Sharing the Road: Notes from Rural Northern Ireland

Traffic is different here. I have shared the country roads with everyone and everything - from cars to oversized trucks, to tractors, horses, cows, other cyclists, runners and pedestrians. Some go very fast, some go very slow, some go somewhere in between. Many of the roads are narrow, winding, with no shoulders - oftentimes with barely room for a full sized lane in each direction. Situations frequently arise when travelers are in each other's way. An old truck putters along below the speed limit. A herd of cows is moved from one pasture to another. A jogger runs wearing earphones. A cyclist takes the lane on a winding descent. A pony and trap race is in progress on a Sunday afternoon. At the same time, the roads are teeming with fast sports cars, long distance lorries, and sedans full of people rushing to and from work in one of the industrial parks or factories nearby. With the limited space, this mix sounds like a recipe for disaster - or at least regular incidents of road rage. But I have seen no signs of that yet. On the contrary, road users across the spectrum are eerily patient and courteous. 

I noticed it at first as a cyclist. Out on my bike every day, and sometimes at peak commuting times, I am never made to feel as if my presence on the roads is inconveniencing anyone - even though technically, sometimes it is. But if I am in the way, drivers will simply pass me, or wait until they can. They genuinely don't seem bothered. Sometimes a driver will wave as they pass - not in a hyper-friendly sort of way, but more like in casual acknowledgement of my presence. 

Riding as a passenger in a car with locals offered a glimpse of the driver's perspective. Whenever we had to slow down for another road user, that was exactly what the driver did - without altering his emotional state or breaking stride in the conversation we were all having inside the car. There was no impatience, no eye-rolling, no "Jeez, what's this guy doing stopped in the middle of the road?" on the driver's or other passengers' part. Put simply, they did not seem to process slower road users as inconveniences or obstacles. 

It would be tempting to explain this attitude as country manners or something specific to "Irishness" - except being here in the midst of it, that doesn't feel like it. The attitude is more matter of fact than friendly or polite. There seems to be a system in place that road users implicitly acknowledge being a part of. Cooperation is necessary for the system to work, and everyone understands that. 

Is this system really so different from what goes on in congested cities and chaotic suburbs? In some ways yes, but in other ways not so much. I am not sure whether planners interested in road sharing dynamics ever look at areas like this one for ideas. But I propose they should; it might yield some unexpected insights.

Bright Blue & Yellow

Nothing cheers me up more than a splash of colour ...
so on this overcast, drizzly day
this summery inspiration in bright blue and yellow
is exactly what I need to lift my spirits!

Melissah xox

Images via 1, 2, 3, 4a, 4b, 5a, 5b, 6

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Sea Island Sophistication

 

Sea Island Style - Get The Look

This classically styled Sea Island holiday house embraces a vivid coastal palette of sea green and turquoise. I generally prefer a more relaxed, low key feel for a beach house but this coastal retreat inspires me because of the strong use of statement colour. These something about the bold use of colour that screams confidence!

Melissah xox

Images via 1-4, 5-6, 7

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Coastal Chic

Homeowner and designer Laura Fisher transforms her family beachside cottage

 in Canada from bold and busy to simple and refined. 

The muted palette of white, grey, beige and dusty blue enhances the cottage’s relaxed, elegant style. The oak floors suit the coastal casual setting with their light wood tone reminiscent of driftwood. I love the chic fireplace design, it adds a sophistcated touch to this stylish beach house. The cottage faces the water and features large windows that let the light flood in and connects the house to it's spectacular surroundings.  

Melissah xox

Images via Style At Home, mood board by Coastal Style

Check out my other blogs Scrapbook and Country Style Chic

Speed, Lugs and Jewel Tones: a JRJ Grass Racer

Still active today, Bob Jackson Cycles are a British builder of classic steel bicycles that is well known around the world. Less commonly known is the name JRJ Cycles that preceded it. Bob (John Robert) Jackson began building bicycle frames in Leeds, England, in 1935, offering track and road racing (time trial) models. Part of Chris Sharp's collection, this particular bike is a 1950s grass track racer that once belonged to Leslie White of the Maryland Wheelers near Belfast. The owner raced it into the late 1960s, achieving numerous victories in Northern Ireland. He then hung it up, and the bike remained untouched for over 4 decades. Today it is preserved in as-raced condition.

The JRJ name, headbadge and transfers were used exclusively until the 1960s, and still appeared into the 1980s after the switch to "Bob Jackson."

The transfers included renderings of olympic rings, the full name on the downtube reading "JRJ Olympic Cycles." As with other English "lightweight" manufacturers of that time, there was a strong emphasis on performance and competition, which explains the olympic imagery. "Always first at the finish!" was the JRJ Cycles' slogan on advertisements from the 1950s.

Traditionally, English racing frames from this era tended to be painted in saturated, jewel-like tones, known as a "flamboyant" finish. Not quite the same as pearlescent paint, the flamboyant colours are foil-like, resembling the look of candy wrappers. Bob Jackson had his favourite signature shades, including the red and blue on this bike. The blue leans toward seafoam, and the red is a raspberry-like crimson. 

White lining around the lugs and fork crown highlights the elaborate shorelines. 

The bottom bracket lugs are especially interesting - there appears to be a reinforced lug of sorts connecting the chainstays to the bottom bracket.

The frame is Reynolds 531 tubing.

Though it has not been ridden in decades, the large shimmery machine is so marked by care and wear, that it feels alive with the owner's presence and energy. Seeing it leaned against the hedge on a rainy morning, I can't help but imagine the tall, powerful youth Leslie White must have been - his back stretched flat across the 58cm frame, his hands gripping the deep track drops, his legs pushing the monstrous gear in an all-out effort around a grass track.

Grass track racing is an interesting tradition in the British Isles. In an earlier post, I mentioned how a ban on road racing from the 1890s through the 1950s led to the invention of time trials. The ban also explains the emphasis on track cycling in the UK and Ireland: Races on enclosed courses were the only kind officially permitted during this time. The grass tracks were similar to velodromes in that they were oval. However, the surface was not banked. Often the track was a multi-use field, temporarily set up for the race. Grass track racing is still done in the UK today, its popularity revived in recent years. At a grass-roots/ community level, a race like this can be organised fairly easily, wherever a flat playing field is available.

The style of races held was similar to those on the velodrome, and the bikes were fixed gear machines with track style fork-ends.

Typically the fork crown was drilled for a front brake: The rider would remove it upon arrival to the race. The tires were of course tubulars - "sew ups." Too deteriorated to hold air, the ones on this bike are original. 

Also original are all the other components. Most notable among these are the English-made Chater Lea crankset and hubs, quite rare now. 

The Chater Lea pedals are fitted with Brooks toe clips and leather straps.

I can make out a faint Brooks stamp on the side of the saddle, but not which model it is. The saddle is long and very narrow - measuring just over 120mm across at the widest part.

The stem and handlebars are stamped with what looks like Cinelli; I did not want to disturb the patina by cleaning up the inscription.

When talking to Chris Sharp about the JRJ, I asked whether he plans to make it ridable. He has many vintage bikes, some of them quite old and storied, and he does not shy away from using them. But Leslie White's grass racer, he wants to preserve the way it is. Having met the bike's original owner, part of it is wanting to honor him. But part of it also is the history. In person, standing near this bike and touching it... There is just something so incredibly alive and exciting about how freshly used everything looks. I can readily imagine it all: a grassy field, a gray sky, a crowd of locals gathered to watch, and the riders - a blur of jewel tones against the overcast country landscape.

A Taste of the Tropics

 

 

With the winter chill firmly entrenched ~
I am wishing away grey skies with thoughts of tropical destinations.
This time two years ago I was lazing under a coconut palm in Bora Bora.
This year, we are madly renovating our new beach house
for an August move in date.

Would I rather be sipping Pina Coladas in Tahiti 
or up a ladder painting ....???
Mmmm..... I wonder!

Melissah xox

Images via 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7

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