Ride for Monday, 31 July

Down to the liquor store and back for more wine and beer and port. This provides a much-needed carb-up as my legs are feeling tired. That's my excuse, and it works for me.

Distance logged: 2.314km
Time: 7:44
Average speed: 18km/hr
Max speed: 46.3 km/hr
Temperature: 25C, sunny
Cumulative distance: 4498.525km
Cumulative cost per km: $0.45
Monthly distance: 877.131km
Monthly cost per km: $0.39

Ride home for Monday, 31 July

Still experimenting with the route home, managed to find a way that cut out the traffic lights, but still required me to go by Dalhousie.

Otherwise, a quiet ride home - not exciting for my readers, but after the past few weeks, good for me.

Distance logged: 16.701km
Time: 45:0
Average speed: 22.3km/hr
Max speed: 57.3 km/hr
Temperature: 25C, sunny
Cumulative distance: 4496.211km
Cumulative cost per km: $0.45
Monthly distance: 874.817km
Monthly cost per km: $0.39

Ride into work for Monday, 31 July

Nice easy ride into work, went over the bridge to Dartmouth and back as I was running early.

Distance logged: 21.935km
Time: 53:15
Average speed: 24.7km/hr
Max speed: 62.1 km/hr
Temperature: 15C, sunny
Cumulative distance: 4479.510km
Cumulative cost per km: $0.46
Monthly distance: 858.116km
Monthly cost per km: $0.40

Ride for Sunday, 30 July

Took a ride down to Peggy's Cove doing the anticlockwise route. I felt virtuous on the ride down there into the headwind, knowing I should hit a tailwind on the other side of the peninsula. So much for that idea, the wind turned into a sidewind around the bottom of the peninsula, then back into a headwind when I started heading back up the peninsula on the other side - it's really discouraging to see real estate boards pointing at me almost horizontally!

Distance logged: 93.402km
Time: 202:53
Average speed: 27.6km/hr
Max speed: 62.1 km/hr
Temperature: 22C-23C, sunny, breezy
Cumulative distance: 4457.575km
Cumulative cost per km: $0.46
Monthly distance: 836.181km
Monthly cost per km: $0.41

Critical Mass and ride home for Friday, 28 July

Left work early to use up some TOIL and went down to IdealBikes to take photos of bikes. The first bike I took out had a loose chain fitting and really high suspension struts, which meant as soon as I leant on the pedals to get some movement I had a chance of the chain slipping and my knee hitting a strut - naturally, every time it was my right knee that got dinged. I took a few more out, but ended up cherry-picking bikes that were closer to my height so I could put less stress on my knee. I finally gave in and hit the drugstore for some Ibuprofen, after taking that I sat down in the bike shop for a while and ate a couple of Clif bars.

Next, I headed up to Victoria Park for Critical Mass. I was there a bit early so I sat and fiddled with a new Ipaq I got to see what I could get it to do (not much - I think I'm going to end up putting Linux on it to turn it into something useful). People starting arriving around ten to six, and by quarter past the numbers got about as high as they got. At half past there was a long involved discussion about whether allowing busses to pass was "the right thing", and it essentially ended up at the consensus of "do what you want to do", which seemed a bit obvious.

We finally all set off in a slightly ragged procession, with Martin (one of the mechanics from IdealBikes) leading in possibly the most outlandish getup; a homebrew superhero costume, riding a kids bike with a front suspension fork recycled into a seat, with what looked like apehanger bars on the front - it really had to be seen to be believed! He had to jump off at certain spots and run along pushing his bike instead so he could get back up to the front - not a big problem since the speed was pretty low and we were only going between 10 and 15 km/hr. It was nice being able to be social (I had a chat with one of the guys there about Brooks saddles) and also not having to worry about cars on the road - since we were taking up the whole road there was no way a car could get past.

The ride seemed to be demonstrating to people where the fast roads were and what the alternatives were, as we kept doubling back; for example, at one point in the ride, first we went up along Quinpool, then turned back and came along Pepperell, a quiet residential street that parallels Quinpool. It was slightly bizarre as most of the routes we took were the same as the routes I take on my commute. There were a few I know of that didn't get used, though...

Also fun was Danny, a skateboarder. He tagged along off my bike a few times, and decided to go bombing off on his own. Next he grabbed on to a cyclist on his left and me on the right and we went riding down a freshly repaved section of Robie. He wanted to go fast down there; I got him up to 35km/hr or so before he jumped off his skateboard and ran along to slow down.

We ended up at Point Pleasant Park (those who hadn't peeled off already, anyway). I headed over to see a friend, then headed home once it got dark and my reflective gear could kick in.

Some of the pictures I took that weren't horribly out of focus from trying to shoot from a moving bike are available for viewing.

Distance logged: 26.941km
Time: 100:04
Average speed: 16.1km/hr
Max speed: 54.7 km/hr
Temperature: 26C-20C, clear
Cumulative distance: 4364.173km
Cumulative cost per km: $0.47
Monthly distance: 742.779km
Monthly cost per km: $0.46

Ride into work for Friday, 28 July

Another misty start to the day. Chance of rain dropped to 30%, though, which bodes well for the critical mass tonight.

Muppet of the day was the truck driver who decided to swing left into my lane directly in front of me to turn into a driveway on his right. I had to bash his mirror out of the way with my hand or it would have hit my helmet. I should have stopped and reported it to the police, but I was running late and didn't have the time for all the paperwork...

Distance logged: 14.895km
Time: 36:13
Average speed: 24.7km/hr
Max speed: 62.5 km/hr
Temperature: 17C, misty
Cumulative distance: 4337.232km
Cumulative cost per km: $0.47
Monthly distance: 715.838km
Monthly cost per km: $0.48

Ride home for Thursday, 27 July

Dropped my bike off at IdealBikes this morning to get my bottom bracket swapped out - it was making the "wizard needs replacing, badly!" noise. $30 and I got a new bottom bracket. I also went to MEC and picked up a new Freeride T-shirt - it's dirt coloured, which should come in handy when I hit the trails, at least!

Muppet of the day was the driver in the green VW Jetta who honked at me when I signalled left, then overtook me and turned left as I was turning left. Not the brightest spark, I feel.

The forecast is looking OK for tomorrow for Critical Mass at 6 - showers later in the evening, though. I'm planning on leaving work early (thanks to an early morning page today), hitting IdealBikes to take some pictures, then going over to Victoria Park for 6 for the Critical Mass ride. Any other readers in Halifax planning to go?

Distance logged: 15.522km
Time: 41:22
Average speed: 22.5km/hr
Max speed: 57.3 km/hr
Temperature: 25C, sunny
Cumulative distance: 4322.337km
Cumulative cost per km: $0.47
Monthly distance: 700.943km
Monthly cost per km: $0.49

Ride into work for Thursday, 27 July

I don't know if it was being woken early or the thick fog (or both) but I couldn't seem to get started this morning. I finally started getting up to speed a couple of km from work, but since I was lacking in energy I didn't feel like putting extra distance in, so I just took a short route in.

Distance logged: 14.891km
Time: 37:27
Average speed: 23.9km/hr
Max speed: 60.5 km/hr
Temperature: 17C, foggy
Cumulative distance: 4306.815km
Cumulative cost per km: $0.46
Monthly distance: 685.421km
Monthly cost per km: $0.40

Ride for Wednesday, 26 July

Took the sprogette and her cousin (who's staying over for a couple of nights) out geocaching. We didn't actually find any geocaches, but we did find many patches of blueberry bushes, which I think more than made up for it. Both girls said they had a great time and would like to do it again!

Distance logged: 5.503km
Time: 24:51
Average speed: 13.3km/hr
Max speed: 31.2 km/hr
Temperature: 21C, hazy
Cumulative distance: 4291.924km
Cumulative cost per km: $0.46
Monthly distance: 670.530km
Monthly cost per km: $0.41

Ride for Wednesday, 26 July

Got on the hybrid when I got home and headed out to the farmer's market, picked up a load of groceries, and came back (at a slower rate). Muppet of the afternoon was the SUV driver honking at me for not stopping to let him pass when I was going past a row of parked cars. From the way he was bouncing in his seat with a severely red face I suspect the poor man may have been on the verge of a heart attack from his anger. What a loss to the human race that would be.

Distance logged: 4.325km
Time: 13:17
Average speed: 19.5km/hr
Max speed: 55.6 km/hr
Temperature: 24C, hazy
Cumulative distance: 4286.421km
Cumulative cost per km: $0.46
Monthly distance: 665.027km
Monthly cost per km: $0.41

Ride home for Wednesday, 26 July

Tried taking a slightly different (and longer) route home, aiming for more residential streets. It needs a bit of fine tuning (at one point I was stuck in a line of traffic and had to walk my bike to the lights to turn right) but for the most part, it was empty of traffic.

Distance logged: 16.233km
Time: 44:40
Average speed: 21.8km/hr
Max speed: 51.6 km/hr
Temperature: 24C, hazy
Cumulative distance: 4282.096km
Cumulative cost per km: $0.46
Monthly distance: 660.702km
Monthly cost per km: $0.41

Ride into work for Wednesday, 26 July

Bit of a messy ride in, what looked like mist outside was a cross between heavy mist and a spray of light rain.

Muppet of the day was the driver of the truck who was so eager to cross left in front of me at high speed that he went up on two wheels (and probably left a few thousand kilometres of rubber tread on the road as he squealed his way around).

Distance logged: 16.638km
Time: 39:57
Average speed: 25km/hr
Max speed: 62.5 km/hr
Temperature: 16C, heavy mist/light rain
Cumulative distance: 4265.863km
Cumulative cost per km: $0.46
Monthly distance: 644.469km
Monthly cost per km: $0.42

Ride home for Tuesday, 25 July

Nice sunny ride home, although the wind picked up towards the end. Muppet of the day was the pedestrian who was walking down the sidewalk, and without looking turned 90 degrees and started walking across the road. He looked like he was in his 50's, I don't know how he managed to survive so long...

Distance logged: 14.966km
Time: 41:11
Average speed: 21.8km/hr
Max speed: 56.9 km/hr
Temperature: 24C, intermittently breezy
Cumulative distance: 4249.225km
Cumulative cost per km: $0.46
Monthly distance: 627.831km
Monthly cost per km: $0.44

Ride into work for Tuesday, 25 July

Another fast ride in, and I was running early again anyway, so I decided to take a spin over the bridge and back - that was interesting since the fog was rolling in, once I reached the top of the bridge I couldn't see either side.

I also packed my GPS just for kicks, the final map (courtesy of the Google Maps GPX viewer) looks like this (ending point at Scotia Square not marked for some reason):



I also went to MEC at lunch to pick up some rim tape, and on the way back I stopped at IdealBikes to see if the tags had been written up for two of the Cannondales I took pictures of last week. One of them had already been sold, but the other was there so I took the details. While I was there I saw a flyer for a Critical Mass this Friday, 6pm at Victoria Park at Spring Garden and South Park. The weather looks like it may be clear then, so I think I might go along for the ride.

Distance logged: 25.816km
Time: 59:59
Average speed: 25.8km/hr
Max speed: 65.4 km/hr
Temperature:
Cumulative distance: 4234.259km
Cumulative cost per km: $0.46
Monthly distance: 612.865km
Monthly cost per km: $0.44

Ride home for Monday, 24 July

I decided not to put on my wet weather gear as I didn't want a repeat of this morning with my knee, and the rain seemed to be abating. I was fine for most of the way, not much more than light drizzle, and then the heavens opened. This lasted for around 10 minutes, and was replaced by a stiff headwind blowing the rain out of the way.

Managed to finish retruing the rear wheel from the hybrid this evening, but it looks like I managed to get the dish off by a couple of mm on each wheel - it looks like the dishing gauge on the truing stand isn't quite right. I'm going to cheat and just adjust the breaks because I really can't be bothered to retrue it back after the amount of time it took in the first place...

Distance logged: 14.964km
Time: 41:27
Average speed: 21.7km/hr
Max speed: 52 km/hr
Temperature: 19C, rain, breezy
Cumulative distance: 4208.443km
Cumulative cost per km: $0.47
Monthly distance: 587.049km
Monthly cost per km: $0.46

Ride into work for Monday, 24 July

A wet and soggy ride in, as the tail end of the tropical storm passed over. I had kneewarmers on under my rain pants with the idea of protecting the scab from last weekend; it was a great idea in theory (stop all the crap like heavy metals from brake pads flying into an open wound) but in practice it sucked as the knee warmers pulled the top layer off. It was raining pretty hard, hard enough that I had to pour water out of my boots; I'm definitely going to look into Dougii's suggestion of navy surplus sea boots. The dehumidifiers in the server room are now working overtime trying to suck moisture out of the air as well as my clothes!

Distance logged: 12.850km
Time: 33:06
Average speed: 23.3km/hr
Max speed: 55.6 km/hr
Temperature: 17C, moderate to heavy rain
Cumulative distance: 4193.479km
Cumulative cost per km: $0.47
Monthly distance: 572.085km
Monthly cost per km: $0.47

Maintenance day

Spent most of the weekend truing up wheels. I did both the wheels on the Nishiki, and it feels quite a bit faster and more agile (although, to be fair, that could be either psychosomatic, or the effect of freshly inflated tyres). I did the front wheel of the hybrid after repeated retruings, but the rear wheel took quite a bit of work as it kept going out of shape. I ended up loosening all the spokes and tensioning up to the same tension either side all the way round, then tediously winding on each spoke on the right hand side 1/4 turn all the way around until it was up to tension. After that I checked the tension on the tensionmeter again and it was reasonably within limits. I'm going to leave it overnight to settle just to see what happens. I have a suspicion that the rim may just be worn out after being hammered over the trails for a thousand km or so last year...

Ride for Friday, 21 July

Went to the farmer's market to pick up some food and then dropped it off at home. After that, I went over to the liquor store and picked up emergency provisions in case of electricity outage (wine in a Tetrapak).

My truing stand and spoke tensionmeter arrived from Nashbar today, too.

Distance logged: 6.686km
Time: 22:19
Average speed: 18km/hr
Max speed: 52.7 km/hr
Temperature: 19C, cloudy, breezy
Cumulative distance: 4180.629km
Cumulative cost per km: $0.47
Monthly distance: 559.235km
Monthly cost per km: $0.48

Ride home for Friday, 21 July

Left work early to avoid the incoming tropical storm. Made it home with time to spare...

Distance logged: 11.137km
Time: 31:24
Average speed: 21.3km/hr
Max speed: 60.6 km/hr
Temperature: 19C, cloudy, breezy
Cumulative distance: 4173.943km
Cumulative cost per km: $0.44
Monthly distance: 552.549km
Monthly cost per km: $0.23

Ride into work for Friday, 21 July

Bit of a slow ride in; the sprog decided to wake up several times through the night wanting to play, so I was pretty tired. That plus the chilly foggy air meant I never really got up to speed. With tropical storm beryl due to pass over us this afternoon, I may well leave work early and work from home this afternoon...

Distance logged: 16.658km
Time: 45:31
Average speed: 22km/hr
Max speed: 61.6 km/hr
Temperature: 17C, foggy
Cumulative distance: 4162.806km
Cumulative cost per km: $0.44
Monthly distance: 541.412km
Monthly cost per km: $0.23

Ride home for Thursday, 20 July

Went to IdealBikes after work and took some more pictures of bikes - raw dump of images here but I need to pick out the best ones and rescale them before putting them on the site. Feel free to comment on any favourites!

Nice uneventful ride home. I stopped at a friend's place after taking photos, and left it till the sun had gone down before setting off home. As a result my reflective surfaces were fairly bright, and every driver gave me plenty of room.

Distance logged: 14.485km
Time: 42:52
Average speed: 20.3km/hr
Max speed: 55.6 km/hr
Temperature: 24C-16C, sunny, clear
Cumulative distance: 4146.148km
Cumulative cost per km: $0.44
Monthly distance: 524.754km
Monthly cost per km: $0.24

Ride into work for Thursday, 20 July

Good weather today, nice and sunny without any appreciable level of wind. Got downtown fast enough and early enough that I could add a bit of extra distance, so I went all the way down Brunswick then doubled back along Barrington to add an extra 2-3km to the ride.

Distance logged: 19.903km
Time: 47:13
Average speed: 25.3km/hr
Max speed: 64.6 km/hr
Temperature: 16C, sunny
Cumulative distance: 4131.663km
Cumulative cost per km: $0.44
Monthly distance: 510.269km
Monthly cost per km: $0.25

Ride home for Wednesday, 19 July

There was some competition for muppet of the day today. First was a car coming in the opposite direction that had a truck loading up in front of him, with a car parked opposite the truck on my side of the road, meaning there was enough room for me to get through on my side of the road (and I had right of way), but the oncoming car would have to go on my side of the road. As I approached the car (and the truck) on my side, he sped up, seeming to think if he went faster his car would get narrower. I hauled on the brakes and stopped on my side of the road, which of course meant the driver didn't have enough space to get through. He stopped and pulled in just behind the truck and stared at me while I slowly started up again from 7th gear and passed him.

Muppet #2 was a tag team; as I was going down Roslyn Road across Connolly, a car on the left decided to pull out from Connolly without looking, which meant the car on the right assumed he could go too. As I was tooling down at around 45 to 50km/hr at that point and about 20 metres from the intersection (at which, again, I had right of way) there was no way I could brake in time so I had to swerve round both cars. It's lucky that bikes are so much more manoeuvrable than cars, otherwise I'd have probably been going over one of the cars.

Distance logged: 14.962km
Time: 40:32
Average speed: 22.1km/hr
Max speed: 60.2 km/hr
Temperature: 26C, sunny
Cumulative distance: 4111.760km
Cumulative cost per km: $0.44
Monthly distance: 490.366km
Monthly cost per km: $0.26

Ride into work for Wednesday, 19 July

Another fast ride in, would have been faster but it seemed like every traffic light I hit was red. I still got into work early, I need to look into a longer route, it would appear...

Distance logged: 16.612km
Time: 39:59
Average speed: 24.9km/hr
Max speed: 63 km/hr
Temperature: 18C, overcast
Cumulative distance: 4096.798km
Cumulative cost per km: $0.45
Monthly distance: 475.404km
Monthly cost per km: $0.27

Ride home for Tuesday, 18 July

Another windy ride home, which at least had the advantage of cooling me off from the heat.

Muppet of the day was the elderly woman driver who reversed out of her driveway without looking. I saw her before she made it past the curb and slammed the brakes on and stodd there watching her. When she was all the way past the curb she finally decided to look for other traffic and saw me standing there staring at her with my arms folded. She looked at me, mouthed "oh my god!" at me and drove back into her driveway at speed. A definite case in favour of requiring a driving retest after the age of retirement...

Distance logged: 14.968km
Time: 41:07
Average speed: 21.8km/hr
Max speed: 57.7 km/hr
Temperature: 27C, breezy
Cumulative distance: 4080.186km
Cumulative cost per km: $0.45
Monthly distance: 458.792km
Monthly cost per km: $0.28

Ride into work for Tuesday, 18 July

Rode into Bedford for a doctor's appointment, then on into work. Bit of a windy ride in with changeable winds. Just got into the office in time to get changed and head off for a 10:30 meeting...

Distance logged: 33.581km
Time: 74:55
Average speed: 26.9km/hr
Max speed: 64.9 km/hr
Temperature: 19C-21C, cloudy, breezy
Cumulative distance: 4065.218km
Cumulative cost per km: $0.45
Monthly distance: 443.824km
Monthly cost per km: $0.29

Ride home for Monday, 17 July

It looked like it was going to rain for most of the ride home, but I managed to get lucky and stay dry the whole way. I went to the farmer's market on the way home and picked up some good karma; I let the guy behind me buy a packet of coffee before me with my basket stuffed full of vegetables, and in return the assistant not only offered me some portobello mushrooms at reduced rate, but also sold the portobello mushrooms I picked up anyway at reduced rate in return for being a nice guy! It's the little things that please me...

Distance logged: 18.785km
Time: 55:35
Average speed: 20.3km/hr
Max speed: 54.7 km/hr
Temperature: 25C, humid, cloudy
Cumulative distance: 4031.637km
Cumulative cost per km: $0.45
Monthly distance: 410.243km
Monthly cost per km: $0.31

Ride into work for Monday, 17 July

Bit of a misty ride in. A little on the slow side, too - the combination of my knee being a bit sore and hauling in a pile of gear for the week ahead meant I could never really get up to speed.

I picked up some Elastoplast "Spray Bandage" from the drugstore when I got to work so my knee wouldn't chafe against my trousers. The directions noted "a stinging sensation may occur briefly on application". I think this should actually be phrased, "be prepared for the feeling of a blowtorch flensing off the exposed nerve endings for 2-3 minutes".

Distance logged: 16.472km
Time: 43:10
Average speed: 22.9km/hr
Max speed: 55.6 km/hr
Temperature: 18C, misty
Cumulative distance: 4012.852km
Cumulative cost per km: $0.46
Monthly distance: 391.458km
Monthly cost per km: $0.32

Maintenance day

Cleaned up the mountain bike after getting it all muddy yesterday. I also stripped down the stem and regreased it. In the process I found the the yoke cable on the front brakes had worn halfway through, so I'm going to have to pick up a replacement before I can use it again - just as well it didn't snap yesterday (although the abuse I put it through yesterday probably didn't help). I also cleaned up the Nishiki and trued up the wheels - I think they need a higher tension on the spokes, I hope the tensiometer and truing stand I ordered arrive this week...

Ride for Saturday, 15 July

Went off to the liquor store to pick up some beer after I got home.

Distance logged: 2.261km
Time: 7:01
Average speed: 19.1km/hr
Max speed: 48 km/hr
Temperature: 27C, sunny
Cumulative distance: 3996.380km
Cumulative cost per km: $0.46
Monthly distance: 374.986km
Monthly cost per km: $0.34

Ride for Saturday, 15 July

Went out to the Whopper Dropper, a local mountain biking trail, to do some geocaching. I passed by a couple (I was a bit leery about following the GPS 50 feet into the bush) but I finally found one that wasn't too far off the trail. By this time I was about halfway through the 5 litres of water I brought with me so I thought I'd better head back, after being out for almost two hours (the time below is just pedalling time - I did a lot of stopping to check the GPS). On the way out I caught a rock and took a fall, ending up with a fairly impressive but shallow gash on my knee - naturally, the same knee that just healed up from the car accident. After fixing up my handlebars I managed to make it back home without incident.

I took a few pictures while I was out there. My impressively wandering GPS log ended up looking like this, courtesy of Google Earth:




Distance logged: 10.706km
Time: 54:31
Average speed: 11.8km/hr
Max speed: 48.8 km/hr
Temperature: 26C-27C, sunny
Cumulative distance: 3994.119km
Cumulative cost per km: $0.46
Monthly distance: 372.725km
Monthly cost per km: $0.34

Ride home for Friday, 14 July

Left work early as I had a doctor's appointment in Bedford. On the way over to Bedford, I was riding into a headwind, which sucked a bit. After my appointment, I rode back along the Bedford Highway where I found the wind had switched, and... I was riding into a headwind again. The only good thing was I was riding against the rushhour traffic, so the ride wasn't as bad as it could have been - although the exhaust fumes made me see the attraction in a smog mask. I rode up through Fairview, stopped off at the store at the top of Main Avenue (kudos to the owner for letting me lean my bike against the freezer inside the store while I picked up some more water, since there was nowhere outside to lock my bike), then went over to the farmer's market and picked up some vegetables for supper. After that I finally got home and spent the evening resting.

Distance logged: 43.815km
Time: 106:47
Average speed: 24.6km/hr
Max speed: 60.5 km/hr
Temperature: 28C-26C, sunny
Cumulative distance: 3983.413km
Cumulative cost per km: $0.46
Monthly distance: 362.019km
Monthly cost per km: $0.35

Whipping handlebars for Fritz

I left a comment over at CycleLicious about handlebar whipping that was perhaps less than entirely lucid. For Fritz (and anyone else interested) here's a few pictures. Bear in mind that this is a temporary fix to give me extra padding while my fractured wrist heals, so it's not as tidy as if it were a permanent fix; if it were, I'd probably get some hemp twine with more loops, rather than usinga short length of hookup wire.

First, a look at the handle as a whole:



And a closeup from the top side:



And from the lower side (intentionally overexposed to show the black wire on black tape a bit better):



I didn't use a "real" knot to tie off the end of the wire because the wire started snapping, soI just wrapped it over on itself a few times. As I said, this is a temporary measure, so I wasn't overly concerned about doing a perfect job. The wire does make an impression on the handlebar tape, I'm not sure if the tape will spring back or not.

Ride into work for Friday, 14 July

Possibly my fastest average speed into work, I decided to push it this morning to see how fast I could go on the Nishiki - helped by school being out and a lot of people being on vacation.

Went into the Running Room and picked up some eload sachets, and then headed over the MEC and got some more brake pads, missing links (since a certain neighbourhood kid keeps borrowing mine to fix his chain) and assorted clif bars and shots. It was very hot and humid outside (22C, humidex taking it up to 28C) so I had one of the eload sachets when I got back to the office, which I really needed...

Distance logged: 16.599km
Time: 37:31
Average speed: 26.6km/hr
Max speed: 64.9 km/hr
Temperature: 16C, sunny
Cumulative distance: 3939.598km
Cumulative cost per km: $0.46
Monthly distance: 318.204km
Monthly cost per km: $0.4

Ride home for Thursday, 13 July

My clothes were dry, courtesy of the dehumidifier in the server room (and all the servers pumping out hot air), however my shoes didn't manage to dry out too well, even with newspaper stuck inside. My feet soon warmed up to a reasonable temperature once I started riding, so it wasn't too bad.

Swapped the slicks on the mountain bike for a pair of Maxxis Wormdrive tyres when I got home, so I can go riding the trails this weekend. Unfortunately the rear tyre is rubbing against the fender, so I'll have to take it off and take a couple of washers off the fender.

Distance logged: 14.556km
Time: 41:22
Average speed: 21.1km/hr
Max speed: 54.5 km/hr
Temperature: 17C, drizzle
Cumulative distance: 3922.999km
Cumulative cost per km: $0.45
Monthly distance: 301.605km
Monthly cost per km: $0.24

Ride into work for Thursday, 13 July

Had a doctor's appointment in Bedford this morning, this coincided with a heavy rainfall warning so I decided to take the mountain bike. I had a false start when I noticed the handlebars weren't straight and were a bit loose so I came back in and tightened all the nuts and bolts in the headset. Fast ride over to Bedford as I was running a bit late, then a bit of a slog into Halifax as there were some pretty nasty headwinds along the Bedford Highway. I took the shortcut down Joseph Howe onto Quinpool as I just wanted to get into work. I decided to ride from Bedford to Halifax in just shorts and jersey rather than fiddling around with waterproof gear since the rain was fairly warm, so when I got into the office I was dripping. I squeezed out all the water I could and hung my clothes up in the server room - hopefully the dehumidifier will dry everything out by the time I head home!

Distance logged: 30.309km
Time: 73:05
Average speed: 24.6km/hr
Max speed: 59.5 km/hr
Temperature: 17C, moderate to heavy rain, windy
Cumulative distance: 3908.443km
Cumulative cost per km: $0.45
Monthly distance: 287.049km
Monthly cost per km: $0.25

Ride home for Wednesday, 12 July

No ride in this morning as I went to the hospital with the wife and sprog to get the sprog's casts trimmed down. He's now a bit happier as they're lighter and cooler.

Picked up the Nishiki, I'm not adding the bill to my costs until I see what happens with the insurance. Saw a rather nice 18.5" FS mountain frame in the shop, so I asked Dave how big the FS mountain frames went. Without looking up from the wheel he was truing, he said, "there's a 22" frame out back your size I've been saving for you for when you want a mountain bike, it's $800 if you want just basic components on it" - it makes me wonder what else he has stuffed back there waiting for me to ask the right question...

Rode home via a client's office to do some work on his VPN, racking up some money on travel expenses. The bike didn't feel as fast as it should be, and the tyres were looking a bit low. I checked them when I got ohme, and they were both around 65-70PSI - with a max rating of 110PSI I'm slightly surprised I didn't get a snakebite flat...

Distance logged: 24.963km
Time: 69:37
Average speed: 21.5km/hr
Max speed: 56.9 km/hr
Temperature: 25C-26C, sunny
Cumulative distance: 3878.134km
Cumulative cost per km: $0.46
Monthly distance: 256.740km
Monthly cost per km: $0.28

Ride home for Tuesday, 11 July

Had a relatively quiet and uneventful ride (apart from some stiff breezes) until the last but one turnoff, which is on a downhill. This was made more exciting as I took the turnoff at around 40km/hr by an SUV (license plate: "TIBBO") deciding to turn left in front of me. Oh, how I enjoyed the extra rush of adrenaline.

On the upside, my last order from Probikekit arrived today. I now have 5 SRAM PC48 chains (wrapped up in a polythene bag - I guess packaging is one of the things sacrificed to get a $9 chain), a chain keeper, a cable cutter and a bandanna. And tomorrow, I should be getting my Nishiki back, I hope...

Distance logged: 14.6km
Time: 44:33
Average speed: 19.7km/hr
Max speed: 50.9 km/hr
Temperature: 26C, breezy
Cumulative distance: 3853.171km
Cumulative cost per km: $0.46
Monthly distance: 231.777km
Monthly cost per km: $0.31

Ride into work for Tuesday, 11 July

Chilly start to the ride due to fairly thick fog, but it soon burnt off and at the halfway point I had to take off my armwarmers as I was starting to overheat.

Had a call from HRM Police following up on my hit and run on Friday. The officer called the registered owner, and she was in New Mexico last week - obviously not the driver, as I saw two guys in there. My guess is one of them was her son, and he wasn't supposed to take the car out, so he's going to get some stick for that - maybe next time he'll be a bit more careful where and how he's driving...

Distance logged: 16.472km
Time: 43:32
Average speed: 22.7km/hr
Max speed: 59.1 km/hr
Temperature: 15C, foggy, clearing to sunny
Cumulative distance: 3838.571km
Cumulative cost per km: $0.44
Monthly distance: 217.177km
Monthly cost per km: $0

Ride home for Monday, 10 July

A relatively uneventful ride home, although I was amused by an older gentleman in a rather large car (Oldsmobile, or something of that flavour) who shouted out his window to me that I shouldn't be taking all the road. As I was riding uphill, I didn't have the breath to point out that at least 6 bikes could fit in the space that his one car was taking up. I was not entirely surprised at the lights where his positioning was haphazard and he managed to block the bike lane.

Took a spin up to the farmer's market on the way home and picked up some vegetables for the next few days; I was glad of the low gearing on the touring bike climbing up over the hill home. Saw some bike police cresting the hill coming the other way; they didn't look too happy in their cotton navy blue shirts and shorts, I hope someone realises that an alternative fabric and colour would be a better idea sooner rather than later...

Distance logged: 18.944km
Time: 58:36
Average speed: 19.4km/hr
Max speed: 62.5 km/hr
Temperature: 22C-23C, sunny
Cumulative distance: 3822.099km
Cumulative cost per km: $0.44
Monthly distance: 200.705km
Monthly cost per km: $0

Ride into work for Monday, 10 July

First day back after a week's vacation. Car drivers seem to be driving closer and closer, even though I rode in with a fully loaded pair of panniers on the back, which usually keeps drivers well away. I don't know what's going on this summer that's made it so much worse than in previous years, but it's significantly worse than I recall it ever being. I daresay the rising cost of oil and gas will slowly squeeze more and more drivers off the road - I hope.

Distance logged: 16.623km
Time: 45:57
Average speed: 21.7km/hr
Max speed: 58.6 km/hr
Temperature: 17C, light fog and mist
Cumulative distance: 3803.155km
Cumulative cost per km: $0.45
Monthly distance: 181.761km
Monthly cost per km: $0

Ride for Saturday, 08 July

Rode downtown to meet a friend to take some bike photos - he's into photography, and I had the opportunity to borrow bikes from IdealBikes if I promised to take photos for their website. Rode down, rode 4 bikes around the Grand Parade while I had photos taken of me, then headed home. Burned through about 5 litres of water over 4 hours - it was pretty warm out!

Distance logged: 31.281km
Time: 100:32
Average speed: 18.7km/hr
Max speed: 58.6 km/hr
Temperature: 27C-26C, breezy
Cumulative distance: 3786.532km
Cumulative cost per km: $0.45
Monthly distance: 165.138km
Monthly cost per km: $0

Ride for Friday, 07 July, hit by a car for the third time in a month

Rode into Bedford for another chiro appointment, then headed into town to meet up with a friend up from Boston. I was hit yet again by a car, third time in just over a month (first time was 9th of June). This time I was riding down Brunswick Street in the main line of traffic because the bike lane was being used for parking (which is legal in Nova Scotia, so long as the left hand side of the vehicle is no more than 4.5m from the curb). A car pulled out of the bike lane in front of 1881 Brunswick without looking and I had to haul on the brakes and skid all over to avoid him. After I stopped he was slightly behind me, I looked at him, then he just started driving again, nudged my front wheel, and carried on. He didn't stop, so I took note of the details and went up to the police station (handily, only a block up) and reported a hit and run. My life starts to resemble a bad soap opera more and more every day.

On my way to and from the pub I took some pictures of the spectacularly bad parking. My favaroutes are this one:



and same again, from the front:



I particularly liked the way the drivers were standing in the bike lane smoking...

Distance logged: 45.830km
Time: 135:15
Average speed: 20.3km/hr
Max speed: 55.2 km/hr
Temperature: 25C-20C
Cumulative distance: 3755.251km
Cumulative cost per km: $0.45
Monthly distance: 133.857km
Monthly cost per km: $0

Ride for Wednesday, 05 July

Went to the store to pick up the paper. No other riding just to make sure my hand didn't get overused yesterday...

Distance logged: 1.168km
Time: 4:02
Average speed: 16.3km/hr
Max speed: 33.1 km/hr
Temperature: 19C, cloudy
Cumulative distance: 3709.421km
Cumulative cost per km: $0.46
Monthly distance: 88.027km
Monthly cost per km: $0

Ride for Tuesday, 04 July

Went into Halifax today for a lunch meeting with some friends. While I was downtown I took my bike in to get a second estimate; IdealBikes came in cheaper by a few dollars so I dropped my bike off there to be fixed. After an extraordinarily slow lunch (tourists must be in town...) I headed over to Bedford for a Dr's appointment, then went up Hammond's Plains Road and down Kearney Lake Road. I stopped off at the Farmer's Market to get some more vegetables for my salad for supper, and finally got back home after that. I ended up slightly over my 50km/day maximum, but I figure it was spread over several hours so it doesn't really count...

Distance logged: 61.357km
Time: 167:07
Average speed: 22km/hr
Max speed: 57.4 km/hr
Temperature: 22C-25C, breezy
Cumulative distance: 3708.253km
Cumulative cost per km: $0.46
Monthly distance: 86.859km
Monthly cost per km: $0

Ride for Monday, 03 July

Went to a friend's parents' place for lunch. It was an informal reception at their house after he got married yesterday. After the lunch I headed out for an afternoon ride. I didn't want to go too far, so I just went down the Bedford Highway, then up Hammond's Plains Road onto Kearney Lake and back home. Nice sunny day out, but the gusts of wind were a bit much.

Distance logged: 23.265km
Time: 66:53
Average speed: 20.9km/hr
Max speed: 56.4 km/hr
Temperature: 20C, breezy
Cumulative distance: 3646.896km
Cumulative cost per km: $0.47
Monthly distance: 25.502km
Monthly cost per km: $0

Ride for Friday, 30 June

Went over to drop off a DVD at a friend's house. First ride since the car accident, it wasn't fun trying to change gear with my left hand so I ended up having to use my right hand, which was interesting...

Distance logged: 2.237km
Time: 7:39
Average speed: 17.5km/hr
Max speed: 35.8 km/hr
Temperature: 17C
Cumulative distance: 3623.631km
Cumulative cost per km: $0.47
Monthly distance: 2.237km
Monthly cost per km: $0