv Handles" (~660 mm)
- Grips: WTB clamp-on
- Brakes/levers: Avid Ultimate with Ti bits
- Stem: FSA 110
- Headset: Chris King
- Shifters: 2009 XT
- Derailleurs: 2009 XT front, XT Shadow rear
- Cassette: XT - Crankset: RaceFace Deus
- Pedals: XTR (SPD)
- Chain: XTR
- Seatpost: Thomson Elite (black)
- Saddle: WTB Pure V Team, leather cover w/ Ti rails
- Wheelset: XT centerlock, DT spokes, WTB Dual Duty rims
- Tires: WTB MutanoRaptors
- Cables: XTR
weight: ~24 lbs, 4 oz. (not too bad considering the S & S couplings)