abshipp 

Thanks for the link and the feedback!

If I go the dynamo route, it will be a PV-8 and likely a B&M headlight.

Main motivation for looking into something other than my current setup is to try out a headlight with a shaped beam, it just makes so much sense. Even if I don't go with a dynamo setup I would likely go with a B&M battery headlight for the lens alone. Plus, like you said, lots of them are designed with commuters in mind so reliability shouldn't be much of a concern.

I priced a few things out, and it looks like a dynamo setup would end up being 40-50% more expensive than a nice B&M battery light + Tiagra or 105 front hub.

We'll see how I feel when it comes time to actually build the wheelset. One advantage I have is a large handlebar bag that would make using a light with an external battery a lot more practical than if I had to strap it to a frame.

BillyD

abshipp 

I will definitely consider that as an alternative!

I'm not fast either, but I still outrun my current light. I think it's just the narrow beam that I'm not a big fan of.

WalksOn2Wheels

So I've got a moral-ish dilemma on my hands. My wife's family is dealing with the loss of their mother last year and this Friday will be the first year of her birthday that she is not with them. I unfortunately have a lot of recent experience with this, but this is not the time to get into that. Somewhere along the line, one of the three daughters decided that camping would be the best way to spend time together and honor her memory at the same time. Now I like camping. Big outdoors fan. But no one has really planned anything out and everyone is flying by the seat of their pants hoping that there will be some open camping spots somewhere. And the weather at the moment is miserable. It's been low 40's and raining for a few days now. We will be getting some sun and slightly warmer temps, but the first night would be not much above freezing, the ground will be mostly wet, there will be no power/water at the proposed sites, oh AND between three married couples, we had 5 small children ranging from 1 to 8 years old that makes just going to one house enough of a logistical nightmare.

I feel like they need a reality check, but I don't want to be the one to give it to them basically.

MoAlpha

I certainly see what you mean. Maybe you can initiate some critical thinking by asking what the plan is in a non-judgmental way and whether they have any alternatives in mind if conditions aren't good. In the worst case, you'll probably survive and someone will owe you big.

tomato coupe

Rent an RV?

LAJ

To me, that just sounds like a nightmare.

The RV thing sounds a lot better, but I don't think one is a good idea. One per family, is better.

WalksOn2Wheels

The worst part is, this is all being done via group text so people can make their own conclusions about tone regardless of what you write.

The alternative is we do what we do for every family get together. I'd even be willing to open up our home, which means significant cleaning time and moving bike/guitar stuff out of the guest room. That's how every holiday goes lately.

EDIT: Her father's and our house are within 15 minutes of each other, so what I meant was there is plenty of time for us to stay inside and spend quality time together like we always do.

seedsbelize 

My headlight mounts to the brake caliper screw
But of course you folk run meat slicer brakes

datlas 

When we had a long layover at Gatwick on our way to/from Spain we were pleased with the food court options there.

It wasn't amazing but way better than offerings from a decade ago, for sure.

MoAlpha

You're a good husband and will be rewarded in the next life if not in this.

MoAlpha

We had a very good meal at some Mediterranean-themed place in, like, Charlotte, of all places, a couple of years ago on the way back from the Caribbean. My brother, who is a food professional, says that quite a few chefs from in-town restaurants are opening airport branches. Think about the market: An affluent and captive group with time to kill.

tomato coupe

My wife's family had a big get together a few years ago, and there were similar issues about where/how to do it. The solution was to rent a fairly large house in the mountains for a week. Everyone was free to come and go as they saw fit, and we arranged activities on-the-fly. It worked out well.

bampilot06

weird. charlotte has the worst food choices of them all.

MoAlpha

Might have been ATL.

WalksOn2Wheels

That's the thing. We do this all the time. Most of her family is in DFW with one sister and her family down in Austin. Here in Denton, her dad's house is on the south side and our's is on the north side. There is plenty of room at both places. We have had the Austin family stay with us for 3 or 4 days at a time if they aren't staying at their dad's house. We probably get together at minimum four times a year.

I think this has more to do with being their mother's birthday and this family has not experienced any close immediate loss. Their grandparents have passed, but were never super close because both parents were from large families. A big loss makes you do funny things. So people making half plans over group chat with both their emotions and what they assume of other people's emotions in the mix means decisions are not being made with absolutely sound logic.

rjones28 

That doesn't sound good.

rjones28 

On SU campus, in a coffee shop. They're playing music that their grandparents probably listened to when they were in college.

rjones28 

And there's a game at The Dome tonight and I found parking, on the street, near said café. On the first try.

#lucky

WhyFi

I decided that today was the day to get serious about the daily caloric deficit again.

The hangries are real.

WalksOn2Wheels

Ugh. I might be there very soon. Last week's riding was very lackluster because I knew it was all going to be fake miles. Did a easy ride on Sunday evening just to get the miles in. Weather is crap this week and this weekend is gonna be busy no matter what happens.

rjones28 

Don't hurt yourself.

rjones28 

Because it's game day on campus, the grandparents are here too.

WhyFi

Oh, it's others that need to be concerned.

abshipp 

I've had a headache all day.

Will a windy 30° ride help or make it worse?

​​​​​​Full story soon on your local news station.