Studly Do Right

Our northern winter this year has been a mixture of freezing and thawing cycles (no pun intended) that have created an icy situation that necessitates me having to re-stud my winter bike tires.

A little excessive?

Since I had carelessly allowed my two cordless drill batteries to go dead, it was necessary to screw in each stud by hand.

Maybe I should have waited for the batteries to charge instead of wrenching my wrists trying to install hundreds of screws into each tire.

Porcupines would be jealous

My son who is into chainmail and studs would appreciate the end result of my efforts although I would have to warn him not to get too close to the tire since the studs are wickedly sharp.

Hehe

Another option to consider is to start riding the bike south in the fall before Halloween since we always seem to have deep snow before that hallowed eve.

Boo! Hoo

I'm not suggesting that a person ride too far south - eventually you'd hit snow in the southern hemisphere!





Keith

4Pm
BikeWorks North
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Sitting astride the bike that he skillfully made into a cargo bike, Keith really does look like his nickname "The Raving Bike Fiend".

His army surplus saddlebags cost him a measly two dollars (US each) at a store in Seattle.  They hold an incredible amount of gack hence his need for a cargo bike.

Valentine's Ride

Michael over at Earth's General Store is sponsoring a bike ride this Valentine's Day (Friday).  It looks like the plan is to ride along Whyte Avenue and stop at many businesses along the way.

The long range forecast looks promising as well - temperatures in the plus range which means more people will come and join  the ride.

My own Valentine is in Washington, D.C., not that she would join me on the ride.  Too bad since we do have a red tandem that would appropriate for Valentine's bike riding.

When the ride was originally planned, it looked like we were going to stop at Narayanni's Indian restaurant where we could enjoy an all-you-can-eat vegetarian buffet.  My hope was to wash down their tantalizing offerings with a Singha beer.

Of course, I'd only have one and then wait an hour before getting on my bike - wouldn't want to be pissed on Valentine's Day!

The Valentine's Day bike Ride is expected to end up at Mike's Bikes - a new bike shop on the other side of the Mill Creek Ravine but still on the southside of the river.

We start off at a pizza place and I hope they have the heart - shaped pizzas.  A chain of pizza restaurants across Canada offer heart - shaped pizzas on Valentine's Day and they will sell 20,000 of them tomorrow night!