Critical mass ride for Friday, 29 September

A surprisingly large turnout considering the weather - I think there was somewhere in the region of 30 people there. This month, we did a tour of the universities in downtown Halifax, starting with St Mary's - including a run around the outside of the athletics track. Oddly enough, no-one on the football pitch in the middle of the track even seemed to notice us. Next, we headed over to Dal and rode through there, then up through town along Oxford onto Connaught, than back downtown along Quinpool - for some reason a lot of car drivers going the other way on Quinpool thought it was great to see us, beeping their horns and waving at us. A common comment from the other riders was, "isn't it great to be able to ride along in a group like this without having to worry about getting hit by a car?" We then headed downtown on Cogswell, through the interchange ending up on Hollis, then up to Spring Garden and back to Victoria Park, where a "take back the night" demonstration was in progress. Some of the riders stayed on for that, but too many early mornings and late nights caught up with me, so I headed home at that point.

It seems I'm starting to get a bit of notoriety; one of the riders, Amanda (who was sporting a great looking rain cape, cut so as not to turn into a sail) told me she'd heard about my blog through a friend in BC!

I took a few pictures, but they didn't turn out too well. The least blurry and dark ones can be seen here.

Distance logged: 25.821km
Time: 105:42
Average speed: 14.7km/hr
Max speed: 48.7 km/hr
Temperature: 18C, intermittent drizzle, misty
Cumulative distance: 6158.340km
Cumulative cost per km: $0.41
Monthly distance: 877.051km
Monthly cost per km: $0.21

Ride into work for Friday, 29 September

Windy and wet ride in this morning with intermittent drizzle. I decided to take a shorter route in, as my panniers were working far too well as sails riding into the headwind.

Distance logged: 10.956km
Time: 33:07
Average speed: 19.9km/hr
Max speed: 50.7 km/hr
Temperature: 15C, drizzle, windy
Cumulative distance: 6132.519km
Cumulative cost per km: $0.41
Monthly distance: 851.230km
Monthly cost per km: $0.22

Ride home for Thursday, 28 September

Despite Environment Canada's forecast of "sunny with cloudy periods", it was chucking it down when I left work. It eased off a bit, then started raining harder. After a couple of weeks of fairly dry weather, the roads ended up really greasy, and I was skidding all over the place, so I took it pretty easy on the way home.

Distance logged: 11.784km
Time: 35:32
Average speed: 19.9km/hr
Max speed: 43.4 km/hr
Temperature: 14C, raining
Cumulative distance: 6121.563km
Cumulative cost per km: $0.41
Monthly distance: 840.274km
Monthly cost per km: $0.22

Ride into work for Thursday, 28 September

Rode in late as I didn't really feel like getting up this morning and stayed in bed for an extra hour or so.

Distance logged: 12.880km
Time: 34:33
Average speed: 22.4km/hr
Max speed: 55.6 km/hr
Temperature: 9C
Cumulative distance: 6109.779km
Cumulative cost per km: $0.41
Monthly distance: 828.490km
Monthly cost per km: $0.23

Halifax Critical Mass reminder, Friday September 29

For the 20 or 30 people searching on variations of Halifax Critical Mass (with one person even being so specific as to search for "critical mass halifax september 29") the Critical Mass ride is tomorrow evening, meeting at 6pm at Victoria Park on the corner of Spring Garden and South Park, opposite the Public Gardens.

Ride for Wednesday, 27 September

Ride down town to pick up a package from Purolator. Neither my wife nor I could figure out what it was, as nothing had been ordered lately. I was mildly bemused to find it was a pedometer and started to wonder if someone at work was taking the piss. I got home and told the wife, and she remembered she'd redeemed some airmiles points for it. Apparently the big draw was the 120dB alarm - I guess I'm not the only sucker for extra-loud noises!

Distance logged: 22.733km
Time: 61:56
Average speed: 22km/hr
Max speed: 58.1 km/hr
Temperature: 18C, sunny
Cumulative distance: 6096.899km
Cumulative cost per km: $0.41
Monthly distance: 815.610km
Monthly cost per km: $0.23

Ride home for Tuesday, 26 September

Blogger seems to be acting up and ate this post... Second time lucky?

Distance logged: 15.799km
Time: 44:05
Average speed: 21.2km/hr
Max speed: 56.9 km/hr
Temperature: 17C
Cumulative distance: 6074.166km
Cumulative cost per km: $0.41
Monthly distance: 792.877km
Monthly cost per km: $0.24

Ride for Wednesday, 27 September

Down to work and back for an outage, setting up one of the Linux firewalls to do BGP. The fun just never starts.

Distance logged: 23.133km
Time: 68:10
Average speed: 20.4km/hr
Max speed: 52.8 km/hr
Temperature: 11C-9C, clear
Cumulative distance: 6058.367km
Cumulative cost per km: $0.41
Monthly distance: 777.078km
Monthly cost per km: $0.24

Ride for Tuesday, 26 September

Rode in late this morning as I was in late last night after the flight home, and I'm trying to change phase as I'm working overnight tonight - the fun just never starts.

Distance logged: 11.254km
Time: 26:45
Average speed: 25.2km/hr
Max speed: 64.9 km/hr
Temperature: 11C, cloudy
Cumulative distance: 6035.234km
Cumulative cost per km: $0.42
Monthly distance: 753.945km
Monthly cost per km: $0.25

Ride for Saturday, 23 September

Down to the market to do some shopping. Plenty of Rolling Stones fans in evidence, many of whom appeared to be a few bricks short of a load. One in particular tried to strike up a conversation with me, saying, "oh, wow, you've got matching bags!" - he seemed quite surprised by the idea that a pannier on either side of the bike would make it balance.

The Commons look to be totally trashed, that's going to be one shortcut I'll have to avoid this autumn and spring when I walk over to clients on the far part of town...

Distance logged: 24.140km
Time: 72:10
Average speed: 20.1km/hr
Max speed: 51.7 km/hr
Temperature: 8C-14C
Cumulative distance: 6023.980km
Cumulative cost per km: $0.42
Monthly distance: 742.691km
Monthly cost per km: $0.25

Ride for Saturday, 23 September

Down to the market to do some shopping. Plenty of Rolling Stones fans in evidence, many of whom appeared to be a few bricks short of a load. One in particular tried to strike up a conversation with me, saying, "oh, wow, you've got matching bags!" - he seemed quite surprised by the idea that a pannier on either side of the bike would make it balance.

The Commons look to be totally trashed, that's going to be one shortcut I'll have to avoid this autumn and spring when I walk over to clients on the far part of town...

Distance logged: 24.140km
Time: 72:10
Average speed: 20.1km/hr
Max speed: 51.7 km/hr
Temperature: 8C-14C
Cumulative distance: 6023.980km
Cumulative cost per km: $0.42
Monthly distance: 742.691km
Monthly cost per km: $0.25

Ride home for Friday, 22 September

Distance logged: 13.578km
Time: 42:40
Average speed: 19.1km/hr
Max speed: 45.4 km/hr
Temperature: 14C
Cumulative distance: 5999.840km
Cumulative cost per km: $0.42
Monthly distance: 718.551km
Monthly cost per km: $0.26

Ride into work for Friday, 22 September

Distance logged: 11.171km
Time: 27:49
Average speed: 24.1km/hr
Max speed: 61 km/hr
Temperature: 6C
Cumulative distance: 5986.262km
Cumulative cost per km: $0.42
Monthly distance: 704.973km
Monthly cost per km: $0.27

Weird queries

Being stuck in an airport with nothing to do for a while, I thought I'd go over some of the weird queries that bring people to my page, in an attempt to answer their questions. All these queries are real queries!

"cycling and tonsillitis": Not a good idea to cycle with tonsillitis. I don't think you'll catch it from cycling, though, unless you start riding your bike through a hospital or something.

"cassette freewheel wireless": I don't think there are any wires in a cassette or freewheel, so by definition they're wireless.

"max speed bicycle drafting": 152 miles per hour, I think. I usually top out at 40km/hr or so since the buses don't go any faster than that, unless I catch a nice big truck or minivan.

"what does rain at times heavy mean": It means, "you're going to get wet if you go outside". Really.

"full length mirror walmart in halifax nova scotia": boggle

"sleeping around in nova scotia": not me.

"wheel squeal after rain": it means your wheel is wet, and your brake pad is drying off the rim.

"biking times nova scotia": Any time is biking time in Nova Scotia.

"halifax garbage day": The official recommendation is, "ask your neighbour when garbage day is, as they should know". Seriously.

"car running unattended in nova scotia?": Stick a potato in the exhaust?

"spanging videos": I have no idea what spanging is, and I probably don't want to.

"coax cost per km": Per kilometre?!

"no special pants brooks saddle b67": No, no special pants, though you might find the dye rubs off newer saddles. Mrs Pants might know more, though.

"care for bruised stomach": Stop running into stuff?

"she revved": Oh, I'm sure she did...

"mec low rider pannier installation instructions": they're still not giving instructions? It's a bugger, isn't it? Be prepared to put the rack on and take it off a couple of times before you get it just right (don't forget to test it out with an MEC pannier). Also, a couple of strips of inner tube are handy for shims on the fork.

And, just as I finished typing that last one in, my flight got called. Great timing!

Ride home for Thursday, 21 September

Went into MEC at lunchtime and picked up a couple of headset wrenches so I could grease the headset on the hybrid - it's starting to sound really bad. Went to IdealBikes after work and photographed some more bikes. Talked to Martin about the midnight ride next month and suggested we ride somewhere and have a fire, as they do in Minneapolis. I didn't know anywhere we could go, but Martin suggested one of the lakes off St Margaret's Bay Road - First Chain Lake, if I recall correctly, as there's a path by the railway tracks to get there. The only problem is it's a really steep hill up there, which might deter a few people, so if anyone can suggest somewhere relatively close to the city where we could have a fire that's away from people I'd be interested. Martin and I agreed to go off after Critical Mass next week on a scouting/firewood acquisition expedition to take a look to see how feasible it would be, if anyone wants to come along then the more the merrier!

There's also going to be an alleycat race scheduled some time in the week before Halloween (27th?), maybe this time I'll finish with better than a DFL or DNF but with my notoriously bad sense of direction I'm not going to hold my breath...

Distance logged: 13.275km
Time: 39:39
Average speed: 20.1km/hr
Max speed: 48.8 km/hr
Temperature: 15C
Cumulative distance: 5975.091km
Cumulative cost per km: $0.42
Monthly distance: 693.802km
Monthly cost per km: $0.27

Ride into work for Thursday, 21 September

Another short ride in, as I'm still not feeling too great. This, though, is down to one of (a) the sprog deciding 5am was a good time to wake up, (b) hayfever kicking in, (c) the sprog passing his cold around, or (d) two or more of the previous options. Surprisingly fast ride in considering, though.

Distance logged: 12.339km
Time: 29:19
Average speed: 25.3km/hr
Max speed: 67.1 km/hr
Temperature: 12C, sunny
Cumulative distance: 5961.816km
Cumulative cost per km: $0.41
Monthly distance: 680.527km
Monthly cost per km: $0.21

Ride home for Wednesday, 20 September

A really humid, muggy ride home. The ride uphill into Clayton Park was pretty hard on the mountain bike, after riding the road bike all year it really feels too small for me (because, well, it is...) so I think I'm going to be looking for a replacement beater when I'm down at the bike shop tomorrow...

Distance logged: 15.229km
Time: 42:33
Average speed: 21.5km/hr
Max speed: 51.2 km/hr
Temperature: 20C, humid, cloudy
Cumulative distance: 5949.477km
Cumulative cost per km: $0.42
Monthly distance: 668.188km
Monthly cost per km: $0.22

Ride into work for Wednesday, 20 September

It was raining this morning so I put on my rain gear. It was so humid that by the halfway point I was dripping sweat, and took my rain jacket off. By the time I got to work, I realised I might as well have ridden in in just shorts and jersey, considering how wet I was...

Distance logged: 12.891km
Time: 39:10
Average speed: 19.8km/hr
Max speed: 59.1 km/hr
Temperature: 19C, intermittent showers, humid
Cumulative distance: 5934.248km
Cumulative cost per km: $0.42
Monthly distance: 652.959km
Monthly cost per km: $0.22

Ride into work for Tuesday, 19 September

It looked like it was going to rain hard all the way home, but I managed to dodge it - I went through several areas with wet roads, but the worst I got was a few drops. Saw Peter as I was going along Spring Garden, but I was in a hurry to get home, so I didn't get a chance to do more than give him a wave - I'm sure I'll see him at Critical Mass next week, though.

Distance logged: 13.303km
Time: 38:13
Average speed: 20.9km/hr
Max speed: 48 km/hr
Temperature: 20C, cloudy
Cumulative distance: 5921.357km
Cumulative cost per km: $0.42
Monthly distance: 640.068km
Monthly cost per km: $0.23

Ride into work for Tuesday, 19 September

Another short ride in due to tiredness...

Distance logged: 12.019km
Time: 30:08
Average speed: 23.9km/hr
Max speed: 65.9 km/hr
Temperature: 15C, cloudy, breezy
Cumulative distance: 5908.054km
Cumulative cost per km: $0.42
Monthly distance: 626.765km
Monthly cost per km: $0.23

Ride home for Monday, 18 September

Another short ride home, as I was still tired. Went up Cogswell to see the mess the setup for the Rolling Stones concert was making, it looks like at least one road around the Commons, North Park Street, is blocked off - since that's a fairly major route for traffic I'm sure a lot of people must be loving that...

Distance logged: 11.382km
Time: 35:30
Average speed: 19.2km/hr
Max speed: 41.3 km/hr
Temperature: 26C, sunny
Cumulative distance: 5896.035km
Cumulative cost per km: $0.42
Monthly distance: 614.746km
Monthly cost per km: $0.24

Ride into work for Monday, 18 September

Muppet of the day was the passenger in the car who overtook me without signalling 20 metres from a red light on Lacewood and Willett, forcing me to jam on my brakes and skid off to the side. Said muppet wound down his window and screamed at me, "you shouldn't be going so fast!"; the driver, a female, appeared to be mortified and stared straight in front. I had a discussion with the passenger involving the finer points of overtaking (specifically, how signals should be used to indicate lane changes, and how I was doing 40km/hr going downhill which was well under the speed limit). I left him raging and shouting at me, as that seems the best revenge - the idea that the muppet is futilely screaming while I ride away around the stopped traffic somehow appeals to me.

A short ride in otherwise, as I was tired from the ride yesterday.

Distance logged: 11.374km
Time: 27:37
Average speed: 24.7km/hr
Max speed: 65.9 km/hr
Temperature: 14C, sunny
Cumulative distance: 5884.653km
Cumulative cost per km: $0.42
Monthly distance: 603.364km
Monthly cost per km: $0.24

Ride for Sunday, 17 September

Went out for a ride, got as far as Tantallon, and decided that since it was such a nice day I'd keep riding and do the Aspotogan Peninsula ride. I stopped off at the Swiss Air 111 memorial for a break and a bite to eat, and a couple in a truck pulled up for a wander round. They seemed rather surprised that I was riding all the way around the peninsula and asked where I parked. When I told them I'd ridden from Halifax, they asked where I was staying for the night. After I told them I was riding back to Halifax and should be back in time for a late supper, they seemed stunned that such a feat was possible, for some reason. I set off shortly after and was cruising along the twisty roads at around 30km/hr when I saw the truck come up behind me. They hung back behind the corners for quite a while, missing a few chances to pass - I'm assuming because they wanted to see if I could keep the speed up - then passed me with a cheery toot and a wave.

Today was the first ride with my new handlebar bag, I found it really handy for pulling bars out of to eat on the road without having to stop.

Some rather unexciting pictures of the scenery are here.

Distance logged: 147.49km
Time: 322:05
Average speed: 27.4km/hr
Max speed: 69.7 km/hr
Temperature: 23C-19C
Cumulative distance: 5873.279km
Cumulative cost per km: $0.42
Monthly distance: 591.990km
Monthly cost per km: $0.25

Maintenance day

I was going to repack the headset in the hybrid since it's making some horrendous noises, however I was brought up short by the reminder that I have a 32mm wrench, but not a 36mm, which is what the hybrid looks to need. Instead, I worked on the road bike, replacing the rear tyre and tube (and the rim tape, since the puncture was on the inside of the tube facing the rim - very odd), and truing both wheels (and also making extra sure the brake blocks were all tight). I also replaced the chain, since the KMC chain wore out after about 2500km of riding. The SRAM chain was two links too short, though, so I ended up bodging in some SRAM chain from when I replaced the chain on the hybrid by using a KMC masterlink, as well as the SRAM masterlink. Hopefully I won't get any problems from that...

I also fitted the handlebar bag and cage that I picked up on Wednesday. The handlebar bag looks like it'll carry quite a bit...

Ride for Saturday, 16 September

Went downtown on the hybrid to go to the Farmer's Market downtown on Kayte's recommendation. Only what was in season was available, and of course I already had lettuce, broccoli, cabbage, celery, etc, but not english cucumbers (out of season) or red and yellow peppers (out of season) which were the main things I was going for. I saw some Portobello mushrooms and picked up a bag - $3, which would have been about $10 at Sobey's. I also picked up some Gravensteins, $3 for a 5lb bag - again, much cheaper than Sobey's (I think they're around $6, and then tax on top of that).

After that I went over to MEC and picked up a new tyre, and a couple of Continental inner tubes. I've finally capitulated to Presta valves, since it's a real pain having to shove 34-42mm tubes into 28mm tyres. I prefer Schrader valves since if I get a flat tyre and my pump dies, I can go to the nearest gas station to get going, or even ask at houses for a pump (since lots of people have foot pumps and the like for inflatable toys of some description). Presta valves are only used by people with higher end bikes, so the chances of me finding a Presta pump owner 40km from the nearest town is pretty remote. I have a Presta/Schrader adapter, but I just know I'm going to lose the damn thing sooner or later...

Distance logged: 22.656km
Time: 70:41
Average speed: 19.2km/hr
Max speed: 48.7 km/hr
Temperature: 13C-20C, sunny
Cumulative distance: 5725.789km
Cumulative cost per km: $0.43
Monthly distance: 444.500km
Monthly cost per km: $0.33

Ride home for Friday, 15 September

When I got home I discovered that I had well and truly cocked up the brake block installation on the rear, and both of the brake blocks had come adrift and were rubbing against the tyre, so badly that the tyre had worn through to the cords. After supper I went to check and I had a flat tyre, so I decided to give up on the tyre and get a new one instead...

Distance logged: 16.314km
Time: 47:15
Average speed: 20.7km/hr
Max speed: 53.8 km/hr
Temperature: 23C, sunny
Cumulative distance: 5703.133km
Cumulative cost per km: $0.43
Monthly distance: 421.844km
Monthly cost per km: $0.29

Ride into work for Friday, 15 September

More riding around downtown Halifax to gather more detail for OpenStreetMap. If only they had a decent editor that wasn't so dog slow and/or buggy!

Distance logged: 18.604km
Time: 46:45
Average speed: 23.9km/hr
Max speed: 68.7 km/hr
Temperature: 14C, sunny
Cumulative distance: 5686.819km
Cumulative cost per km: $0.43
Monthly distance: 405.530km
Monthly cost per km: $0.3

Ride home for Thursday, 14 September

Went down to IdealBikes to take pictures (and rack up GPS tracks...); took pictures of a few bikes, then took pictures of the accessories to add to the site. I cadged a set of brake pads off Dave and fit them to my bike as my front ones were pretty much worn through. I checked my rear brakes after and, while they weren't in quite such a parlous state as the front, they were defnitely in need of change, so I cadged another set. After installing the new pads, I had to twiddle with the cable to loosen it, as the new pads meant there wasn't quite enough clearance, even wth the barrel adjuster on the cx brake handles all the way out. I ended up have to take the front wheel out to true it, as it was rather whaley; looks like I'm going to be doing a bunch of truing at some point. I finally got out of there around 8, and drove home in the dark.

Distance logged: 16.009km
Time: 42:58
Average speed: 22.4km/hr
Max speed: 56.8 km/hr
Temperature: 20C-14C
Cumulative distance: 5668.215km
Cumulative cost per km: $0.43
Monthly distance: 386.926km
Monthly cost per km: $0.32

Ride into work for Thursday, 13 September

Rode into Bedford for a Doctor's appointment, then on into work. The GPS is still running clocking up points for Openstreetmap...

Distance logged: 28.718km
Time: 60:33
Average speed: 28.5km/hr
Max speed: 66.9 km/hr
Temperature: 10C-14C
Cumulative distance: 5652.206km
Cumulative cost per km: $0.43
Monthly distance: 370.917km
Monthly cost per km: $0.33

Ride for Wednesday, 13 September

Went up to the farmer's market to find... they'd shut up shop. There was a sign in the window thanking customers for their business and announcing that as of 6pm on the 12th of September, they were closed. That's a real shame, it was the cheapest place to get food from. I headed over to Sobey's and got some food there. I had some severe sticker shock at the checkout; 4 Portobello mushrooms came to $13! I was used to getting great big bags full from the farmer's market for $4-5 or so, so this was a major surprise. The total came to $55 and change; quite a jump for my usual $20-$30 spend at Avery's. I think I'm going to have to go down to the Farmer's Market at the weekend and take a look there...

Distance logged: 8.147km
Time: 26:05
Average speed: 18.2km/hr
Max speed: 52 km/hr
Temperature: 20C-18C
Cumulative distance: 5623.488km
Cumulative cost per km: $0.44
Monthly distance: 342.199km
Monthly cost per km: $0.36

Ride home for Wednesday, 13 September

My latest order from Probikekit arrived (bike shorts, bike shirt, handlebar bag, bottom bracket tool, bottle cage, and bottle cage attachments). Unfortunately it looks like packages are now getting caught by customs, as I was charged $20 for taxes and handling. The customs officer decided that the appropriate tax type was "bicycle parts"; I'm going to have to do some googling to see if there's a magic lower tax code (or tax free code) that I can get so I don't get taxed...

Distance logged: 16.970km
Time: 48:11
Average speed: 21.1km/hr
Max speed: 55.9 km/hr
Temperature: 21C, sunny
Cumulative distance: 5615.341km
Cumulative cost per km: $0.44
Monthly distance: 334.052km
Monthly cost per km: $0.37

Ride into work for Wednesday, 13 September

Not getting any warmer. I started carrying my GPS with me to map Halifax on OpenStreetMap. So far so good, although I'm not convinced I've got all the street names quite right...

Distance logged: 15.334km
Time: 39:18
Average speed: 23.4km/hr
Max speed: 67.1 km/hr
Temperature: 9C
Cumulative distance: 5598.371km
Cumulative cost per km: $0.42
Monthly distance: 317.082km
Monthly cost per km: $0

Ride home for Tuesday, 12 September

Distance logged: 13.563km
Time: 40:49
Average speed: 19.9km/hr
Max speed: 47.4 km/hr
Temperature: 17C
Cumulative distance: 5583.037km
Cumulative cost per km: $0.42
Monthly distance: 301.748km
Monthly cost per km: $0

Ride into work for Tuesday, 12 September

Cold start to the morning, seems like winter is starting early this year.

Distance logged: 14.821km
Time: 39:02
Average speed: 22.6km/hr
Max speed: 58.3 km/hr
Temperature: 4C-5C
Cumulative distance: 5569.474km
Cumulative cost per km: $0.42
Monthly distance: 288.185km
Monthly cost per km: $0

Ride for Monday, 11 September

Rode into work and immediately felt awful (well, I was feeling pretty rotten on the way in) so I had my breakfast and headed home again.

Distance logged: 28.387km
Time: 87:07
Average speed: 19.6km/hr
Max speed: 47.4 km/hr
Temperature: 6C-10C
Cumulative distance: 5554.653km
Cumulative cost per km: $0.42
Monthly distance: 273.364km
Monthly cost per km: $0

Aeolian ride for Sunday, 10 September

This was the Aeolian ride around Halifax. A surprisingly large turnout considering the threatening weather; all the suits went, however, and some people ended up improvising with white trousers instead. We rode around downtown Halifax, then headed around Point Pleasant Park (not strictly permitted on weekends, but I guess either a permit was obtained or no-one was overly bothered). Photos were taken along the way by both organisers (including a guy on a skateboard and (I think) Jessica Findley (on the corner with a white jacket), the organiser) and by press - the most impressive being this guy, who managed to run and overtake riders while carrying all his photography kit and shouting out that we were going too slow and should speed up!

Honourable mention for the ride goes to a kid who looked about 10 who managed to do the entire ride on his singlespeed. He walked it up the steepest hill in Point Pleasant Park (but I'm guessing he wasn't the only one), but for the rest of the ride he was mostly at the front of the ride. I don't think he was officially part of the ride, he just saw it starting off on Gottingen and decided to join in!

Pictures of the ride are here.

Distance logged: 38.096km
Time: 141:12
Average speed: 16.2km/hr
Max speed: 53.4 km/hr
Temperature: 15C-13C, cloudy
Cumulative distance: 5526.266km
Cumulative cost per km: $0.42
Monthly distance: 244.977km
Monthly cost per km: $0

Ride for Friday, 09 September

I was denigrated at the bike shop tonight for not updating my blog frequently enough, so I will fight against the continuing effects of the virus I've picked up to catch up to date...

This was the midnight ride organised by the critical mass guys and girls. It was a "no holds barred" ride, so people went as fast as they wanted, which was fine, apart from the problem that some people weren't very fast, while others were really quite fast. We ended up in Point Pleasant Park, spread out all the way along. After we managed to regroup, we all headed back from the entrance, and got split up on the way. After we met up at the entrance, we set off, and this time we all got pulled apart. I ended up in a group with Peter, and we rode around downtown looking for them, with sightings of random bikers in the distance eliciting calls of "hey! I think I see them!" followed by a mad dash to catch up to see if it really was them. We went down to the Commons, and looked around htere, then headed back to Victoria Park, where we picked up another couple of stragglers, then headed over to Martin's place off North Street. By this time it was around 1:30am, and the general consensus was to head home and reconsider how to do the ride better next time. I suspect we'll end up with meeting points next time with somewhere to aim for, then fast riders can take the long way round, slow riders can take the short way, and anyone who falls off the back will at least know where they're going...

Distance logged: 42.722km
Time: 153:22
Average speed: 16.7km/hr
Max speed: 44 km/hr
Temperature: 23C-15C
Cumulative distance: 5488.170km
Cumulative cost per km: $0.42
Monthly distance: 206.881km
Monthly cost per km: $0

Ride into work for Friday, 8 September

Bit of a slow ride in with my touring bike, which was relatively heavily loaded with lots of cooler weather gear in my panniers to give me choices for the ride tonight. I also loaded up on lights; I have my 10W and 5W SLA powered lights with my 10W Digital Emitter I bought yesterday, plus the vital LED flasher for emergency use. I think I should be fairly visible on the roads tonight...

Distance logged: 12.673km
Time: 34:31
Average speed: 22km/hr
Max speed: 56.4 km/hr
Temperature: 15C, clear
Cumulative distance: 5445.448km
Cumulative cost per km: $0.42
Monthly distance: 164.159km
Monthly cost per km: $-20.25

Ride home for Thursday, 07 September

Got my expense check for bike travel from work today, then I went out and picked up a new bike light (Nite Hawk Digital Emitter). Certainly seems to do pretty well, and should come in handy when I go to the midnight ride tomorrow night at Victoria Park...

I don't think my little perl script has quite got the figures right for negative cost per km.

Distance logged: 16.052km
Time: 43:50
Average speed: 22km/hr
Max speed: 57.7 km/hr
Temperature: 19C
Cumulative distance: 5432.775km
Cumulative cost per km: $0.42
Monthly distance: 151.486km
Monthly cost per km: $-20.25

Ride into work for Thursday, 7 September

Distance logged: 15.313km
Time: 36:06
Average speed: 25.5km/hr
Max speed: 66.5 km/hr
Temperature: 13C
Cumulative distance: 5416.723km
Cumulative cost per km: $0.43
Monthly distance: 135.434km
Monthly cost per km: $0

Ride home for Wednesday, 6 September

Distance logged: 12.264km
Time: 37:03
Average speed: 19.6km/hr
Max speed: 52.1 km/hr
Temperature: 18C
Cumulative distance: 5401.410km
Cumulative cost per km: $0.43
Monthly distance: 120.121km
Monthly cost per km: $0

Ride into work for Wednesday, 6 September

Distance logged: 12.862km
Time: 35:58
Average speed: 21.5km/hr
Max speed: 57.6 km/hr
Temperature: 15C
Cumulative distance: 5389.146km
Cumulative cost per km: $0.43
Monthly distance: 107.857km
Monthly cost per km: $0

Ride home for Tuesday, 5 September

Guess it would have helped if I'd noticed the bike computer came adrift from its contacts...

Distance logged: 3.838km
Time: 11:06
Average speed: 20.7km/hr
Max speed: 51.6 km/hr
Temperature: 18C
Cumulative distance: 5376.284km
Cumulative cost per km: $0.43
Monthly distance: 94.995km
Monthly cost per km: $0

Ride into work for Tuesday, 5 September

Distance logged: 22.402km
Time: 51:42
Average speed: 26km/hr
Max speed: 66.5 km/hr
Temperature: 8C
Cumulative distance: 5372.446km
Cumulative cost per km: $0.43
Monthly distance: 91.157km
Monthly cost per km: $0

Ride home for Friday, 01 September

After a week of being sick from the virus passed on by the sprog (so being highly lethargic) and Blogger being all shonky I'm finally getting around to entering all the data...

Distance logged: 16.100km
Time: 47:43
Average speed: 20.2km/hr
Max speed: 54.7 km/hr
Temperature: 18C
Cumulative distance: 5350.044km
Cumulative cost per km: $0.43
Monthly distance: 68.755km
Monthly cost per km: $0

Ride into work for Friday, 01 September

Had some time to spare so I decided to go for a spin round downtown Halifax through all the residential areas. Found a couple of handy looking shortcuts, too...

Distance logged: 17.862km
Time: 44:39
Average speed: 24km/hr
Max speed: 62.5 km/hr
Temperature: 11C, sunny
Cumulative distance: 5333.944km
Cumulative cost per km: $0.44
Monthly distance: 52.655km
Monthly cost per km: $0

Ride for Thursday, 31 August

Quick ride up to the farmer's market to pick up some food and outrace the gathering stormclouds...

Distance logged: 4.340km
Time: 14:25
Average speed: 18.1km/hr
Max speed: 49.3 km/hr
Temperature: 22C, windy, cloudy
Cumulative distance: 5316.082km
Cumulative cost per km: $0.44
Monthly distance: 34.793km
Monthly cost per km: $0

Ride home for Thursday, 31 August

Slow ride home as my legs were feeling a bit sore from walking from Barrington to Dutch Village and back yesterday and today, plus the blustery wind didn't help.

Distance logged: 16.815km
Time: 49:37
Average speed: 20.3km/hr
Max speed: 54.7 km/hr
Temperature: 18C, windy, cloudy
Cumulative distance: 5311.742km
Cumulative cost per km: $0.44
Monthly distance: 30.453km
Monthly cost per km: $0

Ride into work for Thursday, 31 August

Short ride in as I had to be on site for a 9am appointment...

Distance logged: 13.638km
Time: 32:45
Average speed: 25km/hr
Max speed: 63.9 km/hr
Temperature: 12C, sunny
Cumulative distance: 5294.927km
Cumulative cost per km: $0.44
Monthly distance: 13.638km
Monthly cost per km: $0