Suicidal Squirrel

Well, there I am on my ride to work this morning (Saturday), it was a nice cool morning, the sun was shining, lots of colorful leaves on the trees, and I'm cruising along nicely as there was a south wind.


As I'm coming around the corner to cross the bike/pedestrian bridge from Kingston Row to Jubilee (the one at BDI as pictured above), I spot him. Sitting on the curb near a garbage bin. Our eyes locked as I continued to approach him, I knew what he was thinking: "I can't make it another Winnipeg winter, so cold... so windy.... so..... cold.... I'm ending it now!" As I continued to approach, he got ready to jump, so I hit the brakes hoping to throw off his timing.

Time seemed to slow as I gazed down to watch this poor destitute squirrel attempt to take his own life by jumping into the slightly bladed spokes whirring in circles. It appears as though my efforts to throw off his timing have worked, he jumped late, I felt him hit my rear tire.

As I turned in time to watch him scurry away into the bushes, perhaps he hesitated as he realized it wasn't worth it. Sure, Winnipeg is cold and windy in the winter, but the summers are great for a squirrel. He looked "well fed" and I'm sure he's gorged himself on a few delicious treats from the nearby BDI Ice Cream Stand. What started as a delighted child's frozen treat after their soccer game, became the "crème d'asphalt", a delicassy for squirrels. Then again, these treats my have been what thwarted his attempted suicide this morning, his lack of agility due to the excess cream intake may have slowed him just enough to be off the mark. Hopefully this squirrel can find it in himself to tough out one more winter, because trust me the summers (and oh so creamy BDI soft serve ice cream) are worth it.

MS Tour Continued....

heh heh, well I got a bit distracted from finishing my post on the MS tour from a while ago,and I guess I've forgotten many of the details by now. So I'll just leave it at how it went,
shortly after lunch it started to pour buckets, I hadn't seen so much rain in a long time, then the hail hit. I was sitting in our car with Jess, watching the remaining riders finish up. Boy, was I glad I finished earlier, I had to put the wipers on full tilt to see them and we weren't even moving.

The evening went pretty well, I was feeling worse and worse though, and again, I didn't sleep well once we got to bed, then I woke up feeling terrible. I got ready to go meet a few guys for a warm up ride (it was ~4 degrees C), and to see how I was feeling for the day. I decided to go for it, but asked Jess to wait at the first rest stop for me in case I didn't feel like continuing. Well, soon after the ride started, so did the rain. I was powering up the hills, my legs felt great, but... my lungs just couldn't keep up. I had 2 options: 1 Ride slower (yeah right) or 2, pack it in.

I saw Jess, pulled off the road, put my bike on the rack, and drove home.

After speaking with other riders the next day, they said the weather just got worse, more rain, wind, and apparently the food at the end of the ride consisted of 3 chicken fingers and some other small snacks.

The ride itself was beautiful, I quite enjoyed it as it was the first time I actually encountered hills on a ride. We hope to go out there next year for some camping, hopefully the weather will be nicer.

here's a little graph showing the elevation changes of the first day.




Nothing spectacular, but I was wishing I had a couple more gears in that steep part. Oh, it's not the complete course, just where it started to go up, the whole ride was ~72km or so.

MS Bike Tour Update

I'd like to start off by thanking everyone for their generosity in donating $$ for the MS Society of Canada. The grand total for the event was $190,000 (not all from me). Good job everyone.

Now for the ride report:

Friday evening we drove out to Dauphin, we left the house at around 5:00 p.m. and we stopped in Headingly for dinner.... at 6:00! oh man, that was the shortest hour-long drive ever. The rest of the drive was fine, and we rolled into the hotel parking lot with 10 minutes to spare until the office closed for the night. So we unpacked the car and got settled. No sooner than my head hit the pillow, my nose started to run, and my sinuses quickly became congested, and I had trouble sleeping that night (although it was better than in stonewall a couple years ago when our noisy neighbors kept us up until 4:30a.m.). I was not looking forward to the morning.

7:30 Saturday Morning: Up, getting dressed, feeling terrible. I made my way over to the community center where the breakfast and sign-in was. I went to the table, handed in my envelope, and received my registration packet.... for "Randy Smith" huh? so I went back, and got the proper named envelope, then proceeded to attach my number onto my jersey and bike, but... no zip ties, so I had to go get some zip ties ugg.. I hope the whole weekend isn't going to be like this. Feeling a little better my expectations for the ride increased. I spotted a few guys from the shop, and we chatted as we waited for the event to start.

9:00 the ride begins after a short ceremony and "warm up" which consisted of bending over a couple of times and stretching our arms. Temperatures were somewhere around 5 or 6 degrees at the start of the day hence the tights and long-sleeved jersey. As things got rolling, we got a small group together and were riding at a decent speed (at least that's what I thought), we were slowly picking up the pace, and after one of my pulls (the rider in the front that breaks the wind for the other riders) at ~37km/h one of the guys in the group sneered as he said, "it's hard for me to warm up when you're sprinting". Huh? if my sprints are that slow, I really need to look at a different sport.

The ride was mainly flat for the first 30 minutes or so, then we got closer to the park, and started up the escarpment. My first day where there were some actual hills was going to be a learning experience for me, living in Manitoba, the biggest hill I had come across was the bridge over the floodway. Our group divided up pretty quickly, and there were 3 of us riding together through the hills. There were some tough ones where I ran out of gears, but I made it up them pretty well.

A couple of other riders joined up with us, one of which Jess used to work with at the hospital, but he has gone back to school to become a doctor. Nice fellow. Anyways, we held a good pace the rest of the way to the finish and our time was 2 hours 31 minutes for 72 km. All in all, I was pleased with my performance as I didn't have all the time I wanted to prepare for the ride (I hadn't ridden in over a month, and before that I wasn't exactly riding regularly either).

Well, I have to go to work now, so I'll continue this later. starting with lunch....

2008 MS bike tour

This September I will be participating in the Riding Mountain Challenge. An MS bike tour event that happens in and around Riding Mountain National Park here in Manitoba.

The Machine must run perfectly.

In 2006 I rode the "Biking to the Viking" event and enjoyed the event, there were lots of people there, and it was a nicely run event, and I was able to raise a fair amount of pledges for the MS Society of Canada, it is a great charity which I have a bit of a soft spot for.

Last year, I was signed up to do the event I will be doing this year, but SOMEONE had to go and get married..... Paul... so inconsiderate. So out of duty to 2 great friends, I withdrew from the ride to grace them with my presence at their wedding. **wink wink**

So I'm quite excited to be participating in it again this year, we have a cabin booked, Jess is going to bring Abby, and we'll be having a great weekend together. I will have to be getting a bit more rides in to prepare for this though, I wouldn't want to be the last one to finish.

If you would like to sponsor me click HERE to do it online, or you can print off a form and mail it in. Any and all pledges are greatly appreciated, and it's for charity so be generous!

Mother's Day Update

Well well, time sure goes fast doesn't it? Since my last post, concerning the appearance of grass, I saw more grass, then lots of dirt and sand (spring time on Winnipeg streets) then less dirt and sand, then more snow, and after waiting and waiting, some signs that summer is coming, we have had a colder than normal spring. Which, after a colder than normal winter isn't very exciting. But what is exciting, is that even though it is chillier than normal around, it's still warm enough to ride without putting on 2 jackets.

On the odd day where it's not too cold, Jess and I have had a chance to give the new trailer a spin, it's a bit weird pulling that thing around, but it tracks pretty nicely and rolls pretty smooth, although Abby seems to fall over in it, remedied by a couple of camping pillows stuffed beside her. I'm looking forward to going out to birds hill park, or some other more scenic areas than our neighborhood to give it a longer test. It sure is nice to have the family along on some rides with me, even if the are a bit short.

As far as long rides go, I'm having a hard time finding time to get out for a while, with me taking another class over the summer, and working full time again, and Jess going back to work part-time, the time I have at home is better spent with my daughter and wife. I have managed to get out a couple of times this year however, just hitting my normal route out to St. Adolphe and back. It's a nice ride, but I want to do something else this year.

Earlier this year I sold my mountain bike planning to replace it when the new models were available, and this week I picked one up. Big improvement without costing anything more. Here's a link to better pictures of it. LINK. I hope to get it on the trail soon and see how it performs.

Now for the mother's day part. Jess, you rock, thanks for letting me play so much with my bikes, and putting up with me. You're a great mom, and wife. Thank you for your support while I finish school (can't wait for December). I know it's hard on you, but it will be over soon. Love you.

I saw grass!!

It wasn't green by any stretch of the word, but it was there, and it was visible. Definitely something that gives hope to the approaching spring (and improved cycling conditions horray!). I have recently taken a bike that has been in the family for generations (my dad used it, so that makes it plural) and had seen better days, and I gave it new life. I used it after I sold my bike back in London (that I had grown out of), and after moving here, I repainted it in British Racing Green with gold trim (it was neon snot green with silver patches where it was starting to rust). It served me well for a while, and shortly after beginning my employment at a bike shop, the parts on it started to disintegrate. So I stripped everything off the frame threw out most of it, and put the frame on the wall in the garage for another day. A few times I was tempted to throw it in with the load as we were heading to the dump, but I decided to hang onto it.


This spring I got the urge to build a single speed bike. So I perused the catalogs at work (having forgotten about the frame in my garage) looking for an economical steel frame that would work well for my intended purposes. Well there weren't any that were quite economical enough for me. Then one day while I was tidying up in the garage, I saw the old frame hanging on the wall. **light goes on**. I quickly cleaned it up and took it into work, Finding some nice cheap parts in the parts bins and putting on a different fork so I could use better brakes I began turning it into a sort of Frankenbike. Slowly it took shape and with some borrowed wheels from one of my other bikes, I was able to take it out for a spin and rode it to school the next day.




There is something different about riding a bike that is truly yours, that you built, you fell like you know the bike inside and out. You notice the smallest noise, or the slightest amount of play in the headset (which had to be adjusted). Riding with only one gear was also an interesting experience, as I'm used to having at least 14 to chose from, and as many as 27. The original gear that I chose was a little too big and found it a bit too hard when the wind started up in my face. Changing gears is a bit more labor intensive now, but I think I've found one that will work nicely.
It is a bike that I built to be a commuter, that looks cheap and is cheap to minimize the chances of someone stealing it. But there is something special about it, it's not just "a cheap bike" it's the cheap bike I built. It took my father around town, to school and work, and now it does the same for me. It has served my family well, and looks like it will continue to do so for at least a few more years. Whatever form it may take on.

Pictures will follow soon.

First go at Skiing with a trailer.

Yesterday after classes, Jess, Abby and I were able to get out and go skiing for a bit, I've been itching to try out our new trailer (mentioned in the previous entry). So we got all loaded up and drove out to LaBarrier park (my favorite local XC Ski spot) and hit the trails.

It obviously took a bit longer to get it all assembled and ready to go, but it wasn't that bad. Outside, it felt alot smaller than looking at it in the basement. So we strapped abby in, I put on the harness and off we went. It was much better than I was expecting, not as heavy as I had imagined and handled well, the only tough part was finding a nice rhythm since it wants to keep going between strides. We flew down some little hills and had a great time.

Also, There's room for two in there, so if someone out there wants to come along sometime, we can give it a try.

Nordic Cab Ultra deluxe multi season sport combo package.

Well our fancy new trailer system arrived and I've been able to put it all together. It looks really nice and should work well, It does however feel a bit heavy for skiing, but we'll see how it goes. It's just one more reason to get excited for spring! I'm sure I'll be posting some pictures as soon as we give it a try and a review of how well it works. It did go together smoothly and has some nice features to it that I like already. I'm particularly impressed with the quality of the hubs on the bike /jogger system wheels. They are surprisingly smooth compared to the other child carriers I've seen.
We might try to get out for a bit tomorrow (Louis Riel Day here in Manitoba) for a bit, but the forecast doesn't look too promising. Which has been the story for a while here, and the one nice warmer day we had this week (saturday) it rained! making the roads a lot of fun. So much for washing the car a couple days earlier.

Communication woes

Back in November I placed an order with one of our suppliers for a bike trailer system that can be used for xc-skiing also hoping to get it before our trip to Alberta in December, the rep for that company assured me that they had plenty in stock and ready to ship..... well the day after ordering it, I received a phone call from the distributor saying that they don't have any in stock and they are expecting their first shipment mid-december, and they put it on a watch list for us. Oh well, no luck for our vacation.

Soon after returning from Alberta, I checked the availability, and they puched back their date to mid-january, then mid-january came along and it was expeceted at the beginning of february. I'm starting to think that I won't see it until summer. I had been quite excited to get out skiing with it this year as Abby is too big for our old system (me wearing her like a back pack).

Well I finally received a phone call that they had arrived, so I told them to go ahead with the order I had placed in November. The reply? What order? uggg.... So I had to get another form from the rep to fill out again (took about a week and a half for him to fax it). I filled it out and sent it out yesterday. Today, I get a fax back today saying that 4 of the items I had ordered were not available for a staff discount order (a few tools) and another part they were out of stock on (the rep had assured me that anything in the catalogue was available on the program). So it's down to two items, Im just glad the trailer is one of them. So out of 7 items, I get 2. Hopefully.

St. Vital Park XC skiing

Just a little not about the quality of trails over at St. Vital park. I went there yesterday to get a bit of exerceise and some fresh air. Many of the parks around the city have groomed XC ski trails to use so I decided to check it out seems how it's only a couple minutes from my house.

Well, much to my disapointment, the trails were in horrible condition, many of the sections were just smooth from people walking on them, others were right along side the road so all the nice sand and rocks were kicked up onto the trail (great for ski bases). Until we get another big dump of snow, the trails at St. Vital park aren't likely to get much better.

As I was leaving the park, I saw another guy walking in, skis and poles over the shoulder, probably excited to go for a couple loops. Sorry bud, prepare to be disappointed.

On a brighter note, it was nice to get out for a bit, though it is more fun when Jess and Abby come with me. We'll have to wait a little while before we can take Abby again though as she is too big for the baby bjorn that I used before. Hopefully the trailer I ordered will arrive soon with the ski attatchment so we can take her along again.

Great little website!

Just a little link for those of you who have a few blogs to watch. A website called www.bloglines.com allows you subscribe to blogs and other RSS feed type sites, it then informs you if it's been updated or not. Thanks Theresa for the link! I tried a stand-alone RSS program before, but since I use a few different computers, I find this way the best to go. You can log in from wherever. Anyways, give it a try, you'll like it.

Too Cold for biking?....yes.

Well, this morning I really didn't feel like waiting at a bus stop so instead, I hopped on my bike (it had been a while because of all this extreme windchill stuff we've been getting. With that said, I have logged about 200km so far this year in the snow.

Anyways, back to this morning. This morning was a nice balmy -14 and a slight breeze so I went ahead and rode to school. No mishaps or anything, and I arrived safely, fingers a little cold but in good shape. Then I spent the next 4 hours working on a lab assignment. Now it's time for work, so I go back to my locker, get my cycling gear back on, head out the door, and wham! where did this wind come from? A cold north wind was coming right my way. Oh well, gotta get to work right? Well, I'll tell you, that was one strong wind, if I didn't have my OR Ninjaclava, ski goggles, water/wind proof jacket and pants (also great for keeping sweat nice and close to your body), boots and 2 pairs of gloves on, I would have gotten a bit of the frost bite for sure.

The only real downside to wearing the face cover is that it restricts air flow, so I have to open my mouth really wide to get enough air, not the most comfortable thing to be doing. Well, 20 min(or so) later, I arrive at work. my boss shaking his head with a slight grin on his face for riding today.
Well, further into the day, the wind kept picking up and the temperature kept dropping, so I had to call the support car (Jess and Abby) to come get me. It was too darn cold for me. Many will call me crazy, while others will call me a wuss. Either way, it feels great to get some exercise outdoors. School has had me swamped lately, so we havn't been able to get out skiing since our trip to Alberta.

So, hopefully we'll be seeing some warmer weather soon so I don't have to get Jess to pack up Abby and come get me....... thanks dear.

Simpsons Fan at 9 months!

All I have to say is.... my work as a father is done. heh heh heh.

Now, as a follow-up to the last post,
Abby did great on our trip out to Alberta and back. We had a great couple of weeks out there at the farm and in Calgary hang'n out with family.
We went skiing a couple of times, once on the farm and once in Kaninaskis country, even following the creek at the farm there were more hills than here in Manitoba.
We had a chance to make it to the temple in Cardston while we were out there, so that was nice, it had been a while. It's getting increasingly difficult with school, work, babies etc. to find time for things.
We had a great time in Calgary too, doing some shopping, eating at cool restaurants, and watching crazy bootleg videos from Ethiopia. Balls of steel is amazing by the way.
We are planning to go to Regina in a few weeks and bringing along grandma to watch Abby for a bit.
Well, I guess it's time for bed, early morning lab tomorrow.....