the weekends

Work's really been wearing me down lately. I didn't mind going to work in the winter, since there isn't a lot else to do in the snow, but it's nice and sunny and I'm stuck in a tech room full of dust, being verbally assulted by customers and having to fix other people's screw ups and make up for their laziness. I can't help but think I'm one of the stupid ones though - why get stuff done and do it properly when it would be so much easier to pass it all on to someone else, or just not do it at all, and spend the time sucking up to the boss by coming up with "action plans" that will be given to someone else to implement (or texting of course)? The manager knows who the lazy ones are, and just gives their share of the work to the three people that actually get stuff done.
I was behind this week with work (I'm always behind), so the manager suggested I give some simple tasks (ridiculously simple - repacking new products for sale) to someone. I had to open one of the boxes he's repaccked for some reason, and everything had been thrown in the box without being wiped down or put bacxk in the plastic or anything. No customer would be happy buying a product and it looking like that when they opened the box. I pointed this out to my manager, and she agreed that that couldn't happen, and "suggested" that I should re-pack them all properly. So I repacked them all, because if I didn't, it would be me that would have to deal with the return and get yelled at by an angry customer.
Sorry about the rant - I'll end it there (though there is more).

I went riding yesterday on Mt Tzouhalem. I was out for about 6 hours overall, so was quite short on water. They should have a water tap in the parking lot up there.
I rode up singletrack from the far side of the parking lot, and despite making two right turns and expecting to end up somewhere down by the Providence Farm trail, I came out on the main fire road opposit the bottom of Toxic Tea Cup, so must have ridden Blue Balls backwards. I rode up Tea Cup, then crossed over and came out at the top of School's Out, as I wanted to see if Finality was climbable. That steep down at the end of the trail is definately ridable - I've just got to find the balls (and preferably a bike with a slacker head angle!). As is customary for me on Finality, I took the wrong trail up. Every time I've ridden that I've gone the wrong was at some point, despite there being very few (3?) intersecting trails. The trail I took disappeared into the bottom of a stream bed, so I turned around and found the right trail (with a big sign that read "FINALITY - to Field of Dreams"). Riding up Finality apparently requires more skill and lung capacity than I possess, as it took me quite some time, mostly pushing. From the top of Finality I rode Field of Dreams, Upper Tea, Little Dipper, Y Connector, up the fire road to Showtime, Luc's Skywalker, Fluid, Toxic Tea Cup, Blue Balls, and somehow ended up on De-analyzer, and rode down to Providence Farm.

I really had a great ride today, and want to ride more often and I want to visit the North Shore, and maybe make it to Mt. Washington or even Whistler, which means I'm in the market for a squishy bike. They make some great 6" travel full suspension "all mountain" bikes that can handle stuff like that, but can be pedalled to the top without much trouble, and would be awesome on trails like we've got at the Tzou. I really seem to be pushing my bike at the moment - I guess I should learn to pick smooth lines rather than riding straight through the middle, buut that's always seemed a bit backwards to me. If I'm going to take the smoothest way, I might as well just go for a road ride. I think bigger tires would help. My bike currently has more noises coming from it than it has components, and when I push it in the corners it feels like the front wheel is going to snap in half (or maybe it's the fork, but more likely the wheel).
The Trek Remedy seems like the perfect price, but you'd think big brands would be cheaper, but $4550 for a Remedy 8? I could get an Intense Tracer VP for that!
I'm not sure what to do here though:
1) Buy the dream bike (Intense Tracer) fully built, and live on packet noodles for the following two years
2) Buy a cheap used bike that will last me a year (hopefully)
3) Buy a cheaper new bike
4) Buy a Tracer frame, fork and front wheel, and use parts from my Rockhopper to build it up, and replace as I can afford (or as they wear out)
Number two was the obvious way to go, but looking around, the cheapest bike is probably going to come in at about $2600 for a Pitch Comp, which has an almost identical build kit as my current bike (meaning the same slow-to-enguage rear hub, bendy front wheel, not great shifting, crap brakes, coil fork (though it's a better fork), etc), and it's more "trail oriented", and not so "freeride-ish". I thought "boutique" bikes were expensive, but it seems as Trek, Specialized and big brands keep raising their prices, the small builders have kept prices the same, so there isn't a lot in it really, especially when you look at the well-specced stuff, though big brands obviously have the lead on "entry level".
Comments welcome (as long as they justify 1 or 4).

I'm really fed up with work, and thought that if I want some time off (maybe a week, or even just a four day weekend), that I should do it now, as work will be busy for back to school soon (and will stay busy into autumn). I was told that I don't get paid vacation, since I'm regisered as part time employee! WTF? Part time? I work 40 hours a week, plus 2-8 hours un-paid overtime. I'm angry.
And to top it off, someone pointed out to me at work on Friday that I'm scheduled to work today. I asked a manager, and he said that I'v got to tidy the tech room, as the dust and untidiness is unacceptable. That ticked me off. I can't keep it tidy when everyone else uses it as a dumping ground. And not only do I have to do this on a Sunday when I should be out riding, but he didn't even bother to mention it to me. Oh, and the tidying shift will be followed by a three hour, entirely un-productive computer department "meeting" (read as "lecture").

Total distance: 27 km
Toral time: 4 hrs

Tzou

I went riding on Mt Tzouhalem on Saturday. I really enjoyed the ride. I haven't been up there for quite a while now (except a couple of times with Hilary before work on Wednesdays). It was just too uncomfortable to ride properly, as it's a very bumpy place. I rode really well today though. I cleared everything that I usually only clear sometimes. I took the singletrack up all the way (except the bottom hill), and definately prefer doing it that way. The climbing disappears when it's singletrack.
I was reading a blog the other day (can't remember which, or I'd link), that had a rant about people that remove obstacles from trails. This came to mind as I was riding Why Be A Roadie (in the upwards direction). There's a big (about 30 cm diameter) log in the trail. It's easily ridable in the upwards direction, but a challenge when going the other way. I always try it, and have made it over on several occasions, but not consistantly (and have ended up hugging the tree on the other side of it a couple of times). Somebody had taken a chainsaw to it. The rest of the trunk was still there on either side of the trail, and the meter-wide cutout had been shoved to the side of the trail. I was a bit angry. This mountain isn't one of them "trail centers" where "hazards" are clearly marked with big yellow signs (with foam padding around the signpost). I like riding up there because it's so challenging, and I ride something I hadn't ridden every time I'm up there. And so does Willy (Willy is the Dad of Mt. Tzouhalem. He lives up in The Properties and rides his Devinci Ollie up there several days a week to build new trails and "stunts" and maintain the trails. Willy takes the craziest lines and biggest drops. He's also the nicest guy, and will always offer to show new-comers the trails. He thinks I nees a fully suspended bike. I think he's right). The mountain (well... the whole island) is made of rock, so the trails aren't going to be smooth. There are a couple of floopy trails, but even they have logs and drops and rocks to act as natural "speed bumps". Although I really love the fast flowy stuff, the higher trails become more and more appealing with their rock gardens. The logs on the lower trails continue to disintergrate and disappear (and get easier to clear) with frequent riding, and new ones fall (the log pile on School's Out changes every week), but the rocks on Field of Dreams and Chicken Run never loose their hard jaggy edges, just get marked by bashguards. The trails at the top of the mountain also get less traffic, maybe because it's more challenging, or maybe because it's further to ride(/push) up, or maybe because people only ride for an hour or so, and never get very far up the mountain.
Anyway, the point is that I missed the log. Why did it get taken out? Who would have taken it out, anyway? Willy and a handful of his friends do most of the building/maintainance up there, and I'm sure it wasn't any of them. They'd need more than a chainsaw to get rid of the rocks, thankfully.


PS - I've made a nifty device out of an egg carton that goes over the button on my GPS receiver, as it works flawlessly, unless the button gets pressed, which tends to happen a lot when stuffed into my pack.

Riding Updates

I haven't got around to posting ride reports lately. Where to start?
I didn't do the 12 Hours of Cumberland, because of the rib issue.
June 20th was Summer Solstice, which I wanted to celebrate. Hilary had suggested doing a loop on the ferry to Saltspring, ride to the ferry to Sidney, ride to the ferry to Mill Bay, and ride home sometime. I was going to do it by myself if she didn't want to come, but I ended up riding down to Esquimalt, where they were having the market for the last day of the "Fiber Fest", and rode home with Hilary and Dave in their car.
(or in black & white here)


The ride over the Malahat was a lot easier than I'd expected. I'll have to stop listening to other people when they warn me against things. The Malahat isn't a big, steep, or long hill, nor is the traffic that bad. I had no trouble making it over with the double on my bike.
Only ended up doing about 60 km.

Last Saturday I rode to Nanaimo to get a new backpack. The weather when I left (at about 8am) was nice and sunny, no wind. I stopped at Tim Horton's when I got there, and made my way through town, stopping here and there, and then to the Woodgrove Mall (my favourite shop in Nanaimo is the House of Knives). I walked around in there for a bit, and decided to make my way home. It was absolutely pissing it down. I couldn't see to the edge of the parking lot. So I went back inside to kill time, hoping it would pass. It did slow a bit, and was not raining full-on when I got tired of waiting and left at 7pm. I had a tiny fold up jacket, but appart from that just shorts and a t-shirt. I got very wet, but it was quite warm, except for when it got windy. I got home at about 9, covered in road grit.
Total distance: 138km

Wednesday was Canada Day, so I had the day off. I didn't do much all day, but went for a ride to Lake Cowichan. I rode on the new highway both there and back. A couple of people have told me how that road is horrible for cyclists and that I should ride the Old Highway instead, but I liked the long smooth highway much better than all the potholes, rough roads and momentum-robbing short ups and downs of the other road. I rode straight through the town, and turn around and came back somewhere between Mesachie Lake and Honeymoon Bay, when I realized that enen though I had a spare battery for my lights, I had taken the light off my bike the day before. I got back at about 9:15, just as it was starting to get dark.
Total Distance: 77km

I'm going to have to do something saddle-wise soon. After 50 km it becomes increasingly uncomfortable, and causes my back to ache aswell. I've tried a whole load of saddles (7 now I think), and none of them have solved the issue.

I haven't been doing a lot of mountain biking lately. I'd really like to do more. I've been invited on the SIMS women's ride on Sunday mornings at Hartland, which I'm looking forward to.
Mount Washington opened last weekend. Anyone want to go and rent big bikes with me?

2010

Yes, it's June, and the 2010 bikes are already starting to show up on bike sites, blogs, forums and the like.
Apparently lower end Trek and Specialized bikes are already for sale in the UK.
Specialized bikes continue to get uglier. Last year they gave the Hardrock a curved top tube, and a paint scheme with matching fork. This year, they've done the same with the Rockhopper.
Strangely, the Enduro seems to be a completely new design, despite redesigning it last year. I have no idea who came up with that paint scheme, but he should be fired immediately. Maybe he gt the idea from this? Let's hope the rest of the Enduros have a different one, as it seems like an interesting bike.
The travel on the Stumpjumper has been bumped up to 140 from 120, and been given the same shock arrangement as the Epic.
It's nice to see that Fox are now doing their suspension, rather than Specialized/X-Fusion/Triad.

Although their mountain bikes seem less and less appealing to me, their road bikes get sexier every year. Is this not the coolest looking bike ever? (Look closely at the chain!)
I don't bother too much with the road bike specs though, the bikes just get a few grams lighter and more expensive each year.
I have mixed feelings about this Di2 (Shimano's electronic shifting system). I was talking to a mechanic at OBB in Nanaimo on Saturday, and he says he's ridden it, and that it was absolutely perfect, but he thinks there's too much to go wrong, and that it will be unreliable. I agree too a degree - I can see how shifting would be greatly improved with a derailleur that knows where the chain is and can adjust itself accordingly, and I agree that they would likely be unreliable to start with, but I'm sure the electronics in cars were unreliable to begin with, and the first mountain bike disk brakes were probably terribly unreliable, along with suspension forks, but they improved and now everyone uses them (except for weight weenies). I think they'll iron out any issues, and we'll all be using electronic shifting systems soon. And so what if it is unreliable? Cannondale "forks", Alfa Romeos, Toshiba laptops, and plastic kitchen utensils are unreliable and people still buy them.
Specialized are also doing a load of power-coated get-around bikes. As is obvious from the website, these bikes are all about looks. A few of them have internal gearing, which is starting to show up more and more. I want a belt driven bike with a rear coaster brake, a disk on the front, and either one gear or internal hub gearing (sort of like the Trek Soho... but it seems over-priced).
Transition have re-designed their Covert this year, which is definitely interesting. The travel has been bumped up to 6", and they do it in a cool green colour:

And while we're at the Transition website, this is worth a look.
White definitely is the new black. The finishing kit on bikes used to be all chrome, then they went to black. A few years ago riders started putting white aftermarket stems, rims, bars, saddles, and bits on their bikes, but lots of bikes have come with white kit stock in 2009. I don't like it. I think a white frame is cool with all stealth black finishing kit, but a white stem and saddle look weird to me on a bike with everything else black.

I'm hoping for more belt-driven bikes in 2010, and want to see the new Trek Remedy.

UPDATE: I've just come across this from Nicolai (known for their gear-boxed downhill bikes), of all bike manufacturers.
(I still can't understand why some commuter bikes get suspension at the front!)

Day Trip to Victoria

On Sunday I went to Victoria with Hilary and Erika. We took our bikes and rode around a bit.Did a coffee shop,(the window we were sat at in the coffee shop was like a giant softbox!)
Hilary bought sunglasses at MEC,the market,and Hilary and Erika picked out tramp wedding outfits at Value Village.Yam fries at the place with the colourful chairs,more shops, and then back to Hilary's to watch a couple of movies while knitting.

The Log

My ribs are bruised or broken or something. They hurt. When I stand. When I stretch. When I bend. When I reach. When I lye in any position other than flat on my back. When I lift (which I do a lot more of at work than I realized).

When I ride my bike.

I was riding by myself on the Tzou last Saturday. The ride was going well. I did the little jumps on Emma's Express, I rode a bridge I hadn't ridden before, did some different trails. It was on Luc's Skywalker - The Log. The one that looks harmless, easy, so ridable that no-one gives it a second thought. The first time I came upon this log I was with Julia, Hilary and someone else (Michele? Amy?). Julia was in front, rode straight over it and endo'ed. The rest of us walked.
While on a club ride a few months ago we arrived at The Log. Kurt rode it okay, then I watched from the back as one-by-one each rider took a look at it, thought "what's the fuss about?", and landed flat on his face. I walked.
So on Saturday I approached The Log, stopped, and walked my bike over it. The bike rolled over smoothly, without the back wheel loosing contact with the ground. I pushed the bike back over, and squatted down to examine the steepest angle it made. I pushed the bike back a second time and examined the position of each wheel at every point of the motion. "What's the big deal?" "Easy peasy, lemon squeeezy!"
I approached from a distance, dragging the brakes. The front wheel rolled over effortlessly, and then I stopped. I'm not sure if I stopped the forward motion, or if The Log killed all forwards momentum, but I locked the brakes and balanced there with my front wheel over, and my back wheel on the top of The Log for hours. (I should note that balancing is like holding one's breath - time stands still. One second can become a whole hour. In reality it may have been just short of a whole second.) I had no way of getting off. The only way was forward. I had my bum behind the seat. I'd just roll forward like any other log, right? I have no trouble going down steep stuff or rolling down rocks. The bike wants to go forward.

So I released the brakes, some unknown force pulled my back wheel into the air, and there was a thud as I hit the ground, followed by the clatter of my bike landing on me.

Carried on along the trail, and rode home thinking nothing more of it.


While riding, it's fine if I can stay in the saddle, but if I stand it hurts, whether climbing or descending.
It'll go.

. . . catching up with the blogging . . .

Looks like I haven't posted since late April. Wow.
I've been busy, and have had better things to do.
(Like unpaid overtime. sigh.)

It officially became summer in May. By "officially" I mean that the hairs on my arms went from being darker than my skin, to being lighter.

It was the Cobble Hill XC Race that was organized by the club on May 10th. I was marshalling, and thought I might as well take along my camera and some strobes, and set them up on the trail. The picture taking went well generally. Lots of riders were out of focus - maybe next time I'll have to manually focus, and hope I hit the shutter when the rider's in the right place.
All pics are here.

I went to a Killers concert in Victoria with Lauren and Ilene from work. I'd never been to a concert before, so that was fun.

Hilary, Erica and I went on an "outing" to Vancouver. Erica drove us to the ferry that took us to Horseshoe Bay. We took the bus into the city and walked around for a bit, then went to the Art Gallery. We spent the rest of the day at Granville Island, and got the last ferry home.


I joined the camera club. The first meeting was Thursday before last, and was the second-to-last meeting off the year. There was a field trip the following Saturday to Ganges (on Saltspring Island). I rode to Crofton, and then we took the ferry to Versuvius Bay, and the bus to Ganges. I spent the first couple of hours walking around with Diane (apparently a friend of Patricia's and Brad's), taking pictures at the dock. We met up with the others and walked around the market a bit. We went on the 8:30 ferry (leaving Crofton), and the others came back on the 1 pm ferry, but Vanessa, Teresa and I came on the 3 pm ferry. I would have liked to stay longer, so went back again yesterday and took my bike. It was a bit cooler, as it was cloudy until about 2 pm, but warm enough so I didn't get uncomfortably cold on the ferry.
I'm not sure if I'll bother with camera club next year though - it seems to be mainly old people that take pictures of birds. At the meeting they were showing the photos from the previous competition - and the pictures were all very "traditional". They seemed to be lacking creativity and originality. I'll go to the next meeting, anyway, and see.

I've been taking loads of pictures, but can't seem to find the time to process them. It took me three weeks to get all the XC race pics done. I get some up on my photostream.
...including taking some of Hilary's stuff:

This is the setup shot:


I'm doing the Twelve Hours of Cumberland the weekend after next. Roland was trying to get together a team, and asked me to come. I'm excited, and a little nervous at the same time.

I've been riding a lot. I've only been able to sleep for about 4 hours a night lately for some reason, so I've been riding before work. Mill Bay, Lake Cowichan, Ladysmith, Shawnigan, etc.
I'm going to go and find Meschatchie (spelling?) Mountain tomorrow.

These were from a ride on Tzouhalem with Jackie, who was (is) brand new to mountain biking. I'm not sure what's going on with Hilary's shorts in this one:

Hilary and I rode "Hell Mountain" (Hilary named it): before work on Wednesdays with her friends Colleen and Rachel, except they haven't come at all, so we rode Prevost this week. The heat is a little more manageable at that time of day. We left her house at 7 (well... that was the plan) and took Daisy and Ben. It was a steady ride up, but the trail down was excellent (once we found it - "oh wait, we've gone past it", "oh yeah". After several minutes of looking we realized we hadn't got to it yet!). It's so dry up there, so the trails are very dusty, but very fast. My wheel started making a clangging noise after an unintended shortcut through a bush. After investigations today, I found that I have onve again broken the little spring thingy that holds the pads back. It's the third time I've broken it, but the last two times I was left without a front brake halfway down a mountain - at least this time the pads held on.
I was late for work.
Again.

I really want to join the rowing club in Maple Bay, too.