SteamPunk Dreaming

Darryl over at Sanctuary suggested a few weeks ago that we have a SteamPunk Ride.  I didn't even know what SteamPunk was at the time.  I've googled the name and have some idea that it involves fantasy, science fiction and Victorian elements.


A SteamPunk bike


On Sunday, our daughter took us out for lunch at a charming restaurant called "The Clever Rabbit" and it was while eating the wholesome food they had prepared for us that we discussed in more detail the idea of a SteamPunk Ride. 

At first we thought that holding the ride on Father's Day would be ideal since Jackie and I have gone for a Father's Day bike ride for the last several years.  Then we remembered that we want to support the Ride for Autism on that day.  We have a friend with two autistic children and we enjoyed riding our bikes in support of that event last year.  Then we hit on the idea of having the ride during June, which is Bike Month here in our city.

Bikeology is the organization that organizes "Bike Month" and my contact there, Karly has given us an initial go-ahead to plan this ride so now all the questions arise - "How do we do this?  What route should we take?  Start at Sanctuary and end up at "The Clever Rabbit"?  We posed the idea to one of the sisters that owns the restaurant and she thought having the ride end at their establishment to be a great idea.  What restaurant wouldn't?


Just think of what we could do with this bike


Jackie and I have decided to use the tandem bike since it has such a distinctive look already and I'll rely very much on Jackie, Darryl and the staff at Sanctuary to help me with the "Look" and with punking up the bike.

St.Patrick's Day Pootle

Just received word of another special bike ride.  This time on Saturday, March 17 - St. Patrick's Day which is only a weekend or so away.  In year's past when I didn't ride my bike in the winter, I would only just start my riding season on March 15th. (If the weather was suitable).



 
This ride begins at the Sherlock Holmes Pub and will take us who knows where?  I'm interested in the Sherlock Holmes since I recently visited the one at West Edmonton Mall and a week later entered the Sherlock Holmes Pub in central London (downtown London?).

While quaffing Innis and Gunn beer,  my friends and I did wonder, knowing that I would soon be visiting the one in England, if the W.E.M. version was at all similar.  I can tell you that the Sherlock Holmes Pub in London is tasteful and almost ordinary.  Not like the one at the Mall whose walls are covered in dollar bills and gaudy soccer scarves, cardboard drink coasters, and other tat.  While the Central London version is busy - especially at lunch and after work (it is close to Whitehall where very important government business takes place), it is a fine place to unwind after a busy day.

I don't think that I'll dress up my bike in any way like I did for the "Jingle Ride".  It will be all I can do to find something green to wear on that day while I enjoy sipping my Innis and Gunn in the quant version of the Sherlock Holmes Pub in the central area of our fair city.


The other real thing



Jingle All the Way (Part Two)

Candy Ass Ride

Wow!  Look at that bike!  Incredibly decorated! 

I'd like to say that a number of brave souls showed up but with the weather being so mild, it didn't take bravery to join the "Jingle Ride".  Coreen who organized the ride expected some winter cycling newbies to join us, but all of us were winter riders.  So without much ado, we filed out of BikeWorks under the glare of CITY TV's television lights.  They planned to broadcast a story about the ride on today's Breakfast Television.

Our first stop was not far away in a residential area on the southside.  The display of lights surrounding the whole house was so over-the-top that we felt sorry for all the neighbours whose fine displays would have garnered accolades under normal circumstances, but paled in comparison to this one house.  Neon palm trees, Santa's doffing hats, reindeer twirling above the garage, arches made from candy canes and too many other colourful radiance's to mention.

Coreen's handlebars

Kim's pannier

Candy Candy Candy

It was terrific fun to ride across the High Level Bridge, along Jasper Ave.,  ride to the top of a downtown parkade (and zoom down as well), and race through the library's underground parking lot where a disgruntled security guard shouted for us to stop (which we roundly ignored) as we ripped through the warm underground structure.

Most of the group had packed skates along with their gear and it was with welcome relief that we all warmed up in the skating shack at the Legislature and munched on Christmas candy and power bars while Alex and Brett marvelled at the heated outhouses that had been installed around the rink.  With heated seats no less!

The Legislature rink

Jingle All the Way

Anticipation for jumping on our bikes and doing the "Jingle Ride" is mounting (no pun intended).  It is a long wait until spring when the next "Tweed Ride" is scheduled so when another special ride is announced, the excitement builds quickly.

I heard from a contact of mine that Coreen of the fine bicycle blog "Breaking Chains and Taking Lanes" has organized a winter ride to enjoy some of the more spectacular Christmas lights strung up in our fair city.  She even plans a half hour seminar on winter cycling to give fair weather riders a chance to experience winter pedaling.

While at "BikeWorks" yesterday, I tried to come up with a practical method of lighting my bike with Xmas lights.  I asked Brett who is always in the shop if he had any ideas and he suggested that I contact Chris Chan who for sure will have his bike decked out in holiday lighting.  Chris is the wizard of bike lighting and gives a course at "BikeWorks" on two wheel chariot illumination.

I did manage to come up with the "Jingle" part of the ride.  I remembered riding my Trek mountain bike within the bowels of the Bulldog Tunnel on the Kettle Valley Railway and coming across a cyclist who had strapped bear bells to his pedals so that they made a constant ringing/jingling sound as he laboured uphill to the summit at the "Paulson" .  I figured I could take the two bear bells off of Furry Lewis and attach them to my winter bike pedals and at least make some sort of effort to celebrate Xmas cycling.

I went to the dollar store to find those illumination sticks, bracelets or necklaces.  You know - the ones that glow in the dark.  I couldn't find any - they must be out of season.  Why they would only be for sale in the summer when the days here are longest is beyond moi.  But I did discover an idea for decorating my bike - turning it into a candy cane by wrapping white paper or cloth around the frame and then running a long red ribbon around that.  I'll let you know how it goes...

Critical Miss

Maybe it was the near zero temperatures that kept most cyclists away, but when I showed up at Silly Hall there were only six other hardy cyclists there waiting for more people to show up to do the "Critical Mass".

Forgetting it was Halloween time, I was unprepared for some of the riders wearing costumes.  One guy (see photo) had Zombie makeup and his friend Steve had blackened his eyes (or maybe he'd been in an altercation) and Lee, who had recently ridden his bike here from NYC, shrugged on a clown suit that he had purchased for five bucks at Villue Vallage.


Mr. Zombie,Mr.South America and Steve with 2 black eyes


My experience in the past on these rides has been to ride near the front.  Reason being that if you ride right in the front, you have to make important decisions that affect everyone especially those riding in the rear.  Do we go through this red light?  Can we all make this advanced green?  When is the best time to change lanes so that it is safe for everyone?

If you ride in the very rear, then you might have to tolerate impatient drivers who are honking their horns or provocatively driving close to your rear tire.  As far as I'm concerned the best spot is close to the front where you can easily follow their lead.  If they decide to turn left on a yellow, you can put the pedal to the metal and charge after them.  If they suddenly decide to stop, then you can brake as well.

As we rode along Jasper Avenue, I reflected on something my friend Anne had mentioned about her last Critical Mass ride.  As she had pointed out, it is liberating to ride at a leisurely pace on a major traffic artery.  Waving to pedestrians rushing home from work, ringing our bells at the "Occupy" occupiers who shouted encouragement to us as we cycled past their camp.  It has been a long two years since I have ridden with this group and I found it to be quite  novel experience.


Wowzers!


A quick vote was taken at the red light at 109 Street and we all decided to take the western lane of the High Level Bridge.  By the time we had reached that trestled structure, we were fifteen riders strong and had a terrific ride across the bridge.  I had to pinch myself to make sure I wasn't dreaming.  When do you ever get to cross the High Level except by motorized transportation?

Riding down Whyte Ave elicited many hoots and whoo yoos from costumed revellers already into the Halloween spirit(s).  I found myself in the rear somehow and rationalized that it was important to ride in every position in the pack.

Before I spun away to head off to work, I enjoyed watching a black bearded, long haired clown holding up traffic and signalling us to make the left turn toward Gazebo Park. That sight made my Halloween for me.

Mr. Dressup

My twin is always wondering what it is that makes my children want to dress up.  Both of my offspring have been members of the Knights of the Northern Realm, have taken sword fighting lessons and have sewn elaborate costumes to wear at special events.

Ms. Elizabethan?

My daughter dated a very creative fellow who makes his own fantastic outfits, knives, belts and such.  My son was married in Gimli wearing traditional Viking garb and still goes to the Icelandic Festival there every year to live in the Viking Village (not Value Village) and to sell handmade jewellery.

Mr. Viking

My own quest for costuming began last June when I knew I was going to join the Shakespeare Ride and wanted to dress as an English cyclist.  Being a first generation Chirper what did I know about these things?  Not being one to enjoy trying on clothes, I was frustrated in my search of the Antique Mall and just about every thrift store in the city.  I mean just how many jackets with sleeves hanging to the floor, sport coats with armpit stains and suit coats with questionable seams can one man try on?

I was happy to note that the reason 38 short jackets weren't fitting me anymore was because of the 2 inches of chest size that I have added since taking up cycling on a more serious basis.  Once I realized I needed a 40 inch jacket, my luck began to change and I found an ensemble at the GW Boutique (GoodWill) that would do just fine.

My recent adventure into dressing for the Tweed Ride proves that my children come by their need to dress up honestly.

Tweed Indeed

Having checked the forecast in the morning and discovered that the weather was predicted to be clear, I was surprised to find myself riding in the rain on my way over to the "Quad" at the university to join in the Tweed ride.

Following the vague directions that I had been given earlier I arrived at the Quad to discover that I was the only cyclist in attendance.  I rode the perimeter of the quadrangle and still seeing no other bikes, decided to lean my bike against a handy Teepee and seek shelter from the rain under its canvas skin.  While admiring all the mold growing on the canvas walls, I began to doubt that I had the correct day.  This wouldn't be the first time when juggling a lot of balls that I have shown up to an event bright-eyed and bushy-tailed only to be embarrassed to discover I was at the event a week early or a few days late.

In spite of being under cover, a shower of rain still fell in an ever widening circle inside the teepee and I was glad when Brett, one of the bike co-op's board members arrived and showed me how to close the rain flaps at the top of the tent.  We only had to stand around making small talk and smelling of wet wool for a short time before the sun came out and made a beautiful rainbow.  It was then that all the other participants made their fashionable entrance.

 

I thought I had figured out my tweed outfit quite well until most the men pulled out pipes and some of the ladies pulled cigars from their many layers of clothing.  I was further chagrined when a large number of flasks were brought out from their hiding places beneath skirts and from within vest pockets.  I soon discovered that a tweed ride is mostly a social event and I had to ask the mutton - chopped rider next to me if we were actually going to ride anywhere.  He assured me that a route was just being planned and that we would be on our way shortly as he took a long pull on his Cohiba.

Not far into the ride we could see crowd of Lycra-Spandex riders approaching our wool clad conga line.  A clash of cultures if you will.  Both groups stopped to talk and it was amusing to hear the fellow next to me and his imaginary conversation (with an upper crust English accent) "I say, people of the future - what is that strange material you are wearing?  Your bicycles appear to be made from a substance we have never seen.  And those hard caps you have donned on your heads - what on earth are they for?"




Culture clash

With the sun shining on the golden aspen leaves and the temperature rising, we had an easy ride downhill to the new bridge where there was quite a debate about the symbolic design of the structure.  Most of us were happy just to peer into the clear waters of the river and some speculated that the large sandbar south of the bridge would make an excellent beach for sunbathing. 

You Don't Want To Be A Groom In Bridesville

  We had finished Anarchist Mountain east of Osoyoos and Roy's GPS device told him that he had burned 5,000 calories climbing that edifice.  I can only imagine how many I burned what with all the crashing, bruising and cursing I did on my painful slog to the summit.  Which as Roy kept reminding me was not where I thought it was.

While we were intent on making Rock Creek where we planned to camp for the night, we felt we had earned a break and since for the most part, it was downhill from the summit of Anarchist to Rock Creek, we thought we could spare the time to explore the first town we happened upon - Bridesville.

Sweeping vistas

The last thing I would want to do is insult the citizens of this burg but as much as we looked, there did not seem to be one redeeming feature of the place.  Having once been on a very important railway, this was probably once a bustling town.  You know what I mean - wild salloons, gunfights on dusty streets, romantic intrigues.  Probably had 6 hotels, 2 livery stables, 3 competing hardware stores, a blacksmith shop and a brothel (one floor of the Hotel British California).  Like many of the abandoned towns in B.C., there is not nothing to see there today.  For example, this year we stopped at Eholt and had a small picnic at a wide spot in the trail.  The only indication that a town had once existed there was a commemorative plaque.  We couldn't even find the foundations described on the historic tablet.

Postcard Views

Roy and I ventured into a swaybacked house to inspect the garage sale advertised out on the street.  The husband and wife who lived there would have looked perfectly normal standing out front of their dwelling each of them clutching a pitchfork.  There was nothing for sale that interested us unless we had a use for rusty scrub pads, a bedpan with chipped enamel, a worn flourescent green office chair and such.  In one of the bedrooms, I did find something of interest although it was not something I could take with me - a curious method of attaching a shelf to a wall.  Some ingenious schlub  had bent two tin cans, one looked like a juice can and the other a no name brand of something gross like canned mushrooms, nailed them to the wall and then balanced a board on top.  Like I say, ingenious.

Ingenious

 I had forgotten about the experience and it was only the other day when I was quaffing some spring water and, as is my habit to read while I eat and drink, I nearly sprayed with bottled water the innocent patron sitting next to me at the lunch counter when I discovered the fine print on the label proudly declared that this particular water came from you guessed it.  Bridesville.

Even the post office had given up on this place

The Morning After

It is always an interesting exercise to have experienced an event and then read about it the morning after in the paper.  There have been lots of times when I've had to ask myself "Are they talking about the same hockey game?".  "I don't remember that happening on July 1st!". 

A recent example was the "Ride to Shakespeare" to watch a performance of Othello.  I must admit that I went more for the ride than the actual play.  I haven't seen a Shakesperian play since my parents used to take the whole fambily to Stratford every summer.  The highlight for my twin brother and I would be intermission when some old doll smelling strongly of violets would spy we two little boys dressed identically in miniature suits and after gushing about how cute we were, hand us a quarter which we would then spend on  ice cream cones when our father wasn't looking.

At the beginning of the play, I was convinced that Desdemona's pauses were to disguise having forgotten her lines.  My suspicions were confirmed when I looked to the other actors on stage and observed the pleading looks in their eyes - praying that she wouldn't stumble as she had so many times in rehearsal. " There's a theater reviewer in the crowd for God's sake.  Don't blow it on opening night!"

The ride itself was a lot of fun - riding in a group is more entertaining than riding alone.  We were serenaded by Chris who had attached a large speaker to his pannier rack and was playing a combination of music and poetry.  Chris made sure that he rode in the lead so that the music and words would wash over us as we cycled to the park.



The serenading set-up



Just like Coreen's pictures

This is the first time I've tried taking photos while actually pedalling and after some practise, I'm sure that I won't be swerving all over the bike path as though I was riding under the influence (that possibility existed when I discovered that beer and wine were sold at the theatrical venue).  I've seen blogger/bike mechanic/cyclist Coreen take pictures while riding and thought I'd try the same and if you visit her blog you'll see that her photographic efforts are superior to mine - perhaps she doesn't drink?

The Moor Of Venice

At five o'clock the wind picked up considerably and it began to rain - an auspicious start to "The Ride To Shakespeare" which was to start at 6:30.   Somehow the dressing - up bug had caught me and I had spent a considerable amount of time finding an appropriate outfit to wear to a performance of the bard's work.  The rainfall would mean that I would have to scrap my plans and wear my biking rain gear.

On different occasions, I had visited a number of thrift stores looking for a tweed jacket, knickerbokers, a swanky shirt, knee-high argyll socks and a tweed cap.  Upon reflection, I realized that I would look more like a 1920's golfer than an English cyclist (or my idea of an English cyclist).

In one fell swoop I rummaged through the clothing racks at G'Will and found a jacket to fit, a collarless shirt and golden coloured corduroy pants.  I already had snagged a tweed vest and with a bit of alteration, it would fit.  Finding a cap was another challenge and after scouring the Antique Mall to no avail, I found one in the men's section of a downtown department store.  I thought wearing it made me look old.

In fact, in choosing this particular outfit, I realized I was styling myself more after the character "Flying Officer Louis Sedgwick" a part that James Cogburn played in "The Great Escape" than a proper English cyclist.

Bike To The Symphony

***"Ride to the Symphony" will be broadcast on Access's "Alberta Prime Time" at 7Pm MST, June24/11 - also posted on their website next week ***

A well dressed group on the High Level.  That's the resident conductor Lucas Waldron third from left.

Notice the camera on that fellow's helmet - talk about coverage!

Bit of a traffic jam crossing Jasper Ave.

Swarming into the heart of downtown

Almost there!

My 3-speed Triumph is second from left.

Thanks to EBC for the use of these fine photos!