Tim's Bike Blog

Whooops!

2011-12-02T11:57:00.001-08:00

First Snow

2011-11-12T15:05:00.000-08:00

We had our first snow last Sunday. It wasn't all that cold - hovering around 0°C - which meant teh wet snow was quickly packed down into ice by cars on teh road and feet on the pathways. It was a bit of a scramble to the the Schwalbe Ice Spikers back on the Yuba.

Amanda got a few pictures of us as we loaded up and rolled off to Irish dance class...

It's not so much the snow and cold and ice that I dislike about winter, it's all the extra junk to deal with when we get to a destination. Where in the summer when we get somewhere we have to carry three helmets and a couple pairs of cycling gloves and sunglasses - we now have to deal with three helmets, three helmet liners, three pairs of mittens and sunglasses, two parkas, two pairs of snow pants, two fleece jackets, my jackets, three pairs of winter boots, scarves and other sundry items... ugh...

And while the snow and ice does slow me down a bit... the time spent gearing up for every trip outside adds far more to the travel time.

Ah well... it's fun once we get going...

Carfree Chicken Cruises the Countryside

2011-10-21T18:17:00.000-07:00

New Critters on Bikes over at the Art Blog:

Carfree Chicken Cruises the Countryside

October Kidical Mass

2011-10-16T19:34:00.000-07:00

Talked to Bryn last week... decided we should get a ride going on this month since the weathers so nice...

We had a busy day Sunday. Amanda took the kids out to her parent and tot yoga class at Hot Yoga on 20th. Got back just in time for a quick lunch and then we were off!

Heading out to the ride - Finnegan in dance pants because we wouldn't have time to go home and change after the ride and get to dance class on time...

Bikes at Massey Park

Getting ready to roll.

On the Road.

Young O. following in teh footsteps of his older brothers...

I Bryn texting!?

Couldn't have asked for a nicer October afternoon... Wonder if we'll have one in November?

FLAT!!

2011-10-08T00:04:00.000-07:00

Earlier this week I have a flat on the Yuba on the way home from one of Finnegan's dance classes...
'
ran over a tack - probably on the way there - as it was pretty flat when we came out of the studio...

Ugh... getting dark and cold... I can't complain too much - at least it wasn't snowing or raining!? And we made it TO class without having to repair it... And we weren't hauling a weeks worth of groceries!?

I can't remember the last time I've had a flat on teh yuba... (or if I've even had any at all!?) Which is pretty surprising considering the loads I haul on that beastie!!

Autumn

2011-09-28T17:31:00.001-07:00

It's finally autumn and definitely feeling like it.

Just about every day we are off to one activity or another (almost all of them at supper time this year...).

So many leaves.

For so many years we had wormy things that decimated the leaves of trees - the leaves falling the last couple years have been overwhelming!

On the way home from violin we spotted a snake crossing the path in Victoria park.

I thin this is the third such snake we've seen this year. Usually they disappear into tall grass and are gone.

But the grass in Victoria park is cut very short and the kids were able to follow it for some distance.

Teh poor thing was probably terrified at first - but after a bit must have figured out that we weren't going to eat it and it sat still for some time allowing the kids to have a really good look.

The things we see when we ride our bicycles...

September Kidical Mass

2011-09-17T16:45:00.000-07:00

Though technically there's a week left of summer, it's really starting to feel like autumn... We couldn't have asked for a better day for our September kidical mass ride, though!

Tried a different starting location this time - the University of Saskatchewan campus.

Family Bike Tour 2011

2011-09-02T21:31:00.000-07:00

We’ve been talking about taking the kids on a short tour for a couple years now – mostly to engrain a sense of adventure and what can be done on a bicycle. They already know well enough what can be accomplished within the city limits, but we wanted to expand that horizon.

Finally Amanda just set a date, booked some cabins at Pike Lake Provincial Park, and that was that – we would go rain or shine!

Here are some pics of our brief tour….

(Remember: click on the pictures for a bigger version)

Loading up in the back yard.

On our way.

Many options were considered for how we would haul children and sundry items on said tour. Amandas favourite idea had us on the tandem, towing Finegan on the trailerbike, and Keira in the chariot trailer… I didn’t like the idea of personally having to haul the entire family AND all our stuff… Eventually we settled on me hauling most of our stuff and the girl, and Amanda hauling a few things plus the boy (who, in theory could help out a bit).

Keira.
Age: 5
Bike Tourist and Lady of Luxury

Keira was frequently telling me I should slow down and wait for Mom and Finn. I had thought of getting a rearview mirror – not just for seeing what vehicles might be coming up from behind, but also to keep tabs on how far back Amanda was… next time I’m getting one for sure!

Rolling down Valley Road.

Me and Squirrelly Girl

The ride is about 40Km from our door to the park. We did it in about 3 hours of riding (but there were a few breaks along the way…)

I swear I’ve never met anyone who had to pee more frequently….

We also stopped at a Deer Farm operated by someone Amanda knows. The kids got to feed some orphaned baby deer.

The also had a crazy looking (but very friendly) half-blind geriatric dog….

And a LOT of kittens.

Finally we made it to out cabin.

After supper we spent the rest of the evening reading Castle Waiting.

The cabin, it turned out was a good call. We kind of wanted to ease the kids into bike touring and camping and stuff. The first night there was a thunderstorm and it oured rain and hailed!

The next day we just spent hanging around the park.

Took a walk around the “nature trail”

There was a fair bit of Poison Ivy along the trail, which we thought we should point out to the kids - lest they go rolling around in the stuff.

Unfortunately, the thought of something "poisonous" that affected you if you simply touched it, terrified the girl....

...who spent most of the walk crying…

The boy was a little less concerned.

Later we made it to the beach and everything was much better. Lacking actual pails and shovels we furnished the kids with empty juice tetrapacks, and castles were built.

It was windy and a bit nippy… Amanda and I were sitting on benches in the relative shelter of trees at the edge of the beach wearing sweaters and windbreakers?! How the kids did not freeze I just don't know...

I have to say my childhood memories of camping and days at the lake in August are filled with horseflies, deerflies and wasps… On this trip I didn’t see a single one….? I definitely took note of this while we were there and thought it rather nice. Afterwards, however, this caused me some concern – wondering if that’s because they’ve been spraying mass amounts of chemicals to eradicate them…?! Hmmmm….

Second night, more rain and reading.

Day three we got up, cleaned up, packed up…

…and rolled on home.

We had a bit of a tail wind and completed the return journey in a bout two hours and twenty minutes (plus an hour and a half break at the Berry Barn where Amanda and the kids gorged themselves on waffles). (Also the only thing in Amanda’s panniers was empty juice containers…).

Overall I’d call it a success. No one was traumatized. I was a bit exhausted – I didn’t sleep so well on the fold out futon bed… But we’ll definitely try again next summer – maybe go for a couple more trips… stay a little longer…. Try tenting!?

Shawn and April

2011-09-02T20:14:00.000-07:00

(catching up on a little blogging...)

A couple weeks ago we played host to a couple bicycle travelers from Portland; Shawn and April - who are making a rather circuitous route across North America. I knew Shawn from waaaaay back in the comix/zine trading days in the 1990s. It was super fun to put a face and voice to the creator of all those Ten Foot Rule comix.

You can follow their respective bike tour journals at Urban Adventure League and April Likes Bikes!.

The day after they left we were off on our own little family bike tour - nothing so grand as Shawn and April's shenanigans, but it's a start! More on that in a moment...

August Kidical Mass

2011-08-27T14:08:00.000-07:00

Summer. Did yours make that disturbing WHOOOOSHing noise as it flew past...? Mine has...

Here we are at the August (Saskatoon) Kidical Mass ride - next week school kids are back to school, and we're back to... well... whatever it is that we do...

Here's some pics from the ride.

(Click on the pics to see a bigger version!)

Aaron marshals the riders

Alot of kids gearing to go! Isn't it awesome!

City councillor Charlie Clark and "the other Yuba rider" - Laura (and young Ella!)

Mike and Stella (who is, I think 3 years old and riding a pedal bike for the first time at a Kidical Mass - way to go Stella!!)

Bryn (and Oliver) and his (their) homemade longhaul cargo bike! Woot!

After the ride we picked up some groceries then headed downtown to the library to drop off some (overdue) books. The we hit Unreal City to see what books had been added to the $5 graphic novel sale!?

Amanda missed this ride as she was on an airplane back from Montreal - hopefully she'll have a post up on her blog about her pedalling adventures there, shortly!

I should have a post or two up this weekend (or next..) about some of our pedalling adventures this summer (I gotta do these right after the event or I just never get to it...) a family bike trip to Pike Lake... some bike tourist visitors... maybe some pics from the other kidical mass rides... stay tuned!

Finnegan's New Ride

2011-06-28T13:34:00.000-07:00

Woot! Woot!

We were out for a playdate in the park this morning and afterwards head over to Broadway to pickup some groceries... but before we did we nipped into the bike doc to see if there was any word on Finnegan's new ride...

As it turned out - when we walked in we were informed they had just phoned and left a message to say it was in and assembled.

With a few minor tweaks we were ready to roll!

handbreaks were a bit new - took some getting used to...

It took some time to find something that would work for us - there's not a lot of great bikes out there for kids. It's encouraging that there's a number of companies now making runner bikes - for kids to learn balance just gliding a long. But when they get to big for that... there isn't really much for them to graduate to. Almost all 12" and 16"wheel bikes (or at least ALL the ones I came across) are designed to be used with training wheels. Because of this the bottom brackets are crazy high (kids don't need to put their feet down because the training wheels are holding them upright, right?) so if you crank a seat down low enough for the rider to actually tough the ground with their feet - they get no leg extension at all when pumping hte pedals and look rather like they're trying to pick their noses with their kneecaps!?

Once you get to 20" wheels it seems the choices are - for the most part - BMX or Miniature Mountain bikes... all build like brick sh!thouses to take the severe kid of punishment that kids deal out hucking them off whatever they can find.... But what if you don't want to huck a bike around at the skate park or shred up the local trails...? What if you actually want to GO places... and go places... well... farther than the average person might imagine kids could...

When I was Finnegan's age "Ten Speeds" were all the rage and when I was 8 my folks bought me a "five speed" - a scaled down road bike with skinny (relativly) smooth tires... Where are those now!?

Anyway... I could rant all day... What we found was a 20" Townie. It's pretty sweet. Full leg extension AND can touch the ground. Gears for going up those hills (and bridges!) and it isn't a total tank!!

Finnegan liked the look of the green frame and the fact that you could more easily step trhough it than the all black "boys" version.

We probably will swap out the tires and seat on this one... and will some how need to rig up some method of carrying stuff (custom rack, perhaps...?)

Home safe and sound...

Saskatoon Kidical Mass - May 2011

2011-05-25T14:36:00.001-07:00

Just a few pics from the first Kidical Mass ride of the year...

Getting ready to go - Amanda thought she'd try out the Dahon Mu Uno that she won when she bought me a lifetime subscription to Momentum Magazine

On our way. That bikes getting mighty small for Finnegan (we got a new one on the way!) but he rode it all the way too the ride, through the ride, and back home... Quite the trooper!

Lots of kids, lots of bikes.

People still arriving...

Getting ready to go...

The crowd marshals

...and everybody gets going

quite a bunch...

I'd say it was the biggest ride yet.

Keira riding with her pal Sophie.

Because Keira did the ride on her runner bike - we were pretty much dropped and the others rode on ahead without us... so I didn'e ge ttoo many more pictures of the ride... ah well...

Caught up to everyone at the park.

Threw the runner back in the yuba bag, and the girl on the back deck for the ride home. It'd been a tiring day.

On our way home we stopped at the Bike Doctor to order Finnegan a new bike - more on that shortly! (hopefully!?)

Getting Around

2011-05-18T13:08:00.001-07:00

Everyone decided to ride their own bikes to violin lessons today...

Keira's still on a runner bike, but not for long, I suspect. Dang can she go FAST on that thing... when she wants to! It was a little cool and threatening rain when we headed out.

And tuck her legs up to coast down most declines... The river level is super high right now! standing waves and swirling eddies.

Luckily most of our routes consist of quiet backstreets and multi-use trails.

On our way home we had a lucky chance encounter!

Bryn was out test driving his new DIY long front-loading, cargo bike.

Looks pretty damn sweet!

did our usual stop at Steep Hill for groceries.

Then back down the bridge and home for lunch!

Banana Bunch Rides the Orangemobile

2011-05-17T18:32:00.001-07:00

a rainy day on our all-weather, go-anywhere, self-propelled fun-machine!

Amanda's Big Yuba Adventure

2011-05-14T10:52:00.001-07:00

While I've been hauling the kids around on the Yuba for about a year now (Including all through this past winter!), Amanda's not really tried it - preferring to haul them on the train. We've been having "issues" with the chariot of late, however, and so this morning she decided to roll out to dance and swim lessons on the great orange beastie....

Out the gate...

Loading up...

If it looks like no one is smiling, it's because they weren't. The kids were being their usual unhelpful selves getting out the door (and thus they were leaving late... as always...). Amanda's just back from a whirlwind work trip to Toronto and still fighting off a nasty cough/cold and was a bit nervous about hauling the kids on the beastie (especially up the bridge). Finally, just as they were just about to head out the door Amanda caught Keira scribbling on the piano with a pen...

Uh oh... I think I see someone cracking a smile...

Less than 100m down the road and everyone's smiling again. How can you not!? It's just so damn fun to ride together!

Spring-Like

2011-03-30T22:29:00.000-07:00

Finally some spring-like weather! Above freezing, melting, slushy-muddy streets, shorts, it’s all good. Kids are wearing less layers which gets us out the door quicker and makes everyone happy. Soon I'll be taking the studded tires off and rolling a little more smoothly.

(Remember: click on the pictures for a bigger version)

Amanda heading off to work Monday morning. It was still a tad chilly Monday... But she was still probably overdoing it with that balaclava.

More Geese.

Heralds of Spring

2011-03-27T08:44:00.000-07:00

Despite my previous announcement of the arrival of spring, we were within days treated to another dump of snow, followed by another week of -20°C weather. It has yet to rise above 0°C this week... They say Tuesday...

Anyway, last Wednesday, in the midst of all the returned snow and cold we headed out to the Library and as we toddled through snowdrifts along the riverbank pathway we spotted a pair of Canada Geese!

Unfortunately they both took off as I stopped to get out my camera...

With the warm weather approaching (or so they say...) I've been starting to think a lot about what to do for kids bikes... There's so few companies that actually make decent bikes for small children. Everything looks like the bastard offspring of a bmx and a mountain bike. Knobby tires, built like a tank and almost as heavy as MY own bikes... Also anything with wheels smaller than 20" seem to be built for use with training wheels. If you put the seat up to a reasonable height for a bit of leg extension there's no way the rider would be able to touch the ground with their feet. Lower the seat so they can touch the ground and they're picking their nose with their kneecaps!?

I've been checking out the Batavus catalogue as I know a year or so ago they had a kids version of their personal bike - complete with rack, fenders, light, and I think a three speed hub!? But when I click on kids bikes I get the following message: "De door u opgevraagde pagina kan niet worden gevonden" I'm guessing they are updating their website with he new years stuff... though it's been like that for a while. I've also been looking in on Fourth Floor Distribution (the Canadian/US distributor of Batavus - and a lot of other neat stuff...). They still have last years catalogue up and it doesn't look like they has any kids bikes last year...

sigh...

I may just have to settle for one of those tanks and find some smoother tires...

Spring Has Sprung

2011-03-16T12:26:00.000-07:00

From deep cold and blizzards to instant melt in a week... Not complaining. So nice to go out with the kids and not have to bundle them up like they're heading out to explore the moon.

With the return of warmer weather we will soon see a return of bike lanes (as through the winter they are either a dumping ground for snow ploughed from the road) or the road is so obscured by packed snow and gravel that people just forget they were ever there and use the extra metre of road space as "breathing room". With the return of bike lanes comes a Saskatoon spring/summer tradition I could do without: parking in the bike lanes.

This is actually a CBC van (you can see the camera man on the sidewalk). He was thoughtful enough to roll two wheels up onto the promenade so as to ONLY cover teh bike lane and not block any "real" traffic.

To be fair, he was probably assuming that since half the bike lane is submerged in murky brown water and the rest is filled with detritus from months of ploughing snow and gravel and rubbish off the road (into the bike lane) that no sensible cyclist would actually want to USE the bike lane....

Fear naught - they will be cleared of said detritus by June - just in time for them to be used as parking for all the summer festivals in the park...

Ice Cycle 2011

2011-02-07T12:11:00.000-08:00

a bit late, but...

Last Sunday was Ice Cycle 2011 a winter bike parade which was part of the Saskatoon Wintershines festival. This is the second year the even had been organized. (See post about last years ride: Ice Cycle 2010)

Just like last year, it was pretty darn cold…

This was the forecast when I got up… It didn’t warm up all that much by noon…

(Remember: click on the pictures for a bigger version)

Frosty morning… (actually I took this picture later in the afternoon while heading out to do something else… but you get the idea…)

Cool ice sculpture at Wintershines.

Amanda all kitted up. WE didn’t actually get a picture of me with the kids – it was super cold and we just didn’t hang out anywhere very long. Every time I stopped to take a picture Amanda told me to get moving – so I didn’t even bother asking her to take the camera and snap one of us…

Of course when she got home she said she was going to do a post on her blog and wondered if I’d taken any pics and if there were any pics of us on the Yuba… when it dawned on her that since SHE hadn’t taken any, then we probably didn’t HAVE any…

Luckily someone else got a great picture of the whole family and posted it on the weather network – you can see it here:

Wintershines at Weather Network

Bryn’s Cargo Bike and E’s awesome super-spiked winter bike.

The crowd begins to gather.

On the left there smiling in the green helmet is Charlie Clark our awesome ward six cycling city councilor!

The Mayor also came out with some words of encouragement. I thought he said something about planning to spend more for cycling infrastructure… which I thought was funny because I’m pretty sure he voted against increasing funding for cycling infrastructure projects… but… whatever… Nice of him to come out. maybe next year we can get him one bike and ride with us!!

Doctah Matt.

Ellen. How she rides in that jacket…? I don’t know. Just goes to show – whatever works!!

Some more festive participants.

Bryn and crew rolling out.

Robert (with the camera).

The ride – with the beautiful Saskatoon Delta Bessborough Hotel in the background.

We had police blocking every intersection for us as well as a car leading and following the ride (Thanks Saskatoon Police Service!). Too bad they didn’t have their bike cops out like last year…

Riding through downtown.

More of Downtown.

Cool bike.

Back where we started at the end of the ride.

The Red Ensign!

Red (I get to call him that, we're on a first name basis...) is responsible for this great video of the ride:

Anyway… good fun (if a little nippy). I think there was about 160 riders out. 225 had originally signed up, but -40°C weather is enough to daunt even some of the more “hard-core” riders… Already looking forward to next year!

Riding in a Winter Wonderland...

2010-12-28T13:42:00.000-08:00

Just a couple of pics Amanda took of me riding with the kids over to my folks on Xmas eve...

Hope everyone's had a happy holiday season and have a joyous and wonderful new year!

(oh yeah, new critters on bikes over at the ART BLOG)

Winter

2010-11-29T17:17:00.001-08:00

Winter is here again…

Short days, long cold nights, and snow…

(Remember: click on the pictures for a bigger version)

Oh, so much snow…

I can’t say I’m ever all that enthusiastic about the arrival of winter.

On the plus side the city did finally open the pathway behind the water treatment plant – so we can ride to my folks place almost entirely off the road.

I have winterized the Yuba with a pair of Schwalbe Ice Spikers. I’ve had good luck with the schwalbes – bot the Fat Franks that came on the Yuba and the Marthon Racers I kitted my getaround bike with this year (see review here: Schwalbe Marathon Race Review)

Hauled some groceries on Sunday…

With the kids…

Ran into Léo from the Saskatoon Cycle Club, out for a ride on a frosty, snowy Sunday afternoon!

Léo took a picture of the whole crew on the Yuba – groceries and all.

Usually if I’m hauling the kids I leave the bags behind – it gives Finnegan a more stable platform for his feet.

Looking forward to Ice Cycle 2011!

Portrait of a Family of Cyclists

2010-11-26T13:28:00.001-08:00

Just posted it over on the art blog... might as well post it here too... (it involving bikes and all).

Family Portrait 2010, November 2010, Acrylic on MDF, 81x59cm

Frosty (and Foggy!)

2010-11-13T13:28:00.000-08:00

Nipped out for a frosty-foggy ride to the Farmer's Market this morning.

REally wondering where all these cars are going to park once that empty lot is developed...?

It was slated to be developed as an "Ecovillage". Wonder if/when that's going to happen...?

Frosty wheel at the bike rack on campus when I hauled the kids there later for dance classes.

a rather tired looking Finnegan... late night (out at the Yevshan Ukranian Folk Ballet), early morning dance class...

Picking up the Kids

2010-11-11T16:15:00.000-08:00

After Violin yesterday, the kids went over to Grandma and Grandpas for a sleep over. late thisafternoon I was wondering where the kids were at and why they hadn't phoned to say they were heading home. Went to phone my folks only to realize the phone wasn't working...

They'd been trying to phone for a couple hours and thought I wasn't there.... Them being full worn out, and thus too tired to walk home as originally planned, I had to nip over and pick them up....

Off to Violin in the Snow

2010-11-11T12:10:00.000-08:00

Another bit of snow this last week... but I'm still determined not to start walking to violin lessons on Wednesday. Luckily by Wednesday most of the roads were clear of ice - but it was windy and cold!

Amanda happened to be home (off work to take yoga intructor workshops for two weeks) and was able to take pics of us as we set off.

All loaded up.

Too bad she wasn't around to get a pic of us returning with an additional $100 worth of groceries heaped on to the Yuba as well!

We took a slightly different route to get there (11th instead of 12th) so Finnegan could ride on the street as a few of the sidewalks had some ice on them.

Yuba: Good News/Bad News

2010-11-04T08:32:00.000-07:00

The good news is my new go-getter bag and bread rack for the yuba arrived the other day!

Loaded up to head out to violin lessons. Running a bit late so Keira will ride on the back of the Yuba (with her runner bike strapped to the new front rack). It's mostly uphill to the lesson and she goes painfully slow...

Keira perched on the back of the Yuba.

Finnegan riding ahead and Keira's bike strapped to the rack.

Here it is loaded up with groceries and violins (our wednesday morning tradition is to go to violin lessons and pickup groceries on the way home.

The bonus go-getter bag will hopefully help with balancing loads - not that I've ever felt all that UNbalanced... and the rack will add a bit more carrying capacity.

The rack kind of weirds me out. it's attached to the head tube and so doesn't turn with the handlebars/front wheel. This is very stable, but looks really odd as I am used to front racks turning with the wheel/bars. So odd I've found it a bit unsettling at times! I'm sure I'll get used to it...

I ordered both of the new accessories from Vancouver Long Bikes, a Canadian dealer/distributor of Yuba goodness. Friendly and easy to deal with. I'd definitely order from them again... if ever I needed more mundo stuff...

The bad news is...

as I was getting ready to head out the kickstand broke off... well... not JUST the kickstand, but the kickstand AND the mounting bracket... mutter grumble... Not sure when I'm going to get that fixed... luckily I think I know a few people handy with welding equipment...

Things That Warm My Heart (Part 2)

2010-10-30T19:41:00.000-07:00

A couple weeks ago while I was downtown with the kids at the library we arrived to find the bike rack full - and just about every immobile object within view with a bike locked to it!!

It was a friday afternoon. I'm presuming it was a class trip - which warmed my heart just a bit more because I certainly don't remember taking any class trips on bikes when I was a kid!!

Cyclocross

2010-10-28T11:28:00.000-07:00

On Saturday, as I was hauling the kids to their dance classes, I noticed they were setting up a cyclocross race in a nearby park. Got me thinking about cyclocross... and reminded me of this vid I'd stumbled across a while back:

Ridiculous

2010-10-28T11:21:00.000-07:00

I love this...

No ridiculous car trips from Martin Lang on Vimeo.

What's YOUR ridiculous car trip....?

Mine is kind of the opposite of what they were looking for; short trips that are really too short for driving a car (I've always walked or ridden a bike...). We lived on an acreage for a bit and I think it ridiculous, now, that we would live so darn far away from where we worked and did stuff that it necessitated owning a motor vehicle (or MULTIPLE motor vehicles...).

My sister, when we younger and still lived with our folks, drove my parents car three blocks to buy cigarettes at the 7-11 on Broadway... regularly...

Things That Warm My Heart

2010-10-24T16:18:00.000-07:00

...and help me believe that all is not lost for humanity...

It's fall.

It's 5°C.

It's pissing down rain all day.

...and the bike rack at the local Safeway is full...

(Okay so "full" amounts to five bikes... and there were scores of cars parked in the lot... but still...)

Violin Lessons

2010-10-23T18:41:00.001-07:00

For the last two weeks the kids have taken their own bikes to our violin private lesson. The round trip, including stopping on Broadway for groceries at Steep Hill on the way home, is about 7Km.

The first week Keira (who does the trip on her runner bike!) only needed a lift up the bridge. This week She rode on the back of the Yuba all the way there. We were running a bit late, and she seemed a bit tired and the trip is mostly uphill (of course that means teh trip home is mostly DOWNHILL!!)

Here's the gang loaded up to head out:

(Click on the pic for a larger version)

October Kidical Mass in Saskatoon

2010-10-23T17:47:00.000-07:00

Another Kidical Mass in Saskatoon. Might be the last one for this year... but then you never know when the snow's going to blow... so..

Our fearless leader/awesome organizer guy, Bryn, on the left there...

The marshaling area.

And they're off! (Young Ian rocking the ride on his runner bike!!)

Sam and Sophie

Good times were had by all. Big thanks to Bryn for baking the banana chocolate chip cake and organizing the hot drinks (and to whowever made those great cookies!)!!

September Kidical Mass in Saskatoon!

2010-09-11T12:57:00.001-07:00

(Remember: Click on the pictures for a bigger version)

Rolled out to the Kidical Mass ride for September this morning. It was kind of chilly (10°C) and a bit breezy and threatening rain... but out we went!!

Finnegan decided to ride his own bike. it was a bit of a haul - the round trip for him was about 11Km

Amanda hauled Keira around in the trailer.

At Massey Park

The Gang.

Starting out.

The Broadway Street Fair was on today and Broadway avenue was closed from 12th all the way to 8th! (In the past I think they've only closed the street as far as Main...). As we approached Broadway there was a considerable bit of traffic - people looking for parking or trying to skirt around...

Finnegan pretty excited about getting to ride on the ROAD!

Closer to Broadway - More Traffic!

Crossing Broadway Avenue.

Our handy sweeper taking up the rear - Thanks!

One of those "It's a small world after all moments..."

mr. awesome doing the ride on his runner bike!

The most important part of the whole adventure: SWINGING!!

heading home...

We hit the street fair, briefly, on the way home... Good fun! Thanks to all involved in organizing and, especially, to all that showed up!

Really...?

2010-07-29T13:29:00.000-07:00

So I took the kids to Put 'n Bounce mini golf today.

It was for Isaac's birthday party. I haven't been to Put 'n Bounce since I was a kid... A LOT sure has changed...

There's a big cool castle...

There's fountains and flowing waterfalls...

There was... well... an awful lot of signs everywhere telling people to stay off the grass... Seriously...!? The "greens" and pathways were so small that if you were in a group of... well... more than ONE(!?) and didn't want to stand in anyone's way there was no where to stand BUT on the grass...

Oh and there was a new big metal bar fence that looked invitingly sturdy and lock-up-to-able...

hang on... What's that on the fence...?

Oh... okay... well... where's this "bike rack"...?

Ah... apparently they still have the original bike rack from 25+ years ago....

That little yellow bit in the bottom right of the picture is a parking lot speed bump - so even a regular sized bike would have had it's back end hanging out into the main driveway of the parking lot, let alone a 4m bike train. thinking back I should have parked it there with the bike train hanging out the back completely blocking the driveway... It was someone else's birthday and I didn't want to cause a stink so I locked up half a block away.

If it hadn't been for a birthday I would have just left...

This is one of those chicken-egg things... they probably wouldn't even consider "upgrading" their bicycle parking facilities because... well... no one rides their bike there - never actually considering that the reason for that might be that's because there's nowhere to PARK there.

Putting that sign up on the fence makes me think that people have tried and that might have clued them in that their "bike parking facilities" suck...

Dean and Isaac

2010-06-28T09:49:00.000-07:00

Our riding buddies Dean and Isaac...

On their way home from a brief (and soggy) trip to the zoo.

It Can Only Get Better...

2010-06-28T09:00:00.000-07:00

I went for a solo ride out valley road this morning. First solo morning ride in a while. I've been riding two or three times a week with Matt or Susan. got going a little late so I only got to the Tuff Turf sign (which is about 15Km from my place).

As I was about to turn around I thought I saw a cyclist way down the road coming towards me. My assumption was that, at that hour, that far out of town it would be some other nutcase like me out for a early morning road spin. So I kept riding thinking I could ride past and see if it was anyone I knew, smile, wave, ride on for another Km, and THEN turn around. My second assumption is that anyone out for a morning road spin is going to be faster than me and so I wouldn't catch up. I'm okay with that. In fact I prefer that... I don't know what it is - maybe it's a guy thing. but a lot of guys that get passed suddenly think they're in a race and speed up, then they pass you... then they get tired... and then do you slow down so you don't have to bother with that silliness.. whatever...

Wasn't a roadie out for a spin. It was some scruffy looking dude on a mountain bike with big bags - going along at a pretty good clip with the wind at his back - headphones on (like big noticeable ones) and staring into the ditch.

I don't think he even knew I was there...

So I carried on for a bit, turned around after a kilometer and started to head back.

Then I saw the snake...

Poor little guy...

Caught up to the bottle collector.

Seriously, it there THAT many bottles being chucked out of cars...!? There's a guy out doing the same thing EVERY morning on our regular route when I meet up with the others!

There was a LOT of traffic as I was getting into town. I'm thinking 11th street must be cut off now as they begin to get ready to build all the new exchanges and approaches to the new bridge.

AS I was contemplating all this, just past the municipal landfill I thought I hit a bump and heard a click-click-click-clicking noise - obviously something on a wheel hitting fork or stays or something. My immediate thought was that the magnet or sensor for my computer had been jarred and were hitting each other. Upon examination of my front wheel I discovered this was not the case. When I had a look at my rear wheel...

SERIOUSLY!?

It was totally holding air, though. For a brief moment I actually considered riding it to see how far I could get (very brief... I'm not THAT stupid!). It wasn't until I pulled it out that any air came out.

Luckily I was in a pretty exposed area and there was a good bit of wind so the mosquitoes (which have been horrendous here lately after all the damn rain!) didn't eat me alive (unlike last friday when Matt flatted by Early's...).

Schwalbe Marathon Racer

2010-06-07T15:11:00.000-07:00

This spring I’ve had the opportunity to try out a pair of Schwalbe Marathon Racer tires (thanks to Ryan from Bicycle Smile and Schwalbe) and I LOVE them. This is the first set of Schwalbes I’ve owned. I tend to be a creature of habit – finding something that works and using the same product relentlessly until they stop making them or the product fails me. My usual tire of choice failed me last summer so I was willing to try something new. Sooooo wishing I’d tired these earlier!

The ones I have are of the folding bead, 700x30 variety. I do like folding tires. I’m not sure why. I’m generally not a weight weenie, but I do like tires that don’t make me feel like I’m driving a tank. I do notice that I can get going easier with lighter tires. These do not make me feel like I’m driving a tank at all.

The nearly complete lack of tread (I’m sure the grooves of the tire “tread” are just there for show to convince people who only know car tires, and are therefore afraid of slicks, that they will not slip out in the rain) also helps with the completely non-tank-like feeling by providing some really low rolling resistance.

If installing the first one had been as troublesome as the second I may have given up right then and there! Luckily the first one went on like a dream – seriously I’ve never had a folding tire straight out of the box go onto a wheel with so little effort! The second one… well... I’ll chalk that up to a cold early spring out in my chilly (unheated) garage – by the time I got to the second one both my hands and the tire were getting pretty cold and putting it one was… well… a bit more challenging.

I’ve been riding these since early spring and it’s been an odd spring here in Saskatoon. We’ve had a lot of late snowfalls (a few after I took off the winter tire and installed these). Not enough for there to be a buil up of snow or great sheets of ice like we have in the middle of the winter – but slippery enough for a few extra fender benders around the city for a day or two. We’ve also had a whole lot of rain! I have had no issues with tires slipping out or anything.

I have these on my get-a-round city bike, which I regularly haul a bike train made up of a trailer bike and a trailer with a kid on/in each – plus all the gear we need for wherever we’re going and/or picking up groceries on the way home. That’s a lot of weight to get going and a lot of momentum pushing when trying to slow down, but I have never had anything but solid contact with the road on these tires.

There’s also been an unusually large amount of gravel, rubbish and glass on the roads this spring – especially the glass. I’ve flatted tires on all my other bikes (at least once) – even both the trailer bike and trailer I tow behind my get-a-round bike! No problems with the Schwalbes so far.

Another nice little touch that I really dig – considering it’s my get-a-round city bike that I tow the kids around on – are the reflective strips that run all the way around the sidewalls. They REALLY light up – even when they’re as dirty as mine!! Not so awesome if you’re robbing convenience stores at night and using you’re bike as a getaway vehicle, but pretty sweet if you WANT to be SEEN at night!

Morning Rides

2010-05-19T11:15:00.000-07:00

Doctor Matt got me off my ass two weekends ago and we went for rides Saturday and Sunday morning.

Not TOO crazy early - met at 7AM-ish. I got all excited thinking I'd just carry on through the week. Then Amanda reminded me she was off to Ottawa for a week for a conference. As it's generally considered "bad parenting" to leave two very young children at home alone while you go out for a 1-2 hour ride, I went back to staying up late and sleeping in...

Amanda's back and I've been out for a couple rides. Both nights I had trouble sleeping waking up every half hour or so after 2AM. Listening to birds (and last night RAIN!) starting at 3:30 got up just after 4:30 both days as I just couldn't sleep anymore. On tuesday I went riding with Susan, this morning with Matt...

Damn, I'm tired.

But I'm going to keep at it - eventually I should get so tired that I will be able to get to sleep at a decent time and sleep all night, right?

Riding buddies are awesome!

Hauling Donkey

2010-05-15T09:01:00.000-07:00

A late Mother's Day present...

Last weekend I got out for a couple of morning rides with Matt. I got all excited thinking I'd just carry on through the week - getting up and going for rides from 5:30 to 7PM before Amanda gets up and ready for work... then she remineded me she'd be in Ottawa all week (I think the kids would be a little freaked out to wake up and find there were no parents in the house at all!)... So, maybe next week.

Cyclocross Moose

2010-04-30T15:17:00.000-07:00

Somehow I wildly misjudged the size this needed to be to fit into the frame. One would think after all these years I'd know how to operate a ruler...

In the picture frame most of the barricade and my signature are completely cut off and the top of the frame crops the top of the antlers and helmet... doh...

Ah well...

Sale day at Steep Hill

2010-04-18T09:23:00.000-07:00

On thursday the sun was shining and it was sale day at the Steep Hill Food Co-op. I always go a little overboard on sale day. This sale day was no exception. I'd even go so far as to say I really outdid even myself!?

Even though it was sale day (or rather BECAUSE it was sale day), I managed spend over $500 on groceries... and somehow managed to load it all up on the Yuba.

I have no idea how much it all weighed... but it was a LOT. I was a little concerned about climbing on myself, worried that if I hit a bump the whole bike might explode. I actually considered just pushing it home.

Ryan from Bicycle Smile just happened to be wandering by and took this pic of me as I was about to totter off down the road.

I did ride home in the end. I walked to the end of the block and got on and cut through a couple alleys to the top of the broadway bridge and things were feeling okay so I rode the rest of the way home. While i could certainly feel the extra weight the bike didn't feel at all unsteady or flexy -like it was about to break in two or anything- it's one SOLID bike!

April Snow brings NO PANTS!

2010-04-18T09:16:00.001-07:00

It's a beautiful weekend in Saskatoon... last weekend..? Whole different story!

Yeah, you read that right WINTER STORM WARNING!?

Undeterred, I refused to were pants...

I did however break out the wooly knickers!

Need New Bar Tape!

2010-03-30T11:05:00.001-07:00

I'm finally having to admit that the useful service life of my bar tape is coming to an end.

It was in an even more appalling looking state earlier in the week - tape on the tops pushed aside, exposed handlebar... I tried re-wrapping, and it doesn't look quite so bad... but it's totally shredded in places and only held together by a wad of electricians tape. I am going to need to replace it soon.

So what to replace it with...?

I've really loved those stripes and I seem to recall looking through some catalogues last year and thinking it's no longer available... but according to the the Cinelli website it still is...? So I guess that IS possibly an option. Have to hassle the local bike shops and see if anyone can get it. If not, maybe some solid colour - NOT BLACK (boring!) and not white (DIRTY! and boring).

Last year when I had to replace the tape on my fixey I tried some Soma Thick and Zesty bar tape...

It's alright I guess... Generally speaking I hate mottled bar tape - but Soma's made a couple that look like camouflage and actually look kind of cool. Took some getting used to. I think I prefer plain old cork though... (the thick and zesty tape is some sort of "special formulation of EVA (ethylene vinyl acetate)resin").

I've always wondered about Brooks Leather Bar Tape...? I wonder how it holds up to rain...? It must - the first time Iever read about it was in a book or article about touring and the author claimed that leather bar tape was a must for touring cyclists - and, obviously, touring cyclists are exposed to nasty weather conditions...

Hmmmmm... something to think about...

That First Road Ride of the Year

2010-03-13T10:35:00.000-08:00

I love the first skinny-tire-on-clear-road ride of the year. Up until that point it’s been months of fat and knobby on snow and ice and/or towing kid(S)…and you get on your bike and you feel like your going warp factor seven without even trying. No matter what your frame or what kind of kit you’re lugging along or how many pounds you’ve added during hibernation you just feel like your riding on air…

(Remember: click on the pictures for a bigger version)

I had one of those rides this morning.

I love that.

Clears the head of all that doubt and depression and despondence and revitalizes and rejuvenates and makes one realize things aren’t so bad…

It’s also good to get out of the city and do some distance! Makes the shorter trips seem like less of an effort… when I haven’t gone for a long ride for a while that 15Km return trip with the kids to violin group lessons on Thursday evenings starts to feel longer and longer and more and more daunting every trip.

A good little 50+Km roll in the countryside puts things all back into perspective.

15Km to group lessons towing two kids and three violins..? Pffft! That’s nothin’!

I need to start working in those 100Km Sunday Morning rides to Delisle out Valley Road again…

Hard to do when Amanda’s running longer and longer distances every Sunday to train for her marathon in June…

Thanks to Susan my riding buddy for getting me off my ass and out on the road again!

It's March...

2010-03-02T12:36:00.000-08:00

...and I'm tired of walking... and pants!

So I took The Youngster to his clay handbuilding class this morning on our bike. Next week I'm going to have to hook up the trailer to bring home all his treasures!

Also got to try out my new Bern Brentwood helmet (thanks to Ryan over at Bicycle Smile!). Finally a helmet that fits my GARGANTUAN melon (XXL-baby!)!! So nice to get to where I'm going and NOT have a headache and/or strange red patterned marks on my forehead!

Ice Cycle 2010

2010-02-07T16:51:00.000-08:00

Today was Ice Cycle 2010 a winter bike parade which was part of the Saskatoon Winter Shines festival.

It was pretty cold…

When I got up and saw the Environment Canada forecast I wondered if there’d be much of a turn-out… Then I though again and realized there’s plenty enough nut-cases out there that think nothing of riding in -35°C…

I had to swap a tire and a little hub adjustment out in the (unheated) Bicycle Storage Facility, which was a little frosty on the fingers…

(Remember: click on the pictures for a bigger version)

Rolling out to Ice Cycle 2010 with the family. I don’t ride much with the kids once there’s a lot of snow and ice – gets a little sketchy with the bike-train… (we walk or bus when we can't ride...). The ride, however, started and finished at the Farmer's Market, which is just a couple block form our house – and the route of the ride was just through downtown which is relatively clear of ice and mostly level.

Yup… all the usual crazies… and then some!!

Gerald from the Bike Doctor chatting with a couple of Saskatoon’s Finest – who came along for the ride too!

Doctor Matt and his daughter Aura.

I think that’s Tom in the orange…

So many people wandered up to me and started chatting at me and it would take me a minute to recognize the voice – because everyone looks so different in their winter riding kit… When you ride with people enough you learn to recognize them by their kit… but I haven’t been riding with people much lately.

For example…

That’s Corey Neufeld (from The Better Good) under that mask!

No helmet... not even a toque! and no brakes…!! Yikes!!

I hears someone saying there was about 190 cyclists out... at this point I think I was in about the middle of the pack...

That’s Jamison in that funny hat – from the City of Saskatoon Infrastructure Services – transportation… making the city just a little more bicycle friendly!

Mr. Dixon

Stopped at a stop light.

Though sometime we didn’t have to…

Jan and Ken.

At the end of the ride there was Hot Chocolate and other stuff going on but we had to roll on to other activities later in the afternoon..

The three Browns on the bike train… or the “unschool not-so-bus” as we sometimes call it…

Big thanks to all the organizers! I hope this turns out to be an annual event!!

First ride of the New Year

2009-12-31T23:47:00.000-08:00

Amanda and I rolled out to our friend Darrin's for a New Years get together.

It's a good 6-7Km to his house.

It was -33°C (with a windchill that made if feel closer to -40°C...).

I probably wasn't quite so well dressed as I could have been. I can't remember the last time I felt so cold. Oi!

Touring Camel

2009-12-24T06:26:00.000-08:00

SSSSSHHHHHHHHH!

Don't tell Amanda! (I just finished her Xmas present - I know, cutting it a bit close, but that's how I roll!)

Happy Holidays everyone! Stay warm - for those of you residing in cooler climes (like me)... or... stay cool - for those in more tropical climes (so not me!). I hope you all have a joyful and prosperous new year, free of tire punctures (I said "hope", we can always HOPE!).

More Critters on Bikes

2009-11-01T17:49:00.001-08:00

Here is the next batch of paintings in the “Critters on Bikes” series that I have been painting for Amanda…

Can you guess which month I started them in…?

Like the Others these are all itty-bitty... like 3.5x4" or so...

Yuba Again...

2009-10-17T10:26:00.000-07:00

I've been having a lot of fun riding the Yuba around and looking for just about any excuse to do so. I noticed in a flyer that there was a "spend $200 get 250 airmiles" at safeway last weekend... Now I don't really care about airmiles all that much... or Safeway fro that matter... But Amanda does get excited about such things so I pointed it out to her and off I was sent to push teh limits of what we could haul!!!

Heading out in the snow.

Here's the cartload of stuff I bought and had to somehow load on to the bike... Now I'm thinking having two bags or boxes semi-permanently attached would be really handy when trying to load this up with large loads. I could have put one bag in each keeping it fairly balenced as I loaded it. Instead I had to load up the one side, holding the bike up with my leg. Then, once the Yuba bag was loaded up I turned it around and leaned it against the wall while I loaded up the Bob Bag and then strapped it on to the bike. In the end it didn't end up all that well balanced. It wasn't a huge deal for handling, but whenever I stopped I couldn't just use the kick stand - it would just tip over...

All loaded up.

I was going to type out the list of everything I got to give you an idea of how much exactly I was loaded up with.. but I'm too lazy... Let's just say there was at least 22 litres of apple juice and soymilk... Which is 22kg right there (almost 50lbs). Then there was bags and bags of frozen peas and corn and blueberries...

Back home...

Snow

2009-10-17T10:22:00.001-07:00

This past week we've had a bit of snow... It's mostly gone now, but it was annoying, chilly, and wet, and I just wasn't ready to start walking of taking the bus, so I said "Snow be damned" and carried on as usual. Luckily it wasn't actually very icy when we had to head out...

It was a sign of things to come, however. I guess we best get ready for more of it pretty soon...

Damn....

2009-10-08T17:23:00.000-07:00

(Click on the picture to see a larger version)

Time to dig out the boots and bus tickets... I don't the The Train is going to work out as a four season transport...

CVT’s Mobile Support Team

2009-10-04T23:09:00.001-07:00

My friend CVT is training for the New York marathon next month. He took up running in March. This weekend he was visiting, along with another friend from the Edmonton area, and was planning to do a 28km run on Sunday morning. CVT has never run 28km before – though he did do a Half-marathon earlier this summer. Terry and I decided to tag along for inspiration (or consternation), encouragement and heckling…

(Remember: click on the pictures for a bigger version)

From Left to Right: Terry, CVT, and me with spatula for extra encouragement (and possibly splinting)!

CVT and Terry around 6Km?

Me and Terry around 7Km – taken by CVT who was running backwards!

Me and CVT at about 8Km

CVT at 17Km – the dude is a running machine with a heart like an Ox.

He had started out running 10 minutes, the walking one... then it was more like running 20... then thirty... by this point he had more or less given up on the walking and was just running!

In the home stretch – CVT and Terry at about 26Km

CVT and Terry at 28Km!

Grand total: 28.2Km in just over three hours.

CVT and his Mobile Support Unit.

If only we could go to New York with him! Ah well, he’ll do fine and there’ll be no shortage of folks cheering him on.

Way to go CVT, you are an inspiration to us all!

Yuba Mundo

2009-10-04T22:47:00.000-07:00

On Thursday I picked up a Yuba Mundo…. I know what you’re thinking; “ANOTHER BIKE!?” But seriously… this is the first new bike I’ve bought in… uh… over four years…? And I did drop one from the stable last year; the Cannondale Cross Bike that I stripped of parts to set Amanda up with a Soma Double Cross…

Though I’ve been eyeing up cargo utility bikes for years I wasn’t exactly in the market for one – but I kind of stumbled into a sweet deal on a barely used one at a price we just couldn’t refuse…

Anyway I took it out to get groceries on Friday… just to try it out… You know how it is… Considering I only needed a few things it was totally overkill.

(Remember: click on the pictures for a bigger version)

The new cargo utility mule.

In the end I bought more than I really planned on getting… just to try out loading it up a bit! Unfortunately loading it up with so damn much stuff on just one side seriously affected the handling… I’m going to have to get another bag or bin of some sort for the other side for future hauls… More on the Yuba later…

Hmmmmm… How to hitch up the Bike Train to this beast…?

CVT's New Ride

2009-10-01T18:56:00.000-07:00

In August my pal CVT from Edmonton was in town for a visit and while he was here we wandered into a couple bike stores just to have a look...

He walked out of the Bike Doctor with a Cannondale System Six...!?

We went for a ride out valley road that evening and he just kept riding away from me... (show off...)

Instead of painting the shed the next day... or building bookshelves... we went for another ride... Amanda may have not been too pleased, but just look at the smile on that dudes face! And that, my friends, is why I LOVE bicycles...

Bikes=Good Times!!

(Not Quite) Devil's Night Alley Cat

2009-09-29T23:28:00.000-07:00

OOOH! OOOH! You heard it here first (or... maybe not...) - Ryan from Bicycle Smile is organizing another Alley Cat which will be (not quite) on Devil's Night! how do I know...!? because I did the poster/spoke card!!

I think I might have to ride in this one...

or maybe I'll just give out candy...

Library on Twentieth

2009-09-14T20:39:00.000-07:00

We rode the bike train over to the new branch Library on Twentieth to pick up a few books I'd requested....

There sure was a lot of space to park cars....

....an important consideration for a branch library in a less affluent neighborhood in the city's center.

There is no bike rack at all... but fear naught!!

.... we found a place to lock up nevertheless...

Amanda Took the Train

2009-08-21T14:51:00.003-07:00

Well she HAULED the train...!

(Click on the picture to see a slightly bigger version)

The other day Amanda tried hauling the kiddie train for the first time over to their grandma and grandpa's house. It's only a kilometre, relatively flat-going, and little traffic.

I'm not sure she's ready to haul them all the way to the zoo or anything just yet... but it's a start.

Sunday Ride to the Berry Barn

2009-07-19T13:44:00.000-07:00

This afternoon we rode out to the Berry Barn to meet up with my folks and uncle and his family. It was the longest trip we've taken yet with the Bike Train.

We has a north west wind which was nice for getting out there. I think it took us about an hour.

On the way back we had a 28km/h gusting to 46 km/h head wind to contend with.

Finnegan was a little trooper and helped out a lot on the way back.

It took an hour and forty minutes to get back...

Corporate Rat Race Alley Cat

2009-07-15T22:22:00.000-07:00

Ryan from Bicycle Smile put on another fun Alley Cat Race this evening - Below are some pics from the check point I was sitting at. Unlike the last one where pretty much everyone came all at once the racers were pretty spread out over a forty-five minute period.

(Click on the pic for a bigger version)

Minnehaha Canvas Utility Pannier

2009-06-18T06:40:00.000-07:00

Along with the Minnehaha Medium Saddle Bag reviewed last month (which rocked!) I also had the opportunity to try out a pair of Minnehaha Canvas Utility Panniers.

These, like the saddlebag, are stylish lookin’ canvas and leather bicycle panniers. They sport a pair of hefty metal hooks to attach the pannier to the top of your rack and an equally sturdy metal D-ring on an adjustable leather/bungee combo strap to hook on the bottom. It has a beefy leather strap (no pun intended) wrapping over the top of the flap, with a sturdy steel buckle on another beefy strap coming up from the bottom to fasten down the hatch and secure your load. I really love that there are no zippers, plastic buckles or Velcro on these – all of which eventually fail through wear and/or breakage. The metal hooks are considerably heftier than ones I’ve had on other bags that eventually got beaten and bent out of shape after years of use. These seem like they might last longer.

A lot of the same initial impressions and apprehensions I had about the saddle bag applied here too. I dug that they are made out of natural materials that I could theoretically compost after its service life. Well… MOSTLY natural – there are big high-density polyethylene panels in the back and on the bottom to prevent sagging. I was concerned about waterproofness, and, despite the hefty straps and buckles, I was a bit concerned about the long-term durability of the canvas. The waterproofness was proved to be not so big of an issue. When soaked with water the fibres in the canvas expand and the contents of the bag stay more or less dry. Depending on how much stuff you had in it I could see water getting in the top of the bag, but if one were expecting a serious downpour they could always line the pannier with a plastic bag. As for the long-term durability… well, only time will tell…

Now, I have to admit I’m not currently much of a pannier guy for everyday use. Panniers are great for touring and if you’re commuting to a job where you’re going to stay all day and not have to carry it around for any length of time. That is so not me. I more or less “work” out of the house and when I am going out, which is fairly regularly, I generally have to take a great deal of stuff and when I get to where I’m going I have to carry around whatever I’ve got with me – sometimes for hours. So these panniers didn’t really work out for me. Even if I could cram all the crap I generally cart around with me into the two of them, it would be a pain carrying them around for extended periods off the bike. So this may have coloured my overall impression of them.

Amanda helped me out with the testing of these as she DOES commute daily by bike to her job and always uses panniers.

One thing the bag really did have going for it – that none of panniers I’ve previously owned had – was a pair of solid d-rings on either side of the top back that a shoulder strap could be attached to. So if one were a bit more of a minimalist than me (or didn’t have to carry crap for two kids in addition to what one has to carry for themselves… like me), and could carry most of their necessities for a single day in just one pannier, they could quite easily carry the pannier around as a rather elegant looking shoulder bag. Well… a lot more elegant than most of the panniers I’ve owned.

At first they looked a bit smallish to me, but that was probably just comparing them to my absurdly HUGE messenger bag and some of the deluxe “world tour” panniers with piles of external pockets we have. These actually hold a surprising amount of stuff. A single one could easily carry a binder or sketchbook, magazine and notebook, a lunch, a water bottle, a small tool kit and assorted tubes, a u-lock, a jacket and a tire pump….

When I used them for hauling some groceries I stuffed a 10kg (22lbs) bag of flour in one and eight 1L tetra-packs of juice with a handful of other sundry items and room to spare in the other.

As mentioned there are no external pockets and there is a single internal pocket for a wallet, keys and pens or similar smaller items. That’s fine if you’re not going to be going into the bag regularly or you’re good at “action packing” – keeping most frequently needed items where they’re most accessible. If you love lots of pockets to organize all your stuff, you’re out of luck.

To paraphrase Henry Ford – You can have any colour you like, as long as it’s black. Great if you’re ninja, not so great if you want to be seen. Black’s not my personal favourite, it gets warm in the sun and shows dirt and if you have a big fluffy dog that sheds a lot of long white hairs (like we did until very recently…) they will be forever covered in them!? But it does give it an… I don’t know… refined look…?

Further to the visibility issue – if you’re concerned about such things – there are no big reflective strips or panels sewn onto the bag. They did come with a pair of tag-like reflective strips on a loop of bungee material that could be looped through the d-ring on the side of the bag. They are utterly useless, seemed like a bit of an afterthought, and I wondered why they bothered to include them anyway. I suppose if someone was concerned they could add some other sort of reflective material or attach some solid reflectors.

The shape of the bag left something to be desired. Most other bags I’ve had tended to taper a bit more at the bottom – on at least one side – to allow for foot clearance. Both my partner Amanda and I had foot clearance issues with these bags. Amanda is small and commutes on a rather small framed mountain bike and even with the panniers as far back as they could go she was still having to adjust her footing to not have her heel striking the bags. I get around on a large-ish touring bike with a long wheelbase and fairly long chain stays and even I had clearance issues. If I did move them as far back as possible it wasn’t so bad, but in that position they still had occasional clearance issues when packed full of odd shaped things and they couldn’t be put in that position when I had my son’s trailer bike hooked up and it interfered with the hitch/post attachment. Minnehaha suggests that a variable height rack may solve some of these issues, but I would think that would just raise your center of gravity and potentially make your bike slightly less stable.

A lot of more “modern” panniers have some sort of quick-release locking mechanism that, rather than just hooking over the top of the racks tubing, also has something that locks them into place from below. These do not. If you’ve ever been loaded up and hit a bump or pot-hole at high speed and had your panniers eject off your bike in traffic… well you get to appreciate those sorts of things. These ones never came off, but I wouldn’t recommend any such non-locking pannier for extreme off-road use… (or even excessively bump on road use at speed!)

Also almost all other panniers I’ve used had some sort of lateral compression/cinching straps to help stabilize your load. I quite missed these – especially on one trip with a pannier that was half filled with a heavy load that shifted about constantly. Something like this may have also helped with the foot clearance/heel-striking issue…?

I really wanted to love these bags. They look great. They seem simple and durable – not much can go wrong with them. The lack of pockets, high tech materials and a lot of the other “bells and whistles” found on other panniers just add to their elegance (they DON’T scream “STEAL ME, I’M EXPENSIVE!”). But they just didn’t work out for us as an everyday utility pannier.

I do still want to try touring with these. I’m hoping to get out for some short tours this summer with the family and I think they might work pretty good on a front rack.

This review was originally written for Bicycle Smile

Rubber Side Down

2009-05-27T07:15:00.001-07:00

Last night I went to the Saskatoon screening of Rubber Side Down: From the Rockies to the Rock at the Broadway Theatre. This video documentary is about two fellows, Greg Mailloux and Vin Heney, from Windsor Ontario who rode 8000km from Victoria BC to St. John’s Newfoundland in the summer of 2008 to raise awareness of and funds for the Crohn's and Colitis Foundation.

I LOVE stories of bicycle touring, especially journeys across Canada – something I’ve always wanted to do. This well crafted video excellently portrayed the trials and hardships of such an epic adventure as well as their wonder at the ever-changing topography of Canada. One day they are struggling through mountains, the next they are cruising across the prairies. One night they are camping on a roadside in rural Ontario, the next they are in downtown Toronto.

I could relate to their feeling that the hardest thing was getting up and getting back on the bike each morning and that despite being in bear and cougar country their biggest worry was the massive tractor-trailer units hurtling down past them on narrow mountain roads at 100kph! Also the in-the-now timelessness - forgetting what life was like before the journey - there being only the road (and all the beauty one can see from it), the bicycle and oneself.

Their tour was completely unsupported - they carried everything with them on their bikes and camped where ever they could. Despite all their mishaps (flat tires, broken spokes and OH THE RAIN!) it seems they had to keep on a pretty tight schedule to make various awareness/fundraising engagements. Most of the filming was done with two cameras they carried with them.

I was surprised by how few people were at the screening. I expected a few more of my fellow Saskatoon bike geeks to be in attendance. I have to admit I didn’t exactly help out in spreading the word – and now kind of wish I had. I often feel like I’m out-of-the-loop and if ever I’m aware of something like this going on then EVERYBODY must know about it!

There have been a few screenings across Canada and the last one listed on the website is in Coquitlam, B.C on Friday, May 29th, 2009. If you missed it you can sign up on the website for information about when the DVD will be available to order – I already have!!

Minnehaha Seat Bag

2009-05-26T06:25:00.000-07:00

Last year I got back to doing some distance cycling. At least once a week I’d do a ~100 km trip. I had the idea that I’d like to do some longer rides too – a century or some longer randonées. For longer rides I thought I might want to carry just a bit more stuff than I could carry in my regular seat bag. A pannier wasn’t an option because the bike I use has no braze-ons for a rack. The short version of a story - with the potential to get way too long very fast – is that a long search ensued and the solution to my kit-carrying woes was provided by Minnehaha Bags.

The Minnehaha Medium Saddle Bag is a very functional and stylish lookin’ leather and canvas traditional bicycle saddlebag. It has a beefy leather strap (no pun intended) with a sturdy steel buckle to loop through the rails of your saddle and a second shorter strap with buckle to loop around your seat post to stabilize it.

Strap through the saddles rails

Strap around the seatpost

I’ve only managed one test ride with it – even though I’ve had it since February (Sorry Minnehaha! Curse You Saskatchewan Weather!) – and already I’m in love with it. It’s not about to see everyday use. I probably won’t even use it for shorter (less than 100Km) trips into the countryside. Not that it couldn’t be used for everyday use, I just happen to prefer a shoulder messenger-type bag to carry my everyday gear about, and for shorter rides I just don’t need to carry that much stuff… But from now on this is definitely my bag of choice for any longer expeditions short of a full-on camping/touring trip!! I’ll probably even use it as an extra bag on any camping touring trips!

Here’s what I managed to pack into the luxurious 10L of cargo carrying capacity – just to give you an idea of what you might be able to cram into one:

Camera
Keys
Wallet
Wool Vest
Windbreaker
3x Cliff Bar (Cool Mint Chocolate)
Small First Aid Kit
Extra Water Bottle (700mL)
Spare Tire
4x Spare tubes
Tire levers
8/10mm wrench
15mm Wrench
Multi-Allen Key Tool
Small Multi-tip screw driver
Chain-Breaker
Couple Extra Links of Chain
Tire Levers
Small Note Pad

(Uh, yeah... I guess I kind of took that whole Boy Scout "Be Prepared" motto to heart...)

All loaded up!

Even with all this stuff I didn’t exactly have to cram it all in. I could easily have stuffed in another half-dozen or so Clif Bars or tubes if I ever really thought I’d need them!? Also, if all that wasn’t awesome enough, there are four D-rings on the top of the outer lid to which I could lash on my jacket (or other things), which would free up more space inside for some PB&J sandwiches… or whatever!

One of my main concerns was moisture. The leather was dealt with by the liberal application of Proofhide (Brooks Saddle’s leather conditioner/preservation stuff). The canvas is untreated and I wondered why they had not made it with waxed or oiled canvas or some similarly treated material? When I think of untreated cotton and water I think of wet t-shirt contests (c’mon, like you don’t…) and the old phrase “cotton kills” – the furthest thing from waterproof, takes forever to dry once wet, and just not a material one seriously considers for serious outdoor use. I should have known better…

Well, for one, this is far from t-shirt material! I did a little research into the treating and waterproofing of canvas. While I found a nice recipe for treating canvas involving soy bean oil and turpentine that I might try out, many sources indicated that cotton canvas WAS waterproof. Once it gets wet the fibres swell up and, in theory, won't let water through. I have to say I was still somewhat suspicious. Although, when I thought about it, I did have a canvas tent when I was young and stayed relatively dry in it through some pretty fierce storms. I seem to recall it had a much tighter weave to it.

On the morning of my first trial ride, I got up to grey skies. At first I was a bit bummed (who wants their first ride of the season to be in the rain), but then I realized this might be a perfect opportunity to see how well it does in the rain (there really is a silver lining to every cloud…)! Well as it turned out I managed to dodge all the rain falling about the land and arrived home bone dry, only to have it start pouring rain a couple minutes after I arrived. So I dumped out all my gear and loaded it up with a couple of towels and hung the bag out in my yard in the pouring rain – just to see…

Well it POURED rain for over and hour! I checked the bag as I was heading out for the afternoon, the lid was soaked but the flaps underneath and the towels within were still completely dry! The rain was tapering off but I left the bag out in the yard in hoping it might rain some more. It didn’t. When I returned in the early evening the bag had completely dried out!

I thought afterwards for a more “realistic” test I could have set up a water sprinkler underneath it as well to simulate spray from a tire… Ah, well..

Minnehaha suggests using Nikwax to treat the canvas. I think I’m going to leave it as is for now, but I might try out the soybean/turpentine recipe at some point…

One of my other concerns is the quality of materials and craftsmanship. The bag is quite soft to the touch and I somehow associate soft with not-so-durable. I bought a pair of canvas sneakers last fall and they are already shredded. The bag was also made in China and I generally associate stuff made overseas with lesser quality materials and poor craftsmanship. The bag seems sturdy enough, but then, so did my shoes. These are just hunches based on personal prejudices, only time and use will really tell. I was wrong about the waterproofness… So, hopefully I will enjoy watching the leather darken and the canvas fade over years of dutiful service.

On they subject of durability though I do have to note that there are no zippers or Velcro on this bag. These are the things that always wear out and fail on all other bags I have owned, leaving them essentially useless and fit to be tossed in the trash. A buckle is pretty low tech and not much can go wrong with it other than getting bent under load. The ones on this bag seem pretty darn sturdy. I imagine they could very likely be cut off and reused on a another bag when the rest of this bag reaches the end of its service life and is cast into the compost bin (another reason why natural materials rock!)

One thing I did notice while riding – and this may be due to how much stuff I had in it and the geometry and set up of my bike – but the back of my legs touched the bag with every pedal stroke. It didn’t impede my pedaling in anyway, nor did I find it annoying, I was just very aware that it was there, and I imagine that might have the potential to bug some people.

Also, again due to the bike I was using and its particular angles and set up there wasn’t a lot of tire clearance. This wasn’t an issue until about half way through my test ride when I got to some moderately steep climbs and had to get out of the saddle. The bag rocked back and forth with each pedal stroke which, being heavily loaded, threw me a bit off balance and caused a couple wobbles. Once I got used to it (three pedal strokes later), it wasn’t a big deal. However, due to the lack of tire clearance, the bag sometimes rubbed against the tire as it rocked back and forth. Not terribly annoying, but it did get the bag a bit dirty. If this carried on for too long, or repeatedly, it might create some wear issues. On a touring or similar bike with fenders and/or a rack this wouldn’t even be an issue.

Tire clearance

Overall this bag rocks my world and I am looking forward to some long rides this summer with everything I could possibly ever need carried neatly out of the way on the back of my saddle in my sweet Minnehaha Saddle bag! The only thing that could have made it better was if it was a handlebar bag – for easier access to stuff while on the bike… Maybe Minnehaha will make one of those someday!

(This review was originally written for Bicycle Smile. Thanks to Ryan at Bicycle Smile and Minnehaha Bags for the opportunity to try out their bags!)

Back to the Skate Park

2009-05-18T10:23:00.001-07:00

Amanda’s been moaing about getting out to the Skate Park for weeks… but there’s always been convenient excuses not to. I think she really does want to get out there, but is nervous about having lost all the skillz she learned last summer over the winter… I’ve tried to reassure her it’s just like… well... riding a bike…

So this holiday Monday morning I went out and gassed up her tires and sent her on her way. Me and the kiddies went to watch for a few minutes but didn’t stay long as it was grey and windy and bitterly cold - +1°C and wind 40KKph, gusting to 60Kph!!! In MAY!?

(Remember: click on the pictures for a bigger version)

With a smile like that she can’t be having too bad of a time!

She didn’t quite get up the nerve to drop into the fishbowl today but I thought she was looking pretty smooth… Certainly not nearly as rigid and petrified as she was her first time out last summer!!

The Bike Train

2009-05-05T10:02:00.000-07:00

…or Finnegan’s New Ride.

Last week we went and tried out a Trailer Bike my friend Don’s kids have grown out of. Finnegan was super excited! We tried it out around the block and then rode it all the way home.

The next day we rode it, along with Keira in tow, all the way to the zoo. Nothing like starting with short trips to try things out. The trip to the zoo, including a side trip to Steep Hill Food Co-op to pick up some groceries, was about a 23km round trip…

Here’s some pics of the new set up…

(Remember: click on the pictures for a bigger version)

Just leaving the zoo.

Stopping by to visit Amanda on the way home.

The Bike Train in action!

We have a bit less cargo carrying capacity with this set-up.... I guess I could put Keira back in the two-seater chariot, but I figured the single would be lighter to tow and offer less wind resistance. I figured I'd be doing most of the pulling of both units.

Finnegan actually helps out quite a bit. He's very clever and attentive - he watches when I'm pedaling and pedals when I do. I never even suggested that he do so, he just started doing it on his own. (I can tell because he has a loud freewheel and a small wheel so it buzzes when he's not pedaling).

More on this later, we’re going for a ride now…

Better Late than Never – Tim’s XC8 2008 Report

2009-04-24T11:59:00.001-07:00

Last fall I rode in my first ever Mountain bike Endurance event. XC8 - 8 hours of mountain biking over an 11 kilometer course of some of the nicest singletrack I’ve ever ridden. Well, at least in this province, anyway.

It was actually the third mountain bike race I’ve ever been in. The last one was about four years ago – the year I got the 1FG - I rode the Bruce’s Silverwood Classic in Saskatoon. Before that, probably another four years, I did a race at Blackstrap Provincial Park on the Super-V. To tell you the truth it’d probably been two years (or more) since I’ve done ANY trail riding at all. In fact, until mid-August, the 1FG had been hanging in the garage for over a year in a un-rideable state of disrepair!?

So why on earth would I sign up for such an event…!? I don’t know…. Something about ultra-endurance cycling events have always fascinated me. Somehow I imagined that a whole different type of endurance would be required – beyond just the physical – a special sort of determination or stubbornness. I may not be fast, but I am a stubborn bastard, so I thought I might be more suited to this sort of event. Stubborn, but not deluded! I had no delusions about winning or actually even doing “well”. But I figured I could ride for eight hours and finish.

I particularly like the idea of the 8/24 races – where you are simply trying to do as many laps around a course in the given amount of time - as all the participants finish at about the same time. With a randonee or a marathon mountain bike race of sixty or eighty or however many kilometers there will be people finishing HOURS ahead of some other riders… so either the leaders could potentially get bored waiting around for everyone to finish… or the later riders miss the wind-up/Awards and prized ceremonies, etc…

So I’ve wanted to participate in one for some time. I’d really like to do a 24-hour event at some point. Every year there’s been an 8 hour event in Saskatchewan I’ve though about doing it, but it just never seemed to work out – didn’t have the time or money or whatever, or more recently had kids! This year I just decided it would be the one thing I do (and then maybe some ‘cross races…). It would be my one weekend of vacation – away from it all…

I just about had to abandon my plans about a week before when a nasty infection I’d had earlier in the year brought my “training” (if you could call I that..) to an abrupt halt. Luckily I caught it a bit earlier than last time and was able to “nip it in the bud”, so to speak, and not require a second round of emergency surgery! Everything was more or less cleared up just in time for the race.

I seem to recall it was threatening to rain all weekend. There might have even been weather warnings on Environment Canada’s weather website. In the end it was almost perfect weather for the event not too hot, not to cold.

I pre-rode the course Friday evening in the fading light. There wasn’t a whole lot of flat. It seemed to either be going up or down at all times. The park is beautiful and has some really great trails. I think the course was about 11km…

On the day I rode for the full eight hours (well, stopping each lap to have a bit of a break – load up some more liquids, eat a PB&J sandwich, etc…). I completed five lapsand I wasn’t dead f@#king last…

results

As the last finishing singlespeeder, however, the smart-arse organizers had a special prize to award me – a rear derailleur and shifter. Thanks a lot…

I was pretty damn tired afterwards. Not so tired that I couldn’t’ drive the rental car most of the way home. I also wasn’t quite a sore as I thought I might be the next day. One thing I noticed about riding a mountain bike for a long period of time versus a long road ride is that I wasn’t nearly so sore at the end of eight hours on the mountain bike as I sometimes am at the end of a four hour ride out on road. This is probably because the whole body is constantly moving and shifting to keep rolling over the ever changing terrain – whereas out ont eh road things get stiff and sore from being held in the same position for hours on end while only the legs spin. Of course I also took a bit of a break every hour and a half when I finished a lap – something I never do out on the road…

Here’s a few pics of the event. I carried my camera along with me during the pre-ride and the first three or four laps and stopped every once in a while to take a pic (catch my breath…). Amanda also had her camera. When I went to download them iphoto told me there was 127 pictures to download. “WOW!” thought I, “There’s sure to be a few good pics there!?” As it turned out about one hundred of those pics were of our new dog, Ollie, twenty were of the surrounding countryside, and about seven were of the start/finish area…

Well, anyway, here’s a couple of pics from the big adventure.

(Remember: click on the pictures for a bigger version)

This, along with the next few, I took on my pre-ride the Friday evening. It’s a beautiful area to ride.

Lots of nicely groomed trails.

This stump reminded me of paintings by Ernest Lindner …

Despite the area surrounding being quite flat there were some incredible climbs and descents.

A rock… hmmmm … Looked cooler on the day…

The network of little valleys just goes on and on…

The “Le Mans Start”. I'm at the back somewhere, walking. My plan was to let everyone go ahead of me so I could ride alone and not worry about passing and being passed. I was "pacing myself" so I could ride all day...

It worked out for most of the first lap I pretty much rode alone. Moments after I passed through the start finish area after my first lap the race leader powered through, having just completed his second lap!! After that there was a steady flow of people passing me... Though 11km is a long course and people got pretty spread out. So most of the day I rode alone.

On the first lap I caught up with someone that had snapped their chain - likely shifting under load. I don't think she even knew what a chain tool was, let alone how to use one so I stopped and fixed her chain for her.

Me, grabbing my bike and not looking forward to that first big climb.

One of many nasty climbs. I wonder if the race leaders actually rode up these… or did they RUN!

The camp site and the start finish area in the distance. Off to the left is the start of the big nasty climb.

Finishing my first lap… about five seconds before the race leader came through, finishing his second!

A person I knew climbing up behind me slowly enough that I was able to get my camera out – Susan Clarke!

Ugh… that climb… Of the pictures Amanda took of me half of them were just like this looking at my ass climbing that first big hill.

Yeah, that chick’s riding a cyclocross bike. I could only have been more impressed if it had been a SINGLE-SPEED cyclocross bike. Just goes to show – you don’t need suspension if you have the SKILLZ!!!

That’s the race leader he lapped me every time I was in the Start/Finish area…. Except the last time, he caught me just after the big climb. In the end he did nearly twice as many laps as me (NINE!!)

Tori “the Bee” Fahey– buzzing past me in the Start/Finish area. Also the author of the observatori blog.

The Duck

Since she took so damn many pictures of the dog I thought I better include one or two…

So, this is Ollie. He is dumber than he looks.

It was definitely a whole lot of fun. Would I do it again? For Sure! Well… some day… probably not this year – I’m on a bit of a budget. That’s really the only reason I wouldn’t go – Car rental, gas, food, race license, entry fee… it all adds up.

Yo Mama Earth Day Alley Cat

2009-04-23T11:11:00.000-07:00

Ryan from Bicycle Smile organized another great Alley Cat this week to celebrate Earth Day. Sort of…

I volunteered Amanda and myself (and the kids) to help out. I was sitting at the top of Diefenbaker Hill giving out the spoke cards, while Amanda and the kidz were at our house stamping race sheets with out bicycle stamp.

Here’s a few pics:

(Remember: click on the pictures for a slightly bigger version)

The view from my location/checkpoint on top of Diefenbaker Hill. A lovely view of the sun setting over the municipal landfill and the Q.E. Power Plant… Ah… Earth Day…

Now I figured that everyone would ride around the road and up the hill on the south side. That’s what I would have done… The first fellow that showed up, however, came straight across the field…

…and clambered up the stone terraces on the east side of the hill...!! Bless him for thinking outside of my narrow little box of an idea!?

Pretty much everyone else showed up thereafter and followed his path…

I think I heard someone in this group saying “do we have to take our bike up there…?”

It was kind of funny watching everyone hurling themselves up the rack walls to get up here

I think that run up the hill nearly did some of the participants in.

And run people did !

This fellow showed up a bit later - after the first main bunch. He went around the north end and carried his bike all the way up the hill!

I think most participants headed to my location first. So most came by between 7:20 and 7:40… then there was a bit of a wait….

My there’s a lot of garbage on the top of that hill…

Maybe if there’s an Earth Day Alley Cat next year Ryan can give them all a kitchen sized garbage bag and tell them to go to Diefenbaker hill and fill it with garbage…?

This was the last trio to show up at the hill. I was about to pack it in at 8:15 when I saw them enter the park…

I think I heard one them say “will you please come down” Despite their politeness, I didn’t…

Meanwhile, over at our house Amanda and the kids were busy stamping races sheets.

Apparently the kids had a great time stamping the race sheets. The girl's fingers were still covered in green ink when she got up this morning.

When I got home the boy was still awake – he was vibrating with excitement and asked me when the next race was!?

Everyone seemed to be having a great time.

Most seemed to be traveling with groups of friends.

Fun was the order of the day – rather than any sort of “serious competition”

I love the diversity of gear and equipment used in these events.

I think Amanda said the groups showing up at her location were pretty evenly spread out over the hour as everyone took their own route around to the various locations.

The boy asked me this morning who won... I have no idea... You can probably find out in Ryan's report at Bicycle Smile..?

This fellow lost his sheet – it looks like the girl is not sure if she’s supposed to actually stamp the makeshift piece of paper he had everyone at the checkpoints sign…

Ryan’s got some more pics of the event on flickr

Thanks to Ryan for organizing another fun event, and the other volunteers who helped out and thanks especially to Dakine for providing some sweet prizes!!

More Paintings

2009-04-20T12:23:00.000-07:00

I finished up a couple more paintings for Amanda (it's her birthday tomorrow... shhhhhh!). Hopefully she won't be checking in on my blog before then... she rarely does.

The colours kind of look funny (well.. different) on the screen... Ah well...

The original are quite small, they're ~3"x4.5".

Dean and Isaac's New Ride

2009-04-14T05:35:00.000-07:00

(click on the pic for a bigger version)

Our good friends Dean and Isaac have a new set up for this spring - a trail-a-bike! We hooked up with them at the Zoo last week. In the week or two since they got it Dean said he's used the Car once - Isaac insists on going everywhere on his new bike. Apparently the first thing he said when he got it was "Finnegan needs one of these!" He does indeed...!

Now the bike geeks that are looking closely will have already noticed that the trail-a-bike is a geared variety, but dean's machine is a singlespeed....

Sweet.

Back in the Saddle Again

2009-04-05T11:17:00.000-07:00

I just couldn't take it anymore... Last Thursday I took Finnegan to his violin group lesson on the bike. Saturday I hauled both kids around all day to dance and gymanastics classes. Monday I took Keria to her new dance class. Tuesday I took her to her last music class. Wednesday I hauled them both to Finnegan's Violin lesson. Thursday I hauled them both over to Dean and Isaac's, stopping at Steep Hill on teh way home to pick up $150 worth of groceries (after discount - it was sale day!) THEN hauled them both back over to the violin performance evening. finally Friday I hauled them both out to Simone's to play with Claire and Evelyn.... and i was feeling pretty good... until I spent a good chunk of the day Saturday just sitting around (while Amanda, being back from San Diego) took then to their Saturday activities... Saturday night... MAN, DID MY BUTT HURT!!!!

Taking Keira to Dance class on Monday - all snow and ice - but that is now (finally) disappearing rapidly!

One thing I notice was how dusty it is... I don't think I ever noticed that in the spring before. There's been so much gravel spread on teh roads throughout the winter. With each passing car a cloud of fine dust is thrown up into the air. monday was the worst - there wasn't much wind and the dust just hung over the Broadway Bridge - going up that bridge with every breath my mouth felt like it was filling with mud....

Anyway... back at it. Hopefully have some more time to post again soon.

Amanda went to San Diego and all I got was these two pics of fixeys....

2009-04-05T11:12:00.001-07:00

Well... better than a kick in the junk I guess...

At least she can recognize a fixey to take a picture of it! (bless her little heart!)

I think she said she like the look of this one best. Except for that whole "no-breaks-thing".

Funny that neither were locked up...

Frames

2009-02-13T13:24:00.001-08:00

Two years ago Amanda got a pile of picture frames of Xmas. I think my mom got them for her, she had pointed them out to her. They sat for a year. The following Xmas she put them up on the wall – with the silly “photos” that came in the frames – a very happy looking family in black and white… She hung them up thinking they would motivate her to fill them with something. They hung there for a year. You wouldn’t believe how many people asked if it was Amanda’s sister and her family… So this past Xmas I decided to take it upon myself to start filling them with things…

(Remember: click on the pictures for a bigger version)

Bison on a Mountain Bike – this was her Xmas present. I snuck it into the frame Xmas eve after she had gone to bed. I thin it was Finnegan that finally pointed it out to her.

Snake on a Recumbent – This is her Valentine’s present. I just hung it up. We’ll have to see how long it takes for her to notice it this time… Probably one of the kids will point it out…

Winter Cycling

2009-01-28T16:59:00.000-08:00

It's been a while, huh...? four months on and I still haven't posted the pics and half-written report from XC8. I haven't exactly been riding much. A nasty combination of surgery, snow, and children put the kibosh on that for this year...

Anyway, this is sort of fun and mildly cycling related... Amanda asked me to make a cake to take to work for a friend of ours that she works with... well indirectly... She's a cyclist and did her doctoral research on Polar Bears, so here's what I came up with...

Now I'm not about to take orders here - but if you're local and need a birthday cake for a bike geek, I may just be your man!

Hopefully, as we approach fairer cycling weather I'll get a bit more enthusiastic and post here a bit more...

08 AGM Cross

2008-09-21T21:00:00.001-07:00

This past weekend was the AGM cross – the first Cyclocross race of the year, always held on the Saturday before the Sask Cycling Association’s Annual General Meeting (Which this year happened to be in Saskatoon!).

This year the race was a fundraiser for the CIBC Run For The Cure for the Canadian Breast Cancer Foundation (the weather was nice and the course was easy so in reality there wasn’t that much “RUNNING”… but, whatever…). There were prizes for best costumes and the bike/Rider with the most pink on them.

I wasn’t feeling much like riding so I hauled the kids across the city to watch and cheer on Amanda! I don’t have piles of good pics because I was mostly shooting video… and I filled my damn card n the first 10 minutes of the race and then had to figure out how to delete stuff!?

One of these days I’ll figure out how to knit the clips together and add text and a soundtrack… bt for now here’s a few of the pics I took

(Remember: click on the pictures for a bigger version)

Riders marshalling… in the wrong area… Look at all that PINK!?

The women waiting to start. Amanda’s hiding in the back.

I don’t know who this was but she had a crazy, crazy dress on… earlier I had seen her riding around in some white… I don’t know… Go-go boots? Which would have been cool if she raced in them… but she apparently decided to ditch them before the race started…

Kevin “the machine” Williams. Damn that guy is FAST!

Kevin again. Not sure what the hurry is everyone else is miles behind…

Not sure who that is in the Bike Doctor jersey… they all look the same… but I think that’s Susan Clark in the background. She’s a speedy one too!

Amanda approaching a barricade. (Don’t worry she’s not about to crash into it, she’s going quite slow at this point…)

UP! UP! UP!

This guys rocks my world! I met him a couple weeks ago, and I totally forgot his name. Sorry, dude. Anyway, that’s a pretty wicked singlespeed he’s riding! YEAH-BABY!!

Can’t be suffering that bad… She’s smiling! Ah well, that’s what it’s all about right? Having “fun”?

Mr. Stephen Cooley. Another damn fast rider. I can honestly say, however, that in the last cyclocross race I rode in I beat Stephen to take the gold medal at provincials in 2005 … in, uh, Cat 5… the, uh, first year he was racing… and, um, well, really, it was only because he broke his chain and there was no one else riding in Cat 5…. But a VICTORY IS A VICTORY!!!

Erica Musyj in her dollar store tutu.

Amanda on her second last lap.

Amanda recovering post race with part of her cheering section. Amanda was Dead Last - but she won a Run For the Cure Umbrella for being so very, very PINK! (which was handy because she lost her only umbrella at the movie theatre earlier this summer....) YAY AMANDA!

I dunno… I suppose I should probably show up for a few races this year… since I went and bought this silly racing license thing and all… Guess I’ll have to get out and practice a bit…

Last Month Or So…

2008-09-21T20:15:00.000-07:00

So… what HAVE I been doing for the last month or so…!?

Not so much riding, to tell you the truth…

You might remember back in early July I was off the bike with a nasty infection that required some emergency day surgery that was decidedly un-fun! Well… it came back… Two weeks before XC8 - which I had really been looking forward to all year…. This caused me much distress as I had visions of another trip to the emergency OR and being completely unable to go.

On the plus side I actually got into see my doctor right away (a miracle in itself) and sort of nipped it in the bud before it got out of control and needed another trip to the emergency room. The downside is that it’s probably going to be a recurring pain in the arse (literally). I saw the surgeon again a couple weeks later and he confirmed that I will probably need to go under the knife again – and this time the procedure will be a little more… well… “Invasive”?

Anyway the whole episode just took the wind right out of my sails. That, coupled with an intensely busy fall schedule for the whole family and rapidly shortening daylight hours, has made it hard for me to get motivated and back in the saddle again.

As it turns out, I did, however, make it to XC8.

More on that in a moment...

Amanda at the Park Again

2008-09-21T19:55:00.001-07:00

Over the week I actually got out to see Amanda riding in the Skate Park for the first time in months. When she goes out there I usually stay home with the kids. Can’t really take the kids over there because they just want to run all-over and get in the way of everyone… Well Amanda’s mum was visiting and so I had an opportunity to get over there kid free to take some pics and see what she’s been working on.

I have to report she is MUCH IMPROVED!!! Just goes to show a little practice can go a long way. As does having some good coaching – she has had a fair amount of encouragement and advice from “Coach G”! Thanks G!

(Remember: click on the pictures for a bigger version)

It’s funny, she’s had this bike for a couple years now, and a least once a year, when we’re over there together, she would stand on the edge of the bowl and say “I would NEVER go in there…”

Now, not only can she go in….

…but she can get back out too!

I took a bit of video the couple times I was there. I just have to figure out how to piece them all together and throw some cool tunes in the background and then I’ll get those up here somehow…

WEEK FOURTEEN

2008-08-25T09:27:00.000-07:00

Well at least there’s some pics with the “training diary” this week…

Date: Monday, 18 August 2008
Time: 1:13:53
Distance: 17.75km
Temp: 30°C
Conditions: Sunny but getting dark
Notes: An evening ‘cross ride with Ryan, Seth, Fraser and Steven. It a tiring ride after a long, hot, tiring day. Not sure how I benefited… other than burning a few calories… Which, considering the state of me, is reason enough, I guess…

Lacking energy to ride I played “cameraman” (Oh, I got a new camera…)

(Remember: click on the pictures for a bigger version)

Stephen and Ryan heading into “the sand pit”.

Sad that this is the only sand around that we have to practice in…. Stephen is powering through… Ryan is losing it. Screw it, I'd just run it!

Done.

Fraser powering through.

Ryan again. It was dark. They were going fast…

Stephen going really fast.

Seth is the man.

The dude.

I had set the alarm to get up and ride in the morning but was so hurting from the night before I just couldn’t get up… Considering the forcast for the week (HOT!), morning rides might be the way to go. I will have to find the motivation…

Date: Tuesday, 19 August 2008
Time: 41:26
Distance: 8.94 km
Average Speed: 12.94kph
Temp: 18°C
Wind: SE 8kph (not that it matters in the deep dark bush)
Conditions: Sunny (not that it matters in the deep dark bush)
Notes: Sunrise was at 5:57, I left the house a couple minutes later for an early morning trail ride. I rode the singletrack down by the water on the east bank of the river, starting at the Broadway Bridge and carrying on a bit past the University Bridge.

I was hurting when I got up but ibuprophen helped me get through the morning.

I saw a porcupine up in a bush munching on the foliage… or the sticks… or something… He’s in there, I swear – take a really close look.

I also saw some Beavers. This one scared the dickens out of me when he jumped off the bank and slapped his tail! This picturesque scene was just when he came back up.

He didn’t think too much of me still being there so he dove back down with another big slap of the tail!

Later in the morning I rode out, hauling the kids behind me, to visit with Simone and Claire and Evelyn. I came back in the early afternoon stopping at Safeway and Steep Hill. ~20km. It was 36°C….

Date: Wednesday, 20 August 2008
Ride #1 Morning Trail Ride
Time: 39:35
Distance: 8.51km
Average Speed: 12.89kph
Temp: 19°C
Wind: What wind?
Conditions: some clouds
Notes: Short but sweet (if sweet=painful). At least I’m getting up and getting out… I did a few more climbs today and rode over one thing I had to bail on yesterday… so that’s improvement, right?

30 Ball Crunches, Back Extensions on Ball, Leg Raises, Push-ups. ow.

Did some errands with the kids in the afternoon. Enede up having to go all the way to Stupidstore on 8th… ~17km. it was 30°C when I got home… oi…

Evening ‘Cross Ride
Time: 1:14:23
Distance: 18.34km
Average Speed: 15.49?kph
Temp: hot to cool (maybe 27°C to start, 20-ish by the time we got back)
Wind: There was a breeze…
Conditions: cloudy
Notes: I really wasn’t looking forward to this ride. By the time I got to Diefenbaker I was beat. But after a little tooling around I sort of perked up a bit. It got nice and cool (compared to the heat of the afternoon) and even started to rain a bit just as we finished up and I felt pretty good by the time I got home. Tired, but good. We didn’t do any dismounts – because I’ve seriously pulled some muscle(s) in my groin and it is painful to attempt a high-speed re-mount. Mostly tight cornering, zig-zagging through trees and sprints across bumpy grassy fields and tearing around, up the hill a couple times and tearing around on a loose sometimes gravel – sometimes woodchip path… Good fun in the end.

Amanda, still not so keen on the steep descents on the ‘cross bike chose to walk this one.

Ryan again, and his cool Karate Monkey. Karate Monkey. I just love typing "Karate Monkey". Karate Monkey.

Amanda again.

Date: Thursday, 21 August 2008
Time: 36:19
Distance: 8.48km
Average Speed:
Temp: 14°C
Wind: huh?
Conditions: some clouds, mostly sunny.
Notes: This could have been a “rest day”… I begged Amanda to go out to the Skatepark this morning – but it turns out she was even lazier than I. So I eventually drgged my ass out of bed and went for a morning trail ride and it turned out to be just fine. I just got to get my ass out of bed and on the bike…

40 Ball Crunches, Back Extensions on Ball, Leg Raises, Push-ups

No other riding today. I did wa’l downtown with the kids for Story Time at the library. It’s been a while. I really had to take back the heaps of overdue books - it's really bad, they're sending us letters.... This is what happens in the summer when the regular routine gets so disrupted... ugh....

Date: Friday, 22 August 2008
Time: 1:02:52
Distance: 14.26km
Average Speed: ~14kph
Temp: 9°C
Wind: N 35kph
Conditions: Cloudy, dark and cool
Notes: I met Ryan at the Broadway Roastery and went for a morning trail ride out Gabriel Dumont/Diefenbaker way. After a week of 30°C+ temperatures 9°C and a 35kph wind out of the north seemed damn cold. It was hard getting out of bed!

It’s been a while since I rode the trails in those parks so it took some exploring to find them. Some are quite overgrown, some to the point of being unridable. Most of them are very steep so we mostly pushed up through bush and then rode back down…

40 Ball Crunches, Back Extensions on Ball, Leg Raises, Push-ups. They were harder to day. I will lay off on them over the weekend when I’m doing some longer road rides. I need to stretch more.

Out to the zoo with the kids (~20km). Met up with Dean and Issac, and Simone and Claire and Evelyn.

On the way home we rode by the scene of a nasty crash. The black SUV on the back of the tow truck t-boned the grey car still sitting in the intersection. The other side of the grey car was totally crumpled…

Date: Saturday, 23 August 2008
Time: 2:28:50
Distance: 61.60km
Average Speed: 24.8kph
Temp: 11-17°C
Wind: SW 13kph – WNW 8kph
Conditions: Sunny
Notes: So tired. The first 20km or so I felt like I was asleep at the wheel. Like I could just fall over into the ditch fast asleep at any minute.

What is WITH this intersection? EVERY time I go by there’s a train, or, as in this case, if there isn’t, the barrier comes down and lights light up and bells ring anyway… just to spite me… seriously, as I came around the comrner on to Dundonald Avenue the bells started clanging and the arms went down and I said to myself some foul things along with “You’ve got to be kidding…” Apparently it was. As I approached the crossing I could see no train in either direction and by the time I got there the arms lifted up.

I did just miss a train on the way back though…

Some cows out on Highway 762

Too soon after I got back I had to haul the kids over to a birthday party for one of Amanda’s co-workers. +10km

Date: Sunday, 24 August 2008
Time: 2:46:14
Distance: 69.17km
Average Speed: 24.97kph
Temp: 9°C – 18°C
Wind: ESE 11kph – SE 24kph
Conditions: Clear
Notes: On teh way out I jsut cleared the crossing before a train came through. On the way back I just missed a very long train as there were at least two dozen cars and trucks lined up on either side of teh crossing that were just getting going as I arrived...

Here's where I go riding. I love it. Of course, I just love riding....

I am a hurting unit. There have been no rest days at all this week. I’ll definitely have to take one tomorrow.

Still I hauled the kids over to Kinsmen Park to play at the kiddie pool. Then over to Grandma’s for her Birthday party (part 2: the sequel). +8km

My backside is aching and I’m worried it might be infected again. Of course EVERYTHING is aching… so maybe it’s nothing more than general aching from over-work…? Gosh, I hope so. It would suck to have to go into emergency for a little more slicing and dicing just before THE BIG RACE. Actually, if it came to that, there’s no way I could do the enduro. Which would suck, because I’ve been pretty pumped about it for pretty much most of the summer. I could give ‘cross season a total miss, but I’d really like to do the enduro…

So looking forward to a rest day…

WEEK THIRTEEN

2008-08-17T19:30:00.001-07:00

Wow… This blog is getting pretty boring, eh? I’ll try and get something up this week beyond the “Online Training Diary”

Date: Monday, 11 August 2008
“Rest Day” if you call hauling Finnegan to music “camp” on campus, riding over to Preston Crossing back to Broadway and then back to campus to pick up the boy and sprint home to make supper restful… well… ~20+km

Date: Tuesday, 12 August 2008
Once again, a “Rest Day”, which, once again, involved hauling Finnegan to campus, over to Preston Crossing (forgot to get batteries, but it turned out they didn’t’ have them anyway…) and back over to London Drugs on 8th (they DID have batteries). Back to Campus, over to Broadway, and back home. ~20km.

Date: Wednesday, 13 August 2008
Time: 45 minutes on trainer
20 Ball Crunches, Back Extensions on Ball, Leg Raises, Push-ups (hey haven’t done any for weeks…)

This was okay. I think I could get into this through the fall and winter every morning for a bit. Get out for some longer rides on the weekend or in the occasional evening… in addition to the general getting about by biking or hiking…

I watched Bootleg Sessions V.2 (borrowed from Ryan, THANKS!) Wow… Imagine a BMX video… flatland, park riding, whatever… now imagine it all done by skinny dudes in tight jeans on fixed-gear road machines… narrow flat bars, no brakes… It was insane.

Once again, out and about in the afternoon. This time I hauled both over to the new apartment where my folks are staying right downtown and dropped off Keira. Hauled Finnegan across to Campus for Music Camp. Rode over to McNally-Robinson in the rain. Rode around to a couple more stores down 8th Street (Tramps, Teachers Trunk, Wesgate Books, Safeway), Then back to pick up Finnegan and then Keira and then home… ~20km?

Evening Ride
Time: 1:20:52
Distance: 18.95km
Average Speed: 14.95kph
Temp: cool
Wind: not bad
Conditions: overcast and rainy from time to time.
Notes: I went out for a CX ride with Ryan and Amanda in the evening (grandma and grandpa came over to put the kiddies to bed). I met Ryan over at the Broadway Roastery. Made our way to Diefenbaker park, set up a little circuit, did some mounting/dismounting drills, came home in the dark.

Date: Thursday, 14 August 2008
Wow… I set my alarm to get up and either get on the trainer again or head out to the park to practices mounts and dismount on the cross bike for an hour. I really, really need to work on the mounting… but I was so damn stiff and tired (oh so tired…) I just couldn’t get up…

More hauling kids around and running errands…. ~15km

Date: Friday, 15 August 2008
We’ll call this a “Rest Week”…

More hauling kids around and running errands…. ~15km

Date: Saturday, 16 August 2008
Time: 3:54:42
Distance: 100.96km
Average Speed: 25.8kph
Temp: 23°C
Wind: SSW 24kph
Conditions: Sunny!
Notes: Into the wind on the way out, tail wind on the way back. Nothing to complain about..

Rolled over to Broadway to pick up some groceries. +5km…

Date: Sunday, 17 August 2008

Ride #1 Morning Road Ride
Time: 70.14km
Distance: 2:58:05
Average Speed: 23.6kph
Temp: 22°C
Wind: NE 22kph
Conditions: SUNNY!
Notes: The opposite of yesterday. Coasted (such as one can on a fixed gear…) on the way out, suffered on the way back. I cut the ride short to get back in time for Amanda to go out to the Skate Park before it got too busy. There was a lot of runners out on the road!? Something I haven’t really seen out that way before. Nine on Valley road, and one on the Pike Lake road (with a friend riding along beside her on a bike…) I got a flat! After I finally got it sorted out I rolled down the road another kilometer or two and stopped to take a picture with my new camera. Someone stopped to see if I was okay. Yeah, dozens of cars pass me while I’m crouched at the side of the road with my bike apart

Ride #2 Evening Trail Ride
Time: 14.22km
Distance: 1:04:12
Average Speed: 13.2kph
Temp: 21°C
Wind: E 11kph – not that it mattered down in the bush…
Conditions: SUNNY! In-your-eyes sunny…. The lighting conditions on the trail were terrible. I’ll try clear lens next time I ride in the evening just before sundown.
Notes: So the other day I actually fixed my mountain bike - the 1FG? – It’s been out of service for a year…. The last time I rode it was for Bike Polo. It’s probably been two or three years since I’ve ridden it on the trails… Wow… The skillz have faded… It’s a good thing I went out tonight – it was and eye opener and will serve as motivation to get out EVERY DAY for the next three weeks (you know… before XC8!? The 8-hour endurance, mountain bike race I’ve signed up to do solo….). I know what you’re thinking… “this guys either HARD CORE… or a dumbass…” – and let me tell you it’s a fine, fine line…

It was just an hour out to the end of G2… I could probably do this in the mornings before Amanda gets up to go to work…. I have to sort out some sort of plan for the week…

WEEK TWELVE

2008-08-10T19:43:00.000-07:00

Having been inspired by Heft On Wheels by Mike Magnuson, I thought all I got to do is start cycling like a maniac and… uh… Well he started, he started cycling like a mad bastard and quit smoking and drinking and I seem to recall he lost his first 30 pounds in a month or two… Of course I think he was riding a couple hours a day, six days a week… Anyway, I’m ahead of the game I’m not nearly as huge as he was to start with, smoking and drinking? Never done it… What are my vices…? Licorice and root beer (I am the most boring person you will ever meet in your life). That’s it, all I have to do is cut back on the licorice and root beer and ride lots and the pounds will just come FLYING off!

Well it hasn’t quite worked out that way… Oh I have been losing a bit of weight – about a pound a week. I stopped standing on the scale a couple weeks ago because I was getting a little depressed about it. I tried to cheer myself with the delusion that I’m simple building muscle faster than I’m loosing fat… or something like that.

Anyway, there’s NO WAY I was going to live on three protein shakes a day like mike did to shave off the next thirty or forty pounds. I was loath to even have to start counting calories or weight watchers points. I did have a look at what I eat this past week and I have to admit I eat HUGE breakfasts. Like a massive bowl of cold cereal with soy milk – it’s usually some sort of Organic Nature’s Path whole cereal… but as often as not I also mix in some Nature’s Path organic kiddies cereals (Koala Krip – crispy rice with cocoa and sugar… or Leaping Lemur’s – chocolate and peanut butter flavoured organic corn puffs…) or if we’re out of cereal or milk I’ll have, like, four to six pieces of toast with heaps of peanut butter and jam…. Breakfast: it’s the most important meal of the day, right? Oh and from time to time I make a big batch of pancakes sure it’s all organic and I mix in tofu – but let’s face it pancakes are just a vehicle for the consumption of maple syrup… lots and lots of maple syrup…

So I replaced the traditional massive breakfast with two apples and a banana and tried to cut back on the between meal snacking…. And bippity-bam, at the end of a week, Tim’s under 200lbs! BOO-YAH!

I’m not sure about what to do next week. I’ve been having a hard time getting up earlier in the morning with it staying darker later and I really need to work some mountain biking into the “training schedule”. Some “specificity”. Say that five times, fast!

Here’s how the week went:

Date: Monday, 4 August 2008
“Rest Day”. Really, I don’t think I went anywhere today…. Might have been working on Der Übersandbox…

Date: Tuesday, 5 August 2008
Another “Rest Day” – spent most of the day waiting around for sand to arrive. Then I spent the evening shifting 10cubic yards of wet sand from my back lane into the yard… I did nip out in the morning up to Long and McQuade and bought a violin…. ~20km?

Date: Wednesday, 6 August 2008
Yet another “Rest Day”. I did roll over to Broadway and haul $500 worth of groceries home… 5km

Date: Thursday, 7 August 2008
Yet another “Rest Day” – I did take the kids out to the zoo and then rode over and bought another violin for Finnegan, then rode to the Safeway at the “Centre at Circle and 8th”, then to broadway to pick up some laundry soap I had left behind… probably 30+km hauling kids, groceries, etc…

Date: Friday, 8 August 2008
Time: 2:31:12
Distance: 61.29km
Average Speed: 24.32kph
Temp: 31°C
Wind: SE 22kph, gusting to 33kph
Conditions: blazing sun
Notes: A ride in the late morning/early afternoon. Damn it was hot.

I fixed the 1FG today (which has been out of commission for a year now… sad…).

Date: Saturday, 9 August 2008
Time: 2:53:20
Distance: 71.78km
Average Speed: 24.84kph
Temp: 20°C
Wind: SE15kph
Conditions: Cloudy – Light rain
Notes:
The forecast, when I woke up, of “A few showers with thunderstorms ending this morning then clearing. Wind becoming southeast 30 km/h early this morning…” concerned me a little… But it turned out to be a great ride. I only got lightly sprinkled on as I reentered the city and saw no signs of thunderstorms in any direction (with their un-fun lightening and hail…).

I also rode out to Sutherland to do a presentation on bicycle maintenance and safety to the Sierra Youth Coalitions’ “Youth Action Gathering”. Another ~20km.

Date: Sunday, 10 August 2008
Time: 3:59:07
Distance: 100.73km
Average Speed: 25.27kph
Temp: 17°C
Wind: SE 13kph
Conditions: cloudy - sunny
Notes: Once again when I got up the Environment Canada conditions and forecast read:
Thunderstorm with Rain!!? (that’s what said when I got up…) Cloudy with sunny periods. 30 percent chance of showers early this morning and 70 percent chance of showers this afternoon. Risk of a thunderstorm. Wind southeast 20 km/h becoming light this morning. High 28. UV index 6 or high.

When I got outside it didn’t look like it had rained at all, and while it was a bit cloudy directly overhead when I started, it was clear skies to the southwest… by about an hour into the ride the sun was out and I had clear skies overhead the rest of the trip. Not one drop of rain…

WEEK ELEVEN

2008-08-03T13:13:00.001-07:00

Date: Monday, 28 July 2008
“Rest Day”… during which I took Finnegan to gymnastics (10km) and then hauled both kids over to Broadway (~5km).

Date: Tuesday, 29 July 2008
Time: ~1.5 hours
Distance: ~15km
Notes: I organized a little evening ‘Cross get together to start practicing some “mad ‘cross skillz”… well maybe it’s not approaching THAT fast… but when you’re as out of shape and out as practice you need all the help you can get! I also set it up to teach Amanda and a couple of friends some ‘cross basics. This evening Ryan and Amanda showed up and we practiced some mounts and dismounts, bike carrying and run-ups in Rotary Park.

Ryan had to split so Amanda and I rode out to Diefenbaker Park via the tails along the river, up the hill and them back home. Damn I was hurting! My crotch hurt – not from landing on the junk or anything, just from hyper-stretching groin muscles that aren’t used to be hyper stretched! Ow….

Earlier in the day I hauled both kids over to the apartment where my folks are staying near Broadway. I dropped off Keira and hauled Finnegan over to gymnastics. After gymnastics I took Finnegan back to my folks, then rode all the way up to the north end to drop off the violin I had rented for Finnegan and look at one for myself. Back to the folks to pick up the kiddies and haul them home….(easily 30-40km).

Date: Wednesday, 30 July 2008
Time: 1:14:57
Distance: 18.82km
Notes: Another evening ‘Cross get together. Two others that promised to show up bailed so it was just Amanda, Ryan and I again.

Amanda ate it HARD. We were doing run ups just north of the tennis courts by the Traffic/Victoria bridge and then riding back down from just a bit further up the hill towards the Broadway bridge, circle around and run-up again…. Amanda’s not so used to riding off-road these days, let alone on a drop-bar ‘cross bike, let alone doing steep descents on the drops… she did a spectacular looking arse-over-teakettle tumble down the hill and I had to do some bike-ninja dodging maneuverage to avoid rolling over her head, as I had been right behind her as she want down.

He poor arm is one solid bruise from wrist to her neck and covered in scrapes! OI! So, she rode home but told me and Ryan to carry on without her… so we did…

Ryan and I rode out to Diefenbaker and rode up the hill, then set up a little circuit and rode around it three times then called it a night… It would be fun if we had an even number of people out (greater than four) to do that circuit as a relay – just give’er around the circuit then rest a minute while partner rips around… gosh that’s be almost like “high intensity interval” work-out-type stuff…

Earlier in the day I took Finnegan to gymnastics (10Km)

Date: Thursday, 31 July 2008
Another “Rest Day” which involved me hauling Finnegan to gymnastics (10Km) and then out on a shopping expedition to acquire more storage containers, among other things (15Km).

Date: Friday, 1 August 2008
Another “Rest Day”… sent the morning doing laundry and chasing around after Keira and the puppy while Amanda got to take Finnegan to gymnastics, then spent the afternoon woeking on the übersandbox.

Date: Saturday, 2 August 2008
Another “Rest Day”. I worked on the übersandbox some more then went on another shopping expedition (~10km)… I could have gone for a morning ride but stayed up way too late watching a movie and then my new “Solutions for Cyclocross” DVD…

Date: Sunday, 3 August 2008
Time: 4:17:19
Distance: 100.05 km
Average Speed: 23.33kph
Temp: 13-19°C
Wind: shifty ~W24kph gusting to 41kph
Conditions: Mostly clear and sunny, clouding over in the last hour.
Notes: Nice day for a ride. Not to hot, wind strong enough to evaporate sweat and keep me plenty cool. Unfortunately the wind was strong enough to make cycling into it suck and cycling across it not-so-fun either….

I took a new route today. Instead of turning and heading toward Delisle, I carried a bit further along Highway 60 and turned off onto “O’Mally Road” (I think that’s what it’s called…) heading further south. Nice ride. Minimal traffic. Different scenery. Unfortunately the pavement ends 47km from my house so on the way back I had to turn up highway 672 for a bit (just up and over the hill) to make up the difference. (Because I couldn’t go out for a 100km ride and not ride at least 100km, you know!)

This next week Amanda has off so I should get out for some decent morning rides - while I still have early morning light! - and not have to worry about getting back in time for her to get to work!

WEEK TEN?

2008-07-27T12:59:00.000-07:00

Well it’s really only about Week Eight… as I had two weeks off in there… Or week Two because I basically feel like I’m starting from scratch again after my little hiatus there…

How am I ever going to be ready for the enduro!? It’s five weeks away… I don’t even have a functioning mountain bike at the moment…. Or a race license for that matter… nor have I even registered… Hopefully I still can.

The plan is to do centuries for the next five Sunday. Hopefully that will get me up to speed. I should also phase in some specific mountain bike and ‘cross rides over the next month during the week…

Date: Monday, 21 July 2008
“Rest Day”

On “Rest Day” I took Keira over to the apartment where my folks are staying near Broadway. Then hauled Finnegan out to the ass-end of Sutherland to look at some violins. The I rode bake to Broadway, had lunch at Amigos, picked up groceries at Steep Hill and hauled them and the kids all back home… ~25Km+ in 30°C + heat… The kids heads were SOAKED when I took their helmets off when we got home and they had just been sitting in the trailer on the ten minute (or so) ride home from Broadway…

Date: Tuesday, 22 July 2008
Time: 1:13:12
Distance: 28.15Km
Average Speed: 23.07
Temp: 17°C
Wind: SE 11kpj
Conditions: Sunny (once it came up… )
Notes: Met Susan at the Broadway Roastery and went for a ride just south of town around Furdale, etc. Beautiful weather – so nice… So tired… It was very hot on Monday and I had trouble getting to sleep in our 30°C + bedroom upstairs.

Date: Wednesday, 23 July 2008
“Rest Day” – Sadly I did no other riding today…

Date: Thursday, 24 July 2008
Yet another “Rest Day” – rode to Broadway for some groceries. (~5Km)

Date: Friday, 25 July 2008
Time: 1:01:59
Distance: 23.8
Average Speed: 23.1kph
Temp: 9°C
Wind: W13kph
Conditions: Clear (not sunny!)
Notes: It was so dark when I got up I wondered if I had set the alarm wrong. Nope, it was 5AM and it was still pretty dark… not DARK-dark but definitely pre-dawn dark. Sure enough when I checked Environment Canada’s website sunrise was at 5:18! Maybe there will be an end to the early morning road rides.

I was living in this happy delusion that once I got started I could just keep doing this FOREVER! (I might have to wear a bit more clothes in the winter… but..). I know Amanda will not be keen on me riding in the DARK-dark even with lights and a bright yellow jacket. To be honest I won’t be too keen on riding in the COLD-cold, which will rapidly follow the onset of early morning darkness….

I’m hoping I can get another week or two of morning road rides, then maybe do some early morning ‘cross drills or a ‘cross circuit in the park – unitl it gets too damn cold.

Then there’s my new friend; The Trainer. On the plus side, due to a resent rash of DVD (and in particular BICYCLING DVD!) purchasing – I will have plenty to watch over the cooler months. If I should happen to run out I have been eyeing up “72 Hours of Lance”. (hmmmmm the “Giro Four-Pack” is looking pretty good too…. Hmmmm wait a sec – it’s cheaper to buy all four separately!?)

It was a nice ride this morning – clear, refreshingly cool (it’s been pretty hot and humid the last couple days…)

Out to the Saskatoon Zoo later in the morning (~25Km)

Date: Saturday, 26 July 2008
Time: 1:58:29
Distance: 51.82
Average Speed: 26.24
Temp: 12-18°C
Wind: S 8kph
Conditions: Sunny
Notes: Nice early morning ride out Valley Road.

I must be a train magnet – it doesn’t matter what time I leave, EVERY time I go out that way in the morning, either on the way out or on the way back, or both ways I encounter a train near the landfill. Whether I just beat it, just miss it, or am stopped by it there’s always a train there!? This morning there was one as I rode out so instead of waiting I did a little tour around Montgomery. One the way back I just missed a train.

I am again having pains in my right knee and groin muscle. I had troubles when I started ten weeks ago, but it went away after a while. Now as I’m starting up again it’s back. I thought it might have been that my saddle wasn’t straight – as in the post wasn’t seated straight in the seat tube. Now I’m wondering if the saddle itself is askew or asymmetrical. I did ride it in a very wet muddy ‘cross race a couple years back and afterwards I noticed it was wonky – It’s a brooks leather saddle, it got soaked and then I jumped on it repeatedly… after it dried out I cranked the tightener bolt and that seemed to straighten things out well enough. Well, well enough for ‘cross or city riding – where you’re not even ON the saddle half the time. I am anxious about swapping a saddle the day before a planned century, but I am equally anxious about riding a century on a saddle that is causing me discomfort…

I’ll have to get everything ready this afternoon so I can get out on the road early tomorrow morning.

Date: Sunday, 27 July 2008
Time: 4:58:35
Distance: 121.62Km
Average Speed: 24.44kph
Temp: 17-22 °C
Wind: NE 11kph – E 30kph
Conditions: Light Rainshower – overcast – partly sunny
Notes:

Tim’s (not quite) First Century

I had planned on doing my first ever Century Ride this morning (100mi/161Km). Didn’t quite make it. The journey of 100 miles begins with… getting your fat ass out of bed and on the gawddamn bike! I didn’t get out of bed until 5:30 – when I had secretly hoped to be on the road.

It was raining. This didn’t deter me at all – in fact I considered it optimal riding conditions for a long ride. I don’t mind rain at all – at least when it’s warm, like it was today. When nature provides external liquid cooling it means I sweat less and don’t have to worry about running out of water as much…

I didn’t actually get on the road until quarter to seven – 45 minutes after I “realistically expected” I could be on the road. This was due to being to insufficient pre-ride preparation the day before. The bag I had planned to use as a handlebar bag – which I so used to great effect on the touring tandem – simply did not fit. Alternative attempts at locate a smaller handlebar bag were in vain. I ever briefly considered trying to quickly install at rack and take a pannier before I discovered there are no braze-ons for such a thing on The Rocket. So I had to jettison a lot of the additional stuff I though might be handy for a longer ride; a sweater, Amanda’s camera (she probably would not have been impressed if I had taken it anyway), the extra 1.5L of water… I even removed some of the usual items from my seat bags in order to bring along the spare folding tire…

By the time I actually got going it had stopped raining. By the time I got to Avenue P ( 2 minutes down the road) it started spitting again. Not enough to get me wet, just damp. I didn’t even get my plastic bag out to cover the saddle.

15km down the road – at almost the same location I busted my seat post bolt last week I had a flat. The rear one, of course. Upon observation of my tire I realized the rubber on it was worn flat all the way around and in a couple spots worn right down to the fabric (belt? Is that what it’s called?). Good thing I insisted on taking the spare! I took some time to convince the tire – which has been in a folded state since I bought it five years ago – to form a round-ish, tire-like shape.

What to do with the one I took off though? It was a wire bead so I couldn’t exactly (easily) fold it up and stuff it in the seat bag and I was loathe to simply leave it littered in the ditch… so I road on to the next cross roads and left it on top of a mail box to pick up on the way home.

Ill omens so early in the ride.

The route I was planning to take was basically my 100 Km out and back route with an additional 60 km tacked on by riding to Delisle and then turning south down highway 45.

The rest of the trip to Delsile was pretty uneventful. As I approached Delisle however I started to question more seriously if I should abandon the century. Basically from straight above me and all the way to the western horizon the sky was black. I could see rain and lightening off in the distance. Despite the fact that the wind at ground level was coming from the northeast, the clouds above were heading in the opposite direction – towards me! Behind me was lighter overcast sky. To the south and south-southeast were also lighter clouds. But to the South west was another storm brewing up. I also started to rain as I reached Delisle.

If I did head south, I figured the system to the west would probably pass north of me, but then I would have to ride into it to get home… there was obviously lightning and a good chance there might be hail – now rain doesn’t bother me. Being pelted by hail (golf ball sized is not unknown around these parts!) or zapped by lightening doesn’t seem like much fun. So I scouted down Highway 45 just to see what it’s like (as I’ve never been out that way before) as well as to make it 60Km before I turned back. Then I turned around.

Into the wind…

Boy nothing make you go like thunder creeping up behind you…

As I head back down Highway 766 I rode out of the edge of the storm and out of the rain. By the time I got to Pike Lake it looked like the storm was passing me to the Northwest – and there was clear skies to the southwest! DOH!

As I head back north the wind had picked up and I caught the edge of the storm and a bit more rain. But by the time I was back on Valley Road it was clear skies overhead.

Admittedly I would have been hurting if I’d tried to finish the Century. I would have had to stop in Delisle on the way back to replenish liquids – or suffer from severe dehydration. And as I had started late and would have been returning in the early afternoon under the blazing hot sun I would have been burnt and sun-f@*ked…

And despite the skies being clear this afternoon there has now been a Tornado Watch issued by Environment Canada….

I’ll try again next week – and hopefully I’ll be a bit more prepared…. And a little more rested – NO MORE EVENING MOVIES (except on the evenings before “Rest Days” – and maybe a few less “Rest Days”!?)

The new (to this bike) saddle worked much better!