At 17:02 EDT (that's 21:02 GMT or UTC) STS-124 launched from KSC pad 39A. Or in plain English one of the last space shuttle launches just took place about an hour ago from the Kennedy Space Centre. - I really should send my C.V. off to NASA, except lets face it, I'm Canadian and the US government will only hire Americans. Too bad! Still it is nice to dream, I could live in Houston... maybe not so much... but I'll bet the Langley Field facility is pretty nice and winters in Virgina sound a lot better than winters around here. Or I'll bet Lesley would have no complaints if I told her we were moving to Pasadena, but I cannot stomach LA.
Anyway on more Earthly matters, this morning it rained, a lot, and I went for a group ride, about 70km, which for me is not a huge distance, but it was still tough, we basically stayed in the biggest chain ring the entire time (except for the few traffic lights where I had the good sense to downshift at the last second).
Thanks to the rain, which did subside I had to clean my bike, this is a roughly hour long affair involving chain cleaning, parts cleaning and of course lots of nasty smelling cleaning agents... memories of skate bearing cleaning... crap I still have to clean my skate bearings ahhh &)*#$%! Then I had to go back to the office to fix a problem in the computer room (data centre, whatever!) And of course on the way back it rained... again! So I have to clean everything... again! Sigh.
I have to rant for a second now, not on rain or bike cleaning, its on really shitty car drivers. As I have previously posted, the Ontario Highway Traffic Act (the law of the land as it were) defines a vehicle as: a motor vehicle, trailer, traction engine, farm tractor, road-building machine, bicycle and any vehicle drawn, propelled or driven by any kind of power, including muscular power, but does not include a motorized snow vehicle or a street car; Now I want someone to explain to the moronic driver who was making rude gestures at me when I made a legal left turn from the turning lane of Coxwell (North Bound) going onto Queen (West Bound) that what I was doing was the law, it was kosher, and if he's got a problem with it, he has two options, write a letter to Queens Park or move out of Ontario. Making rude gestures, particularly during bike month, but really any time of year, is just... well rude, frankly. Anyway the way I see things, car drivers, for the most part, don't deserve to drive. Besides, all car drivers are doing is enriching the coffers of Osama Bin Can't Find Him and his cronies in the Federated Russian states of Alberta and Venezuela (three governments that are beyond reproach.) In the last month I have driven to the grocery store twice (maybe three times come to think of it), total distance, less than I have biked in the last 6 hours!
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Saturday, May 31, 2008
Friday, May 30, 2008
On Automobiles, Ideas and Typos
Check out my last posting, I thought, when I wrote it I proof read it, but it turns out I skimmed just a little too fast: Now I skate, or ride half the Crit's course every day on my way to the office and its not a pretty course, there are pot holes, there are swears, there are speed bumps coming off turns and hills… I meant sewers. Or check out this beauty: I guess I am still a big of a show-off at heart. No, it is not big, it is BIT, as in I am a show-off but only a small time show-off kind of way.
Lately I’ve been developing more and more of an anti-car radicalism. Recently I heard a car driver slam on the brakes (actually it was while buying Lesley her new bike) so I ran out of the store to see what happened, I was disappointed to discover no damage, I had hoped that maybe if I was really lucky there’d be one less car for me to contend with. Can Ken Livingston move to Toronto?
Don’t even get me started on the smokers outside of my building when I ride or skate in to work. Damnit I’m breathing heavily and they are poisoning me.
Aaron Arndt wrote something really flattering in his blog, kind of ironic how I found out, I was just reviewing my site statistics – honest to goodness, to see what you guys actually read, believe it or not even without comments I am trying, in a limited way to write posts you will want to read. Anyway someone in Switzerland, I think… it might have been France (can’t remember now – I should know better, my mom was born in Switzerland, my uncle lives in France, and my grandfather invented one of the earliest self guided surface to air missiles in France weeks before the Nazis ran the country over) was referred to my site by Aaron’s blog. I’d like to think that even if I am almost totally over the notion of skating, my blog can still be a good read, ideally I want this to be a place where idea’s thrive, even if they are not a given reader’s passion.
Speaking of writing what people would want to read about, feel free to give constructive criticism… the key word here is constructive. Being the lexophiliac that I am (no it is not a word, I just made it up, but it’s a good word to make up – in case you are wondering lexical means words and philiac is a lover of things, put two and two together now) I am going to borrow a phrase from Lewis Lapham, when asked once, he described Harper’s as a magazine of idea’s, well that is what I consider my blog to be, granted they are mostly my idea’s but if I get any good submissions I’ll post them, and there is always the comments section.
Tomorrow I am going on my first ride with The Beaches Bike Club, I’m very nervous, I hope I am not the cause of too many slowdowns.
Thursday, May 29, 2008
On road conditions for the Toronto Criterium
Yesterday evening I bought Lesley a brand new Specialized Dolce Elite, you can salivate over a picture of it below. (Right now she has the cheepy pedals, once she masters road biking she can clip in and take wipe outs just like her husband. We now have four bikes at home, her K2 POS for commuting, her baby, my Coppi for commuting and my baby. I am embarrassed to admit, we still own a car... but that will change soon enough. (I hope!)
Prior to actually buying the bike, Dan (the same guy who started the Beaches Cycling Club, see what I'm reading over on the right) was nice enough to size me on my bike. I have this to say, the guys at the place I bought my Roubaix -not where Dan works, he's at Cycle Solutions on Kingston Road - were real lazy jerks! I was beginning to think my Roubaix was the wrong size for me, it turns out it needed some pretty hefty adjustment by someone who knew what they were doing, that is all.
After adjusting and paying for the bikes Lesley and I road home, then because it's the end of the month Lesley had to go back to her office to work - no that's not some euphemism, Lesley's job gets very busy at month end. So I was home, alone at a quarter to eight with nothing to do but clean cat litter. I started to feel really under the weather and just sat down on the floor of the basement wondering what the hell to do. Then it hit me, I am still wearing my bike jersey and (admittedly regular) shorts, and my bike is right beside me and ready to ride... since I didn't have any lights I only managed to squeeze in just 19km before the sun went down but its amazing how refreshing a good ride feels. (Sorry guys, it blows the rush from skating clear out of the water.)
Sometimes I think what the world needs more of are people on bikes... I bet if they put Robert Mugabe on a bike... well in a perfect world he'd be run over by a large tank. But I bet there would be a lot less rat race and stress if everyone rode on muscles instead of crushed 500 million year old algae.
Tomorrow afternoon is the Toronto Criterium. I won't be able to go, I have an inescapable family function, but I am going to try to squeeze in a few minutes to watch a little. Now I skate, or ride half the Crit's course every day on my way to the office and its not a pretty course, there are pot holes, there are swears, there are speed bumps coming off turns and hills, and best of all there is a BFCS (Big Flipping Construction Site) right at the corner of Scott and The Esplanade, to racers who might read this, take that corner real wide unless you've already done a few laps and know what I'm talking about. Its not a pretty 100 degree (or 80 degree, depends which way your going) turn. There are large concrete obstructions that are easy to crash into.
I skated to work today, have to eat dinner at my parents and since I will walk there with Lesley riding makes less sense, but I have to admit skating just isn't as fun. I think a big problem is I want so badly to be the fastest person on the trail and when I ride that is a pretty much a sure thing, but when I skate a strong cyclist, even one with a second rate bike and jeans can kick my sorry ass, as happened today. (I guess I am still a big of a show-off at heart.)
Wednesday, May 28, 2008
On Passion for Riding
I have decided to join the Beaches Cycling Club (see what I am reading on the right), I guess I should have seen this one coming from a good mile away. Actually I think deep down I sort of knew this was inevitable. No, not joining the Beaches Cycling Club, Dan only started that club up last year, I am talking about losing the passion for skating.
Back in 1992 as I have already written, I got a pair of Rollerblade Lightning’s, by 1995 I was off the skates completely and on my Coppi. The fact is, on a bike, I can go farther, faster and in places a skater can never dream of going. For a skater in the Toronto area look at the options, the MGT, Hamilton Beach a few other trails here and there, but in reality, not a whole hell of a lot. For a cyclist, well hmmm, besides the fact that I am going to bike to Hamilton (as opposed to the skaters who drive there), I could go to Newmarket or if I wanted to I fail to see why I couldn’t do a cross Canada ride for a lot less effort (about 19 days at 200km/day) than a cross Canada skate – in fact many people do cross Canada rides, I don’t think anyone has ever even tried a cross Canada skate. It was a similar realisation in 1995 that put an abrupt end to skating for me then.
This is not to say I am going to stop skating completely and let them collect dust in the basement. Rather I just don’t see myself skating nearly as often as I did last year. From time to time I’ll still skate down in Hamilton, if I can car pool it, and I might even come out to TISC once in a while. But the fact is I have found something to be more passionate about, and a ride, no matter if I am alone or with a group, is just so much more fun.
So, why the Beaches Cycling Club? Because Dan’s a great guy - yes. But the real reason is, he has a vision for his club that is a little bit inspiring and hopeful at the same time. Dan started the club to get people in the community, The Beach, on bikes, he has an entry level women’s group – that Lesley better join, an intermediate and elite group. He wants to grow the sport and he is – I believe - doing it the right way. I cannot be sure if this is the right thing for me, not until the rubber hits the pavement, but I suspect that the BCC could be just the place where I can expand my skills and have fun, at the same time.
Back in 1992 as I have already written, I got a pair of Rollerblade Lightning’s, by 1995 I was off the skates completely and on my Coppi. The fact is, on a bike, I can go farther, faster and in places a skater can never dream of going. For a skater in the Toronto area look at the options, the MGT, Hamilton Beach a few other trails here and there, but in reality, not a whole hell of a lot. For a cyclist, well hmmm, besides the fact that I am going to bike to Hamilton (as opposed to the skaters who drive there), I could go to Newmarket or if I wanted to I fail to see why I couldn’t do a cross Canada ride for a lot less effort (about 19 days at 200km/day) than a cross Canada skate – in fact many people do cross Canada rides, I don’t think anyone has ever even tried a cross Canada skate. It was a similar realisation in 1995 that put an abrupt end to skating for me then.
This is not to say I am going to stop skating completely and let them collect dust in the basement. Rather I just don’t see myself skating nearly as often as I did last year. From time to time I’ll still skate down in Hamilton, if I can car pool it, and I might even come out to TISC once in a while. But the fact is I have found something to be more passionate about, and a ride, no matter if I am alone or with a group, is just so much more fun.
So, why the Beaches Cycling Club? Because Dan’s a great guy - yes. But the real reason is, he has a vision for his club that is a little bit inspiring and hopeful at the same time. Dan started the club to get people in the community, The Beach, on bikes, he has an entry level women’s group – that Lesley better join, an intermediate and elite group. He wants to grow the sport and he is – I believe - doing it the right way. I cannot be sure if this is the right thing for me, not until the rubber hits the pavement, but I suspect that the BCC could be just the place where I can expand my skills and have fun, at the same time.
Tuesday, May 27, 2008
On new goals and more thoughts on upgrades
The newspapers of utopia would be very boring.
- Arthur C. Clarke in 2001 A Space Odyssey.
I really should rename this blog. I don't dream of skating and seemed to have lost my passion for it somewhere in the process of finding a passion for riding. Oh well! (At least its not a passion for sitting in my under ware in front of the T.V. watching the football match.) I used this handy tool to measure the distance from Burloak Drive to the far end of Hamilton Beach, about 20km, add that to the 60 to get to Burloak and I have a nice even 160km ride ahead of me. Nervous? Not really, but damned excited, hopefully this time I won't get another blow out.
I bought a proper bike repair stand last night a Park Tool PCS-1. I tweaked the rear deraileur and gave the Roubaix a proper inspection, I was able to find an entry hole in the rear tire, which was probably the cause of the tube failure on Saturday, whatever it was must have been pretty long and cylindrical, probably a thumb tack or something similar. I am not entirely satisfied with the job I did on the deraileur and will have to keep working on it.
I suppose I ought to be happy with my bike... no scratch that, when in the history of the human condition is a person happy with what they have? I wanted the very best skates and, well they aren't but they are good, and you know what, I got sick of skating. That in a nutshell is my process, start with something modest, and build on it and improve it, keep dreaming of ways to improve and build on what I already have (until I am at a point where what I have is so good that it becomes boring). A few years ago when I went into skating in a big way, when I was not actually skating I was dreaming of ways of improving things, better technique, better equipment, you name it. I don't understand where it comes from, but if I am not riding I have an insatiable desire to upgrade my bike. Saner voices are telling me that I should not bother, its just not worth it - better to buy a better bike - but buying a better bike takes away all the fun. I am a mechanical person by nature, not the most deft I admit, but I like to tinker. The thought of just riding and then storing the bike until the next ride, well that would spoil the experience. I don't want to win a race, I could care less for racing, what I want is to have something that started good that I made better.
Last year, in Duluth I got 1:47:12 (it was cold and there was a strong headwind... stop laughing, it was a reasonably good speed, really, it was!) I guess a better way to say this is, last year in Duluth, I came in 23'rd in my divsion (there were 129). This year I want to do better than 20 out of 129, or whatever that ratio is based on the number of people in my division. And when I ride to Hamilton in a couple weeks of course I will have a better speed than last time, I will know where I am going, but in six or seven weeks my speed to Hamilton should be better still, not just because I will know the ground even better but, because everything will be better, I will be stronger, my bike in subtle ways improved. For me its not about greatness its about starting somewhere and improving, as long as I am moving forward in all respects then it is a thing worth doing.
- Arthur C. Clarke in 2001 A Space Odyssey.
I really should rename this blog. I don't dream of skating and seemed to have lost my passion for it somewhere in the process of finding a passion for riding. Oh well! (At least its not a passion for sitting in my under ware in front of the T.V. watching the football match.) I used this handy tool to measure the distance from Burloak Drive to the far end of Hamilton Beach, about 20km, add that to the 60 to get to Burloak and I have a nice even 160km ride ahead of me. Nervous? Not really, but damned excited, hopefully this time I won't get another blow out.
I bought a proper bike repair stand last night a Park Tool PCS-1. I tweaked the rear deraileur and gave the Roubaix a proper inspection, I was able to find an entry hole in the rear tire, which was probably the cause of the tube failure on Saturday, whatever it was must have been pretty long and cylindrical, probably a thumb tack or something similar. I am not entirely satisfied with the job I did on the deraileur and will have to keep working on it.
I suppose I ought to be happy with my bike... no scratch that, when in the history of the human condition is a person happy with what they have? I wanted the very best skates and, well they aren't but they are good, and you know what, I got sick of skating. That in a nutshell is my process, start with something modest, and build on it and improve it, keep dreaming of ways to improve and build on what I already have (until I am at a point where what I have is so good that it becomes boring). A few years ago when I went into skating in a big way, when I was not actually skating I was dreaming of ways of improving things, better technique, better equipment, you name it. I don't understand where it comes from, but if I am not riding I have an insatiable desire to upgrade my bike. Saner voices are telling me that I should not bother, its just not worth it - better to buy a better bike - but buying a better bike takes away all the fun. I am a mechanical person by nature, not the most deft I admit, but I like to tinker. The thought of just riding and then storing the bike until the next ride, well that would spoil the experience. I don't want to win a race, I could care less for racing, what I want is to have something that started good that I made better.
Last year, in Duluth I got 1:47:12 (it was cold and there was a strong headwind... stop laughing, it was a reasonably good speed, really, it was!) I guess a better way to say this is, last year in Duluth, I came in 23'rd in my divsion (there were 129). This year I want to do better than 20 out of 129, or whatever that ratio is based on the number of people in my division. And when I ride to Hamilton in a couple weeks of course I will have a better speed than last time, I will know where I am going, but in six or seven weeks my speed to Hamilton should be better still, not just because I will know the ground even better but, because everything will be better, I will be stronger, my bike in subtle ways improved. For me its not about greatness its about starting somewhere and improving, as long as I am moving forward in all respects then it is a thing worth doing.
Monday, May 26, 2008
On New Goals
I really ought to join a bike club. I am sure I'd get good advice on how to improve my endurance and technique and all that good stuff, as well as learning how to do repairs, which would be a good thing. But for the time being I'd like to let the dust settle from my recent move, as well I need to figure out what exactly I want from a club before I pick one to join.
Anyway I forgot to post yesterday, but I have a new goal, having achieved Burlington. If all goes well the weekend of June 7/8 I am going to Hamilton beach and back, by bike. (The weekend of May 31/June 1, I am going to do a 42k skate and the ride for heart the next day.) For anyone in Toronto who feels up to beating their sorry rear end in, feel free to join me, weather permitting, for a very long ride. (I am hoping I can leave early enough to join the TISC crowd when they skate laps in Hamilton - of course that presupposes that I don't have another blowout on the way.)
Anyway I forgot to post yesterday, but I have a new goal, having achieved Burlington. If all goes well the weekend of June 7/8 I am going to Hamilton beach and back, by bike. (The weekend of May 31/June 1, I am going to do a 42k skate and the ride for heart the next day.) For anyone in Toronto who feels up to beating their sorry rear end in, feel free to join me, weather permitting, for a very long ride. (I am hoping I can leave early enough to join the TISC crowd when they skate laps in Hamilton - of course that presupposes that I don't have another blowout on the way.)
Sunday, May 25, 2008
On riding and bikes of doom
Well I guess its official, either because of the novelty of a new bike or because I am tired of skating, but the fact is, I like riding more than skating. I woke up this morning and thought to myself: "well my plan is skate a 42k... I really don't want to... but I sure wouldn't mind doing a nice 80k ride".
So instead I spent about half an hour reading up on Eric Gee (see what I'm reading on the right) bike of doom and then the guy in Winnipeg (Steve) who started this Bike of Doom thing. Actually I think in good weather skates make more sense than a bike of doom, but it occurs to me, when the weather starts to get ugly a bike of doom would be perfect for the trips out to the supermarket. Well at least I have a new pet project, learn all the gory details about proper bike repair so that when I do get my POS winter crappy tire special I can keep it operational through the season. (And when I finally get my new Ultegra group it sure would be nice if I did the Coppi overhaul myself.)
I should join a bike club.
Anyway I have a ton of house cleaning to do, and I ought to go clean my skate bearings... ugh! Maybe I can go persuade one of the neighbours to come over and have a beer with me, I'd much rather sit on the pile of broken skids in the front yard and lament the slow pace of the landscapers than clean bearings.
So instead I spent about half an hour reading up on Eric Gee (see what I'm reading on the right) bike of doom and then the guy in Winnipeg (Steve) who started this Bike of Doom thing. Actually I think in good weather skates make more sense than a bike of doom, but it occurs to me, when the weather starts to get ugly a bike of doom would be perfect for the trips out to the supermarket. Well at least I have a new pet project, learn all the gory details about proper bike repair so that when I do get my POS winter crappy tire special I can keep it operational through the season. (And when I finally get my new Ultegra group it sure would be nice if I did the Coppi overhaul myself.)
I should join a bike club.
Anyway I have a ton of house cleaning to do, and I ought to go clean my skate bearings... ugh! Maybe I can go persuade one of the neighbours to come over and have a beer with me, I'd much rather sit on the pile of broken skids in the front yard and lament the slow pace of the landscapers than clean bearings.
On blowouts, crashes and backpain
Saturday (May 24) was an interesting day. The previous day, Friday, Lesley and I went to my office late at night to do some paperwork - the office has a working printer connected to the network, we have a working printer at home too, its still on the floor with no cables - hey I've got more important things to do than get the home network... networked, the cobbler's son has no shoes, our home has no computer network. Anyway I plugged my blackberry in while working and forgot to collect it when we left the office. The result was, Saturday morning I woke up early and raced back to the office to get the crackberry.
I rode into the office on my old Coppi racer. As I was approaching Leslie street I downshifted on the chain ring from the big ring to the little one (its a 12 speed, 2x6), only I downshifted too much and the chain came clear off. I had to get some pretty greasy hands working that old chain back into position.
After returning home from the office I went to Velotique to attend one of their free bike repair clinics. Its a smart business move, give people free lessons on how to do this stuff, then turn around and sell them all the parts and tools required to do the job. Not that I'm complaining, the major topic which took up most of the clinic was tires and emergency road side tube changes. The rest of the clinic was spent on gear tuning and chain cleaning. I think I mentioned this in this space before, but here's my plan, upgrade my entire group on my Roubaix to Ultegra then take the old stuff (mostly 105s) and put it on the Coppi - which really needs an upgrade soon. The Coppi's chain is so bad it's probably taking the cassette and the chain ring down with it, and those gear shifters are just brutal.
Well anyway, after the clinic, which lasted far longer than I expected, I went for a short ride, 125km, to Burlington and back via the lake shore trail (see maps: 2-12 through 2-04 inclusive). I turned around just West of Burlock Drive in Burlington, total distance at turn around: 59.6km. Except that my distance is not actually correct, you see if you look at map 2-05, between Sandwell and Woodhaven Park, on Lakeshore Blvd. as I went West, my back tire blew out on me, not 4 hours after Saul (from Velotique) had shown me how to change a tube on the road side! Luck. Even better luck, I am a sucker for gadgets, and when Saul had shown us all the toys needed to change a tire, I had bought them and brought them. Well here's a warning to everyone who's never had a roadside blowout, compressed CO2 is great, except it just won't get your tire to full pressure, it will give you enough to ride to the nearest bike store, which I did (a Cycle Path on Speers Rd just West of Dorval). I decided to stop the GPS while I backtracked to the Cycle Path and I did not restart the GPS until I was back at the point where the blowout occurred. (I also made sure to buy two tubes and two cylinders of CO2.) Actually that Cycle Path was pretty impressive, I expected it to be a hole in the wall with low end bikes only, suitable for children since this is suburbia, but instead they had some really good stuff in there. (Damn shame they are about a million miles from home.)
On the return to Toronto leg of my journey I crashed. I was stopped at a red light in Oakville, with one foot, the right one, on the ground when I started tilting to the left, I couldn't free my left foot fast enough and landed on the road with my helmet smacking up against the side of the stopped car next to me. I have a nice little number on my left knee and my right leg (thanks to the cogs on the outer chain ring) looks like there is a satanic message written in blood and grease on it. But who cares about that, I heal, the bike is fine, cushioned by a big meat sack - me!
As I neared the Humber river my GPS did something I have never seen it do before, it shifted the decmial over to make room to report distance covered in the hundreds of kilometers! Just after I crossed the Humber I saw someone skating in the opposite direction with 2006 Custom 3-point Vaypor's. It was Richard, not Richard A, the other Richard (used to be at TISC, looks sort of like Paul Shoebridge). I turned around, this time being very careful not to fall over, and caught up, I tried to give Richard a draft but the crowd on the MGT on a Saturday afternoon can be pretty brutal. By turning around and backtracking I was able to add about 5km (maybe 6km?) to my total distance, hence 125km, I mentioned above.
When I got home, I loaded up on Glutamine and bragged to anyone who would listen to me, that I was the nut case guy that just rode from Toronto to Burlington and back, in an afternoon. My plan for tomorrow (today now) is to skate a marathon distance, but frankly, I don't think I have it in me, and after my remarkable adventure in the outer burbs, I think I've done quite enough for one weekend, not two weeks after I donated blood.
I rode into the office on my old Coppi racer. As I was approaching Leslie street I downshifted on the chain ring from the big ring to the little one (its a 12 speed, 2x6), only I downshifted too much and the chain came clear off. I had to get some pretty greasy hands working that old chain back into position.
After returning home from the office I went to Velotique to attend one of their free bike repair clinics. Its a smart business move, give people free lessons on how to do this stuff, then turn around and sell them all the parts and tools required to do the job. Not that I'm complaining, the major topic which took up most of the clinic was tires and emergency road side tube changes. The rest of the clinic was spent on gear tuning and chain cleaning. I think I mentioned this in this space before, but here's my plan, upgrade my entire group on my Roubaix to Ultegra then take the old stuff (mostly 105s) and put it on the Coppi - which really needs an upgrade soon. The Coppi's chain is so bad it's probably taking the cassette and the chain ring down with it, and those gear shifters are just brutal.
Well anyway, after the clinic, which lasted far longer than I expected, I went for a short ride, 125km, to Burlington and back via the lake shore trail (see maps: 2-12 through 2-04 inclusive). I turned around just West of Burlock Drive in Burlington, total distance at turn around: 59.6km. Except that my distance is not actually correct, you see if you look at map 2-05, between Sandwell and Woodhaven Park, on Lakeshore Blvd. as I went West, my back tire blew out on me, not 4 hours after Saul (from Velotique) had shown me how to change a tube on the road side! Luck. Even better luck, I am a sucker for gadgets, and when Saul had shown us all the toys needed to change a tire, I had bought them and brought them. Well here's a warning to everyone who's never had a roadside blowout, compressed CO2 is great, except it just won't get your tire to full pressure, it will give you enough to ride to the nearest bike store, which I did (a Cycle Path on Speers Rd just West of Dorval). I decided to stop the GPS while I backtracked to the Cycle Path and I did not restart the GPS until I was back at the point where the blowout occurred. (I also made sure to buy two tubes and two cylinders of CO2.) Actually that Cycle Path was pretty impressive, I expected it to be a hole in the wall with low end bikes only, suitable for children since this is suburbia, but instead they had some really good stuff in there. (Damn shame they are about a million miles from home.)
On the return to Toronto leg of my journey I crashed. I was stopped at a red light in Oakville, with one foot, the right one, on the ground when I started tilting to the left, I couldn't free my left foot fast enough and landed on the road with my helmet smacking up against the side of the stopped car next to me. I have a nice little number on my left knee and my right leg (thanks to the cogs on the outer chain ring) looks like there is a satanic message written in blood and grease on it. But who cares about that, I heal, the bike is fine, cushioned by a big meat sack - me!
As I neared the Humber river my GPS did something I have never seen it do before, it shifted the decmial over to make room to report distance covered in the hundreds of kilometers! Just after I crossed the Humber I saw someone skating in the opposite direction with 2006 Custom 3-point Vaypor's. It was Richard, not Richard A, the other Richard (used to be at TISC, looks sort of like Paul Shoebridge). I turned around, this time being very careful not to fall over, and caught up, I tried to give Richard a draft but the crowd on the MGT on a Saturday afternoon can be pretty brutal. By turning around and backtracking I was able to add about 5km (maybe 6km?) to my total distance, hence 125km, I mentioned above.
When I got home, I loaded up on Glutamine and bragged to anyone who would listen to me, that I was the nut case guy that just rode from Toronto to Burlington and back, in an afternoon. My plan for tomorrow (today now) is to skate a marathon distance, but frankly, I don't think I have it in me, and after my remarkable adventure in the outer burbs, I think I've done quite enough for one weekend, not two weeks after I donated blood.
Friday, May 23, 2008
On skating and riding
Regular readers may have noticed a progressively greater interest in riding at the expense of skating. This is not a first for me. My first pair of inlines, as I documented earlier, were Rollerblade Lightnings from 1992, I skated until 1994 and lost interest as I found I could cover more ground, faster, on a bike than on skates. (It probably didn't help that 1994 I got my drivers licence and gas was only $0.50/L, compared with $1.25/L today.)
Is the same thing happening now? There is evidence to suggest that history does repeat itself. But I would like to think otherwise, were my worldly possessions at all anthropomorphic, my skates and my bikes would not need to worry about the car, there is nothing glamours or flashy about driving to work, or to the supermarket, sitting in traffic or paying for gas and auto insurance. There is, however, a great deal to be said for riding (or skating) past all of that in my morning commute to the office.
Ultimately I do still see myself as a skater, I just happen to also see myself as a cyclist too, by doing both I can cross train and I suspect, skate better in the long run. Do I see myself doing more skating or riding? I don't know, a few weeks ago I thought the bike would just be something to use when the skates were not an option, now it seems to be the other way around, but the fact is I cannot skate to Burlington, it just is not going to happen, the roads are too rough and it takes too long to get anywhere, whereas I am already dreaming of rides to Grimsby, that said, skating will always have it's place in my life too. I cannot stick my bike under my desk at the office, or toss it in the back seat of a cab on nights when I have to work late.
So ultimately the question, to my way of thinking is, can't I be both a skater and cyclist?
Anyway probably later this evening I will rant about something that sounds positively idiotic, is it in fact more environmentally sound to walk to the corner store or drive there? Jay Brown (no blog or web site.) recently steered me in the direction of a study that really should never have been performed and the results were, bizarre, but more on that later.
Is the same thing happening now? There is evidence to suggest that history does repeat itself. But I would like to think otherwise, were my worldly possessions at all anthropomorphic, my skates and my bikes would not need to worry about the car, there is nothing glamours or flashy about driving to work, or to the supermarket, sitting in traffic or paying for gas and auto insurance. There is, however, a great deal to be said for riding (or skating) past all of that in my morning commute to the office.
Ultimately I do still see myself as a skater, I just happen to also see myself as a cyclist too, by doing both I can cross train and I suspect, skate better in the long run. Do I see myself doing more skating or riding? I don't know, a few weeks ago I thought the bike would just be something to use when the skates were not an option, now it seems to be the other way around, but the fact is I cannot skate to Burlington, it just is not going to happen, the roads are too rough and it takes too long to get anywhere, whereas I am already dreaming of rides to Grimsby, that said, skating will always have it's place in my life too. I cannot stick my bike under my desk at the office, or toss it in the back seat of a cab on nights when I have to work late.
So ultimately the question, to my way of thinking is, can't I be both a skater and cyclist?
Anyway probably later this evening I will rant about something that sounds positively idiotic, is it in fact more environmentally sound to walk to the corner store or drive there? Jay Brown (no blog or web site.) recently steered me in the direction of a study that really should never have been performed and the results were, bizarre, but more on that later.
Sunday, May 18, 2008
On Recursion
As I have mentioned before, a friend of mine, Tomas Benda actually (he's the guy who drew the fancy covers for mathNEWS) used to say definition of loop: see loop. It occurs to me that unpacking is more of a recursive thing than a looping thing. You unpack something big and discover inside that big thing, eight or ten little things, all need to be unpacked and inside each of those things are eight or ten smaller things and inside those, etc.
I am at war with my material possessions, and frankly, I'm loosing! (Little wonder I want to burn my house down sometimes.)
I was reading Sigrid Ziegler's column (see what I'm reading on the right) from May 8, Get a License. I have lost count of the number of drivers (and on occasion pedestrians) who have cursed at me or worse while skating and frankly the situation as a cyclist is only marginally better. To be fair I think most motorists are actually rather impressed that someone is skating to their office job to be a... wait for it... systems analyst, yes that's right kids, by day (Monday to Friday) Michael works in an office with a shirt and and a B. Math and a M. Eng, by night Michael is a skater! (Or cyclist.) The sad fact is though, for every compliment there is a slam, and when it is me with a 200g helmet or the driver with a two ton SUV, if they get pissed at me, I get scared.
I want a big sign on my skate bag that says: "I get better gas mileage than you, so piss off! Besides, you're fat and I'm exercising!"
In the Saturday Globe and Mail there was mention of a possible cyclist union for Toronto, sounds great, where do I sign up? I heard a story that some time ago there was talk of adding a bike lane to some road in the East End, but then some West End Councillor objected and that was that. I think the fundamental problem is one of philosophy, we live in a car crazy culture, but if we were willing to toss the gas guzzlers and get out and ride - or skate - besides cleaner air and less money to those filthy oil barons we would all be healthier and probably a lot less stressed from the commute to work. I sure hate riding (or worse, skating) in the rain, but my worst ride in the rain was still a bajillion times better than driving in rush hour Toronto traffic.
Here's a random thought, the Ontario Highway Traffic Act does not, at least not anywhere that I could find, define a bike as an equivalent to a car. My bad, found it (section 1.1):
“vehicle” includes a motor vehicle, trailer, traction engine, farm tractor, road-building machine, bicycle and any vehicle drawn, propelled or driven by any kind of power, including muscular power, but does not include a motorized snow vehicle or a street car; (“véhicule”)
Well there you have it, ladies and gentleman, children of all ages, inline skates are vehicles, just like bicycles, farm tractors, and motor vehicles. How so? Well they are a 'vehicle propelled by muscular power'. Oh, and irate motorists who curse me for taking up an entire lane, just an FYI, I am obeying the law, when you cut me off and come dangerously close to hitting me, you are driving carelessly, which is an offence:
Every person is guilty of the offence of driving carelessly who drives a vehicle or street car on a highway without due care and attention or without reasonable consideration for other persons using the highway and on conviction is liable to a fine of not less than $200 and not more than $1,000 or to imprisonment for a term of not more than six months, or to both, and in addition his or her licence or permit may be suspended for a period of not more than two years. R.S.O. 1990, c. H.8, s. 130.
I had been planning to talk more about much of my experiences on bike or skate are like the weekend warrior (read: tamed) version of Sigrid's, but instead I find myself going into a tirade against car drivers. But then car drivers need a good tirade, or ten directed at them, so many of them are just so bad at it.
I am at war with my material possessions, and frankly, I'm loosing! (Little wonder I want to burn my house down sometimes.)
I was reading Sigrid Ziegler's column (see what I'm reading on the right) from May 8, Get a License. I have lost count of the number of drivers (and on occasion pedestrians) who have cursed at me or worse while skating and frankly the situation as a cyclist is only marginally better. To be fair I think most motorists are actually rather impressed that someone is skating to their office job to be a... wait for it... systems analyst, yes that's right kids, by day (Monday to Friday) Michael works in an office with a shirt and and a B. Math and a M. Eng, by night Michael is a skater! (Or cyclist.) The sad fact is though, for every compliment there is a slam, and when it is me with a 200g helmet or the driver with a two ton SUV, if they get pissed at me, I get scared.
I want a big sign on my skate bag that says: "I get better gas mileage than you, so piss off! Besides, you're fat and I'm exercising!"
In the Saturday Globe and Mail there was mention of a possible cyclist union for Toronto, sounds great, where do I sign up? I heard a story that some time ago there was talk of adding a bike lane to some road in the East End, but then some West End Councillor objected and that was that. I think the fundamental problem is one of philosophy, we live in a car crazy culture, but if we were willing to toss the gas guzzlers and get out and ride - or skate - besides cleaner air and less money to those filthy oil barons we would all be healthier and probably a lot less stressed from the commute to work. I sure hate riding (or worse, skating) in the rain, but my worst ride in the rain was still a bajillion times better than driving in rush hour Toronto traffic.
Here's a random thought, the Ontario Highway Traffic Act does not, at least not anywhere that I could find, define a bike as an equivalent to a car. My bad, found it (section 1.1):
“vehicle” includes a motor vehicle, trailer, traction engine, farm tractor, road-building machine, bicycle and any vehicle drawn, propelled or driven by any kind of power, including muscular power, but does not include a motorized snow vehicle or a street car; (“véhicule”)
Well there you have it, ladies and gentleman, children of all ages, inline skates are vehicles, just like bicycles, farm tractors, and motor vehicles. How so? Well they are a 'vehicle propelled by muscular power'. Oh, and irate motorists who curse me for taking up an entire lane, just an FYI, I am obeying the law, when you cut me off and come dangerously close to hitting me, you are driving carelessly, which is an offence:
Every person is guilty of the offence of driving carelessly who drives a vehicle or street car on a highway without due care and attention or without reasonable consideration for other persons using the highway and on conviction is liable to a fine of not less than $200 and not more than $1,000 or to imprisonment for a term of not more than six months, or to both, and in addition his or her licence or permit may be suspended for a period of not more than two years. R.S.O. 1990, c. H.8, s. 130.
I had been planning to talk more about much of my experiences on bike or skate are like the weekend warrior (read: tamed) version of Sigrid's, but instead I find myself going into a tirade against car drivers. But then car drivers need a good tirade, or ten directed at them, so many of them are just so bad at it.
Saturday, May 17, 2008
On Upgrades
Is there a man on this planet who does not think of ways to spend money to improve something? For me, it used to be computers, the dream was to have a Pentium 120 with a whole 16MB of RAM and a 1GB hard drive, good god, that was a dream machine? (!) Since I could not afford that, I upgraded my 386 DX-33 from 4MB to 8MB, that was... actually a long time ago, 1994/'95.
I've long since given up on the notion of having the latest and greatest computer. Frankly after spending eight or ten hours on the computer at the office the last thing I want to do is concentrate mental effort on systems. (Besides with a near unlimited budget the company is sure to have a better PC for me than I could possibly buy, or upgrade, for myself.) This isn't to say I don't think about upgrading equipment from the company budget, new routers, switches, firewalls, WAN links, but I digress.
Over the last few years I used to spend a lot of time dreaming up ways to make my skates better. The problem is, I cannot anymore. I have Magnesium frames, Swiss Ceramic bearings, 110mm wheels, Custom boots. I could argue that the three point frames or the 110mm wheels are redundant or overkill, the boots might not be the best fit, or something else, but frankly those skates are about as good as you can get. It makes the skates kind of boring actually, if there is no way to improve them then all I can discuss is my own technique (which does need work, I know that!) but I'm a technical person, I like to think of ways to make the technology better.
Fortunately I have other things to dream of upgrading (yes hardwood with a runner on the stairs, and hardwood in the third bedroom... oh and Ocean View shutters throughout, I love Ocean View shutters.) But I was actually thinking of my bike, the Roubaix. So here is my thoughts on it, and I do welcome comments because I am really striking out into largely unknown territory, for me. First all components are Shimano 105s, but I was thinking of upgrading to Ultegra in the following order:
I've long since given up on the notion of having the latest and greatest computer. Frankly after spending eight or ten hours on the computer at the office the last thing I want to do is concentrate mental effort on systems. (Besides with a near unlimited budget the company is sure to have a better PC for me than I could possibly buy, or upgrade, for myself.) This isn't to say I don't think about upgrading equipment from the company budget, new routers, switches, firewalls, WAN links, but I digress.
Over the last few years I used to spend a lot of time dreaming up ways to make my skates better. The problem is, I cannot anymore. I have Magnesium frames, Swiss Ceramic bearings, 110mm wheels, Custom boots. I could argue that the three point frames or the 110mm wheels are redundant or overkill, the boots might not be the best fit, or something else, but frankly those skates are about as good as you can get. It makes the skates kind of boring actually, if there is no way to improve them then all I can discuss is my own technique (which does need work, I know that!) but I'm a technical person, I like to think of ways to make the technology better.
Fortunately I have other things to dream of upgrading (yes hardwood with a runner on the stairs, and hardwood in the third bedroom... oh and Ocean View shutters throughout, I love Ocean View shutters.) But I was actually thinking of my bike, the Roubaix. So here is my thoughts on it, and I do welcome comments because I am really striking out into largely unknown territory, for me. First all components are Shimano 105s, but I was thinking of upgrading to Ultegra in the following order:
- Rear derailleur
- cassette
- front derailleur
- crankset
- levers
Or, it occurs to me, I could just go to an online American retailer and get all of the above for a fraction the price of what a Toronto area bike shop would charge. Well researching this article gave me something new to dream about, but not right now, I desperately need bike shorts. Well actually what I desperately need is the half height wall in the basement so we can decide where the T.V. ought to go.
Okay, having just written about the Earthquake in Sichuan, it occurs to me, I should say I don't need a damned thing, there are people who need things, like water, food and medicine, and they legitimately desperately need.
I would very much like to have, but I can wait.
Friday, May 16, 2008
On Part Names
I completely forgot to mention, I found a handy web site for people like me who cannot remember the names of bike parts. Besides that looks like a pretty sweet ride.
On Living Without Oil
Monday I skated to work, and skated home.
Tuesday I skated to work, skated home, then skated to my parents, picked up my old Coppi 12 speed road bike (I'll post some pictures one of these days, the bike, I bought used in 1994 and it is still a sweet ride) and rode home.
Wednesday I rode the Coppi to work and as predicted, it rained that evening on the ride home (hence the older bike and not the skates.)
Thursday I rode my Roubaix to work, then after work rode it to the bike store for routine maintenance, then I skated home. (In the interests of full disclosure, I then drove back downtown to pickup Lesley and we went out to dinner not far away from home.)
Friday I skated to work, at three I went to the bike store picked up my Roubaix, bought a guard for the chain stay, a larger under saddle pouch and an inner tube - still not at all confident about my tube changing abilities but at least I have a spare tube now. Then I biked home.
I have to work late tonight (Friday), so I skated back to the office. (I am going to take a Taxi home, but given that I don't expect to be going home before midnight, I think that the Taxi ride can't be all that bad can it?)
When last I checked the weather for the long weekend ahead it was supposed to rain on Saturday and Sunday. Therefore I will spend Saturday cleaning the house and Sunday cleaning my skates, Monday I am going to go ride to Burlington and back, one thing I should add, Wednesday I gave blood so that bike ride to Burlington could be difficult. Lesley is out with her girlfriends in Quebec - all my good work, not driving lost in one road trip. Sigh. I have not yet achieved my goal of an oil free existence, but I am getting closer.
In other news, the father of a friend of mine recently passed away. I am sorry about that. I was going to make a modest donation, however I spent my donation money on the Chinese Earthquake Victims. I am not sure how long that link will last, but I urge my readers to please consider giving, I would have rather donated through MSF but they don't have the option of 'give all my donation to the people in China' and while events in Burma (I won't call that country by the name the Junta want it called) are probably far worse, the fact that at the moment all aid going there is sitting on a tarmac in Ragoon is disgusting, and wasteful. At least my modest help will, I hope, go to someone in China who so desperately needs it.
I was asked recently who I thought would win the election, so here it is in writing, (assuming no assassination). I give Obama a 95% odds of winning, I'll give Clinton 4% and the remaining 1% is that a hundred million Americans loose their mind and vote for a continuation of Bush politics under an angry white guy from Arizona. Six months from now you get to laugh at me or I get to say, I told you so! But in all my talking to Americans, people from Atlanta GA to Rochester NY, the anger and disgust at and with the current administration is, justifiably, huge. Their country -the greatest country in the World! - was stolen and all they have left is a lot of bad debts, lost retirement savings, an impossible war in a far away country, rampant unemployment and no health care. Americans, please, for your own good, as well as everyone else's vote for Obama, he's your last, best chance to breath new life into those beautiful ideals of Jefferson, Hamilton, Madison and Jay.
Tuesday I skated to work, skated home, then skated to my parents, picked up my old Coppi 12 speed road bike (I'll post some pictures one of these days, the bike, I bought used in 1994 and it is still a sweet ride) and rode home.
Wednesday I rode the Coppi to work and as predicted, it rained that evening on the ride home (hence the older bike and not the skates.)
Thursday I rode my Roubaix to work, then after work rode it to the bike store for routine maintenance, then I skated home. (In the interests of full disclosure, I then drove back downtown to pickup Lesley and we went out to dinner not far away from home.)
Friday I skated to work, at three I went to the bike store picked up my Roubaix, bought a guard for the chain stay, a larger under saddle pouch and an inner tube - still not at all confident about my tube changing abilities but at least I have a spare tube now. Then I biked home.
I have to work late tonight (Friday), so I skated back to the office. (I am going to take a Taxi home, but given that I don't expect to be going home before midnight, I think that the Taxi ride can't be all that bad can it?)
When last I checked the weather for the long weekend ahead it was supposed to rain on Saturday and Sunday. Therefore I will spend Saturday cleaning the house and Sunday cleaning my skates, Monday I am going to go ride to Burlington and back, one thing I should add, Wednesday I gave blood so that bike ride to Burlington could be difficult. Lesley is out with her girlfriends in Quebec - all my good work, not driving lost in one road trip. Sigh. I have not yet achieved my goal of an oil free existence, but I am getting closer.
In other news, the father of a friend of mine recently passed away. I am sorry about that. I was going to make a modest donation, however I spent my donation money on the Chinese Earthquake Victims. I am not sure how long that link will last, but I urge my readers to please consider giving, I would have rather donated through MSF but they don't have the option of 'give all my donation to the people in China' and while events in Burma (I won't call that country by the name the Junta want it called) are probably far worse, the fact that at the moment all aid going there is sitting on a tarmac in Ragoon is disgusting, and wasteful. At least my modest help will, I hope, go to someone in China who so desperately needs it.
I was asked recently who I thought would win the election, so here it is in writing, (assuming no assassination). I give Obama a 95% odds of winning, I'll give Clinton 4% and the remaining 1% is that a hundred million Americans loose their mind and vote for a continuation of Bush politics under an angry white guy from Arizona. Six months from now you get to laugh at me or I get to say, I told you so! But in all my talking to Americans, people from Atlanta GA to Rochester NY, the anger and disgust at and with the current administration is, justifiably, huge. Their country -the greatest country in the World! - was stolen and all they have left is a lot of bad debts, lost retirement savings, an impossible war in a far away country, rampant unemployment and no health care. Americans, please, for your own good, as well as everyone else's vote for Obama, he's your last, best chance to breath new life into those beautiful ideals of Jefferson, Hamilton, Madison and Jay.
Sunday, May 11, 2008
On Goals
I have done it! From my home at Woodbine Ave. near Queen Street, to Mississauga is 25km, according to a sign in Mississauga it is about 20km further to Oakvile, well today, at long last I have crossed Mississauga. I reached Winston Churchill Blvd. pushed the pedestrian button at the light at the intersection of Lakeshore Blvd and Winston Churchill Blvd, turned around, faced to the East and read a sign that welcomed me to Mississauga and biked home.
Alright enough celebrating, next goal: Burlington. (Actually on Lakeshore as I was headed West some bikers from Toronto caught up with me, they were going to Grimsby... hmmm, if I had a better saddle I could probably do Grimsby, mind you I really better learn basic bike repair first before I try a 140km ride.)
I am in nine different kinds of pain, and my rear end is in about a million different kinds of pain, riding is literally a pain in the ass, but the feeling of conquering a goal, no matter how modest, is always uplifting.
Alright enough celebrating, next goal: Burlington. (Actually on Lakeshore as I was headed West some bikers from Toronto caught up with me, they were going to Grimsby... hmmm, if I had a better saddle I could probably do Grimsby, mind you I really better learn basic bike repair first before I try a 140km ride.)
I am in nine different kinds of pain, and my rear end is in about a million different kinds of pain, riding is literally a pain in the ass, but the feeling of conquering a goal, no matter how modest, is always uplifting.
Thursday, May 8, 2008
On An Amendum
So it turns out there will be a number of inline races this weekend. As I already feel stretched, thanks to the new home, past the breaking point, financially speaking, I have decided to go for a bike ride with my brother, rather than pay a race entry fee. (This is quite an achievement as he is a marathon runner and I'm a skater, we are meeting in the middle ground I suppose.) This weekend's goal, Oakville or bust!
In other news, I have Internet Access!! Yippee, no more stealing weak signals from the neighbours! And in other news, we have a central vac! Now if only we finished unpacking so we could clean the mess.
Recently I made a list of items I need the contractor to do for us:
In other news, I have Internet Access!! Yippee, no more stealing weak signals from the neighbours! And in other news, we have a central vac! Now if only we finished unpacking so we could clean the mess.
Recently I made a list of items I need the contractor to do for us:
- change out pot lights for compact fluorescent lights
- humidifier on furnace
- wall mounts for TVs (location to be decided by Lesley)
- surge suppressor attached to electrical panel
- mount bike racks in the garage if that ever gets finished (still waiting on the builder for a garage)
- timed motion sensor for the cat litter exhaust fan
- blue walls in 2'nd bath (just a paint job)
- fix damage I did with dad in basement parlour (attempt at putting up curtain)
- hardwood in second bed and open space on second floor
- California shutters throughout
- engineered hardwood in basement parlour
- finish painting (after we complete move in from old home, large furniture was left for staging)
- A half height wall in the basement parlour at the entrance to the house.
I really need to win the lottery!
Wednesday, May 7, 2008
On moving, from a cat's perspective and on organized skating
Well as I have documented elsewhere in this blog I have two little guys. Kilu seems to have taken well to the new home despite some early problems. I have little doubt that the trauma of seeing all the things that Kilu knew of, computers, clothing and the like, suddenly in boxes, then gone, then Kilu himself, being relocated was more than a little traumatizing for the little guy. His first night he hid in the basement and he still cries a lot when Lesley or I are not around, but at least he's becoming more sociable, just like he used to be.
Kalubi is a different animal completely, he has moved from hiding in the cat litter, to hiding in the front parlor to hiding under the laundry sink, but the basic theme of hiding is central to Kalubi's life (or lack-there-of in this case) style.
Meanwhile the 30 day Tarion report of deficiencies we have found now exceeds 20 items and there's still 7 days left! (Remarkably my issues are mostly modest, a scratch here, a misaligned cabinet door there, inadequate insulation here, etc.)
As I sit on the bed typing this Kilu has decided to climb into bed, crawl under the blanket and is now a lump near the foot of the bed, adorable little guy, but my allergies are going to be bad all night... oh well!
In unrelated news, I am trying, with little apparent success to organize a marathon length skate along the North Shore of Lake Ontario here in Toronto. The way I see it:
Kalubi is a different animal completely, he has moved from hiding in the cat litter, to hiding in the front parlor to hiding under the laundry sink, but the basic theme of hiding is central to Kalubi's life (or lack-there-of in this case) style.
Meanwhile the 30 day Tarion report of deficiencies we have found now exceeds 20 items and there's still 7 days left! (Remarkably my issues are mostly modest, a scratch here, a misaligned cabinet door there, inadequate insulation here, etc.)
As I sit on the bed typing this Kilu has decided to climb into bed, crawl under the blanket and is now a lump near the foot of the bed, adorable little guy, but my allergies are going to be bad all night... oh well!
In unrelated news, I am trying, with little apparent success to organize a marathon length skate along the North Shore of Lake Ontario here in Toronto. The way I see it:
- Driving to Hamilton (a 60km one way trip) is a shameful waste of gas and cause of green house gas emissions.
- Hamilton beach is just way to easy, its a straight bloody line, for heaven's sakes even Duluth is harder than that!
- If we ever want to have races in Toronto we should probably start by having organized group events first.
Anyway I hope some people decide to join me, if not, then I guess I go it on my own and then spend the afternoon unpacking and building shelving. (Its not as if I lack for things to do on weekends these days.)
Speaking of weekends, my new goal, bike to Oakville and back. Achieving that my next goal is Hamilton and back. Also, in honour of Ed Duncan (see my readings at the right) I am going to do my damnedest to live a carbon emissions free lifestyle, no driving to work or recreational driving if at all possible - which I suppose means if I go to Hamilton to skate I will have to use my bike to get there. From now on, if I don't need to drive somewhere, I won't. (And yes, I'm installing compact florescent lights all over the house.) For the curious among you, as it is still a little cold outside, the heat is on, set to 20 degrees, once I switch over to chilling, the thermostats will be set to 25. None of this hotter in the winter than the summer lunacy.
Sunday, May 4, 2008
On the horrors of moving.
I have to write much of the following on my Black Berry. I've been stealing Internet access from the neighbours (they really ought to enable WEP, but in the meantime, at least I have access until the cable gets installed.) Much of this post is rather bitter, its been a frustrating week for me, where success is measured in the number of boxes unpacked and failures in the number of defects found in the home, un-plugged dishwashers, broken boilers, etc.
Is it a rational desire to want to burn all of ones material possessions and start over, rather than pack and unpack them? I don't think my insane urges mark me as an arsonist. Rather I suspect as anyone who has moved after years of domestic tranquility will, no doubt agree, my urges reflect a reasonably well adjusted individual trying to come to terms with an awe inspiring pile of crap, because ultimately that's all our Worldly belongings are, a pile of crap!
Over a period of about a week, starting April 26 we managed to empty our humble home of everything, and move all of it, in cardboard boxes, to our new home where all our stuff is, still, in cardboard boxes.When we first took possession, the furnace did not work, this was fixed but I am having trouble getting someone to admit error, and so far it appears I am responsible for a $135 repair bill. The dish washer did not work either, the installer never bothered to test, had he done so, he would have determined that there was something wrong with the electrical in the house, specifically the dish washer power was not connected to the electrical panel.
Besides skating to work I have not had a skate in ages. I last biked over a week ago and I am very tired from running around getting all the things I need to put my life back together. The next time I move it will be in a wooden box.
Alright correction, since typing the above in the Black Berry I have gone for a wonderful 59.2km bike ride from my home at Woodbine and Queen I got as far as the Palais Royale before running into Richard A. (No blog or page to my knowledge.) I let Richard draft off me back to Ontario Place and then to the light house where I continued on to Mississauga, before turning around and heading home - making sure to wave to Richard on the way back. I did not fall once, even when my back wheel jammed in the sewer grate at Queens Quay and Spadina, although that was a close one. I maxed out at 46km/h, while racing the cars on Queens Quay. I felt like asking if they enjoyed paying $1.20/L but then the realization that they are encased in 2 tons of steel whereas I have about 8kg of carbon and aluminum kept me pretty quiet.
Is it a rational desire to want to burn all of ones material possessions and start over, rather than pack and unpack them? I don't think my insane urges mark me as an arsonist. Rather I suspect as anyone who has moved after years of domestic tranquility will, no doubt agree, my urges reflect a reasonably well adjusted individual trying to come to terms with an awe inspiring pile of crap, because ultimately that's all our Worldly belongings are, a pile of crap!
Over a period of about a week, starting April 26 we managed to empty our humble home of everything, and move all of it, in cardboard boxes, to our new home where all our stuff is, still, in cardboard boxes.When we first took possession, the furnace did not work, this was fixed but I am having trouble getting someone to admit error, and so far it appears I am responsible for a $135 repair bill. The dish washer did not work either, the installer never bothered to test, had he done so, he would have determined that there was something wrong with the electrical in the house, specifically the dish washer power was not connected to the electrical panel.
Besides skating to work I have not had a skate in ages. I last biked over a week ago and I am very tired from running around getting all the things I need to put my life back together. The next time I move it will be in a wooden box.
Alright correction, since typing the above in the Black Berry I have gone for a wonderful 59.2km bike ride from my home at Woodbine and Queen I got as far as the Palais Royale before running into Richard A. (No blog or page to my knowledge.) I let Richard draft off me back to Ontario Place and then to the light house where I continued on to Mississauga, before turning around and heading home - making sure to wave to Richard on the way back. I did not fall once, even when my back wheel jammed in the sewer grate at Queens Quay and Spadina, although that was a close one. I maxed out at 46km/h, while racing the cars on Queens Quay. I felt like asking if they enjoyed paying $1.20/L but then the realization that they are encased in 2 tons of steel whereas I have about 8kg of carbon and aluminum kept me pretty quiet.
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