Beyond earshot

As has become the pattern, there was a scatter start as well as a scatter finish to the ride. The official starting point was 9.30 at Mann Construction. The majority started from there, some joined the Peloton along the way, while one individual started at Michell’s shortly after the official start.

The ride to Melinda’s was completed under sunny skies much to everyone’s delight. The good weather, however, resulted in a slower than average pace with John making the observation that it seemed that it was a “women’s ride”. Since the blogger was not in the Peloton at that stage, he will not comment farther!

Coffee discussion was splintered with several concurrent conversations. Topics included chalk throwing teachers back in the day, neck rotation issues when driving, especially by retired dentists. When Norm T. announced to everyone that he was in charge at home, Rob wanted to know the distance from Melinda’s to Fairfield, wondering aloud if sound would carry that far!

The majority of the Peloton took the route west around the airport, while Tom, Arne and Norm L stayed on the east side of YYJ. Less than a kilometer from Melinda’s a grenade like sound could be heard as Norm L experienced a blow out on the rear tyre. The inner tube had a 50cm slit on it. Tom and Arne kindly remained behind to assist. The repair was successful and the rest of the ride was uneventful.

Judges and Politicians

Eight riders met at Fol Epi and set out for My Chosen Cafe. Dave suffered a flat while John followed his own path to enhance his cycling exertion. The remaining six met with Tom and Jack at Hatley Park setting out briskly along the dry path. No showers were encountered; indeed, the weather improved through the ride such that coffee could be taken outside under mostly sunny skies. John joined the group at various points along the route and Dave fixed his tire and arrived in time for coffee.
 
Two tables were required to accommodate the group of 10 (and they are too heavy to move together) so the group split 6 – 4. Talk at one table started on the topic of the dependency of the younger generation on the support of their parents and the difficulty they have in securing reasonable paying jobs with benefits. Solutions such as raising the minimum hourly wage or guaranteed annual incomes were discussed but not seen as a solution to the fundamental societal problem. This led to the issue of homelessness, government and judicial process. It seems that all these problems stem from right wing politicians and left wing judges (hangers on, there only for lucrative pensions). No brilliance there.
 
Eight riders headed back with John going off to find more hills and Dave proceeding on his own. A brisk pace was set by Norm T and Rusty. Tom dropped off at Hatley and three others broke off to take the E&N to their home destinations. The weather was warm and fine throughout the ride with no sign of the predicted showers.

And two political cartoons to finish

And as a bonus - Rusty can explain!!

Cast in concrete

At 9:30 am seven riders set out from Mann’s Construction Yard (David A, Rob H, Rusty, Norm T, Jim McN, John C and Tom A) while Norm L had gone on ahead whistling past the start point at high speed.  On the way up to Canoe Cove we encountered him on his way back to town. After a somewhat cloudy start the weather improved and by the time we reached our coffee stop the sun was breaking through although there was a cool but significant breeze.  Conversation on the deck was of the usual eclectic sort and ranged from tax evaders, tax havens and venal politicians, including UK PM Cameron whose family connections were mentioned. Rusty, our local expert on blown concrete told us about “Shotcrete”, also known as “Gunite”, that was invented in 1907 by American taxidermist, Carl Ethan Akeley (May 19, 1864 – November 18, 1926), to repair the crumbling facade of the Field Columbian Museum in Chicago (the old Palace of Fine Arts from the World Columbian Exposition. He used the method of blowing dry material out of a hose with compressed air, injecting water at the nozzle as it was released. In 1911, he was granted a patent for his inventions, the "cement gun", the equipment used, and "Gunite", the material that was produced. There is no evidence that Akeley ever used sprayable concrete in his taxidermy work, as is sometimes suggested. Akeley specialized in African mammals, particularly the elephant. As a taxidermist, he improved on techniques of fitting the skin over a carefully prepared and sculpted form of the animal's body, producing very lifelike specimens, with consideration of musculature, wrinkles, and veins. He also displayed the specimens in groups in a natural setting. Many animals that he preserved he had personally collected. Carl Akeley also helped mount P.T.Barnum’s Jumbo after he was killed in a rail road accident.
Akeley was also one of those geniuses who turned his inventiveness to several disparate fields: he also invented a highly mobile motion picture camera for capturing wildlife, started a company to manufacture it, and patented it in 1915. The Akeley "pancake" camera (so-called because it was round) was soon adopted by the War Department for use in World War I, primarily for aerial use, and later by newsreel companies, and Hollywood studios, primarily for aerial footage and action scenes.

Rusty's next bike??  http://www.diggitalos.net/?p=1020

Rusty's next bike??  http://www.diggitalos.net/?p=1020

The ride home was uneventful. Jim left us early on the way back to check out his new marine acquisition, Rusty left us at Michell’s while David and John peeled off at Royal Oak and Rob, Norm and Jim abandoned poor Tom at Mann’s Yard.  By this time the wind had died down and the sun shone.

A taxidermist's dream bike!

A taxidermist's dream bike!

A n escort for the Peloton

April 26
The weather gods were on our side - it was a beautiful sunny spring day, although a tad cool, with reasonable tail wind for the ride north. Seven riders started at Fol Epi, with Norm L. starting at McMinn Park and Tom at Lochside Park.

The Lochside leg proved eventful as riders found themselves dodging an unusually high volume of  often challenging walkers, riders, horses, cars, trucks, etc. A sweet tail wind to helped us maintain a good clip, averaging 25 km/ hr. Upon arrival at the Georgia Coffee Shop, the advance guard of Tom and Norm L found “our” patio unavailable due to a spring power washing. It was too nice a day to be inside, so we moved the chairs to be beyond the reach of the power washer. The Peloton was augmented by Jim who arrived by Jeep!

The noise from the power washer made it hard to capture all the conversation. Topics covered included the Belgian cyclist who was caught using an electric power assist device in the stem of the bike frame [called mechanical doping] at the world cyclocross championships. While cheating was condemned many were wondering how we could lay our hands on such a device. There was also a suspicion that John has one on his bike!

There was also some exchange of yarns about our own adventures with home repairs, how a job that should not take longer than 30 minutes often turns out consume a whole day, or more!
Subsequent to the bike ride, several transportation technology stories were submitted including.
Warning signals for distracted texting pedestrians

The PodCar Bike from Sweden
http://www.flixxy.com/the-bicycle-car.htm

Turn indicator bicycle gloves
http://www.gizmag.com/beseen-turn-indicator-cycling-gloves/42887/pictures

Before heading back south, there was general agreement that we did live in paradise, especially when Dave N told us that he spoke with someone in Ottawa this morning - there was freezing rain in the nation’s capital.

Tom, Norm and Dave N. cycled back at their own pace while the speedsters set a cracking pace. Jim provided a Jeep escort for part of the ride.
A significant head wind was encountered on the return trip, but a respectable overall av speed of 23.7 km/ hr for the total trip. Approx. 57 km was covered on the trip from Fol Epi to Sidney and back. Riding time was approx 2 hr, 20 min.

 

Double Trouble

The Blogger has been slack in not posting the two most recent blogs. He feels suitably chastised!

April 19
Eleven riders set out on Tuesday under sunny skies and warm temperatures. Eight met at Mann Construction parking as specified and followed the route on the invitation to Melinda’s picking up Jeff at Michell’s. Two other riders followed their own variations of the ride in time, place and route arriving somewhat late but at the correct coffee shop.
 
At one end of the table, conversation started with a question of the topic of Jack’s daughter’s PhD thesis which led to some enlightenment of Ian on the historic significance of the Oolichan (Eulichan) fishery to the native population which then led to the similarity of native rock carvings in coastal BC and New Zealand. Joining the general conversation, some useful facts on the operation of the new Compass cards for the Vancouver transit system and the cost and convenience taking transit from Victoria to Vancouver were shared.
 
En route, there was some discussion of when (or if) one should replace worn drive train components. It seems that Ian has rebuilt his Brodie many times over the years and was not impressed with Jack’s suggestion that one should just buy a new bike. Bike technology has really not changed much over the years so there is really no need to change bikes (maybe when electronic shifters have been perfected).
 
The return ride was enjoyed by all with only one deviant rider. The conforming nine regrouped at Michell’s and then followed their own paths departing the group at convenient places to get home.

View over YYJ

View over YYJ


April 22
The early Friday morning sun gave way to clouds by the start of the ride. Since Ian applied sunscreen before leaving home, he should accept some responsibility for the cloud!
Most of the Peloton assembled at Mann Construction [Tom, David, Ian, John, Norm T] Norm L started at Tutlista Park. There was nothing to report in terms of the ride out, except that there seems to be several new homes of all types being built in north SIdney, while along Lands End and Chalet Roads, there is a lot of property development taking place both new and renovated.
Over coffee there was some discussion of matters medical including wait times and doctor billing. It would seem that Pelotoneers have found the the cycle store closest to home is providing good and well priced service. Norm T is pleased with the service at Fairfield Cycle rather than having to take his bike back to where he bought it.
After coffee, it was reminiscent of leaving Olive Olio's where riders headed off in different directions. John wanted more demanding hill work, so he headed off in a westerly direction with the rest heading down West Saanich Road where Norm L. split off at Mills Road heading for Tulista Park with everyone else going around the the airport and following East Saanich Road before rejoining the Lochside at Michell’s.
A good time was had by all - what’s new?

Titanic Ride

The sunny skies that greeted the early risers faded somewhat by the time the Peloton set out from Ogden Point. Tom, David A., jack, John, Norm T., Rusty, and Hans. Norm L. started the ride ahead of the pack and picked up David B who was warmly welcomed back into the Peloton after extended family commitments, including the arrival of another grandchild. Cloudy conditions with a moderate to strong east south easterly wind, with high humidity created blustery rather than gnarly conditions for the ride.

Everyone met up at Olive Olio’s sitting outside braving the British-like elements.

Hans was complimented on his new Ronin bike.

The main topic of conversation revolved around medical issues - it seemed that we all suffered from the white coat syndrome: when having our BP taken at the doctor's surgery - BP readings were always higher. Although Norm T attributed his elevated reading to the attractive young assistant assigned the task. Rusty for example had his taken at the Red Cross the day before going to the doctor and the difference in BP was significant lower at the red cross but higher at the doctor's.
Staying with the medical theme, John referenced a report on CBC this morning about the over-diagnosis of asthma among youngsters such that the inhaler has been described as a “fashion accessory”
Rusty shared an experience at the gym the day before when a friend there talked about his experience with “Viking Hand” Surgery he underwent did not result in a “cure”. Rusty showed his Viking Hand - when Norm L checked his hand he had proof of his Viking ancestry!
From there it was on to the PSA test and its questionable validity.

After coffee, the usual dispersal pattern took place with Rusty, Hans and Tom heading east, while the rest headed south before splitting up at McNeill. On the way down Beach Road, a large Audi SUV cut in front of Norm L causing him to brake suddenly. Further down Beach Drive, Norm had again to take evasive action to avoid being doored; only a few moments later he had a close encounter with a lawn mower being used by someone not paying attention. John expressed the view that the Beach Road run should be abandoned for a few months until the massive home renovation outbreak is over!

Sorry David B - you left before the snap was taken

Sorry David B - you left before the snap was taken

Why the Titanic ride you ask? On this day in 1912, was the sinking of the Titanic.

No April Fool

These are two blog posts that came in while the blogger was experiencing internet connectivity challenges whilst returning from Western Australia.

A Mason Bee

A Mason Bee

Some Bees are more equal than others - courtesy of Tom A.
The April Fool’s ride to Melinda's attracted 41/2 of us: Jim McN, Rusty, John C. Tom A,  and Dave A who had to turn back early to meet a previous engagement, or so he claimed. With the exception of John, we huffed and puffed our way there, but since this was a "rest day" for him he was under instructions to keep his heart rate down below 100 bpm.  It was no problem for him to amble alongside the rest of us despite the fact that we were all up in the 150+ bpm region. Discussions over coffee ranged from housing prices, the increasing congestion on the roads and the safety issues for cyclists and Mason bees. Rusty, when he first moved to his Island View home noted that there was a pear tree with a profusion of blossoms but alas very few pears appeared.  Upon inquiring he was informed that honey bees are ineffective as pollinators of fruit trees whereas Mason bees do a good job. He installed a hive and since then has more pears than he knows what to do with (however they produce no honey.)

Practice makes . . . . . .  courtesy of Norm T.
It appeared to be a good bet to try an early spring ride to Leechtown[on April 4] after a week of drying sun and winds. But alas, 5 hardy riders assembled in the cloudy drizzle at Stickleback and mounted up without a whimper. 2 Davids, Jim, John and Norm T proceeded along the steady, historic uphill grade into the light drizzle. A brief potty break at the half way station and onward to the summit. Only a few grimaces and muted muttering. At a fairly short stop at the Leechtown story board we confirmed that Frank Leech was the namesake for this gold rush town that in 1850-ish was indeed larger than Victoria!! We headed down the grade into more cool drizzle, the ride down was faster and fairly silent. We agreed that despite the esteemed company, we were mostly focused on getting this ride over with. A further disappointment ensued when we found the Stickleback Eatery closed. We quickly rebounded and retired to the 17 Mile Pub for a warm drink and lunch. Spirits improved notably as we dried off a bit and refreshed. Discussion was wide ranging and included corruption, tax evasion, the Panama Papers, Isotopes/ Atomic Energy Commission, Burma/ Myanmar, CIC, and more. After comparing today’s pace with those in the past, a self satisfied glow descended on the Peloton - today’s average was 21.5km/hr, which compares favourably with the previous best time of 19 km/hr. How good is that?


To round out this blog, this comes courtesy of Norm L.

What you always wanted - a bitumen bath!

What you always wanted - a bitumen bath!

Our Oil Patch members will enjoy this - they may even go to Azerbaijan rather than wait for the Edmonton spa to open!! If you want to see the video, go here

No problems to solve

Seven riders assembled at Mitchel’s under sunny skies and set out for Lands End Rd. – fortunately forgetting that Dave N was supposed to be coming as he apparently slept in. A brisk but reasonable pace was set with various people taking the lead. Norm T contributed a tail light along the way claiming that it was an old one anyway (and probably the battery was low). All arrived at the beginning of Lands End Rd and congregated past the highway overpass.
 
At this point Tom’s racers took off at high speed leaving Jim and Jack to fend for themselves far behind. It was fortunate that Jack was not one of the “racers” as Jim had not done this ride for a long time and had forgotten the route and location of the coffee shop. The group reassembled at the West Sannich coffee shop and took coffee outside in the warm sunshine. The ambiance was such that no serious world problems were discussed or resolved.
 
The ride back to Mitchel’s was again taken at a brisk pace led by Ian to the East Sannich roundabout. Here John followed Ian along East Sannich and the others followed Jack toward Lockside. Surprisingly all arrived at Mitchel’s at the same time.
 
Jack notes that his Garmin GPS showed that this ride was done at higher speed, lower average HR and lower max HR than any previous rides on this route. So, it is not that he and Jim were slow, Tom was just showing that 2 weeks siting beside a pool drinking beer had not slowed him as much as might be expected.

What is said at coffee, stays at coffee

Nine riders met at Mann’s parking under mostly sunny skies. At Jack’s suggestion that we might start longer rides somewhat earlier the almost predictable responses ranged from 6:30 AM to 10:30 AM – no conclusion was reached. The ride through to Sidney proceeded in an orderly and pleasant fashion with good weather and a mostly dry track. Dave N separated at McD’s supposedly fetching water but suspected of chatting up some ladies at the rest stop. Over the Wain road overpass and before the hill, the group congregated to shed clothing before proceeding up the hill at widely varying speeds.

Coffee was taken outside in the sunshine (on slightly damp chairs) and conversation centred on the terrorist attack that morning in Brussels. No brilliant ideas were brought forward to avoid such attacks by suicide bombers until Dave N proposed that henceforth all air travel should be done naked and without luggage. This would make carrying a bomb very difficult and would likely greatly reduce air travel thus helping the fight against global warming – a concept that cold perhaps be generalized to all public modes of transportation. It was agreed that much of the rest of the conversation would be best left at the coffee shop.

The ride back was uneventful with Rusty and David A leading the rest of the group by a wide margin. John merged occasionally with the group as he followed a longer path at high speed. Norm T and Jack noted with interest that at least one pedestrian was now wearing a rear view mirror to detect approaching high speed cyclists.

 

 

Double Trouble

Tuesday March 8
The night before a strong Pineapple Express passed through with strong winds and over an inch of rain. Tuesday dawned grey but dry and nine riders left Fol Epi at 9:30. Jack got ahead of his schedule so rode up the hill to meet seven of the group at Colwood Corners (Tom and Cy bringing up the rear) to make the total turnout a respectable 10. The Royal Roads coffee shop was unusually busy but still large enough to accommodate the group.
 
Conversation started with the dangers and difficulties of riding in a true peloton with many riders bunched closely together (sparked by a TV showing a cycling race) with the conclusion that for most of us this would lead to an instant disaster. Norm T brought up skiing given his successful trip to Whistler where he enjoyed plentiful snow and sunshine. This lead to memories of the old days of skiing at Whistler and Mt. Baker and missed opportunities (except for Jack) of real estate investments when the Village was the garbage dump and prices were < $10,000 (Rusty bought near Baker instead). The quality and speed of lifts in those days have thankfully been relegated to a nostalgic past!
 
After coffee, Cy headed down to the lagoon for sightseeing and John (who has signed up for the Whistler Gran Fondo) headed for places unknown for training. The remaining eight rode back along the Goose with Jack bearing off for home along the E&N trail.


 
Friday March 11
Dave A., and Tom A., met at Fol Epi and proceeded north along the Lochside Trail to Mann's Yard where they met  Norm T., Jack B., Hans T., and Arnie S.  Cloudy skies and a wind  from the NE at 10 km/h but the group went at a good pace led by Jack and David.
We arrived at our destination, a new coffee stop recommended by Norm, Canoe Cove Joe's where we were greeted by a very friendly staff.  The weather was reasonable so we sat outside on the deck overlooking the boat-yard with several very expensive items on view. Conversation was as eclectic as ever, ranging from the relocation of a  ready-mix concrete facility, child soldiers and the exploitation of children as suicide  bombers, the internecine fighting between Shiite and Suni Muslims and the destruction of Syria by Assad and Russian and US bombing. The topics turned to health care  and Hans commented that his nonagenarian mother in Holland had complained the she was not getting the level of care that she expected and that she had to call her doctor to make a follow-up visit to her at home after a bout of flu.  She  thought that this should be done automatically without the necessity of a special request. I think Hans clued her in that if she were here she would have a long wait for a physician to come to her door.  
The ride back was uneventful, but there is quite a hill from the coffee stop back up to the trail, but there was a light tail wind to push us along.  Tom measured the trip from home to Fol Epi to Canoe Cove and back home to be ~72 Km.

Two for the price of one

Today, you get two blogs - more accurately 1 ¼ blogs.
From Victoria BC, Tom reports that eight riders met under cloudy skies (but no rain) at Mann's Construction Yard, David A, Rusty, Jim, Jack, Ian,  Jeff L, Tom and John. On the way to Sidneywe picked up Doug at Michell's Farm and proceeded without incident to the Georgia Cafe and Deli.  The Lochside  trails were in reasonably good condition despite recent many days of rain, only the occasional muddy sections were encountered  Discussion over coffee began with Doug's comments regarding his problems with his Mac which despite the purchase of a new hard drive was still causing problems.  This led to a conversation about our collective experiences with older types of computers, things only a bunch of ancient codgers would find interesting. Included were reminiscences of PDP8s, Wangs, North Stars (mine cost $9000.00 ca., 1985 and had a 10 kByte hard disk), Timex-Sinclair, Commodore, IBM1620s and other long obsolete marques. Jack mentioned that his wife still uses the old DOS commands (!)  and has never needed to use Windows to operate her  computer.

Jack described his application of computers to the measurement of the Mossbauer Effect, so you can see that the conversation has become considerably more erudite since Norm L left for Oz!. The ride back was equally uneventful and the rain held off despite a forecast to the contrary.
To get the stats on this ride, check on this link provided by Jim.
Meanwhile from Bunbury WA, Norm L reports that a lone rider set out at 9.00 am under a brilliant blue sky in 25C with a moderate northerly breeze. He headed south from Bunbury to Dalyellup following a paved trail which incorporates the Tuart Trail. No mud was sighted. The only hazard encountered on the trail waslittle gum nuts that litter the trail - these gum nuts are extremely hard, but can also be a hazard if one has to break unexpectedly. The rest of the trail goes through a suburb of Bunbury called Dalyellup finishing up at the beach - standard West Australian protocol. There was no coffee stop, so I can’t comment on any conversation I had with myself, but had there been a coffee stop, I’m sure the conversation would have been intellectually stimulating! I’m pleased to report that the neck discomfort has greatly diminished, but not totally disappeared.
Neither Google Maps nor Apple Maps show the bicycle trail that was followed, so there is no map for this antipodean ride.