On SUVs

The trouble with large organizations is that to get anything done requires a mountain of paperwork. My employer has contracted me out for an extended period to a very large company that requires reams of officialdom to get anything accomplished. I have done perhaps two hours of useful work over the past three days, the rest of the time I have spent waiting for the tools I need to do the useful work. It occurs to me, you want 100% employment? Just have one employer, they would be so dreadfully inefficient there would be a labour shortage.

In other news, someone I know (and that’s about as much hint as to who they might be that I am willing to give) is a vegan. Okay, so far no biggie. I mean I am a liberal progressive kind of guy, stands to reason I’d know a few vegans. Not that I am a vegan, or even a veggie, sorry, I like my chicken, hamburgers, and a good steak is always welcome! Anyway this person I know, the vegan, got themselves a new car. Well not great, but you know, North America, we kinda need motor vehicles, sucks but what can you do? It’s a large car, well alright, needs to transport the kids… no this vegan doesn’t have children… okay the bicycle? Sure why not – driving a bicycle is silly if you ask me but then I name my bikes so I cannot be an authority on things sane. Except, and here’s the kicker this person bought an SUV.

Okay, I concede if you have kids big cars make sense, I figure a station wagon, or as the English call them, an estate car is probably the most sensible thing, lots of passenger space, low centre of gravity means it can corner faster and safer, reasonable fuel economy. Or if you have lots of kids and (or) lots of cargo clearly a minivan or people carrier would be the right thing to buy. But when to buy an SUV? Well I will concede SUVs make sense if you drive on the dirt roads a lot, but other than that, lousy fuel economy, dangerous tendency to roll over, small passenger and cargo space (yes it’s true, you get more interior volume in a minivan than an SUV, and probably more space in the average estate car than in a mid-sized SUV as well). So why buy one of these things, particularly if you are a proud vegan? Doesn’t the damage done by burning the extra gasoline rather offset any good done by going vegan?

One lame excuse I hear from time-to-time, SUV drivers will talk about how efficient modern engines are. So lets look at VW/Audi, since I have a Jetta. True, the 2.0L engine that one finds on say the Audi Q5 or VW Tiguan, is the very same engine found on the 2.0L A4, 2.0L Passat and so on. Heck the chassis on the Tiguan is probably the A4 chassis. But funny thing, that aerodynamic drag of a big body way up in the air, just clobbers the fuel economy numbers. Don’t believe me, check out the EPA ratings. (http://www.fueleconomy.gov/) Just comparing a 2.0L standard Tiguan with a 2.5L Jetta SportWagen, the Tiguan gets 18mpg city to the Jetta’s 23mpg, the Tiguan gets 26mpg on the highway, the Jetta, 33. The EPA estimates the average Tiguan driver will burn 16.3 barrels of oil per year, the same amount of driving in a Jetta, 13.2 barrels per year. Of course the Jetta’s got the bigger engine and it weighs less so it will be more fun to drive. But what about interior volume, well it is true the Tiguan has 95.3 cubic feet of passenger space to the Jetta’s 91.7 cubic feet, but once we discuss cargo there’s a slightly bigger issue, the Tiguan has 28.3 cubic feet (or 56.1 cubic feet if you fold the back seats down) to the Jetta’s 32.8 cubic feet (or significantly 66.9 cubic feet with the back seats down). In other words, not only is the Jetta cheaper, faster, burns less fuel (and I haven’t even discussed the possibility of a diesel Jetta) but it’s got an extra ten cubic feet of cargo space yet looses only four cubic feet of passenger space to the Tiguan. So the numbers would suggest, get the Jetta. And I have yet to look at the NHTSA safety rating, let me see, well apparently both cars get four out of five stars. Okay SUV fans, same manufacturer, comparable vehicle, yet I can discern no good statistical reason why a person should favour the SUV over the estate car. Unless that four cubic feet of passenger space actually matters that much, in which case, why aren’t you looking at the Minivan?

I think I’m going to take up Veganism, then maybe I’ll understand the attraction of the Stupid Ugly Vehicle.

On A Long Ride

Apparently the BCC went for another ride up to Lake Simcoe on Sunday. Ironically I did not go with. Well the weather was supposed to, and apparently did rain, a lot, up north. Down in the city it did not rain much, if at all. I spent the day mostly resting actually, it was nice. Of course Saturday I rode about 110km (GPS hiccuped and reported almost 700km, so I will stick with 110km, since that is about what it measures to with Gmaps.) Then on Simcoe (holiday) Monday I rode 196.1km to the Forks of the Credit which is the prettiest six and a half kilometers of road in Ontario.

I said it was ironic that I did not go with the BCC to Lake Simcoe, it was ironic because I created the route they took. But then the new route, to the Forks is even better than the one to Simcoe. Sure there is more built up city riding, but my route makes up for that with the country riding that is in there too.

Anyway here is the route I took, and having done it once, I have already revised it to make it even better, here is my new route. I have to admit, I am really looking forward to my next ride out there.

I promise, I will write up a review, if I get a chance but work is keeping me very busy lately.

On Bad Driving

New rule, motorists are not allowed to critique cyclists who run stop signs.

Today I almost got hit by a car, I was on Cosburn between Woodbine and Coxwell heading west, there are no stop signs, lights, or cross-walks on that stretch; however, there are several side roads that intersect Cosburn. A motorist in a tan Sunfire who had a strong resemblance to the fat bald mayor who hates all things that aren't cars or the Toronto Maple Leafs ran a stop and made a right turn right in front of me and then continued west only marginally faster than me. (I caught up with him at the light at Coxwell, that's how I got a good look at today's dangerous driver.)

Oh, another rule, gunning engines, passing a cyclist, cutting him (or her) off that's another show stopper. Motorists don't seem to understand they are operating a very large vehicle, if they cut someone off there is a strong chance they will end up side swiping and not actually cutting off.

You know the thing that really bothers me about all this? I could drive to work, I've got a vehicle, I can afford the diesel, parking is not that expensive. I choose to take transit or ride, for one thing I am causing less traffic, less wear on city roads, etc. More importantly, I am not poisioning the air we all have to breath. Anyway I promise, I will get around to an analytical review of the Space Shuttle eventually, but here is a thought to tide us all over for the time being, it's the Earth as seen from space, actually from the International Space Station. That's about 100km of air, we've fucked it up pretty good already and if we continue with our car driving wasteful ways, that blue stuff won't be able to sustain us for all that much longer.

This is it, we don't have a life boat, we screw up Earth, we are homeless.

I assume we all recognize Earthrise, taken by William Anders on the Apollo VIII mission to the moon, Christmas 1968? I sure don't see any other habbital planets within a few light years of that blue and white marble.

On Random Items

First an update, if you have Googled Clarence Rose or Joachim Grams and come to this blog. Yes, it is a scam, sorry but do not sell your Craigslist item to this piece of work. For additional details, see this post.


I noticed someone Googled 'Aaron Arndt Gears Bike shop' and came to my blog. Yes I know Aaron, he's a great guy. Like me he started in skating, was way better than me. (Frankly comparing him to me... well massive insult to him, sorry Aaron.) I had thought Aaron planned to go into teaching, but I guess the lure of working in a bike shop, well if I didn't have a mortgage I'd likely work in a bike shop as well! But he was a great coach and I know he does fittings at Gears, so if you are thinking of getting a bike fit done by him I sure you will do well. (I plan to get him to fit me on Alex, the TT bike, just as soon as the weather gets ugly.)


The terror attacks in Norway, well since it's so recent I have to say something. I am horrified yet filled with sympathy, and disgusted at these xenophobic gun toting nuts. That's all I can say. My thoughts are with the families of the victims. (No prayers, religion caused this mess, it won't fix it!)


In other news Cadel Evens won the yellow jersey, well done Cadel, a first for the Aussies! And Mark Cavendish finally got his Green Jersey. It was a good tour for the English speaking world! (And at the risk of making a really corny riding pun, the Manx Missile fired and finally hit his target!)


I went for a ride yesterday, up to Lake Simcoe. It was my intent to ride alone but ran into a bunch of people from the BCC and rode with them for a while. It was a proper hammerfeast, though not of my desire, it had been my intent to ride a steady pace, not an unsustainable one. By the time I got back into the city I could hardly scratch out 24 or 25km/h I was in so much pain. In a way it was a great ride, but in other respects, I really need more self discipline. One thought that did occur to me as I rolled past a wind swept Lake Simcoe, this would be a great late season ride. Even if I taper to the point that I cannot ride the full 180km of a Lake Simcoe run, I can always drive out of the city and shorten the ride to 120km or so.


Anyway my appetite is returning and thoughts of that other woman are fading. Time to concentrate on the future again.

On Melancholy

I had an English professor in my undergrad days. His PhD thesis was on the book The Anatomy of Melancholy, Professor McCormack is pretty sure he is the only living person to have read the book in it's original Latin.

Now I am no expert in Melancholy but re-reading my previous post it occurs to me I did not properly summarize my emotional state yesterday. Then again it is rather difficult to put into words what is going on.

On the one hand it has been exceedingly hot lately so my loss of appetite could theoretically be explained by the heat, but I doubt that. Since I've submitted the papers and completed the divorce from Lesley I find myself recalling days of old. That is to say back when she loved me.

I cannot put a precise finger on the day that Lesley stopped caring about me, but one event I recall was when I was undergoing some professional hardship and I remember she went out of town with her girlfriends. I told her to, I did not want my own difficulties to make her life at all worse. But really, shouldn't a spouse always be around in the bad times as well as the good? Not that Lesley was around much in the good times either for the last year or so that we were 'married'.

When I was still married there was a television advert, it was for a soup cracker, the image of a tomato soup with the song 'Lonley, I am so Lonely, I have nobody... etc.' playing on the audio track. I remember cleaning my ride, probably Jordan at the time, and hearing that song and it hit me, I am all alone.

I am in a much better place, yet still I recall ten years of my life, that is almost a third of my time on this planet, poof the thing that mattered more than anything else gone. In a blink of an eye. Well no, it was more drawn out than that. She just stopped loving me, and I didn't see it coming, I suddenly had a lot more time to ride. (Little wonder 2010 will probably go down as my strongest year ever, yes I'm a year older, but I've met someone else who wants me to be around the house more and on the bike less.)

I guess the moral I can draw from this... is nothing. There is, near as I can tell, no moral tale whatsoever in the post. I suppose I should stop wallowing in the past, it is good to remember but one must still live. I must endevour not to lament Lesley and the expense of those who love me.

On Yet More Change

Well it's official kids, Lesley is no longer my estranged wife, 42 years to the day from Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin's little walk on the moon, Lesley is now my ex-wife.

I am happier now that it is done. But there is still a knot in my stomach, I think it's the heat but the stress from going to court for the past couple days and everything at work. Well I lost my appetite, I have to force myself to eat breakfast, and then resist the urge to puke it all up on the short ride to the office. Dinner is almost as difficult to eat and while I toss and turn at night, at the office I have trouble keeping my eyes open.

Divorce sucks, if you find someone and marry them, well make damn sure they are right for you before you marry them. And if you are curious what else is out there, after tying the knot, well be honest with that other person, because being lied to sucks too.

On Change

Why do people change things? Change career paths or jobs is rather obvious. But what about activities? When I started this blog I was an inline skater. Go check out those posts from I think November, 2007. Then around May 2008 I discovered the bike. Here's the thing, from a usefulness standpoint the bike makes sense. I can ride from Toronto to Rochester, I can get to work 10 or 30km from home every day, on the other hand, I'll be completely honest, and maybe this is rose coloured glasses, but in general skaters are a friendlier bunch than riders. (Perhaps having the underdog sport makes them nicer? Or maybe it's just been so long that I don't remember the ugly, just the beautiful? - Who knows!)

I still much prefer to ride my bike to just about any recreation, but that said I think I've come to an important realisation. I don't like to ride in large groups. There are rules, accepted behavioral norms, attitudes, all sorts of reasons to stay home and sleep in. I'm told Mountain Bikers are a lot more flexible this way, which is a shame, for me, because I have so little interest in riding off road. (Nothing against the Mountain Biking set, I just prefer speed, distance and stable solid ground.) It's too bad there isn't some form of road biking where the rules are more or less tossed to the wind, except lets be honest here, a lot of the rules actually, annoyingly, are required and make sense. As long as I have to share the road with cars I'm bound by the Ontario Highway Traffic Act and if I ever find myself in a draft I'm bound by the rules of etiquette for the pelaton.

I guess I'm just tired of all the structure, lord knows I'm not having fun in the group any longer and if I'm not having fun doing what is a recreation, (well riding to work is not a recreation, but I'm talking here about group rides) maybe I should re-evaluate what I do for fun?