Sunday, May 18, 2008
Sun-day Ride
Hah! Great ride this morning. I was on the Alex Fraser approach at 05:27, at Cliveden Ave on the other end 05:31. I've never blasted across it that fast before. I got to work at 05:59. I felt great, and could have kept going for much more. The surprising thing was how fast the ride was eventhough my legs were really tired. Yesterday I rode home from work as well (minus the bus ride through the tunnel. And I had a chance encounter with RedSara & Robert on their way to Point Bob. Bonus.) in the heat, and I hammered it because it's fun that way.
Saturday, May 17, 2008
Tuesday, May 13, 2008
Bike Bike Bike...
...was Rad Rad Rad. (Anglo/German pun). Saturday May 10th. OK, I didn't go to all the events as my elbow was acting up. But there was polo and bike games, specifically mini-bike games. I really wanted to be there, but discretion is the better part of valour. So I prepped myself for the movie night/dance party at The Chair Factory. The said same Chair Factory of other bike events, most notably the Mini-bike "Thunderdome" of Velomutations 2006 (see "Six Drink Rule" for more details, & check youtube for videos).
As usual, The Chair Factory didn't disappoint. First it was the bike movie shorts, as compiled by Ranae. There was quite the mix of older and newer stuff. Those old 'public service announcement' 'educational' ones are funny, in a bizarre way. I really liked "Tag" with (now "our own") Khaled Ben-Rabha, and of course the B:C:Clettes vs. Sexy Back video. I've seen their "Sexy Back" routine before, but the video has a new twist to it. Really cool.
Now, the dance party. I suspended the "Six Drink Rule", and when the dancing started I had only had one 'Spark', and was starting on my second. I don't recall when the dancing started, but I didn't stop until 03:15-ish. I spent the next 1/2 hr (abouts) casually picking up cans & glasses (and there were a lot of them!!!). Then I left. I checked my watch just before I went to get my bike, and it was 03:45. Then I very slowly rode to work (both because I didn't want to get there too soon and because my legs were bagged from jumping about almost non-stop for some 5.5 hours, or whatever it was).
Riding the bike route on E 10th Ave west of Clark Dr was pretty cool. The cherry blossoms were falling like giant pink snowflakes. They were all over the road and cars, and in the air.
I arrived at work an hour & change early. The morning was mostly OK. I had periods of chipperness, and some periods of extreme exhaustion, but I got through it without any mishaps or errors.
As usual, The Chair Factory didn't disappoint. First it was the bike movie shorts, as compiled by Ranae. There was quite the mix of older and newer stuff. Those old 'public service announcement' 'educational' ones are funny, in a bizarre way. I really liked "Tag" with (now "our own") Khaled Ben-Rabha, and of course the B:C:Clettes vs. Sexy Back video. I've seen their "Sexy Back" routine before, but the video has a new twist to it. Really cool.
Now, the dance party. I suspended the "Six Drink Rule", and when the dancing started I had only had one 'Spark', and was starting on my second. I don't recall when the dancing started, but I didn't stop until 03:15-ish. I spent the next 1/2 hr (abouts) casually picking up cans & glasses (and there were a lot of them!!!). Then I left. I checked my watch just before I went to get my bike, and it was 03:45. Then I very slowly rode to work (both because I didn't want to get there too soon and because my legs were bagged from jumping about almost non-stop for some 5.5 hours, or whatever it was).
Riding the bike route on E 10th Ave west of Clark Dr was pretty cool. The cherry blossoms were falling like giant pink snowflakes. They were all over the road and cars, and in the air.
I arrived at work an hour & change early. The morning was mostly OK. I had periods of chipperness, and some periods of extreme exhaustion, but I got through it without any mishaps or errors.
Monday, April 21, 2008
Not Missing
Just in case you checked here to see if I am missing or not, no, I'm not missing. (Although some people missed me, I was missing to them...... whatever). What is missing is my free-spirit. OK, it isn't actually "missing", but it is being depressed by the weight of all the people asking me what happened. It is tiring me out. I went away to recharge my batteries, and all this nonsense is making me want to go away again! So. if you read this, don't ask or e-mail me anything about it! I will recommend as an alternative that you watch the "Bat for Lashes" video "What's a Girl to Do?"
Tuesday, March 11, 2008
I too have a cunning plan.
So, even though I usually don't post anything when I am on the hinternet, I do check the blog stats. One thing has piqued my interest is the number of people who find this blog by Googling "ways to lessen my ecological footprint", or words to that effect. However, these people don't seem to be that interested in following through with their searches, because most of them click out after just a few seconds, and don't check out the link on ways to reduce it nor the link on measuring one's carbon/ecological footprint. Most unusual. Thus I have decided I need to come up with some eye-catching way to get them to look at that for which they are looking. (Isn't proper grammar fun!!). Perhaps some racy pictures with overlaid text. I'll have to work on this one for a bit. I'm also working on a piece about cycling clothing, that is to say clothes one wears whilst cycling. Some people think spandex/lycra wearers scare away average people from riding bikes, thinking that they too need to wear the stuff and they might not want to do so. I say this is bullshit, but more on this later. What I'm writing will be fairly lengthy (I've already started it) when finished.
How about a floodplain map of the Lower Mainland, for a start. OK, just for fun, here is a Sasquatch mask (Bukwas).
How about a floodplain map of the Lower Mainland, for a start. OK, just for fun, here is a Sasquatch mask (Bukwas).
Monday, February 25, 2008
No Real Change
So, work is the same, unfortunately, as no new trained dispatcher. I had 2 days off the week before last, but only 1 day last week, and this week will get only 1 day off. This really is a drag. Too tired to do much of anything else, missing Mini Bike Winter (I had to wait until Saturday to check the interweb to see what people had put up about it. Too PO'd about missing it all). From all the accounts it appears that it truly was an epic year.
On Saturday after work I went to Kits (well, Broadway & Balaclava) to get coffee for David, then decided to ride East. Hah! Racing traffic is fun. But cripes! I hit nearly every traffic light/pedestrian controlled intersection on the amber too late to blow it, so it was more of traffic leap-frogging. But I still was faster than the cars. This one particular Honda Element was trying to beat me (I could see it as the guy looked at me as he went by, and then I looked at him as I past him 2 blocks later. This was repeated several times until I left him for good at Willow. A little later I stopped in at MEC, as I thought there was something there that I wanted but could not remember. I saw Ted at the bike counter and he invited me to his "Beerbecue" that evening. I accepted (a little R&R never hurt), plus I remembered the items & purchased them. Later on at the beerbecue some of us were looking at some MBW pics on the web. Yeah, I really missed out. It sucks big time. So I hope to get lots of time off after a new dispatcher is hired/trained so I can do some fun stuff. Perhaps the PDX'ers will go to Maryhill WA soon, that would make a good road trip.
Tried to watch a travel show (while working) on Melbourne (thinking of you BN) on TV. Of course that is when things got busy so I couldn't see much of it.
On Saturday after work I went to Kits (well, Broadway & Balaclava) to get coffee for David, then decided to ride East. Hah! Racing traffic is fun. But cripes! I hit nearly every traffic light/pedestrian controlled intersection on the amber too late to blow it, so it was more of traffic leap-frogging. But I still was faster than the cars. This one particular Honda Element was trying to beat me (I could see it as the guy looked at me as he went by, and then I looked at him as I past him 2 blocks later. This was repeated several times until I left him for good at Willow. A little later I stopped in at MEC, as I thought there was something there that I wanted but could not remember. I saw Ted at the bike counter and he invited me to his "Beerbecue" that evening. I accepted (a little R&R never hurt), plus I remembered the items & purchased them. Later on at the beerbecue some of us were looking at some MBW pics on the web. Yeah, I really missed out. It sucks big time. So I hope to get lots of time off after a new dispatcher is hired/trained so I can do some fun stuff. Perhaps the PDX'ers will go to Maryhill WA soon, that would make a good road trip.
Tried to watch a travel show (while working) on Melbourne (thinking of you BN) on TV. Of course that is when things got busy so I couldn't see much of it.
Monday, February 11, 2008
Energy Level
Energy Level IIII In words, going down. I'm really bagged from doing extra work. Week 3 of six days/week as somebody got fired (for misconduct). The really bad part is this might effect my plans for attending Mini Bike Winter V!!!! I'll probably have to find my own relief instead of just getting the time off as before.
Sunday, February 10, 2008
R.A.D. (Ride Art Drink)
No, this is not a recap, but just saying that my pictures are up on my photobucket album RAD. You can follow the link to the right, or if that is toooo hard, just click here.
Thursday, February 07, 2008
Sheldon Brown, Ride In Peace
Like so many others, I was stunned and dismayed by the news of Sheldon Brown's passing when I heard of it on Monday.
I first 'discovered' Sheldon in July of 2006, when I did a web search, of what I do not recall, and one of the returns was his article about "Igor" and included his winter use of packing tape on his helmet vents. At the time, I just thought this was some random site of somebody's cycling stories, and amused myself with his "Silly Hats" article. A couple months later I searched for something technical, and Sheldon's site had the answer. I was bowled over. So much info, all in one place, with just about every question one could possibly have answered. I became an instant Sheldon fan. Most days that I went online included a visit to Sheldon's site. Since I don't access the internet at home, sometimes I would be anticipating going to work (????) just so I could look up something by Sheldon.
I grew up at a time when kids cycling for fun/transport was the norm. Most of us had single speed bikes with coaster brakes, some had fancy 3-speeds, and only adults might have a 10-speed. I rode bikes a lot as a kid, stopped for awhile in my teens, started back up in late teens, off again in early twenties, started back again in very early thirties (but only occasionally), and for the past 9 years have been cycling 'full time' as a self-propelled person. So I've ridden lots of different types of bikes of varying quality, and while I'm no expert, I can say I like just about all bikes. Bikes are fun, as well as utilitarian. Biking is even more fun if one can do one's own repairs, especially minor ones. Who wants to be afraid of being unable to fix a flat tire? There are people who are afraid to ride a bike because of the fear of a flat tire. Yet this is the easiest of repairs that anyone can do. Six year old kids can do it. Now how does this relate to Sheldon? Well, since I can do some really minor bike repairs, I wanted to do ones a little more complicated that naturally arise from being a high mileage commuter. Enter Sheldon, Bike Guru Extraordinaire.
This is very rambling, but let me just say that Sheldon made my cycling life better. He really was inspirational in a low-key kind of way for me. While he had a vast knowledge, he wanted to share it freely for the betterment of all. He truly will be missed, and his spirit will most definitely live on in the hearts of cyclists.
I first 'discovered' Sheldon in July of 2006, when I did a web search, of what I do not recall, and one of the returns was his article about "Igor" and included his winter use of packing tape on his helmet vents. At the time, I just thought this was some random site of somebody's cycling stories, and amused myself with his "Silly Hats" article. A couple months later I searched for something technical, and Sheldon's site had the answer. I was bowled over. So much info, all in one place, with just about every question one could possibly have answered. I became an instant Sheldon fan. Most days that I went online included a visit to Sheldon's site. Since I don't access the internet at home, sometimes I would be anticipating going to work (????) just so I could look up something by Sheldon.
I grew up at a time when kids cycling for fun/transport was the norm. Most of us had single speed bikes with coaster brakes, some had fancy 3-speeds, and only adults might have a 10-speed. I rode bikes a lot as a kid, stopped for awhile in my teens, started back up in late teens, off again in early twenties, started back again in very early thirties (but only occasionally), and for the past 9 years have been cycling 'full time' as a self-propelled person. So I've ridden lots of different types of bikes of varying quality, and while I'm no expert, I can say I like just about all bikes. Bikes are fun, as well as utilitarian. Biking is even more fun if one can do one's own repairs, especially minor ones. Who wants to be afraid of being unable to fix a flat tire? There are people who are afraid to ride a bike because of the fear of a flat tire. Yet this is the easiest of repairs that anyone can do. Six year old kids can do it. Now how does this relate to Sheldon? Well, since I can do some really minor bike repairs, I wanted to do ones a little more complicated that naturally arise from being a high mileage commuter. Enter Sheldon, Bike Guru Extraordinaire.
This is very rambling, but let me just say that Sheldon made my cycling life better. He really was inspirational in a low-key kind of way for me. While he had a vast knowledge, he wanted to share it freely for the betterment of all. He truly will be missed, and his spirit will most definitely live on in the hearts of cyclists.
Sunday, February 03, 2008
Bikes Inside 2008 & more
It is so hard to keep with this at work, so I'll try for a very brief recap.
Feb. 1st was R.A.D. (Ride-Art-Drink), which pretty much sums up what we did. The bicycle themed art at the gallery was pretty cool stuff. I didn't take any pictures of it as that would be de trop, not that that stopped others from doing so. The DJ & music was pretty good, and as I have posted before on the "Six Drink Rule", I actually danced, or some unreasonable facsimile. I'm sure that the "Sparks" which Jeff Lost gave me (reimbursement for a previous consumption) added to the energy level. I left about 23:55 in order to catch the 351, and got home about 01:15. Prepped some stuff for going to work (wakey wakey time 03:00 for 04:00 departure) and cooked & ate some food.
Feb. 2nd wake up was reaalllllly hard. I was almost out the door at 04:10, but I forgot a couple thiings and had to get my mini trailerised. After all, one cannot "microcross" without a mini, and I hadn't take it to work ahead as I had previously intended. So, it ended up that I finally left at 04:30, Oopps! Now normally that would just mean a hard ride to arrive 5mins. late, no biggy, but towing a bike trailer loaded with another bike (because although it is a mini, kids' bikes are made way too heavy- cheap materials) takes more effort. I bungeed it on as I hadn't rope handy (I should have taken the 5mins to get it. In the long run it would have been faster). I had to keep my pedalling very smooth or the trailer would lurch (cause: bungee). Another "haste makes waste" factor was forgetting to check the tire pressure on the trailer (when I got to work I found that the trailer tires were almost airless, maybe 5psi). I was completely drenched when I got to work (no, there was no precipitation) and my legs were about to fall off. My right calf started to cramp a couple of times during the ride. (work was the usual). After work I reconfigured the mini/trailer set-up so it was more stable, then rode to Expo Bld @ Carrall St for Microcross. Again I was hurrying as the reconfiguration took much more time than I had expected. I should have expected that the race would start late, but it was even late by Biker Time (variously expressed as VBT - Vancouver Biker Time; BST - Biker Standard Time; PBT - Pacific Biker Time; ZT - Zoobomb Time). Now my legs were truly bagged. It was cold waiting for the action. There were 20 racers, and about 40-60 spectators (umm, somewhat fuzzy re: #'s, but there were way more than I expected. It was really cool having such a good turn out). (The racing contingent and spectators include many Portlanders/Zoobombers up for the festivities. Quite a few of us took it as a warm-up for Mini Bike Winter V.) We had to go through a tricky course, winding asphalt path, up & down hill in soggy slippery grass, though a sand pit, up stairs, across a pond via cement flagstones, and it was dark by the time we started.
The racing was pretty fun, and surprisingly tiring. Thrills, Chills, Spills, for what more could one ask? Afterwards we (OK, not everyone, but a large group) went for dinner at a sushi place on Main just S. of Broadway. Then we went to the Bikes Inside party itself. More silly bikerness, dancing, indoor biking hoonery (a mini-tall crashed into me, and one of its brake levers jabbed me in the ribs painfully hard, but no actual injuries). We finally left about 3am, a group of us headed for kits. Jeff Lost, Kimmers & I were heading for Kimmers' UBC dorm, so were went along the False Creek bikepath to kits with the others. After a while at Kits Beach, a few crazies decided that is was necessary to go skinny-dipping (temperature was barely above freezing by this time). All said and done, we spent about 1/2 hour at the beach. The main posse headed for The Naam; Lapis/Tackler, Shawn F & RevPhil went back to their crashpad, J-L, K & I sojourned westward. After some tiring hill-climbing with icy winds, there was 1 more adventure: trying to get into the elevator at Kim's. Kim went ahead, the Jeff got in the second car (with MTB), then the trailer & mini (still conjoined) vertically, then me & the BRC. It was 04:15 by now.
Sun. 3rd - Woke up ~ 09:45, got up a bit later. Had tea & toast after a bit of re-hashing the previous events. I left for work @ 11:37, about 1/2 an hour later than I intended. It appeared that I added some entertainment for several posses of roadies while I travelled SW Marine Dr.
Feb. 1st was R.A.D. (Ride-Art-Drink), which pretty much sums up what we did. The bicycle themed art at the gallery was pretty cool stuff. I didn't take any pictures of it as that would be de trop, not that that stopped others from doing so. The DJ & music was pretty good, and as I have posted before on the "Six Drink Rule", I actually danced, or some unreasonable facsimile. I'm sure that the "Sparks" which Jeff Lost gave me (reimbursement for a previous consumption) added to the energy level. I left about 23:55 in order to catch the 351, and got home about 01:15. Prepped some stuff for going to work (wakey wakey time 03:00 for 04:00 departure) and cooked & ate some food.
Feb. 2nd wake up was reaalllllly hard. I was almost out the door at 04:10, but I forgot a couple thiings and had to get my mini trailerised. After all, one cannot "microcross" without a mini, and I hadn't take it to work ahead as I had previously intended. So, it ended up that I finally left at 04:30, Oopps! Now normally that would just mean a hard ride to arrive 5mins. late, no biggy, but towing a bike trailer loaded with another bike (because although it is a mini, kids' bikes are made way too heavy- cheap materials) takes more effort. I bungeed it on as I hadn't rope handy (I should have taken the 5mins to get it. In the long run it would have been faster). I had to keep my pedalling very smooth or the trailer would lurch (cause: bungee). Another "haste makes waste" factor was forgetting to check the tire pressure on the trailer (when I got to work I found that the trailer tires were almost airless, maybe 5psi). I was completely drenched when I got to work (no, there was no precipitation) and my legs were about to fall off. My right calf started to cramp a couple of times during the ride. (work was the usual). After work I reconfigured the mini/trailer set-up so it was more stable, then rode to Expo Bld @ Carrall St for Microcross. Again I was hurrying as the reconfiguration took much more time than I had expected. I should have expected that the race would start late, but it was even late by Biker Time (variously expressed as VBT - Vancouver Biker Time; BST - Biker Standard Time; PBT - Pacific Biker Time; ZT - Zoobomb Time). Now my legs were truly bagged. It was cold waiting for the action. There were 20 racers, and about 40-60 spectators (umm, somewhat fuzzy re: #'s, but there were way more than I expected. It was really cool having such a good turn out). (The racing contingent and spectators include many Portlanders/Zoobombers up for the festivities. Quite a few of us took it as a warm-up for Mini Bike Winter V.) We had to go through a tricky course, winding asphalt path, up & down hill in soggy slippery grass, though a sand pit, up stairs, across a pond via cement flagstones, and it was dark by the time we started.
The racing was pretty fun, and surprisingly tiring. Thrills, Chills, Spills, for what more could one ask? Afterwards we (OK, not everyone, but a large group) went for dinner at a sushi place on Main just S. of Broadway. Then we went to the Bikes Inside party itself. More silly bikerness, dancing, indoor biking hoonery (a mini-tall crashed into me, and one of its brake levers jabbed me in the ribs painfully hard, but no actual injuries). We finally left about 3am, a group of us headed for kits. Jeff Lost, Kimmers & I were heading for Kimmers' UBC dorm, so were went along the False Creek bikepath to kits with the others. After a while at Kits Beach, a few crazies decided that is was necessary to go skinny-dipping (temperature was barely above freezing by this time). All said and done, we spent about 1/2 hour at the beach. The main posse headed for The Naam; Lapis/Tackler, Shawn F & RevPhil went back to their crashpad, J-L, K & I sojourned westward. After some tiring hill-climbing with icy winds, there was 1 more adventure: trying to get into the elevator at Kim's. Kim went ahead, the Jeff got in the second car (with MTB), then the trailer & mini (still conjoined) vertically, then me & the BRC. It was 04:15 by now.
Sun. 3rd - Woke up ~ 09:45, got up a bit later. Had tea & toast after a bit of re-hashing the previous events. I left for work @ 11:37, about 1/2 an hour later than I intended. It appeared that I added some entertainment for several posses of roadies while I travelled SW Marine Dr.
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