Jake is back

I know what you're thinking: "Why did she take the handlebars off?"
But look closer - they're still there - it's camouflage bar tape!

They aren't the end caps that came with the tape, are they? Thanks Dale. Looks cool and rides a lot better.

My "new" front wheel:



Don and daughter, Hope (along with wife Alison) live in the apartment next to me:

Sunday

I went mountain biking on Sunday afternoon, and on a short road ride in the evening with Amy and Julia.
Pics at Flikr.

In the afternoon I rode up the trail behind Providence Farm that joins up to the Old M/L. I've never seen another biker on this trail, but always several hikers. The hikers park at the car park next to the little-house-on-the-prairie-type church and hike up to the cross and back. Mountain bikers park at the water tower (that isn't there any more), and ride the trails on the north side of the mountain. I find it funny how the hikers think the cross is the top.

Rides seem to take so much longer with a camera. As soon as I'd put my camera back in my bag and ridden about 20m, I'd stop to get it out again. By the time I'd made it to the Old M/L I realized that I hadn't got much daylight to ride in, and should've brought more than blinkies. I hadn't ridden Field of Dreams for ages and really wanted to, so took the Old M/L to the main fireroad, took a bit of singletrack up, then fire road, then Field of Dreams. It was getting darker, so did Little Dipper, Y connector, Why be a Roadie?, school's Out, Toxic Tea Cup, Resurection. I didn't get much chance to ride much singletrack - I'd meant to leave earlier, but ...didn't.
I noticed how nice(?) and "designed" all the gardens looked in The Properties as I rode down, so took a detour through rather than going straight down Kingsview. Of course, I ended up going down a road that was a dead end, and had to climb up quite a bit to go down again. I rode a bit of singletrack behing the school, and rode home.

Amy, Julia met at Amy's at 7 pm. Amy leant me Cycicle to ride (since Jake was in the shop). After a bit of messing around with pedals (Is this the right way? No - it should be clockwise. This is clockwise - or wait - no - yes - well, it's coming off anyway), we did a loop that I've never done before. I can't tell you where we went, as it was dark and I was just following like a sheep. I completely lost my bearings. Cycicle was so smooth and easy to ride (even with nobbies), but way to big for me. I stayed on the tops and didn't go near the hoods. The drops were comfortable except for saddle issues. Thanks for lending him out Amy!

The weather was, once again, perfect. Sunny, no wind, warm but not hot. It's been a very good year for riding so far. The only bad day of weather we've had this fall was the day I went to Parksville.

Distance: 24 km
Time: 3:13

Distance: 13 km (though it was 21 starting and ending at my place)
Time: 41 mins (pretty slow!)

It's Monday

... so I thought I'd post this video (because it's called "Monday"), featuring Mike Bentham (rides for Brisa). I came across it on YouTube and really like it.



I would have liked to see him on a 20" BMX at the skate park, just for "variety". It would have been cool if he could have latched on to the back of a pack of roadies in all the gear for a bit, just to cover another area of cycling, and maybe doing some big stuff on a downhill bike, but I guess the trail bit had some stuff in.
Cool video.

New Bike?

Did anyone watch CSI on Thursday? I didn't, but I downloaded the torrent. It opened with a group of cyclists on road bikes (several Tarmacs and at least one Cannondale Six) zooming through a park, in matching red baggy shirts. Doesn't that seem strange to anyone? Unfortunately though the episode had nothing to do with cycling, though the almost-dead kid at the end was on a bike.

I was riding home from work at lunchtime and on York Road (according to Google maps) I had a close call. There's a junction where motorists pull out in front of me. I'm not sure why it happens here more than other places, but it really does seem to. I usually sit up and stare at them to make sure they've seen me, and make sure they know I've seen them see me so they can't pretend they haven't, and I keep pedalling. Usually they stop and look at me, annoyed for claiming my right of way. Today, this guy saw me, stopped, thought he could get across before I got there and started moving, realized I was going faster than he though, and stopped - right in my path. No big deal - happens all the time. I swerved and grabbed the front brake, and the cable snapped. As Amy would put it - the layers stayed in order (ground, bike, rider - when they get out of order there's trouble). I walked Jake home, then to the bike shop (walking is sooooo slow) to get new cables.
I got Jake last December. I had my Specialized Stumpjumper stolen from outside work at the end of November (I remember when as it was my birthday). I was living with Mum and Dad in Cow Bay at the time, and riding to work of course. I got a mountain bike because I could only afford one bike and wanted to go mountain biking, but that hadn't happened, so Brian said a cyclocross bike would be best. When I heard the shop were carrying Specialized, I decided on a blue Tricross, but they couldn't get them for three months, maybe more. So my only choices in my size were a Norco CCX (like Amy's got) or a Kona Jake. Spec wise, the Jake won, and I didn't care for the orange. Brian quoted me $900, then billed me $949 and gave me a $50 discount (you didn't think I noticed, did you?).

From March to July (before I got Stumpy), I'd been riding a old green box-store mountain bike (one size fits all - as long as you're 6'2") that Chuck gave me. There was a back brake, but it only had one brake pad. I think it said "Free Spirit" on it. The last three weeks riding that bike were with severely bent top and down tubes from riding into a ditch in the middle of the night when a driver blinded me with his full-beams. I did notice an improvement in the riding position after the ditch incident though. One hundred and fifty days at 20 km per day makes about 3000 km on that thing.
For the three week period between Stumpy and Jake, my transportation was this pink mountain bike that was trying to be a cruiser (or the other way around?) that Mum picked up from an auction for $40 (ie. way too much). I covered it in blue and red duct tape. I hated it with a passion, so Jake felt like the coolest bike in the world, as you can imagine.
And Jake kept feeling great. I hated the stock saddle, and went through 5 since, and I'm still not sure I've found one that works. I sometimes get lower back ache, but that happened on my mountain bike too, so I didn't think it was the bike, but since I slid the saddle forward that's gone away on the mountain bike. It's better than it was on Jake since I slid the saddle forward, but I still get back ache. The stem is 80mm, so I can't really go shorter, so I've come to the conclusion that Jake's too big. Also, my shoulders ache and I think I need narrower bars.

I test rode a Specialized Dolce a few weeks ago. It had "women's specific geometry" (note to self: write post about "women's" bikes), and had a 506 mm (effective) top tube, compared to Jake's 532mm, and also had short reach (and narrower) bars. It definitely felt better. No back or shoulder ache. But I couldn't believe how fast it was. And it's not a top-of-the-line bike. Far from it - it's the cheapest road bike Specialized make (with the cheapest parts package). I think the tires make a huge difference (Jake's got heavy, thick tires on at the moment), but the thin, light tires mean more punctures. Jake's gunked-up drive train is probably slowing him down considerably (the drive train is the other reason for replacing Jake - chain stretch and sprocket wear mean the whole drive train needs replacing - says Brian. That was about 3k ago, and I haven't felt it slip yet.)
I can't afford a new bike yet, but I know it will take me several months to explore my options and decide on one, so I'd better start now. Anyway, the choosing is the fun part. I love checking out websites, comparing specs and geometry charts, reading reviews and forums.
But before I can decide on a bike, I need to decide what sort of bike I want. Yes, a road bike obviously, but there is no longer just a "road bike". Everyone has been catered for: tourers, recreational road riders, couriers, racers, time trialists, track racers, commuters, and the list goes on.
Do I want a $3000 bike with a carbon fiber frame, lightweight wheelset and Ultegra groupset? Should I get a low end bike like the Dolce? Should I get a cyclocross bike? Touring bike? Or buy a frame and build up a custom bike?
The expensive carbon jobby probably wouldn't be a good idea, as I would break it. If I bought a $1000 bike, such as that Dolce, I could replace it every year or two, and it would still cost me less than the fancy, expensive bike. I didn't like the cheap Sora shifters though, and worry how reliable/durable the cheaper parts will be. A cross bike would be durable and I could use it for cyclocross too, but they don't come in smaller sizes, and have longer top tubes for their sizes, as they're meant for short, 'all-out' races. Touring bikes are too heavy. Custom bikes are expensive, and would mean a whole load more decisions (and rambling, long blog posts).
This is going to take a while. Let's hope Jake holds on for a bit longer.

Tripod-less Night Photos

I went out to get some milk at about 7:30 yesterday evening. I took my camera, and didn't get back until after 10 pm. And I forgot the milk.
I'm really looking forward to getting a tripod, as perching the camera on concrete bollards and bracing it against posts is not optimal. Having the camera at a fixed hight, and not being able to tilt at all make composition a challenge, and the camera still isn't stable enough for longer exposures. Click on photos to see them bigger.
This is where Jake and Fire Mountain get lo0cked up while I'm in work. Before it got cold and rainy there was usually a maroon and white Norco cruiser with rusty handlebars, and occasionally a Wal-mart "racing" bike with grip shifters ("Medalist" or something) sharing the rack, but he's usually alone now.
I got weird looks from the couple walking past as I took this one through a window:
I like the zig-zag pattern from the reflection off the car rims in this one:
See what I mean about composition?
I managed to get away with hand-holding this one. Shiney cars look cool at night.
Starbucks. I like the blurriness of the gentleman tipping his head back to get the last of his coffee.
Through the window of Burger King. I like the Starbucks reflection.
Self portraiture!
Lonely Jake again:I never notices the grasses before, and I used to ride past this twice daily when I worked at Sneakers.

Tzouhalem at Night

Bad pictures (no tripod yet. Taken with light from my head light) at Flikr.
I went on my first mountain bike ride in the dark tonight. Well, that's not technically true, as on two occasions I've misjudged timing and ended up on the mountain when it was getting too dark to see.
Hilary and Amy picked me up, and we met Julia and Patricia at the water tower at 7:30. It wasn't a very long ride, but I definitely like riding at night. I expected to have trouble seeing stuff, or scrambling about with my bike "pointed" in the direction of the trail. It's not like that at all though. I could see the trail as well as I needed to. I thought it was quiet up there in the daytime, but it's nothing compared to night. The only thing disturbing the peacefulness was my front brake, squealing loudly (note to self: wash front brake, and if it still squeals take it to the bike shop).
We went up the fire road to the top of Toxic Tea Cup, came down it and Resurrection. We rode back up, and Hilary and Amy carried on up the fire road, while Patricia, Julia and I came down the same way again and then did Blue Balls.
Julia and Patricia went home, while Amy, Hilary and I went to Tim Horton's to laugh and chat about cow's eyeballs and similar topics until 11pm when we decided we should go home.
We have decided the mountain night ride should be a weekly thing, so if anyone wants to come along next Thursday, meet us at the water tower at 7:30pm.

When a bike is stolen

when a bike is stolen a fairy dies
Originally uploaded by knautia

I came across this on Flikr.
How could I not post it?

Duncan Cyclocross Race

If you don't like reading, pictures at Flikr.

Sunday was the cyclocross race at Providence Farm. I wanted to help setup on Saturday, but was working.
When I got there on Sunday morning it was misty and cold, but it soon cleared and warmed up. It was sunny for the remainder of the day. Hilary, Amy, Tara and Norm had started to get things organized. Brian showed up shortly after. More people arrived, signs were put up, vans unloaded, and jelly beans eaten until it was about 11:o0, when people started to register. Hilary, Evan and I did registration until Amy and I set off to pre-ride the course. Amy was having trouble with her cracked rib on the bumpy course, but battled on and rode the race.

Julia and Mallory stopped by to say hello:The course started in the front field, crossed the driveway, a bit of downhill through the trees, across another grass field, u-turn onto an uphill double-track, through (or not!) a patch of sticky mud, and (my favourite bit - I wish it was longer) in and out of the trees on some floopy (I hope you know that "floopy" is "flowy and swoopy combined" by now) singletrack. There was a fallen log to get over. I dismounted for each lap, but I think I could have rode over it if I'd have tried. Then back into the field for a bit of bumpy zig-zagging back to the start/finish line.
I was at the back of the 6 women beginners until we reached the climb, where I made it past Amy, Kerri, and Crystal. Kerri passed me in the sticky mud where I think skinny tires were of advantage. I rode close behind her for the entire lap, and I passed her again on the climb. Mountain bike gearing is of definite advantage on the climbs! Kerri had a new cross bike, and wasn't quite used to the gearing I think. Sean was stood at the top of the climb to take photos of us looking knackered. Why couldn't he have taken photos of us flying down the downhill smiling?! The rest of the ride went by uneventfully for me. I made it through the muddy patch for the remaining laps, finding it easier to shift down and spin in the saddle to keep weight on the back wheel. I caught sight of Jen a couple of times, but carried on at my own (leisurely) pace. When I crossed the line and heard the cowbell, it occurred to me that I hadn't been passed by the leader. I spent most of the lap glancing behind me, expecting to see him asking me to move over to let him pass, but because it was a long course I never caught sight of him. Third! Podium! There were no dismounts, other than the log. I loose a LOT of time on the dismounts/running. I hate running.
After the race I went to relieve Hilary at registration, as she had a meeting to go to. Apparently everyone had already registered, because between 12:45 and 3:15, only three people registered. I got a bit bored, especially because registration was set up away from the course, so I couldn't watch or take pictures or anything. So I started taking pictures of everything I could find, including the bottom bracket of one of Kurt's Everti's:

Oh look, here comes Brian:
Unfortunately, when the last race (experts) began and I could go and watch, my batteries were dead and the spares I'd brought apparently hadn't be recharged from my last night ride when I used them for my headlight, so my apologies for the lack of pictures of people actually riding.
Dave predicted that Trevor would win this one. He DNFed with cramping. Simon finished in the middle of the pack somewhere. We saw three people running with flats in the first couple of laps. It was a pretty bumpy course!


Dave, Brian and Derek rode in the intermediate class. I think Dave came fifth, Brian DNFed, and Derek said he didn't do well.
Matt showed up to help with take down, which went very quickly. There was a bit of an awards ceremony, and I headed home.
It was a great day. Everyone really looked to be having fun, and you get to meet so many people at these "events" (as Amy calls them - the word "race" makes her nervous). Attendance was really good. The intermediate men's class had over 30 registered. Hilary and I were quite surprised when she counted up the cash box!
Tara, Kurt, Norm, and everyone did a really good job with the race. It really couldn't have gone better.
Next week Amy wants to go to a cross clinic somewhere or something. The week after is Double Cross (a race on both Saturday and Sunday), and the final race at Beban Park is a Saturday. I work Saturdays, so it looks like my cross season is over for the year.
Already.
Sigh.

PS - My phone's working now.
PPS - My theory about cyclists and jelly beans was further supported by the race. My theory goes as follows: On offering a cyclist candy that's in one's pack, he will always refuse (Amy seems to be the exception here). When one removes the candy from the aforementioned pack and begins to chew on a piece, the cyclist extends his thumb and index finger, takes a step forward and begins his sentence with "Actually, ...". I brought a tupperware tub full of jelly beans, wine gums and taffy to the race. No one wanted any until I got it out. I left the tub on the registration table and it was all gone by the end of the day.


Other people's pictures:
http://picasaweb.google.com/davenoisy
http://sports.webshots.com/album/567750680VVaIIt
(under "Albums" on the left):
http://s304.photobucket.com/albums/nn169/h-gunn/

Here's me:
http://community.webshots.com/photo/fullsize/2516648170016246455kILwdE
And Amy on the start line:
http://community.webshots.com/photo/fullsize/2080075120016246455igkmOH
And here: (Jen, Kerri, Amy, me, Amanda, Crystal) (I think - correct me if I'm wrong)

Tripod?

I did a call out after work today. I didn't get paid. Neither did Staples.
A lady bought a computer for her aged parents, and wanted the router setting up. Staples don't do call outs (thankfully), so we got someone from a Geeks On Site-type business to go out and do it. They charged her $150 up front. She'd got a new computer and an old one running Windows 98. She wanted a router that would work with both. I told her they all would.
The lady from the call-out business spent one and a half hours at her house, and told her it wouldn't work with that router. She would have to get a different router from Staples, and pay another $150 to have her come out and install it. Because she dealt with us, and not the call-out company, she was angry with us, not them.
Her parents live on Richard's Trail, so I went round after work. It took me 8 minutes, and that included showing her how to make the text bigger, set up e-mail and stuff like that.
How do these companies get away with it? "All our Geeks are A+ certified." I've never known a certified tech that was good at his job. Everyone said I should get my papers. Has anyone ever read over a test? They're ridiculous. (I'm getting off topic again, aren't I?)
How do they get away with not doing the job and getting $150 for it, when I have to do it for free on my own time? But she was a very nice lady, and let me keep my shoes on in the house.
Anyway, it was a nice short ride. While riding in the dark, I kept spotting good photo opportunities. Since it is always dark when I'm not at work in my dusty, dark triangular tech room full of ancient computers, cardboard boxes and Styrofoam packaging, I haven't had much opportunity to use my new camera at all. I would really like to get a tripod. I'd love to take night photos, and I have the knowledge to do so (thanks Mr. Stone).
So I rode to Wal Mart (only place open at this time of day). They had a couple of cheap ones, but I can't imagine them being usable, so I ended up coming back with some bengal spice tea bags instead (I had some at Hilary's last night. Thanks for dinner Hilary and Dave. Good luck eating them mashed potatoes!).
What kind of tripod do I want? Most importantly, it's not going to get used unless it can be easily and comfortably carried on my bike. While a full-size tripod would go on a rack on Jake just fine, I don't want a rack on my mountain bike. Whick means it either has to be attached inside the frame, or go in my pack comfortably. Fitting it to the frame means my (second) water bottle would have to go in my pack too (as my frame is too small for both, I can only just fit one water bottle in there), which isn't convenient. My pack isn't big enough for a tripod, so I need a bigger pack. I've needed a bigger pack for a while. When going riding to Victoria or Nanaimo for a day trip my Camelback Mule isn't big enough, especially if I want to bring anything back. So I'd like a tripod, and a new pack too.
It's a slippery slope.

For the tripod, I want one with a quick release head, as I can't see myself unscrewing it every time. A reasonably cheap solution would be a Joby GorillaPod, which would be good for mountain biking and stuff, but not so great otherwise. I'd want something with expanding legs. A "compact" tripod would be good. Most have a maximum height of around 1 m, and pack to about 40 cm long. I should imagine that would fit in a pack. Should I get a tripod, and then a pack it will fit in, or buy a pack and find a tripod to fit in it?

I went to Parksville

... not last Monday, but the Monday before. I guess this post is a bit late.

It wasn't really a very good ride. There were good sections, but I think I only remember my attitude towards the end of the ride.
I didn't take Jake, but borrowed a demo bike from the shop. It's a 48 cm 2008 Specialized Dolce in yellow and white. It looks like a frickin daisy.

I probably didn't leave the shop until about 10 am. It was sort of raining when I left, but not really. There was a bit of wind, but nothing much. It started to get chilly around Ladysmith, but the rain held off until Nanaimo. I stopped in at Mum's and Dad's for a bit of tomato basil soup, and when I went outside to leave it was pouring down. The only place I stopped in Nanaimo was at Chapters to pick up a couple of magazines.
Why do cyclists have to dismount for everything. I'm safer on my bike than off. And you clear the tracks much faster on a bike.I only saw one other cyclist on the bike path.I narrowly missed loads of these:This one wasn't as lucky (though it wasn't me that ran him over - he was already squashed when I got to the scene):I got my first flat somewhere between Nanaimo and Parksville - a rusty pin! I stuck another tube in and carried on.
The rain started to get pretty bad. There was standing water on the road in places and I really started to feel the wind once out of the trees. I forked left when I should have forked right and went past Parksville up a climb. I think I liked the climb more than the decent though, and it was freezing.
The billboards are never-ending:
The giant gnome with unrealistically large hands:
Once in Parksville I headed to the bike shop as I wasn't sure what time they closed (it was about 4:30 I think). When I asked the gentleman in the shop for a tube and some more air in my tire, he took the bike from me with two fingers so as not to get too dirty, and said, "We've got fenders too."Then to Tim Horton's for Hot Chocolate and a doughnut.When I stepped outside it became apparent that I was going to freeze on the ride home. It had stopped raining (I couldn't tell you when though - road spray and rain are indistinguishable), but the wind was blowing people over. I was stood outside a grocery store for shelter, and people were coming out of the doors and getting their breath taken. I put the long sleeved thermal on over my (wet) jersey, then put my jacket back on. I put my fluorescent yellow rain coat over that. My feet were frozen, so I went and bought an apple (double bagged) and used the bags on over my spare pair of socks. Because of the black clouds, it was already getting dark leaving Parksville, and because of the wind I was having to pedal downhill. I think I actually said out load "I should be coasting!" Then it started to rain again. REALLY rain. And it got very dark. Every car headlight was mirrored in every droplet of water on my glasses. My feet got colder still. I felt better once I realized I was entering Nanaimo. I took the bike path through town. I saw more people in the dark than when I rode the path earlier in the day. I came very close to hitting a pedestrian, who swore at me. i was wearing a fluorescent yellow jacket and ankle bands, and had a 200 lumen front light and a rear blinky. He was wearing a dark hoodie. Why was it my fault?
I stopped in at Mum's and Dad's for a cup of tea and carried on. It rained on and off. My feet came closer to turning into blocks of ice. I got a flat in the parking lot of the coffee shop at Ladysmith. Fixed it. The coffee shop (that I always stop at - Esquire? I might not now I know it's called that) was closed (photo taken on the way). Carried on. Feet got colder. Hands went numb. I got a flat just before the gas station 4 km from home. My hands were so numb that I couldn't undo the quick release. I phoned a taxi.


Time: ??? (about 9-10 hours on the bike, 13 hours total)
Distance: 189 - 4 (in taxi) = 185 km = 114 mile
My first century! It was horrible, but that was the worst day of weather we've had since last winter. It would have been a good ride in better weather.

I took loads of pictures (with my old camera) with the intention of geotagging them and making a Google Earth map with photos, but my GPS receiver was set to "wrap tracklog" mode, so it over-wrote the first 1/3 of the journey, which was the bit I took the photos on (the bit in daylight). I'll make it work eventually.

Thoughts on the bike to come in another post.