Ride for Sunday, 30 April

Back again at the same location as yesterday doing more out of hours work. I've racked up enough now for a day an a half off - I'll save them for a nice day. Plus, since this was work related travel, I can claim it back and get a refund - not much, but it'll pay for a bottle of energy gel, at least!

Distance logged: 41.414km
Time: 106:56
Average speed: 23.2km/hr
Max speed: 59.6 km/hr
Temperature: 7C-14C, breezy
Cumulative distance: 2642.257km
Cumulative cost per km: $0.48
Monthly distance: 831.504km
Monthly cost per km: $0.6

Ride for Saturday, 29 April

Went into work to do some out of hours work for a client, so I rode my bike in.

Distance logged: 36.081km
Time: 104:21
Average speed: 20.7km/hr
Max speed: 53.9 km/hr
Temperature: 4C-9C, cloudy
Cumulative distance: 2600.843km
Cumulative cost per km: $0.48
Monthly distance: 790.090km
Monthly cost per km: $0.63

Ride home for Friday, 28 April

Slow ride home due to having a set of manuals, my laptop, phones, chargers, etc; I'm studying at home next week for my CLE cert, so hopefully I'll have some time to break out for a ride every now and then - although the weather isn't looking too stellar.

Distance logged: 14.602km
Time: 44:49
Average speed: 19.6km/hr
Max speed: 48 km/hr
Temperature: 12C, sunny
Cumulative distance: 2564.762km
Cumulative cost per km: $0.49
Monthly distance: 754.009km
Monthly cost per km: $0.66

Ride into work for Friday, 28 April

Rode in the long way again this morning. Took the hybrid as I have a ton of gear to haul back again...

Distance logged: 16.608km
Time: 43:34
Average speed: 22.9km/hr
Max speed: 57 km/hr
Temperature: 1C, sunny
Cumulative distance: 2550.160km
Cumulative cost per km: $0.49
Monthly distance: 739.407km
Monthly cost per km: $0.67

Ride home for Thursday, 27 April

Picked up my bike after work and, as promised, I now have extremely effective brakes. I think I'm going to have to play a bit with the positioning, though - the shorter handles weren't as easy to reach. The new hoods are significantly larger, though, and are noticeably more comfortable. I think the next step is to look into replacing the wheels; I'll keep an eye out on my way into work for bicycles being left out for garbage and see if I can whip off the wheels and carry them off with me somehow...

Distance logged: 13.426km
Time: 38:14
Average speed: 21.1km/hr
Max speed: 44 km/hr
Temperature: 14C
Cumulative distance: 2533.552km
Cumulative cost per km: $0.5
Monthly distance: 722.799km
Monthly cost per km: $0.69

Ride into work for Thursday, 27 April

Took the long way into work just because I could, although I wasn't particularly fast carrying a pile of gear back to work. My saddle worked loose again and I torqued it back into place with a spanner, but the seatpost is unfortunately somewhat mangled. I took the bike into IdealBikes after I had my morning coffee to see if I could get a new seatpost. Roger took a look and reckoned it was fine, he took the seat off and managed to get the seatpost back into shape (since it's steel it can apparently take this sort of abuse). It appears I didn't have the saddle on far enough on the seatpost (oops) and also the collar was a bit overused, so a new collar and I was good to go. I mentioned that the braking wasn't too hot and asked Roger about new 27" aluminium wheels, he reckoned I'd be better off with 700C wheels, aka 29" wheels. 29" wheels are apparently smaller than 27" wheels, for some bizarre reason. However... he said an easier fix might be to replace the brake levers with some levers with a better ratio to get more grab, and he started waving cyclocross brake levers at me in a fashion I was powerless to resist. So, my bike's in getting new brake levers, and I should be picking it up this afternoon...

Distance logged: 16.397km
Time: 42:21
Average speed: 23.2km/hr
Max speed: 59.7 km/hr
Temperature: 3C, breezy
Cumulative distance: 2520.126km
Cumulative cost per km: $0.46
Monthly distance: 709.373km
Monthly cost per km: $0.58

Ride for Wednesday, 26 April

The sprog decided he wanted to go out for a ride in the bike trailer after supper, and after being stuck in the basement for 2 days writing up an audit report I thought it was a good idea. We got out and rode around the neighbourhood a couple of times until it got too windy and cold.

Distance logged: 7.560km
Time: 29:11
Average speed: 15.5km/hr
Max speed: 48 km/hr
Temperature: 9C, sunny, breezy
Cumulative distance: 2503.729km
Cumulative cost per km: $0.47
Monthly distance: 692.976km
Monthly cost per km: $0.60

Ride home for Monday, 24 April

I decided to work from home tomorrow in order to get a report written, so I lugged all my equipment back home with me. My legs were starting to ache as well, I think I could do with the day off the bike to let them rest a bit. The weather isn't supposed to be too great this week anyway, so it's no great loss for me.

Distance logged: 13.595km
Time: 43:55
Average speed: 18.6km/hr
Max speed: 48 km/hr
Temperature: 5C, drizzle
Cumulative distance: 2496.169km
Cumulative cost per km: $0.47
Monthly distance: 685.416km
Monthly cost per km: $0.60

Ride into work for Monday, 24 April

My legs were rather sore riding in this morning due to all the riding I did last week. It wasn't helped by having a couple of panniers full of gear I was taking back to work, either...

Distance logged: 12.361km
Time: 34:28
Average speed: 21.5km/hr
Max speed: 55.2 km/hr
Temperature: 2C, light drizzle
Cumulative distance: 2482.574km
Cumulative cost per km: $0.47
Monthly distance: 671.821km
Monthly cost per km: $0.62

Ride for Sunday, 23 April

Went for a ride to Peggy's Cove today following the usual route. I was dressed in cycling t-shirt and shorts since it was so warm, but I was surprised that every cyclist I saw on the road was dressed in a windbreaker and cycling pants. Now, the group of tourists I saw (replete with panniers) could be excused if they're from a particularly warm region, but the rest were just being wussies - even in a t-shirt and shorts I was dripping sweat at some points.

I took the Nishiki and travelled light, so no photos. I took the hydration pack I got for doing the MS150 last year; it takes around 2 litres of water and not a whole lot more, so I think I might be looking at a frame bag to carry the extra toys like camera and GPS. It was a good ride, though, albeit a bit on the breezy side - I think I should have taken the anticlockwise route as there were winds against me most of the way...

Distance logged: 91.509km
Time: 206:39
Average speed: 26.6km/hr
Max speed: 60.2 km/hr
Temperature: 12-18C, sunny, breezy
Cumulative distance: 2470.213km
Cumulative cost per km: $0.47
Monthly distance: 659.460km
Monthly cost per km: $0.63

Ride for Sunday, 23 April

Went for a ride to Peggy's Cove today following the usual route. I was dressed in cycling t-shirt and shorts since it was so warm, but I was surprised that every cyclist I saw on the road was dressed in a windbreaker and cycling pants. Now, the group of tourists I saw (replete with panniers) could be excused if they're from a particularly warm region, but the rest were just being wussies - even in a t-shirt and shorts I was dripping sweat at some points.

I took the Nishiki and travelled light, so no photos. I took the hydration pack I got for doing the MS150 last year; it takes around 2 litres of water and not a whole lot more, so I think I might be looking at a frame bag to carry the extra toys like camera and GPS. It was a good ride, though, albeit a bit on the breezy side - I think I should have taken the anticlockwise route as there were winds against me most of the way...

Distance logged: 91.509km
Time: 206:39
Average speed: 26.6km/hr
Max speed: 60.2 km/hr
Temperature: 12-18C, sunny, breezy
Cumulative distance: 2470.213km
Cumulative cost per km: $0.47
Monthly distance: 659.460km
Monthly cost per km: $0.63

Ride for Friday, 22 April

Rode home from Truro. After the blistering headwinds riding up, I was rewarded with blistering tailwinds on the way back - pretty much the entire ride I had the wind at my back, so I was zooming along with next to no effort. The only downside was that the lack of wind in my face meant I had nothing to take away the heat, so I was sweating buckets. This meant whenever I stopped I was pretty much immediately cold due to the 30-50km/hr wind, so I had to do the entire ride stopping as little as possible - I ended up stopping twice, which wasn't a great idea as I had cramps a couple of hours after being on the bike due to lack of food intake!

Regardless of the weather it was a fun ride, and definitely easier than the ride up. I don't know if I'll have to go back up to Truro to implement any of my recommendations, but hopefully the weather will be sunny by then if I do!

I had a pleasant surprise when I got back - the Brooks B17 saddle saddle I ordered from Cycle Therapy had arrived. Remarkably quick service, since I used the free shipping - I definitely think I'll be using them again!

Distance logged: 97.543km
Time: 209:51
Average speed: 27.9km/hr
Max speed: 50.4 km/hr
Temperature: 1C-2C, cloudy, windy
Cumulative distance: 2378.704km
Cumulative cost per km: $0.49
Monthly distance: 567.951km
Monthly cost per km: $0.73

Ride for Monday, 17 April

Rode from Halifax to Truro to go to a business meeting. It started out cloudy but not too bad, and once I got on highway 2 there was no traffic so I put on my mp3 player. I rode on listening to ACDC, Buzzcocks and God Speed You Black Emperor before stopping for lunch - a sandwich by the side of the road. I continued on, and then as Leonard Cohen started playing, a spoke broke, somewhere outside Lantz. As I changed the spoke, it started to rain, and I continued riding on the wind started getting stronger and stronger. When Leonard Cohen stopped and Morcheeba came on, the rain eased up a bit, but it was still extremely windy. I fought against the winds for the rest of the way, and for long periods of time it seemed like the odometer on my bike was stuck as it just didn't seem to be advancing. I finally hit the junction where I hit highway 2 on the MS150 ride last year, and started recognising where I was. 10km later, I arrived at my colleague's house where I'm staying for the next few days.

Pictures (including two of the river for Knox, but unfortunately no bore) are available for viewing. I didn't take very many as it was so cold that stopping for too long chilled me right through.

Final weight on the wheels was 375lbs. I was mildly surprised that I only broke one spoke - it seems the lower gearing did the trick!

The route map looked like this:



Distance logged: 95.638km
Time: 289:12
Average speed: 19.8km/hr
Max speed: 51.2 km/hr
Temperature: 3C to 6C, cloudy, intermittent rain, windy
Cumulative distance: 2281.161km
Cumulative cost per km: $0.51
Monthly distance: 470.408km
Monthly cost per km: $0.88

Ride for Saturday, 15 April

Went into work to pick up my laptop PSU. About halfway there, I realised I'd set off without my helmet... Oops. I rode back, picked it up, and set off again. While I was downtown I went into MEC and picked up another pair of bike shorts (since the chamois on most of my others is a bit too worn for a 100km ride) and a new bike pump (since my other pump is (a) a short mountain bike pump that has problems pumping over 70psi, and (b) is starting to look a bit ratty - I don't want it dying on me halfway to Truro!). I also picked up some fruit leather strips, since I wanted to up the amount of calories I was carrying - a test run of Gmaps showed I'd be burning somewhere in the region of 15,000 calories to get up there!

Distance logged: 36.300km
Time: 99:15
Average speed: 21.9km/hr
Max speed: 60.6 km/hr
Temperature: 6C-9C, sunny
Cumulative distance: 2185.523km
Cumulative cost per km: $0.54
Monthly distance: 374.770km
Monthly cost per km: $1.10

Trip preparation

I did a test run packing everything up for the trip on Monday to make sure everything would work, and that there was enough room for everything. The front panniers appear to be made of a similar material to that of the Tardis; I managed to fit the entire week's worth of clothes, plus my laptop, plus my CDs, plus my miniswitch with wallwart and ethernet cables, plus my toiletries, into the two front panniers. I also weighed the bike stripped, base load and fully loaded to see what the weight was like (click for pictures):

Bike: 32lbs
Bike + bare load: 41lbs
Bike + full load: 75lbs

This isn't the final weight; there's still my backpack with the water and food in it, so I guess the final total will be somewhere between 80 and 85lbs.

The only oddity my testing has thrown up so far is a bit of a design flaw with the handles of the front panniers; they tend to flop into the spokes. I think a couple of bungee cords should do the trick there. Other than that, I think I'm pretty much good to go. I'll probably repack the front panniers with everything inside a garbage bag on each side, in addition to the plastic bags everything is packed in, since there's supposed to be showers on Monday.

I also need to nip into work tomorrow to pick up the PSU for my laptop. Oops.

Ride home for Thursday, 13 April

I was pretty fully loaded coming home, as I was bringing home all the equipment I'll need for next week - laptop, toolkit, CD collection, boots, etc. This meant I had a significantly higher amount of inertia than usual, which made for some interesting braking the first few times before I got used to it. The wind didn't help either, especially from the side - the frame bag, panniers and rack trunk combine to make a pretty effective sail, and at points I could feel myself being blown to one side of the road and had to tack a bit - an interesting feeling when I'm going downhill at around 45km/hr!

Distance logged: 14.580km
Time: 44:13
Average speed: 19.8km/hr
Max speed: 53.8 km/hr
Temperature: 11C, windy
Cumulative distance: 2149.223km
Cumulative cost per km: $0.50
Monthly distance: 338.470km
Monthly cost per km: $0.95

Ride into work for Thursday, 13 April

Ride into Bedford for a trip to the chiropractor. After my session I realised I hadn't brought my wallet with me; yesterday, I put my bag-o-stuff and rack inside one pannier, put that pannier inside the other, then put the whole lot into my backpack. When I got home, I took the pannier out of my backpack, took the rack out and put it on my bike... but neglected to take my bag-o-stuff out and put it back in my backpack. Fortunately my chiropractor saw the funny side and told me to pay up next time, but I still had to ride back home to pick up my wallet - at least that gave me the chance to drop off the locks.

My hybrid now has the low-rider rack ready to go, and the front panniers fit perfectly, ready for the ride to Truro next week. Knox would be proud of me.

Distance logged: 39.688km
Time: 104:23
Average speed: 22.8km/hr
Max speed: 58.6 km/hr
Temperature: 3C-13C, sunny, windy
Cumulative distance: 2134.643km
Cumulative cost per km: $0.51
Monthly distance: 323.890km
Monthly cost per km: $0.99

Ride home for Wednesday, 12 April

I think this was the warmest day so far this year, and if it wasn't for the intermittent wind it would have been perfect. Lots of cyclists around, too - I guess the high gas prices are really starting to bite.

Put the front rack on this evening (instructions would have been nice, but I figured it out eventually). The panniers work perfectly, so I think I should be able to do the ride up to Truro on Monday. I worked it out in Gmaps as being 94km. Gmaps also said I would burn 9500 calories just for my weight, let alone the weight of the bike, clothes, laptop, electronics gubbins, etc. Suddenly the 110 calorie Carb-boom packs I bought are looking a little insufficient...

Distance logged: 14.382km
Time: 41:25
Average speed: 20.8km/hr
Max speed: 53.9 km/hr
Temperature: 16C, sunny, breezy
Cumulative distance: 2094.955km
Cumulative cost per km: $0.52
Monthly distance: 284.202km
Monthly cost per km: $1.13

Ride into work for Wednesday, 12 April

Took the long ride in this morning, as it was a nice day and I had time to spare.

Went into MEC at lunchtime and picked up two 15L panniers and a low rider front rack. I figure half the cost is going to be paid back pretty much immediately by the trip to Truro, so they're already looking like a good deal.

Next stop was IdealBikes to see if I could beg a saddle overnight. Dave nodded at me, grinned, and said, "I have something I've been saving for someone like you" and came back with a Wright leather saddle. I asked if I could buy it, and he said I could have it in exchange for Propellor Ginger Beer for everyone from the coffee shop next door. That sounded like a deal, so $7.32 (or four bottles of ginger beer) later, I now own a leather saddle I can use as a hack saddle!

Distance logged: 16.356km
Time: 41:06
Average speed: 23.9km/hr
Max speed: 58.6 km/hr
Temperature: 3C, sunny
Cumulative distance: 2080.573km
Cumulative cost per km: $0.52
Monthly distance: 269.820km
Monthly cost per km: $1.19

Ride home for Tuesday, 11 April

Had my annual review today, I asked about the transportation bonus that was mooted a while ago. Apparently it's now gone through, and I'm going to be paid the cost of a parking space, since I don't need a parking pass. I was also told that all travel is to be expensed - including walking and cycling! I can see I'm going to be spending some time with Gmaps tomorrow calculating how much walking I did last month.

The news of the transportation bonus came at just the right time; the leather saddle on the Nishiki is starting to die, the rivets are tearing through the leather and there's a crack forming along one side - and the exposed rivets managed to rub me enough to start a saddle sore. I did a search and found Cycle Therapy sell Brooks saddles at quite a discount, and ordered myself a B17 Standard. After spending last summer on my Brooks B67 and riding the battered leather saddle on the Nishiki, I don't really want to ride anything but a leather saddle. Obviously the winter/beater bike gets plastic seats, but that's as far as I want to go. I think I've been spoilt...

The ride home was pleasant, sunny all the way. I was a little surprised climbing Central and up the hill that it seemed a bit steeper than usual. It wasn't till I stopped at the junction that I found I'd ridden up the hill in second gear the whole way!

Distance logged: 14.369km
Time: 40:32
Average speed: 21.3km/hr
Max speed: 56 km/hr
Temperature: 12C, sunny
Cumulative distance: 2064.217km
Cumulative cost per km: $0.47
Monthly distance: 253.464km
Monthly cost per km: $0.82

Ride into work for Tuesday, 11 April

Decided to take the long route into work today. There were a lot of cyclists around today, it being relatively warm and sunny, but for some reason the vast majority of them looked glum and unhappy. Most odd...

Distance logged: 16.343km
Time: 40:59
Average speed: 23.9km/hr
Max speed: 64.4 km/hr
Temperature: 3C, sunny
Cumulative distance: 2049.848km
Cumulative cost per km: $0.42
Monthly distance: 239.095km
Monthly cost per km: $0.47

Ride for Monday, 10 April

Family ride down to the store and back for icecream after supper. If only the store had decent local icecream instead of the stuff in the freezer it would have been great... I guess we were a few weeks early.

Distance logged: 2.867km
Time: 14:31
Average speed: 11.9km/hr
Max speed: 27.1 km/hr
Temperature:
Cumulative distance: 2033.505km
Cumulative cost per km: $0.43
Monthly distance: 222.752km
Monthly cost per km: $0.50

Ride home for Monday, 10 April

Tried a slightly different route home to avoid the nasty last section of hill on Central, it turned out the next street over is quite a bit easier so I think I'll be taking that on the Nishiki in the future...

Distance logged: 13.938km
Time: 39:08
Average speed: 21.4km/hr
Max speed: 44.8 km/hr
Temperature: 9C, sunny, breezy
Cumulative distance: 2030.638km
Cumulative cost per km: $0.43
Monthly distance: 219.885km
Monthly cost per km: $0.51

Ride into work for Monday, 10 April

I switched out the pedals yesterday for a set of regular studded platform pedals I repaired. I also cleaned the chain and was mildly surprised to find out it was actually a silver colour instead of the brown I thought it was - the years of neglect appear to have stained the chain and it's taking several goes with the chain cleaner to even start making an impression.

Another fun ride in this morning, I took a slightly longer route in just because I could...

Distance logged: 14.516km
Time: 37:39
Average speed: 23.1km/hr
Max speed: 54.7 km/hr
Temperature: 0C, clear, breezy
Cumulative distance: 2016.700km
Cumulative cost per km: $0.43
Monthly distance: 205.947km
Monthly cost per km: $0.55

Ride for Saturday, 08 April

Had to go on site for a customer for some out of hours maintenance, so I decided to ride my bike there. I arrived in town half an hour early so I went for a cruise downtown to kill some time, then headed over to the client's site. My new bike seemed to fit in surprisingly well with all the high priced Italian sports cars in the garage...

It was dark by the time I left so I flicked on my high efficiency turtle light so I'd at least be street legal (there's no room on the handlebars for much else). A pleasant ride home, and I'm still enjoying the new bike...

Distance logged: 27.426km
Time: 76:09
Average speed: 21.6km/hr
Max speed: 62.5 km/hr
Temperature: 7C to 5C, cloudy
Cumulative distance: 2002.184km
Cumulative cost per km: $0.43
Monthly distance: 191.431km
Monthly cost per km: $0.59

Ride home for Friday, 07 April

I went into MEC at lunchtime and picked up a new bike computer, bell, and 27" inner tube, then I dropped by IdealBikes and picked up my Nishiki. It was all ready to go with new cables, tuneup and general fixup; all told I spent $72 to get the bike back on the road, which is a pretty good price for a bike. I dropped by a friend's place after work and put the bike computer and bell on, and he made admiring noises at the lack of wear, leather saddle, etc.

I set off a bit later than I really meant to, since I didn't have lights for the bike. I put my backpack lights on and was careful about keeping out of the way of oncoming traffic. I took the fire trail on the way back to avoid the road, but had to go slowly - the darkness, the skinny tyres, and the roughness of the trail combined to make it a rather jarring ride.

The bike is, however, extremely fast, and the component arrangement feels well selected. I had no problem powering away from a stop, although I need to fiddle with the saddle and handlebar height some more. I think I might also look into alternative pedals; I'm guessing one side of the pedal was designed for toe clips, as there's rails on either side of the pedal (just about visible in this picture) which make it a bit tricky to pedal, and flipping over to the other side doesn't always work - around 30% of the time the pedal does a full 360 back to the rails. I think I'll replace them if I can't figure out the trick of flipping the pedal the right way up.

Distance logged: 13.815km
Time: 47:44
Average speed: 17.4km/hr
Max speed: 41.4 km/hr
Temperature: 6C, breezy, cloudy
Cumulative distance: 1974.758km
Cumulative cost per km: $0.44
Monthly distance: 164.005km
Monthly cost per km: $0.68

Drive into work for Friday, 07 April

Got a lift into work from my wife as I'm picking up the Nishiki today. I forgot how dreary and dull it was in the car...

Ride home for Thursday, 06 April

Came down to get my bike out of the storage locker and found I had a flat rear tyre, never the best start. I dropped the wheel out, took the tyre off, and found what looked like a heavy duty staple embedded in there. I sanded off the tube and glued it, and while the glue was drying I put a new tube on and mounted the tyre. Not quite quick enough as the glue had dried, so I sanded it off, reglued, put the wheel back on, and was quick enough to be able to put the patch back on. I pumped up the wheel to the level of "enough" - I didn't really feel like doing a proper job on it, I just wanted to be off.

Strong tailwinds as soon as I was out of the parking garage didn't bode well, and I soon hit the headwinds for most of the ride home.

On the plus side, it looks like I'm going to be going to Truro for four days to do an audit, and I've been allowed to take time to ride my bike up there. Only 80km or so, but it's a fairly nice ride. I should get the chance to ride around a bit while I'm up there, too.

Distance logged: 14.342km
Time: 43:41
Average speed: 19.7km/hr
Max speed: 40.6 km/hr
Temperature: 3C, windy, intermittent rain
Cumulative distance: 1960.943km
Cumulative cost per km: $0.4
Monthly distance: 150.190km
Monthly cost per km: $0.21

Ride into work for Thursday, 06 April

Had the "courtesy van" from Colonial Honda try to run me off the road today. I was riding along, and he pulled out of the hospital and drove straight at me. Well, I'm definitely not going to be buying a Honda minivan from Colonial Honda, that's for sure.

On a more cheery note, I passed my CLP exam today... 800 marks out of a possible 800 marks. It's amazing how much easier it is when the Junos aren't playing at full volume in the background...

Distance logged: 12.919km
Time: 34:46
Average speed: 22.3km/hr
Max speed: 59.1 km/hr
Temperature: 0C, rain/sleet/snow
Cumulative distance: 1946.601km
Cumulative cost per km: $0.41
Monthly distance: 135.848km
Monthly cost per km: $0.23

Ride home for Wednesday, 05 April

Another comparatively fast ride home. Should be interesting to see how things pan out on Friday when I get the Nishiki back...

Distance logged: 14.491km
Time: 39:30
Average speed: 22km/hr
Max speed: 45 km/hr
Temperature: 8C, sunny, breezy
Cumulative distance: 1933.682km
Cumulative cost per km: $0.41
Monthly distance: 122.929km
Monthly cost per km: $0.25

Ride into work for Wednesday, 05 April

Bit of a drizzly ride in, so I rode my mountain bike in - first time with the skinnier tyres (1.5" vs 2"). It made a surprising difference, I was notably faster with the skinnier tyres; I didn't realise it made quite such a difference.

Distance logged: 12.967km
Time: 33:27
Average speed: 23.3km/hr
Max speed: 59.1 km/hr
Temperature: 2C, drizzle
Cumulative distance: 1919.191km
Cumulative cost per km: $0.41
Monthly distance: 108.438km
Monthly cost per km: $0.29

Ride home for Tuesday, 04 April

Hit a strong headwind as soon as I left work, which is always a good sign - it means I'll get tailwinds for most of the ride. It was still tough going for the first 3 or 4km, but as I worked my way round Halifax I started picking up tailwinds. Just as well, as I'm still not feeling the greatest - although I'm feeling better than I was this morning.

Helped the sprogette fix up her bike this evening. Nothing major, she just needed the seat adjusting (it's now maxed out, so it'll be a new bike next year) and the tyres pumped up. The rear tyre was a problem, when it was assembled at the store (it's a bike shaped object) the tube wasn't put in straight, so the valve was at an angle. I got her to take the tyre off, put the valve in properly, and put the tyre back on, all by herself. We then took the stem out, greased it up, and put it back in and sized it up. I also got her to go over all the nuts and tighten them up - just as well, the kickstand was loose and would have been bouncing off her tyre. All told a fairly productive evening, and I think she's earned herself a proper bike now...

Distance logged: 14.643km
Time: 41:002
Average speed: 21.3km/hr
Max speed: 53.1 km/hr
Temperature: 4C, cloudy, windy
Cumulative distance: 1906.224km
Cumulative cost per km: $0.41
Monthly distance: 95.471km
Monthly cost per km: $0.32

Ride into work for Tuesday, 04 April

Feeling a bit manky, hopefully I don't have the flu that's going around...

Distance logged: 14.759km
Time: 39:28
Average speed: 22.4km/hr
Max speed: 52 km/hr
Temperature: -2C, breezy
Cumulative distance: 1891.581km
Cumulative cost per km: $0.42
Monthly distance: 80.828km
Monthly cost per km: $0.38

Ride home for Monday, 03 April

My wife has decided she's going to start riding to work when the weather gets "nice", so I went into MEC to pick up the essentials for her; a U-lock, cable lock, puncture repair kit, tyre irons, and a pump. I also picked up a new pair of full-finger gloves, as mine were getting rather transparent in places, and torn in others.

The ride home was windy, but fairly warm for all that. The forecast for the rest of the week is showers, so I guess spring really is here. At least it should wash the remaining salt off the roads...

Distance logged: 14.576km
Time: 42:24
Average speed: 20.6km/hr
Max speed: 46.2 km/hr
Temperature: 8C, windy
Cumulative distance: 1876.822km
Cumulative cost per km: $0.42
Monthly distance: 66.069km
Monthly cost per km: $0.47

Ride into work for Monday, 03 April

Woke up this morning fairly happy that I'd woken up before the alarm... then I noticed it was 6:45, half an hour after it should have gone off. Then I realised I hadn't reset it after setting it for a later time on Friday... oops! I rushed round and got everything ready in record time, although I skipped having anything to eat. The net result was possibly the fastest time into work yet.

Distance logged: 12.714km
Time: 30:20
Average speed: 25.2km/hr
Max speed: 55.6 km/hr
Temperature: 2C, breezy
Cumulative distance: 1862.246km
Cumulative cost per km: $0.41
Monthly distance: 51.493km
Monthly cost per km: $0

Ride for Saturday, 02 April

Got the bike trailer back on the road and took the sprog out for a ride. Unfortunately it took me so long to get the bike trailer put together again that the weather started taking a turn for the worse and we had to come back - 50km/hr gusts aren't a good thing pulling something with as much surface area as the bike trailer. On the flip side, the tail winds meant we got some pretty good speeds going - although I still had calls from behind of "faster! faster!"...

Distance logged: 11.385km
Time: 38:39
Average speed: 17.7km/hr
Max speed: 50.7 km/hr
Temperature: 16C, breezy turning to windy
Cumulative distance: 1849.532km
Cumulative cost per km: $0.41
Monthly distance: 38.779km
Monthly cost per km: $0

Ride into work for Friday, 31 March

Rode the Nishiki in today; hospital appointments for the sprog mean I'm taking the day off, so I figured it would be a good day to take it in. No bike computer on there yet so I guessed the distance was the usual 12.7km or so. The bike was surprisingly fast, although the brakes were nothing too stellar - I had to hold back a bit so I wasn't going too fast. The lack of a small front ring wasn't any great problem, although the steep hills are on the way back - I'll find out for sure what it's really like next week.

Roger and Dave at IdealBikes were very admiring of it when I took it in, and were amazed that someone would throw it in the garbage - although they didn't see it before I cleaned it up! Roger reckoned it probably cost around $600-$700 new back in the mid 70's, and it was a pretty high-end bike for the time. He was also musing on all the things that could be done with it - convert it to a single speed or fixed gear (which was his choice), put in mountain bike gearing, put in hub gearing, replace the steel rims with 700c aluminium rims or possibly 26" rims, etc. I decided to try and keep it as original as possible, though. I'm having the neoprene taken off the handlebars and replaced with cork, all the cables replaced, a full tuneup done, and the freewheel is being checked out (it was a bit loud - probably it just needs flushing out and cleaning up, but I'd rather it was properly checked out). The wheels need tuning, and possibly a few of the spokes need replacing. It looks like around $100 or so and I should have a really nice bike - and I still have the $50 certificate for my DFL in the alleycat!

Riding home in the car after the hospital appointments, I found crumbs of black neoprene everywhere - somehow it even got in my hair. Nasty stuff...

Distance logged: 12.7km
Temperature: 5C, breezy
Cumulative distance: 1838.147km
Cumulative cost per km: $0.41
Monthly distance: 27.394km
Monthly cost per km: $0

Ride home for Thursday, 30 March

Well, I failed the exam by 5%. I passed the first two parts with 100%, then... The Junos started playing right outside the exam building, some dire country and western band that even earplugs couldn't drown out. Part three I got 75%, and part 4 I got 50%. Since the parts are all of pretty much equal difficulty, I don't think the downward trend is much of a coincidence... Ah well, I'm booked in next week to take them again - and the Junos will be over and done with by then.

Distance logged: 14.694km
Time: 45:05
Average speed: 19.2km/hr
Max speed: 44.8 km/hr
Temperature: 13C, breezy
Cumulative distance: 1825.447km
Cumulative cost per km: $0.42
Monthly distance: 14.694km
Monthly cost per km: $0