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After class today I decided to hit the Waterfront Trail on a whim. It was a great day for a longish ride (10 km) and I was feeling great. On my return leg I ended up riding with two kids (probably around 12-1)5 on their bikes, we passed each other a coupe of times. Finally one of the kids timidly challenged me to a race. I told him "you'll probably win but OK." I meant it too. While it was a pretty close for a while I beat him handily. This little incident reminded me I'm not actually an old man, and I'm actually in my physical prime, beating prepubescent kids is not that impressive.... Lesson learned.
Falling off the bike
Sep. 16th, 2007 04:46 pm |
Last week in conjunction with the start of school I finally got clipless shoes to go with my clipless pedals I installed almost a year ago. Clipless pedals/shoes, for those of you who aren't in the know, are a system in which little cleats on special shoes can attach themselves to special pedals. The result being that your feet are solidly attached to the pedals. The advantages of going clipless include better power transfer between the foot and the pedal, and generally a more consistant pedal over longer rides. Anyway while this wasn't the first time I've ridden clipless it was certainly the first time I've had my own. The only real disadvantage is that it takes a while to overcome the muscle memory of mounting and dismounting your bike. While I was quite conscious of the issue I still fell a couple of times with embarrassing results. Still, my average speed has gone up a couple of clicks, and I haven't fallen in a while now so all in all a good investment. Plus the shoes look cool.
A long bike ride...
Sep. 1st, 2007 09:44 pmI'm quite proud of myself for having completed a 50km ride around the city. Macycle has been organizing these rides throughout the summer, but this is the first one I was able to catch. The day was beautiful and the views of the city were quite wonderful. That's right folks Hamilton can look good in the proper light. Looking out over the city from the escarpment the thing that astonished me was how blue Lake Ontario looked. Our ultimate destination was the Devil's Punchbowl which incidentally was featured in the opening scenes of the Silent Hill movie. We ate fresh pie at a nearby bakery/market and made the 25km trek back to Mac. The ride itself wasn't bad the only issue was its length. I haven't ridden anything approaching 50km in a long time and by the time I made it home my ass was hurting something fierce. All in all a good day.
Pimping My Ride
Oct. 31st, 2006 10:29 pmThe pieces are finally coming together... Now that I'm no longer stuck with eBay for getting bike parts online, I'm slowly but surely gathering the parts I need to truly pimp out my bike. I'm going to use the winter months to accumulate these parts to debut an awesomely macked out ride for the new cycling season. If any one wants to help me accomplish this mini-project please let me know.
-Convert my Schrader tubes/rims to Presta
-Install Mr. Tuffy Red - To toughen up my tires.
-Install replace my peddles with clipless ones. Get shoes to match.
-Replace current chain with PowerLink based chain.
-Replace headlight with LED based system.
(OK any bike buff will tell you these mods are fairly minor, but I'm going to get some satisfaction out of this DIY project dammit.)
-Convert my Schrader tubes/rims to Presta
-Install Mr. Tuffy Red - To toughen up my tires.
-Install replace my peddles with clipless ones. Get shoes to match.
-Replace current chain with PowerLink based chain.
-Replace headlight with LED based system.
(OK any bike buff will tell you these mods are fairly minor, but I'm going to get some satisfaction out of this DIY project dammit.)
Game Report
Apr. 24th, 2004 12:10 amI just got back from the Expos game. Unfortunately the Expos lost 8-6 (it wasn't as close as it sounds). The game began with the first four Phillies scoring without recording an out, so the opening day crowd (30,122) were pretty out of it for most of the game. The Expos came back in the 6th inning and tied the game 5-5, but the Phillies scored runs in the next three innings to effectively put it away. The Expos were able to put up 12 hits but many of them were scattered and came after 2 outs. Hopefully this performance signals the beginning of an offensive surge.
As an aside, I'm so ashamed to be a man sometimes. At the game whenever a woman wearing a tight shirt walked by, my entire section of drunken guys started hooting and hollering. Needless to say I wasn't hollering, it was downright embarrassing. I also witnessed a fist fight between two guys after one of them accidentally spilled beer on the other guy. I don't want to be associated with that...
Finally, I GOT MY BIKE BACK!!!!!!! The ride was sexy smooth.
As an aside, I'm so ashamed to be a man sometimes. At the game whenever a woman wearing a tight shirt walked by, my entire section of drunken guys started hooting and hollering. Needless to say I wasn't hollering, it was downright embarrassing. I also witnessed a fist fight between two guys after one of them accidentally spilled beer on the other guy. I don't want to be associated with that...
Finally, I GOT MY BIKE BACK!!!!!!! The ride was sexy smooth.
Random thoughts
Apr. 21st, 2004 10:53 pmNothing of real note has happened recently, so I'll just list things that have happened/crossed my mind.
- I've completed my search for good biking gear. I got good gloves, jersey and MTB shorts, now all I need is a bike. After getting soaked in my own sweat riding all of last season in cotton t-shirts and jeans, I decided to invested in some high quality gear for this season. I can feel the difference just wearing the gear, it breathes and keeps my body cool. I also discovered that I look decent in tight fitting clothes. After years of loose fitting clothes (I usually wear L or XL t-shirts, I'm actually an M) maybe I should change styles. I don't plan to do anything drastic, yet.
- An old family friend invited me to go to the Expo's home opener on Friday. Hopefully the Expo's will draw a crowd even if the Canadians start their round 2 games on Friday. The 'Spos have been sucking, and it doesn't look to change. But I'll support them 'til the end, which I'm sure is imminent.
- I can't believe the term ends next week, I still have so much to do. The physics exam is scaring the hell out of me. Must do better everywhere else to compensate.
That is all...
- I've completed my search for good biking gear. I got good gloves, jersey and MTB shorts, now all I need is a bike. After getting soaked in my own sweat riding all of last season in cotton t-shirts and jeans, I decided to invested in some high quality gear for this season. I can feel the difference just wearing the gear, it breathes and keeps my body cool. I also discovered that I look decent in tight fitting clothes. After years of loose fitting clothes (I usually wear L or XL t-shirts, I'm actually an M) maybe I should change styles. I don't plan to do anything drastic, yet.
- An old family friend invited me to go to the Expo's home opener on Friday. Hopefully the Expo's will draw a crowd even if the Canadians start their round 2 games on Friday. The 'Spos have been sucking, and it doesn't look to change. But I'll support them 'til the end, which I'm sure is imminent.
- I can't believe the term ends next week, I still have so much to do. The physics exam is scaring the hell out of me. Must do better everywhere else to compensate.
That is all...
I want to cycle (and so should you)
Apr. 19th, 2004 08:48 pmI'll keep this one short:
I bought a kick ass cycling jersey today. Now all I need are some good bicycle shorts to show off my enormous package... I mean to keep my "boys" dry and free from chafing (still doesn't sound good, but its the truth). Seriously cycling is the best way to move around this city, IMO. Go out and give it a try!!!
I bought a kick ass cycling jersey today. Now all I need are some good bicycle shorts to show off my enormous package... I mean to keep my "boys" dry and free from chafing (still doesn't sound good, but its the truth). Seriously cycling is the best way to move around this city, IMO. Go out and give it a try!!!
