Happy International Jewish Movie Day!!

I often wondered what Christian people do on December 25, for a good Jewish boy like me, alright I'm a pretty lousy jew, pork tastes good, cheese burgers are good! But anyway for a decidedly non-believer such as myself Christmas has always seemed a curious holiday. Suddenly nobody wants to do anything, well how does one stay occupied?


In my case, wake up at a quarter to one in the afternoon helps, followed by a mass cook-a-thon, Nanaimo bars, two batches. (For Americans who may read this Nanaimo is a place in British Columbia that a baked good is named after, just like the chairs are named after a popular cottage spot in Central Ontario.) For normal people who call it washroom, I was referring to Muskoka Chairs, apparently Americans call it Adirondack Chairs, but then these are the same people who feel it is appropriate to take a nap in the sink?


I really should stop, making fun of American "English" is sort of like shooting fish in a barrel, its just too easy. Teddy Roosevelt once said "We have room in this country but for one language and that is the English language." Which to my way of thinking sounds like intolerant horse crap. For one thing, Americans don't speak English, at least not very well and for another here in Canada, a country significantly smaller demographically speaking, we seem to have room but for about 278 languages (possibly a lot more) and that is the English language (typically, sad to say, spoken like an American), the French language, the Italian language, the Spanish language, the 23 different dialects of Chinese languages, & cetra. So Mr. Lou Dobbs, take Teddy Roosevelt and go invade some small defenceless Latin American nation.


In other news, on Lesley's Birthday, Dec. 23, I wrote that I wanted a Specialized Transition Pro 2008 model. It turns out there is no such thing. Ooops! On the advice of a guy in the Beaches Cycle Club, I spoke with Neil, the store manager of D'Ornellas (now I would rather shop at my local shop, but they have limited experience with either of Specialized and Tri bikes). Anyway Neil told me that in 2008 Specialized tried to make the Transition Pro as per the specifications on the Specialized Site (well probably some written document that was later copied onto the website) but Specialized just could not get the paint right and gave up, so in the 2008 model year there was no Transition Pro.

Neil went on to describe how the 2009 S-works had an Easton bar that he was not fond of, it is not adjustable, so if it does not fit, you either buy a new bar ($1000) or you be uncomfortable and less aero. Now I was not thinking of getting an S-works transition, as I already wrote, they are too expensive. But then Neil told me something, somehow D'Ornellas can sell me an S-works frame, Zipp aero wheels, full Dur-ace group (except the brake calipers and crankset, those come with the frame) and adjustable Profile Design carbon fibre bars for only a few hundred dollars more than the MSRP (Manufactures Suggested Retail Price) of a Transition Pro. Needless to say I am thinking that over very seriously, the wheels alone retail for over two thousand. The most ludicrous part, if I buy a considerably inferior model, the Transition Expert (Ultegra group, heavy parts and frame) and then upgrade the wheels to the same aero wheels, I end up paying as much as I would for the S-works with Dur-ace.

For anyone not into road bikes a quick translation, I can buy a low end Ferrari with reasonable parts, replace the wheels with something nice and spend about as much as a Ferrari with custom selected parts that are the best money can buy. (You can replace Ferrari with your preferred method of transportation.)

One nice thing about recessions, suddenly all these wonderful toys are very cheap!

Its time to check on my thoroughly Canadian Nanaimo bars, so in the spirit of quoting people from a hundred years ago, Merry Christmas to all and to all a good night!

On Tri and Time Trial Bikes

I have been doing a great deal of research on the subject of Time Trial and Tri bikes (yes there is a difference but it is subtle and does not really matter when you are at my level any way). Sadly the great resource that I am using? The Internet, where let's face it, anyone with an opinion is suddenly an authority, no matter how inaccurate, or invalid their opinion maybe.

I decided, since the S-Works Transition is far and away too expensive to settle on a more reasonably (yes that is a relative term here) priced 2008 Transition Pro. Probably because the value of the Canadian dollar dropped in 2008 prices for 2009 products have gone up, considerably, also the 2008 looks better, which matters. (Okay some people will like the flashy red 2009 model, but I like the more conservative black with red accents, but whatever the main thing is I am saving a lot of money by going with the previous model year).

Anyway I asked my friend at the bike store if he could get such a bike for me, since it is an older model availability becomes more of a concern.

Well alright see, this is where my skater mentality comes into play, in the world of inline skating lets suppose you decide you want a pair of skates in September, well unless you are a size 6 or size 14 foot you are out of luck. Many manufactures make one production run around October of the previous year, put the skates on the shelves for Christmas and by August or September you will be hard pressed to find something in your size. Going custom is an option, but it is very expensive and suppose you broke your old pair and need a replacement pair, well while you are waiting for your fancy custom skates what do you do? Ride a bike? Do that you might discover that you are really a cyclist, skating was interesting but clearly not your thing and by the time the customs show you're full time on the saddle. Don't laugh, something very similar to that is what happened to me! Oh well, Bont, BSB, MPC and Matter's loss has been Specialized, Mavic, Vittoria and Shimano's gain.

Anyway I asked my friend about availability of the 2008 Specialized and his response, as I really ought to have expected, was 'what size?' This invites a really complicated problem, I need to figure out size and hence all the research. Anyway I have been digging around and the first thing I realise, on talking to a few guys who ride TT (Time Trial) bikes is that I need to speak with people who actually sell these bikes in significant quantities, which is another big change from inline skating, I don't need to go to Ottawa or Cambridge, just Lawrence Ave. and Brimely Rd, or Bloor St. and Keele Ave., or... you get the idea. So okay, the local bike shop does not sell enough TT bikes, Oh well, at least I am not driving across Ontario in a quest for a good bike. But I do realise I should act soon, I guess I'll be buying this thing on lay-a-way.

Anyway here are some resources, hey I found 'em someone else might find them useful, on TT bikes:

Here is a discussion of the difference between Road and TT bikes. For myself I love long rides and while I enjoy riding in groups sometimes the peaceful solitude of ones own thoughts are desirable, and I figure I am going to be doing some Time Trials so having a road and a TT bike makes sense to me.

This is a discussion of proper posture on a TT/Tri bike.

This is a very technical discussion of bike geometry, it is going to take me a few passes to digest everything here.

This is also a very technical discussion of fit for TT and Tri bikes.

On an unrelated note, hi to everyone who came here from Speed Skate World, that post was written with my tongue very firmly planted in cheek, but still, there are an awful lot of really bad drivers out there. I honestly think the province should have more frequent and harsh driver exams, and I also think that the city should limit the number of taxis to something a lot smaller then it is now, apparently the number of taxis is so bad drivers are getting into fist fights for fares, its just a matter of time before a driver eager to pick someone up from the other side of the street does an illegal U-turn and plows into a cyclist who had the misfortune of being in the wrong place (the proper side of the road) and the wrong time (when a Taxi was doing an illegal U-turn).

On Economics and Random Thoughts

I've spent too much time shoveling snow, I have thrown my back out something awful, walking around the kitchen is becoming painful and here is the best part, another 10cm is predicted to fall overnight. I hate winter.

So I was looking up pricing on the Specialized Transition I was dreaming about, not going to happen, I am sure to Lesley's relief, the model I liked was just way to expensive. Ironically just one step down, but considerably uglier styling is the Transition Pro and it is half the price. Honestly guys, couldn't you make the Pro in the same colour scheme as the S-Works version? (I'd pay a modest premium for that colour scheme, but lets face it, us working, in my case very, stiffs, cannot ever possibly afford an S-works bike, they are just too expensive for what is ultimately a recreation, a passion to be sure, but still just a recreation.)

Anyway I've had the chance lately to think about a great many things, like the recession, and it occurs to me, I have a line of credit, a mortgage and a big RRSP that is loosing value, probably faster than I am paying off my mortgage. So it got me thinking, the reason I am being such a tight wad with money lately is simple really, I want to pay off that damned line of credit while making regular payments to the mortgage so that I can feel justified in spending thousands of dollars on a new bike. Well here's a really silly idea, so silly it actually makes a lot of sense. The Government of Canada should allow people in positions like my own to make a one time withdrawal (just during market slowdowns like this one) from their RRSP tax free on two conditions:

1. The money, limited probably to a maximum of about $20 thousand is paid back to the RRSP within 15 years.
2. All money withdrawn is used to pay down higher interest debts, i.e. debts with an interest rate that exceeds the bank prime rate. Credit card debt, line of credits, over draft protection, etc.

Actually first time home buyers are allowed to do exactly what I am proposing (of course a first time home buyer does not need to pay down debts), but I am suggesting allow anyone to make an RRSP withdrawal, just during periods of market slowness and only allow maybe one withdrawal every 5 or 15 (or whatever else) years.

When you think about it, paying down that high interest debt probably makes more sense for many people than having an RRSP in the first place. After all, with what the markets are doing these days, I am pretty much sure that if I dared look at my statement I'd just want to cry.

Actually I was in the elevator in First Canadian Place a couple weeks ago, and a couple guys get on and start chatting and I was tempted to tell them I was in the exact same place:

"Have you looked at your RRSP mine is being clobbered."

"I won't even look, I'm too afraid!"

So tell me, I get some of my RRSP now, pay off some bad debts, i.e. debts that are costing me money without being tax deductible (see the Smith Manoeuvre if you have the guts for that kind of thing) or debts for items that are deprecating, unlike a mortgage which is on a property which, we hope goes up in value over time. I then pay off my loan to myself faster, because I don't have as many bad debts and maybe I go spend a little hard earned thus priming the pump.

The only looser in this little scam? Well I suppose whoever loaned me at a high rate before hand, the bank or credit card, but even they don't get hit too bad, they just get the higher interest debt paid off sooner so they in turn will go around and loan more money because suddenly they have a larger capital ratio. Holy smokes, I think I just dreamed up an almost free way to really give the Canadian economy a healthy kick start. Why the hell am I, a computer engineer after all, thinking of this? And how does one suggest this sort of thing to the Ministry of Finance, I think it is a good idea, I might be wrong, but hey it ought to be considered by someone who knows more about this than me. Shouldn't it? If anyone knows someone high up in Ottawa, feel free to pass my idea along, mention my name if you'd like, but mainly lets at least give the smart people as many good ideas to shoot down as possible one of those ideas will be a good one that just might get things working again.

And to my readers, in case you are wondering, yes I did come up with a way to end the world's dependency on oil, its green and safe and creates lots of jobs. Actually I am not sure if it would work, something else for the smart people to shoot down but you can read a really old description of it here. I've actually been giving that idea a lot of thought lately, I am not so sure it would completely supplant oil, but it would get us started and having driven through Southern Arizona and New Mexico I can assure you, installing a huge grid of solar generators there would not even be noticed, it is "magnificent desolation" but still desolated.

On snow and humor

First I should note that all to often my readers to get to see me lash out at Toronto drivers. In my defense, Toronto drivers are appallingly incompetent, but sometimes someone does something really courteous and makes me feel like a total jerk for bitching. Anyway the story is, I’m riding to work on Thursday and I get to a street car (to Europeans you would call them a tram), and by law I am not allowed to pass when the doors are open, thus preventing a collision with a pedestrian. Well as the street car slows down people start walking onto the street as is the norm to board, and I slow down. But then wouldn’t you know, the driver does not actually open the door until I pass. It was a really nice thing to do, sure on a road bike, either Erin or the Coppi I could whip past just as soon as the doors shut and catch up with the next street car just a couple blocks further down, but on the old mountain bike Brian gave me, it’s a different story, passing a street car is no trivial exercise when you are not clipped in and your bottom bracket is making unsettling noises.

I noticed someone from Iowa hit my little blog. Hello out there, hope you enjoyed the jokes. :) Actually they were Googling the pattern: “geez, i didn't think they'd get this @%#*^ing mad." ( stephen harper, december 2008 ). So like I said I hope they enjoyed the jokes. :) I guess for American’s we ought to change the line to be geez, I didn't think they'd get this @%#*^ing mad." ( George Bush, December 2008 after the Iraqi press conference).

Its snowing really hard today, it was predicted, 15cm, that's six inches, and lots of wind. Did I ever bitch about the weather? Well walking to work sucks! Best of all, when Lesley woke up she drove, had I waited for her I could have arrived at the same time without being cold and wet. I hate winter, oh well, 103 days until April 1, lets just hope there is no snow by then!

On Riding in the snow or how insane are car drivers?

I had been under the impression that a mountain bike would hack the snow better than a road bike. Not quite.

It snowed about 5cm last night (that's two inches for the Americans in the room). I used Brian's old Rocky Mountain, thanks again Brian. I tried as much as possible to stick to the side roads at first - not smart. The snow was the packing snow, ideal for making snow men or snow forts, not very good for riding through. I tried to ride in the pressed areas where the weight from the car tyres had crushed the snow down hard enough that there wouldn't be the rolling resistance I was fighting on the side of the road, the problem is that crushed snow is very slippery, almost as bad as ice. At one point my wheel skidded out from under me and I had a very slow speed crash, nothing serious, just some scrapes on my right leg.

Ultimately I rolled (and walked) over to Queen Street and rode along Queen. Now Queen is a busy street but at least the snow was just slush and not that much. I was able to ride Queen all the way in, I got splashed a lot and feel pretty filthy, but at least I made it without additional crashes.

I did notice a few of the more idiotic things some drivers did that I think ought to be recorded here just so everyone can be as disgusted with Toronto drivers as I am.

A driver pulled there car out of a spot just after I passed, they passed me then a few blocks later stopped in the middle of the road and started brushing snow off their minivan.

On Queen street a driver in a late model Rav-4 went through a puddle as she passed me, thus spraying mud all over me. I believe she was not paying attention, had she been focused on the road I suspect she would have avoided the puddle. The reason I believe she was not paying attention, when I caught up with her at a red light she was applying makeup. The entire light I stared at her with folded arms, she did not even notice. (I was tempted to hurl a snowball at her window and yell out, "now we're even!") Except lets be honest, that snowball won't even leave a mark, I am still cold from the ride in.

I think there should be a law, anyone who wants to drive must ride a bike at least 20% of the week, then maybe drivers would pay attention.

On mountain bikes and cold weather riding

Brian from the BCC was kind enough to give me his old Rocky Mountain on the condition that I never return it. I have been told that if I want to get rid of it I should have it stolen. This invites the curious experiment, if I leave it unlocked at the corner of Bay and Richmond (where my office is) how long until it disappears.

Maybe after the current survey is over I will run a query: how long until a bike gets stolen, 5mins, 10mins, etc., and then see what the correct answer is. Okay, I will not be doing that. It was a very nice thing Brian did and more to the point, much as I dislike mountain bikes, that Rocky Mountain sure beats walking. And yes I am still waiting for my Coppi.

In any case, escaping the cold sure is hard, no matter how many layers I put on, the cold gets to me. Today was minus seven or eight but with the wind I am sure the nitrogen was condensing on my leading edges.

In other news I have been sending my resume out, in a quest for part time work. I printed a picture of the Specialized Transition I want and now every time I look at the picture of Lesley by my monitor there is that Transition. I am a bad influence on myself. At one point I got so depressed that I actually Googled "work from home" holy smokes are all those scams legal? I mean, sheesh, if you apply for a job you should be paid, you should not have to pay to get started.

I decided to sell all my old skate stuff, lets face what is now a pretty obvious fact, I am not a skater, never really was. I thought I was, I thought I liked it, truth was I had forgotten how much fun a good bike is. While I can understand that some people really like skating, are even passionate about it, and good for them, that's just not my cup of tea. I wonder why I stopped riding, oh yeah, I met Lesley.

The shame is I should not have stopped riding, I would probably be winning races now if I had stayed on the saddle, oh well, hindsight is 20/20.

At least I can do one thing, starting in April there will be a Beaches Cycle Club Saturday morning ride. I will be running the ride, I volunteered some time ago. It was my intention to run just a introduction to road riding, but me being as in love with cycling as I am, I have decided to expand the offering. The beginners will start with a 40 or 50km loop around the city with a 9am start time. Keener's, like me, can come out earlier and do a double loop, i.e. 80 to 100km, 40 to 50 as a hammerfeast and then throttle it back for the beginners. I am going to try to make that second loop a really welcoming environment with lots of constructive feedback. I may not be the next Fausto Coppi, but damn it sure would be cool if I was a coach of the next Coppi.

A final aside for the day, I was trying to get the spelling right for Fausto, so I Googled Coppi, check out the line above, it is this one here too, now that steel frame is old school... duh! (Its from the 1950s!)

On Riding Faster and use of four letter words

I found this article on the relative advantages of Aerobars (also know as Tri-bars) Time Trial Bikes and Time Trial Helmets. Now I'd like to think I am really secure well adjusted individual, but I strongly doubt I'd be willing to wear a time trial helmet. They just look too goofy. Sorry guys, maybe if I came in a close second I'd get a TT helmet.

The following is a joke that's been making its rounds on the Internet, I liked it.

When is @#$% Acceptable?

There are only eleven times in history where the "F" word has been considered acceptable for use. They are as follows:

11. "What the @#$% do you mean,we are sinking?"-- Capt. E.J. Smith of RMS Titanic, 1912

10. "What the @#$% was that?"-- Mayor Of Hiroshima, 1945

9. "Where did all those @#$%ing Indians come from?"-- Custer, 1877

8. "Any @#$%ing idiot could understand that."-- Einstein, 1938

7. "It does so @#$%ing look like her!"-- Picasso, 1926

6. "How the @#$% did you work that out?"-- Pythagoras, 126 BC

5. "You want WHAT on the @#$%ing ceiling?"-- Michelangelo, 1566

4. "Where the @#$% are we?"-- Amelia Earhart, 1937

3. "Scattered @#$%ing showers, my ass!"-- Noah, 4314 BC

2. "Aw c'mon. Who the @#$% is going to find out?"-- Bill Clinton, 1998

1. "Geez, I didn't think they'd get this@%#*^ing mad." Stephen Harper, December 2008