Two Wheeled Commute

Schwalbe Marathon Winter Tires

2009-10-21T19:38:00.001-06:00

So I finally picked up my studded tires, or rather one of them, I get the other tomorrow.
Anyway, I went with Schwalbe Marathon Winters with 240 studs a tire. It is a very nice tire, I must say. Kind of heavy at almost 1kg... but I can deal with heavy tires if it lets me ride in the winter safely.
I'll ride on them for a little while and then give a review of my experience with them.

Adventure Cycling Association

2009-10-12T14:37:00.003-06:00

One of my fellow adventure club members turned my on to the Adventure Cycling Association. They have a set of cycling maps you can buy as well as several other useful tools. However, their Cyclists' Yellow Pages is what I really was looking for. It lists cycling publications, tour operators and generally a lot of links to good adventure cycling resources.

Light Dead

2009-10-08T22:26:00.003-06:00

So my Planet Bike Beamer 5 LED headlight died this week. It's been with me 3.5 years. Through rainy Vancouver, and frozen Edmonton. However when the temperature hit the negatives this week it just crashed. Nothing, nada, zilch.... it's dead. I am tempted to buy this light again, but for the $15 more it will cost me I'll get their Blaze 2 Watt LED light... so much brighter. LED lights have come a long way in the last 3.5 years.

Tire rotation

2009-10-08T19:54:00.002-06:00

Yes I'm as guilty as many others. I'm frugal. Not in the miserly way (well sometimes), but in that I like to make things last. To that length I used to rotate my tires... however that is a no-no. See Sheldon Brown's article on it here. I haven't done that in a long time, but was reminded of it when thinking about which tires to put on my bike now that it's snowing.

I was fairly proud of myself this year. I went through 4 rear tires squealing down the river valley and through out the city. Wasteful? Yes! But ridiculously fun!

Spoke Punchers Cycling Cap

2009-10-07T20:34:00.003-06:00

Next on my list of potential cycling caps is from Spoke Punchers. Apart from having an awesome name, and a dinosaur eating a bicycle (go look at their site), they have an excellent selection of already made caps and you can always have them make you a custom one. I was really happy to see a merino wool cap, that is reversible, and looks good with flaps up or down. Ear protection is important in winter people. I think it looks excellent, however it could be the model; she is cute.

Seat sale

2009-10-06T11:41:00.003-06:00

Not cycling related at all, unless you want to go away for a ride. Big seat sale started today by both Westjet and Air Canada. $99 each way for southern California from Edmonton. Some really great deals in there.

Studded bicycle tires

2009-10-05T20:26:00.002-06:00

So I saw another commuter with studded tires this afternoon, and thought: hey buddy, it's cool, but still too early for that. Then I got home and looked at the forecast for tomorrow... and I saw the next few days too. That's right, flurries on Thursday. I think it's time to change tires too.

BikeWorks Bike Bone Yard

2009-10-04T18:31:00.002-06:00

Wow, the donations of old bikes seem to have just piled up over the summer over at BikeWorks. I was hoping to make it to the bike stripping night tonight, but alas I'm stuck in the neverworld of writing (no not for my blog, something that actually pays!).

Sweet Art Portfolio

2009-10-04T17:12:00.003-06:00

Here is a sweet creation by Janet Bike Girl (flickr). Now isn't that much better than a plain old black one? I thought so too.

Milano San Remo Cycling Cap

2009-10-01T20:50:00.002-06:00

So I found this awesome looking cycling cap, the Milano San Remo. Made by Galstudio. Nicely hand made in Vancouver, I was really excited about it until I saw that it is made of cotton. True, cotton is comfortable. It also equals painful in the winter in Edmonton if you sweat into it at all. Anyway, this is the look I want.... so far. I just want it in wool.

The People's Pedal

2009-09-30T20:19:00.002-06:00

As you may know, The People's Pedal didn't operate in 2009 because of a near total loss of their bicycle stock due to theft. They are looking for a new, or renewed direction and in that vein are having their AGM and inviting input. It will be on on Saturday Oct. 3rd at 2pm. See their site for details.

Helmet

2009-09-30T20:02:00.005-06:00

I switched from a standard bicycle helmet to those skate style that are very popular with the new urban cyclists. I bought a Pryme 8, which was really well priced at MEC. I've been using it for eight months now and have noticed a few things compared to the standard helmet.
1. It allows way more air to pass over my noggen' (This is really good).
2. The hard outer case is strong... important if you're always dropping it while trying to undo your lock.
3. Heavy-ish. I find it to be just fine (~500g), but others might not like it.
4. Great straps, though it took me a while to adjust them the way I like.

Searching for Wool Cycling Caps

2009-09-28T22:10:00.002-06:00

I've started searching for good wool cycling caps online. Last year I wore an acrylic tuque, which was warm enough but now I'd like to upgrade. I found OctopusCaps by googling. They have a nicely laid out site, the caps look really nice and they do some wicked cool shirts too.

New Winter BikeWorks Hours

2009-09-28T21:43:00.002-06:00

It's winter again. Well technically it's autumn, but here in hell frozen over land it's pretty much winter already. So, that means winter hours at BikeWorks. As they say on their site, which you need to look at, this is the best winter hours yet!
Monday: 6:00 pm - 9:00 pm
Wednesday: 6:00 pm - 9:00 pm
Thursday: 6:00 pm - 9:00 pm
Saturday: 1:00 pm - 5:00 pm
Sunday (first and third of the month, women/trans only): 1:00 pm - 5:00 pm

Cyclomaniacs

2009-09-28T21:37:00.002-06:00

I saw this first on the Urban Velo blog. It's super fun, and addictive. Seeing how it's produced by Addicting Games this probably shouldn't be a surprise. Anyway, I thought it was so awesome I'd have to post a link to it here too. Check it out, Cyclomaniacs.

MEC Turtle LEDs

2009-09-27T09:54:00.003-06:00

MEC was kind enough to hand out tonnes of Turtle LED lights at the Bikeology festival this year. Well, MEC hands out tonnes of stuff every year, but that wasn't my point. After getting these cool little lights I proceeded to try them for a good 3 months. Non of them ever failed on me and for a single LED they are bright. However, as a front light I would (and do) run a second brighter light and one of these little guys on strobe. However for a rear blinker they are great (can get them in red LED). Again not as powerful as something in the $20 range, but I haven't had any stolen off my bike.
You can get them from MEC fo $3.75 each.

Cyclocross - Calgary

2009-09-27T09:10:00.002-06:00

As seen at Bike Alberta.

Bike Stripping!

2009-09-27T08:46:00.003-06:00

BikeWorks is again doing its bike stripping party. Time to get down with making naked bikes! It's on Oct. 4th. 5:30pm to 9pm.

Bikes and The City

2009-09-26T22:07:00.005-06:00

A quick shout out to MELI who's blog is Bikes and The City. She always has great shots and follows what's going on in SF bikewise. Plus, she's into wicked good coffee. Girls who 1. Love bikes and 2. Love coffee = true love kinda girls.

How Cyclists Draw Straws

2009-09-26T22:02:00.002-06:00

This is a wicked way to determine who should do the crappy work.

Urban Velo

2009-09-26T21:50:00.002-06:00

I have been reading Urban Velo for quite some time now. Along with Momentum, it is my favourite magazine. I highly recommend you all go check it out. You can subscribe to the print version, which is cheap if you're in the US, more expensive to have sent up North, or as with all great cycling content can be viewed online for free directly from their site.

Wow... has it been this long?

2009-09-26T21:46:00.000-06:00

Well it appears that it has been an incredibly long time since I've posted here. I've changed jobs, Jen has started a new degree, we bought a place in Old Strathcona and I have slightly less hair. All very exciting (or demoralizing) events.
I'm going to try to get back into blogging here and create some good content for myself, well and you whoever you are.

Cuncussion

2009-02-01T12:40:00.002-07:00

After returning from Palm Springs and San Diego Thursday night, I hopped back on my bike to ride to work Friday morning. However the weather in Edmonton had warmed significantly and snow had melted slightly then refrozen. I managed to ride the 3.5 km on ice with no issues. I'd like to think I have decently good riding skills. However about 3 meters from my bike lock-up I went down... hard, on a cement plaza... hard. Did I mention I went down hard? Right. Cracked my helmet, but didn't black out. Went to work, things were a little fuzzy but that is normal before coffee ;-)
I had a bad headache and the dizziness continued for the day. I work in medicine so when I told my boss I was still dizzy and couldn't concentrate very well I ended up in Emergency at the hospital... though I did get expedited through to my CT scan. Which was cool... it's as space ship like as 1st class on Air Canada trans-oceanic flights.
Turns out now hemorrhaging in my brain, which is good, but I have a decent concussion.
I threw my helmet away... which was kind of sad, it had done so much riding with me. But now I get to buy a new one.
Downside to all of this (apart from the injury itself) is that my wife has told me I can't ride for the month of February! Come on! I mean, yes the neurologist said I better not smack my noggen again for at least 4 weeks, but no riding? Not cool. I'm sure I'll get over it and be riding soon though.

Slackpacking

2008-12-30T22:17:00.003-07:00

I'm planning my next slackpacking trip for early summer. I enjoy slackpacking because frankly I prefer sleeping in a nice warm comfortable bed with a bath and all those amenities that civilization bring us.
Last year I started slackpacking, and enjoyed it thoroughly. This year I will be slackpacking in North-East China. I plan to do the alternative route on Mt. Tai, as I have done the traditional one already. Then Thousand Buddha mountain. They aren't huge, and can be done in one day.
I would like to add another two or three mountains in, however there is very little information on the net or in published works about other possibilities except in Chinese, so it is taking a while.

The picture is of me near the top of Mt. Tai (Taishan).

Toe Clips

2008-12-30T22:13:00.002-07:00

Well it is freezing here in Edmonton again. Okay, so it is freezing her about 6 months of the year. I had spent a fair bit of time looking for a pair of nice toe clips last winter. I finally found a pair of blue nylon cateyes that I really loved. They were great and with wide blue straps I thought they looked awesome too. However, in the -30C temperature they must have become very brittle as I managed to knock one into a curb and watch it shatter... I am very sad about my loss.
I think for the weather here I absolutely need to use metal toe clips. I will be off to hunt a pair up at BikeWorks soon enough.

Bike Jousting - Round 1

2008-10-11T18:18:00.002-06:00

Well here is the video. Crazy people, I know. Enjoy.

Bike Jousting - Round 1

2008-06-30T11:18:00.005-06:00

We finally had our first jousting run last Wednesday. It was a great lot of fun. The lances were made of rolled cardboard boxes with hockey gloves on the ends. I decided not to bring my junky bar bike for the jousting, instead riding my commuter. I managed to go flying off my steed a few times and this caused some maladjustment to my rear derailleur and rack, but nothing that 5 minutes on the stand couldn't fix. My opponent (top pic) beat me fairly, but next round he's going down.

Back again

2008-06-21T20:16:00.002-06:00

Well, I've been gone for well over a month. First to Washington DC and Vancouver for work, then off on holiday with Jen to China.
China was awesome, especially since I got to skip those stupid tours that most people take. Instead Jen's family and friends took me around and showed me the real China.
Bikes are not too numerous there anymore, well there are a lot compared to here, but way less than what I always used to think. Also in the cities I was in 75% or so were electric bicycles... actually pretty cool.
I managed to buy some bike parts there. 2 folding side baskets for mounting on my rear rack 10 RMB each ($1.30) and nylon belted commuting tires 15 RMB each ($2.05).
I must say most of the beer there is decent, but there are some excellent ones in Shandong province. It was overrun with Germans 200 years ago, and they left some wonderful churches and small cathedrals (a few left today) as well as some great brewing tradition. At $0.16 for 500ml of fresh beer with great flavor you just can't go wrong. Though my favorite was one called Kritzer that was almost triple the cost, it even won a gold medal in Munich.

Bike Jousting

2008-04-27T17:38:00.001-06:00

I think we will make bike jousting a weekly event at the lab.

Berkeley Bike Boulevards

2008-04-26T21:31:00.001-06:00

Wow, we need to get this in Edmonton. It would be so easy to add in the Old Strathcona area, and would help a lot.

Bicycle Ice Cream Maker - Innovate or Die

2008-04-26T21:22:00.001-06:00

Not super innovative, but fun. Fun enough that I need to do it this summer.

New parts

2008-04-26T20:56:00.002-06:00

I've been meaning to replace my back break pads for about two weeks, and either the weather was so good I didn't want to waste time on it while I could be soaking up the rays or so misserable I didn't want to go out in the frickn' snow. However today was a nice 12C and sunny. So I finally headed out to Bike Works, the EBCS' bike shop, to get some v-brake pads. I figured even if they were the same price as my favourite LBS I would be helping keep the cash flowing for a great society. As it turns out, brake pads are cheap there... a whole $2.50, nice! Anyway, I also went through the parts room (filled with parts taken off of donated bikes) and managed to get blue toe clips, for $1! Nice! No straps, but I managed to make some wicked cool super wide blue straps to go with them. I also found a Chromoly handle bar with just slightly more rise and rake than my current one, for $3!!! I was in ecstasy all afternoon. It has given a more upright geo for commuting in my hipster University area of the city, with our bike paths and traffic calmed streets... ahhhhh, I really love it here when the weather isn't crap.
I plan on taking some photos of the bike tomorrow in the sun and post them up... I really like the blue toe clips/straps combo.

Drivers and two way stops

2008-04-24T19:23:00.002-06:00

I'm always cautious when driving along a road and a cyclist is approaching a stop or yield sign... because maybe their idiot cyclists, or maybe they didn't see me.... but I'll never stop when I have the right of way and they don't. Seriously, this kind of thing causes accidents, or at the least, interfers with traffic flow.
Edmonton is a truck town... I say town, not city, because it has such huge urban sprawl it doesn't deserve the title. I am fairly well protected from high speed vehicles because I live and work around the University in Old Strathcona. However, people here don't know what to do with cyclists on the road. They are almost always patient and don't press me when passing, and have never honked at me.... but everyday (or that on average) when they are on a through road and I am stopped at a stop sign or yield sign waiting for them to go past, they will enter the intersection, stop and try to wave me through. They ALWAYS do this with a smile, and I ALWAYS point to the stop or yield sign and smile. They get it, and hopefully will remember. I think I've helped educate a good amount of people, I just wish the system had done a better job. On the positive side, this isn't the kind of problem that makes me want to stop riding.
/end rant

Frickn' Cold

2008-04-20T11:06:00.002-06:00

You see... last weekend was 18C.... now -10C.... not fun.

Vélo Vogue

2008-04-18T14:43:00.001-06:00

Vélo Vogue is a great blog I've been watching for a while. Some really nice pics from SF in here. It just keeps on improving with time.

Lubing Cable Housing

2008-04-15T20:58:00.004-06:00

Here is another great vid from Alex Ramon in Vancouver. He really does produce great tutorials.

Just 9 more days!

2008-04-15T20:27:00.002-06:00

Just 9 more days until Ubuntu 8.04 is released (beta already out)! I'm looking forward to it. Being someone who likes to keep up on tech, but is generally lazy about it, I keep Mac, PC and Linux computers to fiddle around with.
One of the great things I love about Ubuntu (and all you 1337 linux guys can deal with it) is that it is super user friendly. It is pretty much just as easy to pick up as Mac from PC or PC from Mac. Also it is free, like really free. I really see computers in general become just workstations that let you access your web based files. I already use Google docs, Zoho CRM, Gmail, iGoogle, Zoho based wiki, Blogger. I only use my MS office for documents that involve patient information, and that's only because it is an accepted system to use. The now is web-based, we just need to kill the bloated operating systems that tag on $ to our machines.

Attention Getting, but is it the right signal?

2008-04-12T12:47:00.002-06:00

This campaign from last summer in London (On Yer Bike London) certainly had great attention grabbing ability. I mean, look at the picture..... now stop. However, I really don't think we want to associate biking with skin tight clothes. I think, along with many others, we should try to associate normal clothes with bicycling. I ride in my suit to work, it's not a big deal. You do need to take some precautions though... like fenders with extended mud flaps, and trouser ties at your ankles. In any event I applaud the effort to get more people on bikes, and the nice photos that arose from it, but maybe next time we can show a celebrity or several normal people wearing usable outfits riding bicycles.

Snow Man

2008-04-10T14:04:00.003-06:00

It snowed here on the weekend, and a bunch of students (I'm assuming students) made an absolutely huge snowman on campus. You'll note his buttons and nose are bottles of beer (Molson Canadian to be exact). Funny thing is the weather is supposed to warm up to 20C by Sunday... it's like a yo-yo here.

Firefox 3 Beta 5

2008-04-02T22:33:00.004-06:00

I just installed Firefox 3 Beta 5. I was hoping it would be faster, I like fast. Guess what, it's faster, it seems way faster. I like the look of it, though I always change how firefox looks.

Fixed Gear Bikes and Hotties

2008-04-02T20:38:00.002-06:00

So it has been brought to my attention that we are supposed to refer to fixies as fixed gear bikes. To me this is really the same idea that a hipster is someone who walks around complaining about hipsters. Anyway, this picture is from a nice post by BRANDUNE on Bikeforums, and is originally from Keirin. I am just wondering when we will see bike shorts like this being worn on the track where I live? Ahhh, sexier bike shorts.

Washing my Bike

2008-03-29T20:44:00.002-06:00

Today I decided to wash my bike free of all the grit and grime that has amassed over the winter. To get into the cogs and make sure I removed all the sand stuck in gooey chain oil I used a bottle brush that I bought for $1. It worked really well, better that I imagined it would. Now my rear cassette looks brand spanking new. I've managed to annihilate my rear set of brake pads... I guess all those bike ninja moves have worn them down... that our the daily commute. Another thing I noticed was that I've burned through my rear tire in the last month. Again I think this has something to do with the bike ninja moves, specifically wild skids. Though I do like my rear tire, I have so many spare ones sitting around there is just no motivation to not kill it by my sweet bike ninja moves.

New Laptop Messenger Bag

2008-03-28T17:54:00.003-06:00

I got a new messenger style laptop bag yesterday and have ridden with it a few times now. I really like the aesthetics of it, and it looks good enough I can bring it into meetings (unlike before where I would have to change all of my crap to another bag before going to a meeting). It breaths fairly well since it's canvas, so I am hoping I'll end up with no sweaty back from it... though I think that is inevitable in the summer no matter what the material. It fits my Macbook, blackberry, wallet, keys some paperwork and nick nacks just fine. I can even jam in my U-lock too! The bag is made by stm (model = small cargo), and has great fit and finish. A lot of detail went into it, and it shows. The movable shoulder pad is wide and grippy, and the straps have nice hardware.

Google Docs

2008-03-28T15:08:00.004-06:00

Google Docs, a great online service that replaces Microsoft Office's everyday functions of Word, Excel and Powerpoint. The downside is that your files are stored on google's servers, so if you work for CSIS or the NSA then you can't do work on it. However it is an excellent alternative to the several hundred dollars you should have spent for a legitimate copy of office. Now you can stick it to Microsoft without breaking copyrights. As you can see, I am using it for serious work, the creation of the manifesto for the Bike Ninja Club - Edmonton. If you are a 1337 Bike Ninja who likes to hang at the UofA and also likes Pub Rides, come join us.

The Raleigh Extreme

2008-03-27T11:55:00.002-06:00

This is an absolutely hilarious video. I mean, the energy of the guy, doing the same kind of jumps as a 10 year old. I must admit it has been many years since I made a jump on the street... maybe I should start again.

Bike Skirts

2008-03-27T00:36:00.006-06:00

My wife loves this video. Along with its makers she wishes more cyclists would wear skirts while riding. I like it, bicycle + skirt = sexy.

Weather Here

2008-03-25T15:22:00.004-06:00

Oh man, so the weather has been pretty awesome recently. It's above zero and sunny. I've been riding in just a sweater to work and it feels great, also no toque under the helmet... so I can hear better too. The snow and ice are gone from the roads, so I can boot it again, and that cuts my commute to about half the time.

Art by Adam Turman

2008-03-23T13:57:00.003-06:00

So as I was browsing through my Momentum #32, I came across the page about Artcrank (p.14). Anyway the poster by Adam Turman was really sweet so I went to his site to look at what else he has done. I like the style and actually the delivery of colour too. Check it out for yourself here. I only saw two images with bikes, but I won't hold that against him, but only because the rest of his stuff rocks!

How To Overhaul Your Wheel Bearings

2008-03-21T11:21:00.009-06:00

Yet another excellent webvid tutorial from Alex at http://bicycletutor.com/. If you've never repacked bearings you need to watch this. Alex makes it look quite easy, and in my experience it isn't that bad, as long as you are doing it over a clean work surface. ie. I've dropped ball bearings in dirt and then had to clean them off thoroughly before putting them in (very time consuming, and embarrassing if done in front of others).
This is great knowledge to have, because you can rebuild good hubs and save yourself a lot of cash, remember bike coops and groups frequently have old but excellent quality hubs sitting around that you can either get free or really cheap and rebuild. An hour of work and $3 in grease and ball bearings and you've got a great hub.
If you don't know how to tell if your bearings are worn out, Alex has another great webvid that shows you http://bicycletutor.com/check-bearing-wear/

Why Guys Want Velocity Deep V rims

2008-03-20T18:46:00.006-06:00

1. Girls will ask if you built them yourself, this is good if you did, it will make you look useful.... little do they know.
2. If you are a hipster and don't build your own wheels, or are just inept, you can always get them built by that hot red head at the bike co-op.
3. They come in many colours, this is great since you can now coordinate with your funky red or green shoe laces.
4. They are strong, I hear they are strong enough to support some vigorous movements and the weight of two people (see Rev. Phil's films if you need help understanding this).
5. They stay in true better than many wheels, therefore allowing you to spend more time at the pub and less working on them. If you're a hipster, this just means you can continue to drink Stella Artois and don't have to degrade to Budweiser.
6. They are slightly heavier than other wheels... no this is good, more mass means they will work better to keep you moving straight when you are heading home from the pub.
7. They are just damn cool.

Picture is of Rainiers' bike from www.bikeforums.net

Cycle Jerks

2008-03-19T22:26:00.003-06:00

Cycle Jerks have a series of web shows. These guys are on the more crazy end of the spoke, making them that more entertaining. They also organize alleycat races with very interesting names like ClusterFuck and GangBang... I assure you that those terms associated with bicycles is not what made me find them in the first place... really, seriously ;-)
You can check their site here: http://cyclejerks.com/

EBC Event this Sunday!

2008-03-19T20:25:00.004-06:00

I had a pretty bad day at work today, but I stopped by BikeWorks on my way home and a volunteer mechanic named Eric showed me a lot about making a single speed out of my old Nishiki road bike. Thanks Eric, I'll be back soon to do the actual project. Anyway BikeWorks and the Edmonton Bicycle Commuters are cleaning up the BikeWorks shop on Sunday from 1-4pm, I plan to come out for it, I hope many others will too. Plus there is pizza.... something that seems exceptionally overpriced in Edmonton to me, since in Vancouver $2.25 gets you two slices and a can of coke,... and it is good pizza to boot.

Wheel Truing

2008-03-18T20:55:00.004-06:00

I went through about 8 wheel truing videos, and this is by far the most helpful I found. It is really clear and mentions a lot of subtleties other videos didn't. Plus it actually shows using a truing stand, which I think is great.Alex at http://bicycletutor.com/ made quite a few of these videos, if you go to his site you can view them in better res than from youtube.

My Commuter

2008-03-18T10:03:00.004-06:00

This is my general commuter bike. A 2006 Norco Mountaineer, which does really well in the snow and ice. In general I've been very happy with it. It doesn't require much of any work other than cleaning and oiling the chain, and an occasional brake cable adjustment. Yes, the seat is awfully high. I guess the frame is a little small for me, but I didn't think it was and neither did the guy at the bike store when I bought it. Before anyone makes any comments, the seat tube is long enough so that I won't crack the top of my frame.

Make a Messenger Bag Out of Trash Bags!

2008-03-17T19:53:00.002-06:00

This is a great instructable, easy to follow, save the environment (reuse!) and save $150!

Yehuda Moon Comic Today

2008-03-17T13:40:00.003-06:00

I just love this one. It reminds me of when I first started riding here, panniers completely full of everything. Now I just lug around my cell, laptop, and lunch. It is much better that way. I really feel I need to switch to a courier bag, it will be quicker to take-off and it will make me cooler too :-)

Just for Fun

2008-03-16T21:17:00.002-06:00

The Beer song as a music video made in World of Warcraft. Hey! Being a geek is cool!

The Bicyclist

2008-03-16T18:15:00.004-06:00

The Bicyclist is a great web show made out of Portland. The acting is kind of like the original star wars, nothing to be really excited about but the story line is great (provided you are in to biking).
I just thought it was quite amusing. Check it! http://www.thebicyclist.tv/

Edmonton Bicycle Commuters

2008-03-16T17:40:00.004-06:00

So after living here in Edmonton for almost nine months I finally headed over to the Edmonton Bicycle Commuters' shop BikeWorks. I regret fully that I did not do this in the first week I was in Edmonton. The shop is awesome, filled with 8 or 9 bike stands, all the tools you would ever need, and volunteer mechanics to show you how to do it if you don't know. If you're a member (membership is really a nominal fee) it only costs $2/hr to use the shop. They also have a huge amount of parts pulled off recycled bikes, and complete bikes for really great prices.
But beyond being a great resource for velo knowledge, the people are extremely nice and friendly, even to a preppy kid like me, showing up on a new shinny bike with freshly pressed dockers and Uni crested shirt. I have a feeling I'll be hanging out there fairly often in the future.
Check them out http://www.edmontonbikes.ca/

Du Training

2008-03-08T14:12:00.002-07:00

I did my longer range cycling today. 1 hour 20 minutes of riding on snow and ice covered MUPs.
I managed to finally develop my training schedule for the next twelve weeks. It's just more base work, but that is what I need.
Monday, Wednesday, Friday I will be doing two 5k and one 10k run at lunch. Tuesday, Thursday will be 15k on the bike. Saturday will be more endurance, so 1.5-2 hours on the bike increasing incrementally over the 12 weeks.
I am certain I can make this work, and it is in my blackberry calendar, so I have to follow it now

Broken Pedal

2008-03-06T14:38:00.002-07:00

So I have cheap resin pedals on my commuter. I generally like them, they work well and look fine. However on my take-off from work last night one of the reflectors broke off! I didn't think this would be so bad, but I guess it extended the size of the pedal by about 1cm, which I had grown accustomed to. My whole ride home felt lop-sided. I haven't decided what to do about the pedals yet. Glue them back together, or replace them with an old cheap plastic set or go and get nice new flashy pedals.

This week's Du work-up

2008-03-02T13:05:00.002-07:00

I feel quite bad since I had an extremely busy work week and only managed to get in my normal cycling (7km daily). However I did do a 5km run this afternoon, and my muscles are all tingling now.
I need to nail down a schedule this week for practice, otherwise I'll never be prepared in time.
I'm still looking for a really cheap old 10 speed road bike... they are harder to find in the middle of winter I think, but I'm sure I'll prevail.

Yehuda Moon Comic

2008-02-23T12:32:00.002-07:00

I found a sweet online bicycle comic strip. It's Yehuda Moon, by Rick Smith. Check it out.
http://www.yehudamoon.com/

Duathlon Prep, Tues-Fri

2008-02-23T12:30:00.002-07:00

Work got in the way of my doing extended distance training recently. I managed to get in only one run (5km) and two rides (15km each). I need to step it up I think, otherwise I'm not going to make it.

Duathlon Prep, Sat-Mon

2008-02-18T12:24:00.002-07:00

I did a 20km bike ride through the river valley on Saturday morning. In general it was a very pleasant ride. The MUPs are completely covered in compacted snow... which is fine, however in some areas there is sheet ice... I almost bit it at the bottom of a hill.
On Sunday I did my "rest" day in which I didn't bike or run, just stretched. I was starting to feel new muscles by this day.
Today I did another 4km run. I had first thought of doing a 5km, but I didn't want to push it since the paths had turned to really slippery ice. Tomorrow is another bike day, I plan on putting in 20km.

Today's Run

2008-02-15T13:12:00.002-07:00

Today was my first run in about two years. The last time I tried I made it about 200m before needing to walk. Today I did 4km, and I still had energy to do more... not too much more though. That isn't enough, but it is a good start. I hope to be up to 10km by mid March.

Team Spirit at Work

2008-02-14T13:06:00.003-07:00

To try to bolster some more team spirit at work, I am trying to implement a company duathlon team. I hope it works out, though I am sure it will go forward. I want to include pretty much everyone in some capacity or another. I think the actual racing team will be three or four individuals including myself. Now I just need to get some sponsors :-)
I did a practice ride today, just 7.5km, in the snow... I hope to do the full 40km on Sunday.

-40C

2008-02-01T20:16:00.000-07:00

So it got colder than -41C this week. Not for the whole week, and thank goodness I was in Seattle for the coldest period, however when I returned on Tuesday I still biked to work in the -35C crisp cold. I plan to take a picture to show you how I dress up to deal with this weather. Actually keeping warm is easy except for three places: feet; hands; face. All three areas can be kept warm with some high quality gear (but it doesn't have to be expensive). I get away with snowboarding gloves ($25 at Canadian Tire) instead of $100 "Winter biking gloves." The same goes for the boots... good old winter boots rated for -40C work awesome. To keep my face from getting too cold I use a nice alpaca scarf for temperatures of -25C or higher, and a "Jesse James" style bandanna for anything colder than -25C.

Picture from Copenhagen

2008-01-24T21:50:00.000-07:00

I had a wonderful, and busy business trip to Copenhagen in mid November. This is one of my pictures of a street at about 1:30 in the afternoon (sorry about the poor photomanship). That is an amazing amount of cyclists to me. I only wish we could get that kind of quantity during "rush hour" even if it was just around the University in Edmonton.

Delayed Postings

2008-01-13T15:46:00.001-07:00

Well it has been several months since my last posting. I am somewhat ashamed to admit, but life got busy and in the way... however I am happy to say that I never stopped riding in the period, even when the temperature went down to -25C.
Since my last post I spent some time in Copenhagen, an absolutely beautiful city with exceptionally strong bike culture. I spent a lot of time wondering around examining bicycles. There are several things that stand out in stark contrast to North American bikes. 1. They almost all have internal gearing 2. They have fenders to keep the rain and mud off, including side skirting to keep loose clothes from getting caught in the rear wheel 3. They generally don't have shocks 4. Their body position is far more relaxed and comfortable 5. There are chain guards on every bike 6. People wear nice clothes while riding in the city, women wear fashionable clothes and high heels, men wear button up shirts and dress shoes.
These observations are just mine, and there are of course exceptions, but all of differences are great and I hope to implement them here.
I just wish their bikes were available here easily with out the over priced mark-up that I see at a few boutique LBS. Next time I go, I think I will bring one back.

Dirty pants

2007-10-15T15:21:00.000-06:00

I've generally been riding with a reflective velcro strap around my pant leg, but inevitably I still get some grit/dust/oil on my pant legs. I'm really tired of this. I dislike having to get changed when I get to work, and since my commute is quite short and totally flat it isn't generally necessary. I wish I had a European bike with all the chain guards and everything. Perhaps I will get one soon. I think they are great. I really like the Gazelle line of bikes. In the interim I am also looking to fashion a porter chain guard from some sheet aluminum.

Weekend Ride

2007-10-08T19:33:00.000-06:00

The weather warmed up significantly this weekend in Edmonton. It was sunny and a nice warm(ish) 17 degrees. Jen wanted to go for a ride, much to my happy surprise. So we biked around our neighbourhood looking for houses for sale. It was really enjoyable biking around with almost no traffic and no particular destination and just looking at the nice architecture (and not so nice) around home.
I have the feeling that will be the last pleasant day of riding together for another eight months though, well maybe Jen will like riding in the snow, right? ;-)

Stickers Are Here!

2007-10-01T10:55:00.000-06:00

The "One Less Car" stickers (Original Post with Picture) have arrived. I am selling them at 5 stickers for $5, 10 for $8, 20 for $13.50, sent by letter postage for free! Please email me, twowheeledblog@gmail.com if you would like some.

Old and New Norco Mountaineers

2007-09-26T20:35:00.000-06:00

Here is a picture of my new Norco Mountaineer with an older (women's) behind it. The other rider is also a daily commuter at UofA. Check out the nice new seat she put on it... class.

Fun ride

2007-09-26T20:30:00.000-06:00

Here is someone's fun ride from UofA. It is parked near my bike almost everyday. It is some older Japanese 10 speed, with knobby tires and a cool Dinosaur on the handlebars. I just like it.

Fleece Helmet Liner

2007-09-24T10:58:00.000-06:00

The weather has continued to be beautiful and sunny.... however it is cold at night, and that means a cold ride to work in the morning. My ears started to get really cold on the ride to work, to the point where they hurt for the first 10 minutes once inside. So I looked at a helmet liner that had ear protection. At the various local bike shops I found many, all $13 or more. Perhaps that is a good price, but I am always looking for the best deal. I ended up in the Army and Navy store on Whyte Ave, where I purchased a great fleece toque for $1.50 that fits very well under my helmet and covers my ears. It worked perfectly this morning.

Car troubles = Happy weekend riding

2007-09-21T13:45:00.000-06:00

In general Jen and I do our grocery shopping via car. This is not so much due to our buying large quantities of food, but that the markets and stores we prefer are rather far away, or just seemed that way. We try to limit our driving which ends up being about 30 km a week. However this last weekend our car's fuel pump died, and while it was at the shop we rode our bikes to the grocery store and markets. This turned out to be very enjoyable and not as difficult as we had thought, though quite time consuming. However, there isn't really a better thing to consume your time than bicycling in the warm afternoon with your loved one. The only bad thing that we found is that Edmonton fails HORRIBLY to provide convenient, and in some cases safe, roadways or paths for cycling in the city. Council has said they want to improve this, and perhaps they will, but it has a long way to go.

Lunch Ride

2007-09-13T22:19:00.000-06:00

The weather was so nice today I went for a ride at lunch. The University is surrounded by very calm residential areas and trails, perfect for a nice relaxing ride. Of course instead of going around the University to the trails I just bombed between the thousands of students moving about the buildings. It was funny, there was a guy in his late 20's with a stroller who, with a big smile, pretended to play chicken with me on a bike path, of course he gave way several metres before I was going to but... the mother did not look impressed. Haha.

Pub hopping by bike

2007-09-12T21:04:00.000-06:00

Tonight Jen and I went pub hopping, however ours was with a little twist. We went from one place to another trying out their hot wings. Wednesday seems to be cheap hot wings day here in Edmonton, and living in Old Strathcona facilitates easy biking to all of the top spots. We rode around several blocks just looking at the daily specials easels outside the pubs. We ended up after a few other places at Wooly Bully's, for $0.15 wings. I was expecting some pretty nasty wings but to my delight they were excellent! The service was very slow, but when the wings did come they were still hot, drinks were cheap too. I remember my old driving days where I would have looked up some places online and never explored by foot more than a block or two. I must give my bicycle and Jen's love of riding with me all the credit for finding a great new wings place and another great memory.

MEC's Squish Gloves

2007-09-10T21:54:00.000-06:00

I decided to try out MEC's (Mountain Equipment Co-op) Squish riding gloves. I have found them to be very comfortable and have good feeling. I can tell that once the temperature reaches about 5 degrees Celsius they will be cool, and 0 degrees they will be cold. However for a transitional season glove I think they are great. An awesome buy, in my mind, at $20.

New Bike

2007-09-10T21:30:00.000-06:00

I bought a new bike finally. I ended up getting a Norco Mountaineer from 2006 (new old stock). It has been a real pleasure to ride back and forth to work, and just perfect on the river valley trails. I will be doing a blog section with pictures about adding fenders and a rack on the back. I know you have all probably done it before, but maybe someone will like to see it.

Ride Today

2007-09-03T16:01:00.000-06:00

Jen and I went for a ride through the river valley. It was very pleasant, and surprisingly not busy at all.

Downfall of my cheap bike

2007-08-30T22:11:00.000-06:00

Today on my morning commute I managed to pull my handlebars right out. On further inspection I have cracked my frame (thus allowing the wiggle room). So now my bike is so far gone, I can't see any reason to fix it... just time to get a new one.

Stickers

2007-08-30T22:05:00.000-06:00

I got tired of trying to get my hands on "One less Car" stickers for anything close to a reasonable price. So I just sent off to have a bunch made. They should arrive in a few weeks. I will be selling them for a far more reasonable price than I found them for at stores. I think probably 5 stickers will be $5, 10 for $8 and 20 for $13.50.

What's up with Mitts?

2007-08-28T21:16:00.000-06:00

I did try wearing a pair of fleece Sierra Designs mittens for my morning commute today. Why mitts? I wanted to try something new and they were just sitting around my house. Or maybe I am developing a massive eccentric lifestyle and will soon look like all the others off of Commercial Drive in Vancouver.
The mitts worked out wonderfully. I didn't find them restrictive in any way. The cold wind that I felt on Monday did not bite into my knuckles today, which made the ride much more comfortable. I was going to wear gloves tomorrow, but I think I will keep wearing the mitts for the whole week and give a better review over that period of time.

2007-08-27T17:42:00.000-06:00

This morning it was raining slightly, which I dislike but am well experienced in. I neglected to wear any gloves, which was a mistake. My knuckles felt fairly cold by the time I got to work, actually they felt very cold... kind of like skiing without gloves. The ride home was better, since it had cleared up and warmed quite a lot. Tomorrow I will try wearing some fleece mitts. Yes, I know... you don't wear mitts while biking. However, I don't see why not since they don't complicate any functions (unless you only use one or two fingers for your break levers), though I may retract that statement after tomorrow morning. My poor old bike is making more some creaking noises from everywhere now. I feel like one day I am going to accelerates from a stop and boom, the whole bike will fall apart like in the cartoons!

My next bike... hopefully.

2007-08-26T16:20:00.000-06:00

The 2007 Brodie Voltage. I have managed to try out several bikes at our local bike shops, and by far this is my favourite. It's not a wicked awesome bike, but it is so nice to ride and a good step up for me. I also like the fact that it is from a Vancouver company, I like to support the guys back home. Plus I can yell and scream at them more easily if I think their stuff is crap after 6 months of riding it! Haha.

Bike Repair

2007-08-26T16:11:00.000-06:00

I decided to tune up my drive train last night and go for a nice test ride. The weather was beautiful here, with full sun shine and a nice cool breeze. The adjustments were relatively easy, but I had one big issue on my test ride: the handlebars came loose! Well, I had determined to ride this little bike (cheap old thing, from Costco or Canadian Tire) into the ground before I bought a new one. It seams my daily riding is taking it's toll, but the handlebars were an easy fix. I'm still waiting for something serious to happen so I can have the excuse to go buy a nice new commuter style bike with 700C wheels and good quality components! Ummmm, non-crappy components. ;-)

August 24th

2007-08-24T20:14:00.000-06:00

I decided to wear a synthetic long sleeve biking shirt (from Mountain Equipment Co-op) for my commute today, which I found more comfortable than I had anticipated. The only complained I have about it is that allowed wind to penetrate too easily. I think it is a great base layer for when the weather turns really bad.
I have been wearing hemp t-shirts (50% Hemp 50% Cotton), which are very soft and block wind quite well. I much prefer the hemp shirts to synthetic or even pure cotton. There is just something about how they stretch that I find very pleasant for biking. I highly recommend them.

Opening

2007-08-23T23:21:00.001-06:00

Hello, my name is Samuel and I live and work in Edmonton, Canada. After two years of commuting by car for 50 minutes each way in Vancouver, I decided I needed a less stressful and more environmentally sustainable way of getting to work. When I started work at the University of Alberta in July I made a promise to ride a bicycle as my primary way of commuting. This blog is about my daily commutes, and all the issues that arise therefrom.