Bicycle Art - Purple Surly Karate Monkey!

 Felt like drawing today. Wasn't sure what to draw. Thought I might do a bike portrait of my Purple Surly Karate Monkey. 

(mostly done from memory, so somethings are a bit wonky... but... whatevs...) 

Purple Surly Karate Monkey! 35cmx28cm (14"x11") - ink on paper

I haven't done any critters on bikes for a while... maybe I should do more of those! 

More October Rides

My plan, through October, was to ride EVERY day - for at least an hour, and ideally ten hours a week and about 150 Km. 

I kind of missed the first... but I've been doing okay since then... so far... 

Source: Strava.com

I didn't QUITE get to 10 Hours or 150 Km. I suppose I COULD get out this afternoon and go for another ride... but it's cold and windy and threatening rain and I'm just tired. 

Source: Strava.com

The need for this challenge is more clear when looking at the monthly stats. I was doing really good in March-April-May.... but then things just fell off completely over the summer. (ignore October, for now, I'll get that higher by the end of the month - Hopefully!!!!

Anyway, after the first where I didn't go for any ride at all, I did get out for a couple rides on Friday, the second. 

Firday I got out with this guy. 

We went to the Dragon's Den Games for their anniversary sale and then to a doctor's appointment.

Took this one to Dance Class on Saturday. While waiting for her class, I did a quick little tear around the southwest end of the city. 

Monday I went out for a ride on my own, just for fun. 

Did a tour of the South Bridge and Circle Drive Bridges and a mix of dirt and paved trails along the valley between the. There is a whole post on that ride:

Monday Afternoon Ride

Tuesday evening I did a quick ride southeast of town. 

Wednesday I took a circuitous route to get some groceries in the morning. 

Thursday morning I had an appointment downtown. 

By the afternoon on Thursday it was super nice out and I thought I'd get out the Brompton and gas up the tires and take it for a spin in honour of Three-Speed October 2020 Challenge - an annual event my friend Shawn over at Urban Adventure League runs every year. 

The challenge is to:

Ride a three speed bicycle

Three times a week

At least three miles (5 km) each trip

For at least three weeks during the duration of the challenge

During a five-week period that centers around the month of October

You can register with Shawn and gets all sorts of goodies and prizes. 

I'm not registering this year. There is just no way I'm going to be riding this little beastie THAT MUCH through the month of October.... 

Lots of Geese out on the river, heading south, presumably?

I even rode some of the easier dirt paths on the 3-speed Brompton! 

Clear blue Sky.

One of the things I'd wanted to do, since I had time and it was so nice out, was to find a place or two to stop and do some sketches. 

One challenge to myself was to stop and do a tiny sketch in this wee sketchbook - using only these coloured pentel pens - some of them I picked up recently (the brush ones), others my mom was giving away (the not-so-brush ones) as part of her getting rid of stuff in preparation to move! 

That did NOT turn out... so... you don't get to see it! 

I found anotehr stop and decided to get out the slightly bigger sketchbook and bust out some of the watercolour pencils... 

What I came up with - I didn't have a brush to wet them on site - probably would have been a better idea... I just had to wait until I got home to finish it up. 

roughly the area I was looking at while sketching. 

More fall colours. 

now the widest part of the Meewasin Trail - since it's been closed to motor vehicles! 

Tree, still, slowly transitioning. 

Friday I did the morning Library run with Keira and then dropped her at my folks where she spend a few hours helping my mpother pack up the dishes in preparation for their move next week. 

Friday afternoon I'd meant to go for a longer ride Southwest of town, but I only got as far as the intersection of Valley road and Township Road 362 and had to turn back as there were terrible, intermitent pinging sounds coming from my front wheel. I'd check to see if there were any broken spokes - and there didn't seem to be. None of the spokes seemed terribly loose and the wheel is as straight as ever... Ugh... another mystery noise that has to be sorted out!? 

Saturday I did a tear around the bridges - mostly avoiding great sections of the trail as it was a beautiful sunny afternoon and there were PILES of people all walking and riding up and down the trails. 

Today I just rode over to my folks to spend a few more hour helping them get ready for their move... only about 5Km of riding in total. 

Well... that's the first third of the month. Didn't QUITE meet the objectives of my challenge. AS I said, I suppose I COULD get out this afternoon and go for another ride... and probably MEET those objectives... but it's cold and windy and threatening rain and I'm just too damned tired. I did better than last week - and last week was better than the few weeks before that, so... improving, and that's the REAL goal! 

Hopefully by the end of the month I'll be back into the habbit of daily rides and be able to keep that going once it snows and gets REALLY cold!! 

June Rides - Part The Second: Wrath of Cog...

(Whoopsie... I started writing this post at the end of June... and then life happened... as it's almost July, I think I'll just post this with the comments I made and leave some without commentary...?)

Since I did so much riding that first week - and taking loads of pictures, I decided I ought to split it up into weekly updates... and then... that didn't happen... So, here is what happened for the rest of June...

That Second week started off with good intentions...



Monday morning I headed out down Spadina south to head out of town..



Made it out of town and started rolling along past farmland and pastures...



and got another fucking FLAT!?



and again, despite all the tools I'm hauling along... for some reason the key for the security skewers isn't in there... so I can't take my rear wheel off and repair it...

f-bomb.

YOu'd think I would have learned the last time this happened... you know... a week or so ago...



Well I got to admire all the pretty flowers along my walk home.



Marvel at both old and new bridges...



Check out the mama and baby duckies on the river.



I don't know what these guys were planning, but I'm pretty sure they were sizing me up and considering their chances!



Sand gushing out of the Water Treatment Plant.

I didn't change that flat until this morning, almost three weeks later... Good thing I have a few other bikes..



Sunset on Tuesday evening



Riding home with Keira on Tuesday evening.



Heading downtown to the Ortodontis with Keira - NOT IN A BIKE LANE!!



Oh, I guess the paint was still there, but the dividing post had all been removed and, temporarily replace with traffic cones.



There were notices in the doors of buildings about the bike lane coming out.

Every other city in the world has figured it out and can't get bikes lanes in fast enough... we're taking them out... sigh...



Heading home...

 

On Tuesday it was Finnegan's turn to visit the Orthodontist - and they were actively removing the paint off the street on his block that day... despite dozens of bikes locked to just about every sturdy vertical post on this block alone... what was the fucking rush?! Why not wait until fall!?

 

Heading home - the block south still had the lanes marked out.

 

Riding home from getting groceries one evening.

 

heading downtown in the rain.



this guy too.

 

Stopping to get glasses adjusted.



heading home...



Dowtown to the library on Saturday. Bye-bye bike lanes.. Again, bikes locked up all over the place.

 

Heading out to the Carlysle King Branch Library with Keira for a Knowlympic event..

 

Over a bridge...

 

Through a tunnel.

 

It was Saturday, so I checked... down 6Kg in two weeks...



It ws Father's Day and I felt like I needed a Treat Day - so we wandered over to Darkside Donuts to pick up some donuts to take over to my folks place for a Father's Day meal they were planning.

 

Riding over to my folks.

Had a couple days the next week where I didn't really go anywhere... but then my friend Susan got me off my ass and out for a ride.



 This is me trying out her new ride!



Keira came along too.



We rolled from Susan's to the South Bridge, up the other side of the river to the Circle Drive Bridge, and then back to Susan's - where Keira played with her dogs for a bit. So good to get out again..

 

Had a record drought in April-may... June seems to be trying to make up for it...

 


Rainy day riding.












Out with Susan we rolled past another dude with a recumbent trike of the same make (though with not-so-fat tires)

It was kind of like when two strange dogs meet in public... but with less butt-sniffing...



For those that think we shouldn't spend more money on cycling infrastructure because "no one rides bikes..." I can only assume they haven't tried locking a bike up anywhere in town lately...



Baby geese getting older... perhaps they're adolescent geese now...?



I have no idea...



Bike computer having a bit of a brain-fart.



More brainfarts.




I'm not sure...



dragged finnegan out for a ride with us.







BEAVER!



it was dusk and this critter was dragging a big stick along side the trail towards it's lodge.














Again with the beavers dragging large branches - totally different beaver - totally different part of town.



Clearly the Beavers pay no heed to the No Swimming in the River bylaws...



Chief Mistawasis Bridge



Looking back towards downtown from Chief Mistawasis.



Big lookout areas on the Chief Mistawasis Bridge.









This seems like false advertising - there has never been wildlife on the road when I've ridden by!



New development... empty fields awaiting development....



























thought I'd go to Super Store on a Sunday evening - it'll be quite there... the bike rack that is usually only one or two bikes was full! There were other bikes locked up to other things nearby!?



Hauling some new drawers home.



AGAIN with the beaver!





lost almost 10Kg (22lbs) in one month! Woo! Now if only I could keep this up for the next two months!