Killing Time?

If your choice was to sit for hours in a dumpy automotive showroom or ride your bike down an interesting pathway, which would you choose?

While driving to this business in Calgary last week, I noticed a bicycle path just two blocks away.  So with some careful planning, and knowing I was going back there, I packed my 20" Raleigh. There was anticipation of a pleasant bike ride versus twiddling my thumbs in a showroom that had nowhere to sit.

On two occasions I've had my wife drop me off at the Calgary Airport and then ridden seventy five kilometers to my friend's house.  It is an extra day of riding I manage to get in before my friend and I begin our annual bikepacking trip.  So I knew about this particular path but what I didn't know was that this route would take me past Calgary's snow mountain, a cremation forest and their science park.

Snow Mountain

The cremation forest is still in its infancy and the trees planted there are only a few feet tall.  Nearby is Deerfoot Trail with its constant stream of noisy traffic and the only activity in the forest itself was a dog defecating beneath the trees.

That a boy!

It took some doing, but I found a way to ride a bike to SPARK, the science park right on the bike pathway.  There are no signs to direct a cyclist to this facility and I didn't have enough time to investigate whether they had installed bike racks or not.  Besides, I had to get back to the auto business so I guess you could say that I had no time to park at Spark.

Bike parking?

Kettle Valley Rewind

Is it possible to do the Kettle Valley Railway in reverse?  My cycling partner for the last nine years, Roy made the suggestion the other night.  Both of us have done a loop that includes Penticton, Osoyoos, Rock Creek, Beaverdell, Mc Cullogh and Chute Lake.  The whole trip is about 400 kilometers - remembering of course that we do have six days to do it.

The Kettle Valley Railway

His proposal is that we start in Rock Creek - one of our favourite places.  We're fond of that spot for a few good reasons - one of them being the kindness that was shown us the first time we camped there.  A large group of  cyclists supported by a van that carried all their gear was set up at the other end of the campground.  Roy, being the social animal that he is,  was keen to go over and visit.  Me?  We had just spent 6 1/2 hours climbing in the lowest gear (and peddling as hard as we could) just to reach the summit of a mountain west of town.  We had had another two hours in the saddle riding past dumps like Bridesville and negotiating a steep switchback into Rock Creek itself.

Bridesville

My nervy partner hit an easy 50 kilometers and hour going down that switchback while I paused to put on my cycling jacket.  Being exhausted, I didn't trust my judgement at high speeds so I zipped up the jacket just enough that it would act like a parachute and slow me down as I descended.  Luckily there was no traffic to complicate matters further.

Upon entering town, we stopped at the Petro Canada station which appeared to be the liveliest place in this tiny burg.  It wasn't until we were in the back of the grocery department looking for hooch that we came across the reason for all the traffic.  A wooden display rack held bags of freshly baked cheese buns.  And they were flying off the rack.  Being half starved after cycling all day, we didn't hesitate to jump into the fray and grab a couple of bags of those appealing baked baked goods before they disappeared as well.

Get your cheese buns!

We were outside only for seconds before we tore one of the bags apart and stuffed our faces with the delectable treats.  Sharp cheese taste mixed with a little green onion and a soft but chewy bun put us both in heaven.  Cheese bun heaven!

It was later, after we had eaten our supper (and all the buns), that the tour leader from the group of cyclists came over to our camp carrying a cooking pot the size of a garbage can.  Its insides were filled with a mixture of hot chili and rice which he offered to us.  Roy and I had burned 5,000 calories just climbing Anarchist Mountain so we were more than happy to eat the still warm chili and replace those missing calories.  The only condition was that we clean the pot when finished.  It was the least we could do.

20 is Plenty

God Beams

It was one of my children that called the heavenly sunbeams that occasionally appear in the sky "God Beams" and it was those wonderful shafts of light that greeted me on my commute downtown this morning.

Our weather station said the outside temperature was zero.  Looking out the front door window, I could see a sciff of snow that resembled a dusting of icing sugar on a bundt cake.  I had decided to ride my new-to-me 20" Raleigh even though it doesn't have studded tires.  I was gambling that the new tires with their thick treads that I had bought from the Raving Bike Fiend would cut through any ice/snow.

The pannier rack on the Raleigh is too short to mount regular panniers on the rear so I "improvised" by putting an Axiom top mounted bag on the rack first.  A kind lady from the library had given me two small saddlebags which I cleverly mounted on top of the Axiom bag.

I'm so smart!

It wasn't easy to find the bike lanes that the city installed and painted last year.  The markings are so faint, I couldn't help but think that the city was being passive/aggressive in their approach.  "Okay - we want to look like we are encouraging cycling in our city but we sure as hell don't want to piss off the vocal and powerful auto lobby!"

That faint smear separates bikes and cars

It doesn't really matter all that much where the bike lanes are since in the winter the city dumps all the snow on them and just this morning what do I see but some sort of construction vehicles parked right in the bike lane.  God forbid that they should park on the grassy verge!

@#$%^&*!!!

20"

Says it all

While quaffing green beer at Sherlock's on St. Patrick's Day, my friend the Raving Bike Fiend let it slip that he was going to be picking up a Raleigh 20" folding bike.  A lady had called him and said she'd had one in the garage for 40 years and wanted to make a donation of said bike.

Not China

My bar mate described the colour as "Root Beer" and that the bike was in excellent shape.  Would I be interested?  Do chickens have lips?  I was interested not because I was tired of Foldey Hawn but because I had seen Keith's 20" bike at a number of events and thought it had features I would like.  Foldy Hawn doesn't have a pannier rack for example.  So whenever I ride her, I have to stow everything in a packsack on my back.

The rootbeered folder

While replacing the rubber in my friend's shop, he recommended modern brakes that are more efficient.  The ones that are installed on the bike are rather mushy and you can see the brake calipers move when engaged.  As well, a Brooks leather saddle would round out the look of the bike and it is time that I broke down and spent the bucks on one of those fine seats.

Bob Bob Bobbing Along

With the money from the sale of my old car, I bought not one but two B.O.B. trailers - you've seen them I'm sure.  The long, aerodynamic trailers that amost double the length of your bike.  B.O.B. stands for Beast of Burden.

Really?

Some people certainly take the burden part seriously.  A couple of years ago in Taipei I saw several examples of bicycles absolutely covered in crap.

No sudden stops please!  I might end up a basket case!

So much crap that you had to wonder if the cyclist could see where they were going.  Forget about a sudden stop where baskets and bricks and chickens would be flung across the road and pandemonium ensues.

Don't sneeze!

The particular model of B.O.B. trailers I bought are called the YAK.  Not because they are made in B.C. but because in a lot of countries, the Yak is the beast of burden.

Yahk, B.C.

The trailers came equipped with two bent wires that secure the trailer to the axle.  It was suggested to me that I could make my own from two spokes.  So why did I order some from Mountain Equipment Co-op?  The trailers also came with BOB nuts.  WTF?

Nuts to this

My first outing with the trailer securely attached with the supplied bent wires, was a success.  As someone told me - if a space is wide enough for your handlebars, then it is wide enough for the trailer.  The traction on my rear tire was improved and I was organized enough to have thought to bring a second U-lock for the trailer.

Unlike the cyclists I saw in Taipei, my trailer can only hold up to seventy pounds and it is best to keep that weight close to the ground.  You won't see me pulling a mountain of gack behind me.

Swapping Good Times

With ten bikes scattered in and around my property, perhaps it is time to let some of them go.  I can only ride them one at a time - so what is the point of having so many?  Sure, I can argue that I need specific bikes for specific purposes.  My winter bike is configured differently than the one I use for bikepacking.  The folding bike called "Foldy Hawn"  is so much fun to ride and I enjoy passersby yelling out "Nice Circus Bike!".

Nice circus bike

My wife is convinced that if I only fixed the gears and the brakes on the tandem that then she would be happy to ride along...and how many three speed bikes do I need?  The Triumph that the Raving Bike Fiend gave me is one of my faves, so why not sell the one under a tarp leaning against the woodshed?

The tandem

And then there is "Furry Lewis" named after a bluesman who time had forgotten that cost me $500.00 seven years ago but has been constantly upgraded so that now another $1,000.00 worth of parts have been lovingly installed...

Furry Lewis

My favourite bike is the MOAB which matches my cycling buddy from Calgary's bike.  It fits me perfectly and I still get a charge out of Roy and I riding the same bikes.

The matched pair decked out for bikepacking

The whole idea is to sell the bikes at the Alberta Bike Swap and use the money to buy a BOB (Beast of Burden) trailer which I can use in place of driving an automobile.  I'm confident that my daughter will have me pick up her heavy groceries from the organic food store across town and compared to the last time she asked, it will be a pleasure!

This Post Could Save Your Life

As a cameraman, thirty years ago I was assigned to cover a news story about a plane crash in the wilds of Alberta that took the life of the Leader of the Opposition but through strange luck, the Minister of Housing's life was saved by the survival skills of a convicted felon.

All through a bitterly cold Alberta winter night, the convict kept all the other survivors warm and awake until help arrived.  After covering that story, I put together a survival kit just in case I ever needed it.  This was all pre - 911 so air transportation security was pretty slack and taking a knife or matches on board the plane did not present any problems.

My son, Ragnar the Trader, has gotten me interested in preparing a survival kit once again and since I'm a cyclist, I thought that carrying one on my bike would be a prudent thing to do.

Simple soap container

For $1.25 I bought a simple backpacking soap container and placed a number of pieces inside (with room to spare for more)!  Most of the survival items are miniatures of their car-camping brothers and sisters but will do the job.  They are:

Water purification tablets
A magnesium fire starter
Bandaids and butterfly sutures
A whistle
One tea light
A flashlight with red beam
Storm-proof matches
A compass with fluorescent markings
Safety pins
A wire saw
Needles and thick thread
Wooden tongue depressor (the wood can help start a fire)
One zip tie
Brass wire (to make a snare)
Fishing hooks and line
Multi-tool

Voila!

The kit is just 200 grams which is what a cheap derailleur weighs and fits perfectly into my front handlebar bag.

While I may never be in the desperate situation that the plane crash victims mentioned above were in, I'll know that I have at least prepared for a small emergency that could arise at any time.