Yesterday was also reasonably good weather, so I took my first ride on the Kona, a.k.a. Victor von Fleddermoose. I rode up to Martin Swiss Bike Shop which is closed on account of Covid-19. I then rode down to the Lachine Canal and went up to about the Lasalle Coke Crane before heading home.
It felt much lighter, particularly the steering though that can be accounted for by the lack of milk crated and a fork made of carbon fiber not steel. At one point I began to feel thirsty and realised I should install a bottle cage on it.
I fear that this year's biking will not involve any trips and will instead be day rides on Victor.
In related news, I see that Vélo-Québec is asking the provinicial government to include bike shops in the list of businesses allowed to open during the lockdown. Their logic amounts that bike shops are equivalent to car garages which are allowed to be open. This would suit me as I have things to do at a bike shop. On the other hand, it would be all very well to allow bike shops to open, but it would be tricky to run Martin Swiss as its quarters are rather cramped. ;-)
Sunday, 29 March 2020
Friday, 27 March 2020
On a long haul of stuff
When I picked up the Kona there were a a number of issues with it. What with one thing and another, I think the bike shop made a mistake as the new frame was not compatible with my old wheels. It has fewer attachment points than one would want to the point that I was scratching my head about how to attach a rear rack suitable for a milk crate. As well, with the new parts required, the total cost came in a bit more than I was comfortable leaving out on the street. The question was rather moot as winter came early last year, so I was BMWing (Bus Metro Walk) to work.
I was still dithering about what to do about a commuting bike when this ad showed up in my mail box on Leap Day:
"Hmm", says I, "I wonder if that includes the MEC 1971?" (which had been my second choice not only for this bike decision but also back when I was buying Floria). Sure enough, the MEC 1971 was on sale at a very reasonable price. So the following Wednesday morning (I work 2-10 PM on Wednesdays), I went to MEC via Communauto equipped with shoes (for size testing), pedals (the MEC 1971 didn't come with them) and a favoured saddle. In no time at all, I was the owner of a XL MEC 1971 suitable for commuting. (I am thinking of keeping the Kona as a dedicated "whee" bike.)
The bike is named for the year MEC was founded. It was also the year that I was born. I have been casting around for a name for it and I am toying with "Justin" as he was also born that year!
That was Wednesday, March 4th. On Friday of that week, I flew to Victoria to see my brother Stephen, Margaret and Edward for a few days.
I also got to see John, Caitlin and the adorable Arthur.
I then took the ferry over to Vancouver to spend a few days with Margo and Chris. It was there that the pandemic was declared.
There wasn't all that much to be done about it, so I helped Margo and Chris empty two of their compost bins and did some Vancouver-based shopping thanks to their newly tuned loaner bike. I wanted to repay their hospitality, so I went to Vancouver's sparkling new MEC building where after failing to find any bike reflectors on the shelves, I asked at the bike counter where they were. It turns out, MEC does not sell bike reflectors, rather it gives them away with the purchase of a bike. As some customers don't want them, there were some destined for recycling that the guy was prepared to give me for free. The following day, after due consultation with Margo and Chris, I bought a pair of second-hand flat pedals to replace the toe clip pedals it'd had. Toe clip pedals have their place, just not on a loaner bike intended for urban use.
While I was in Vancouver, I was informed by Alisa, my supervisor, that as I would be flying back to Montreal, I would have to self-isolate for two weeks. I checked Via's website only to find the Canadian was suspiciously sold out in every class. (I think it was more probable that Via stopped any new bookings.) So I flew back on the Saturday, then went into self-isolation on Sunday after stocking up on food.
The first week was still vacation, so I did some prep work on the bikes moving tires and other parts around. There is some issue with the rims on the 1971 which make it extremely tough to swap tires without damaging the inner tubes, tools or the user. I broke two plastic tire levers, two inner tubes and skinned my knuckles before giving up and putting the original tires back on. All the more frustrating as I couldn't go out to a bike shop for advice.
The second week, I started working from home via my computer. I was surprised to learn from Alisa that only three managers were in the Library building. I had somehow expected that while the Library would be closed to the public, employees, such as myself, would be allowed in order to work on the kinds of things we do that doesn't involve that public, and would even have the opportunity to embark on projects such as inventory. Later that day, the premier declared the lockdown. So, I worked from home for four days this week, mostly doing remote cataloguing but also updating a building database for the City.
At one point, the possibility was raised of taking uncatalogued books from the Library for me to catalogue at home. I asked my neighbour Jacques about potentially borrowing his bike trailer. We looked into it while maintaing social distancing. Unfortunately, his trailer is incompatible with bikes with disc brakes.
Midweek, I noticed on my electronic paystub that I was apparently taking a day off work. I scratched my head about this as tried to work out what that meant. Then I remembered that I'd had an appointment with an allergist on Friday which I had cancelled due to self-isolation, but the absence report I had filed back in February had made its way through the system. I therefore took today off.
It is a very nice day, so I took the new bike out for a spin, partly to try it out, partly for exercise, partly for mental relief and partly out of curiosity of the new reality. I went up Guy Street where I was surprised by this:
There are two uphill bike lanes! I guess it makes sense as Guy Street is one of the main ways to bike from Little Burgundy up to Downtown, but it seems extravagent. Downtown was very empty with only a few businesses open and the outdoor testing facility by the Place-des-Arts being used. There was even a tent marked "Medias" at a discrete distance from it. It was empty at that point.
I was still dithering about what to do about a commuting bike when this ad showed up in my mail box on Leap Day:
That was Wednesday, March 4th. On Friday of that week, I flew to Victoria to see my brother Stephen, Margaret and Edward for a few days.
There wasn't all that much to be done about it, so I helped Margo and Chris empty two of their compost bins and did some Vancouver-based shopping thanks to their newly tuned loaner bike. I wanted to repay their hospitality, so I went to Vancouver's sparkling new MEC building where after failing to find any bike reflectors on the shelves, I asked at the bike counter where they were. It turns out, MEC does not sell bike reflectors, rather it gives them away with the purchase of a bike. As some customers don't want them, there were some destined for recycling that the guy was prepared to give me for free. The following day, after due consultation with Margo and Chris, I bought a pair of second-hand flat pedals to replace the toe clip pedals it'd had. Toe clip pedals have their place, just not on a loaner bike intended for urban use.
The first week was still vacation, so I did some prep work on the bikes moving tires and other parts around. There is some issue with the rims on the 1971 which make it extremely tough to swap tires without damaging the inner tubes, tools or the user. I broke two plastic tire levers, two inner tubes and skinned my knuckles before giving up and putting the original tires back on. All the more frustrating as I couldn't go out to a bike shop for advice.
The second week, I started working from home via my computer. I was surprised to learn from Alisa that only three managers were in the Library building. I had somehow expected that while the Library would be closed to the public, employees, such as myself, would be allowed in order to work on the kinds of things we do that doesn't involve that public, and would even have the opportunity to embark on projects such as inventory. Later that day, the premier declared the lockdown. So, I worked from home for four days this week, mostly doing remote cataloguing but also updating a building database for the City.
At one point, the possibility was raised of taking uncatalogued books from the Library for me to catalogue at home. I asked my neighbour Jacques about potentially borrowing his bike trailer. We looked into it while maintaing social distancing. Unfortunately, his trailer is incompatible with bikes with disc brakes.
Midweek, I noticed on my electronic paystub that I was apparently taking a day off work. I scratched my head about this as tried to work out what that meant. Then I remembered that I'd had an appointment with an allergist on Friday which I had cancelled due to self-isolation, but the absence report I had filed back in February had made its way through the system. I therefore took today off.
It is a very nice day, so I took the new bike out for a spin, partly to try it out, partly for exercise, partly for mental relief and partly out of curiosity of the new reality. I went up Guy Street where I was surprised by this:
Thursday, 7 November 2019
On a surprise at work
I was surprised yesterday by the sight of this in a hallway near my desk:
This is a bike repair station that the City has bought and plans to install somewhere outside next spring. The exact location and when it will be operational have yet to be determined. As a cyclist, I think it is great idea. The first one I saw was in Ponce, Puerto Rico. I love the bright orange colour.
I hadn't heard about the project, so I asked around to find out who was in charge of project. It turned out to be my immediate superior. She is also a cyclist and did the Eastern Townships Challenge with me a few years ago along with her partner. Kudos to her for getting the project through.
As this involves work, please note that the views I express here are mine alone and do not necessarily reflect the views of my employer. However, given that my employer bought the bike repair station, I think I have reason to believe that my employer also thinks that a bike repair station is, at the very least, a good idea. I could be entirely wrong about this. ;-)
I hadn't heard about the project, so I asked around to find out who was in charge of project. It turned out to be my immediate superior. She is also a cyclist and did the Eastern Townships Challenge with me a few years ago along with her partner. Kudos to her for getting the project through.
As this involves work, please note that the views I express here are mine alone and do not necessarily reflect the views of my employer. However, given that my employer bought the bike repair station, I think I have reason to believe that my employer also thinks that a bike repair station is, at the very least, a good idea. I could be entirely wrong about this. ;-)
Tuesday, 5 November 2019
On the effects of weather, part 317 of a series
In the process of doing my final scavenging of parts from die Fledermoose, I removed the old inner tubes which had protected her and her paint job from theft, general banging around and the Sun. The degree to which the Sun had faded the paint job can be seen in this picture.
The new bike was supposed to be ready by today or tomorrow. Unfortunately, the weather forecast is less than favourable for biking! Snow is a possibility every day or night for about a week!
I have tried to jinx the snow by buying a bus pass for November. It would be very annoying if the biking season were to end so soon.
The picture also shows part of the crack which put an end to her. I have included a few other shots to show more of the weathering.
Sunday, 3 November 2019
On last rites for Floria die Fleddermoose and other bits and pieces
Nearly three weeks ago, I went to Martin Swiss to order a new frame and have the people there transfer the relevant parts from Floria die Fledermoose, especially the wheels and the brakeshifters. After some discussion, it was decided that the optimum frame available on short notice would be a 2017 Kona Private Jake. When it came time to make a deposit, I was horrified to discover that my Visa card wasn't in my wallet. I had used twice earlier that morning, most recently to pay for breakfast. I tried phoning the restaurant in question, but they hadn't discovered anything. I made the deposit with my debit card and set off to retrace my steps and possibly go to my bank to see about getting a new credit card. I had gone barely a block when I mentally retraced my steps at the restaurant. I had paid for the meal with the credit card, but I had left the tip in coins... Sure enough the credit card was in the coin pocket of my wallet.
On the way to work this Wednesday, I stopped by the bike shop to check on progress. The frame had arrived, so they were waiting for me to bring in die Fledermoose. For various reasons, I couldn't do that until Friday after work. One of the reasons was that I had to scavenge a few more bits off die Fledermoose and put tires back on her. The latter involved a bit of head-scratching as I had to work out what the optimum strategy was for reconciling tires of various sizes, mudguards and racks. I also had to consider that the time I would be best able to do the work would be Thursday night, at which time, a heavy rainstorm would be in progress. This effectively meant, that Leonardo would not be welcome indoors. So, I did the minimum change and put some old "street" calibre tires on die Fledermoose.
On Friday, there were very strong winds out of the South-West, reaching 78 km/h with gusts over 100 km/h. On the way to work, I was crawling along de Maisonneuve, practically in Leonardo's granny gears into the face of the wind. At one point, I was tempted to turn around and see if I could get to Quebec City in a day! However, I didn't have my bike computer with me and if I went back home to get it, I would then have to dig out bike shorts, water bottles, etc. and knowing my luck with winds, I felt the winds would have died down by then. Also, I did have to go to work.
Furthermore, I had to bring die Fledermoose to be cannibalised after work. When I did, I asked if I could see the new frame, mostly to know what colour it was. It is slightly unfortunate that it is mostly black as to my mind, there is far too much black around these days. (Please note that I refer to the aesthetic qualities of the colour black, and in no way refer to race.)
I am now facing the challenge of having to come up with a name for the new bike. I love the bat-moose logo that Margaret designed for die Fledermoose. As the new bike will have parts of die Fledermoose, I am toying with keeping the last name. Conversely, as the arrival with be assembled with bits from a "dead" bike, the name Victor von Frankenmoose comes to mind. Then again, it could be Victor von Fledermoose. Unfortunately, I can't figure out something that incorporates the brand name of the bike. The name "Jake" evokes in me the memory of Aunt Lorna's last standard poodle (a nice, somewhat silly, black dog who could eat blackberries off the bush) and the song Jakey's gin by Great Big Sea. Neither of these two references suggests a fun derivation.
There is an irony in me buying a Kona in Montreal as the company is based in Vancouver, B.C., which is where I bought Leonardo, a bike build by DeVinci, a Quebec company!
On the way to work this Wednesday, I stopped by the bike shop to check on progress. The frame had arrived, so they were waiting for me to bring in die Fledermoose. For various reasons, I couldn't do that until Friday after work. One of the reasons was that I had to scavenge a few more bits off die Fledermoose and put tires back on her. The latter involved a bit of head-scratching as I had to work out what the optimum strategy was for reconciling tires of various sizes, mudguards and racks. I also had to consider that the time I would be best able to do the work would be Thursday night, at which time, a heavy rainstorm would be in progress. This effectively meant, that Leonardo would not be welcome indoors. So, I did the minimum change and put some old "street" calibre tires on die Fledermoose.
On Friday, there were very strong winds out of the South-West, reaching 78 km/h with gusts over 100 km/h. On the way to work, I was crawling along de Maisonneuve, practically in Leonardo's granny gears into the face of the wind. At one point, I was tempted to turn around and see if I could get to Quebec City in a day! However, I didn't have my bike computer with me and if I went back home to get it, I would then have to dig out bike shorts, water bottles, etc. and knowing my luck with winds, I felt the winds would have died down by then. Also, I did have to go to work.
Furthermore, I had to bring die Fledermoose to be cannibalised after work. When I did, I asked if I could see the new frame, mostly to know what colour it was. It is slightly unfortunate that it is mostly black as to my mind, there is far too much black around these days. (Please note that I refer to the aesthetic qualities of the colour black, and in no way refer to race.)
I am now facing the challenge of having to come up with a name for the new bike. I love the bat-moose logo that Margaret designed for die Fledermoose. As the new bike will have parts of die Fledermoose, I am toying with keeping the last name. Conversely, as the arrival with be assembled with bits from a "dead" bike, the name Victor von Frankenmoose comes to mind. Then again, it could be Victor von Fledermoose. Unfortunately, I can't figure out something that incorporates the brand name of the bike. The name "Jake" evokes in me the memory of Aunt Lorna's last standard poodle (a nice, somewhat silly, black dog who could eat blackberries off the bush) and the song Jakey's gin by Great Big Sea. Neither of these two references suggests a fun derivation.
There is an irony in me buying a Kona in Montreal as the company is based in Vancouver, B.C., which is where I bought Leonardo, a bike build by DeVinci, a Quebec company!
Saturday, 5 October 2019
On the end of Floria die Fleddermoose
Loose chips!
Yesterday, I took Floria die Fleddermoose in for a minor bit of maintenance. Today, I got a phone call from the bike shop. While working on the bike, they noticed that there was a crack in the frame at the weld of the top tube and the seat tube. They stopped work and recommended extreme caution using the bike. When I got to the bike shop, Steve, the manager, asked if I had a receipt from when I bought the bike. I replied that it had been ten years or so since I bought it, and therefore I didn't have it. Also, I suspect that either La Cordée or DeVinci could plead normal wear and tear, and/or abnormal usage, viz. an XL-sized rider* on a L-sized bike using a long seat post to compensate. As well, I had been hearing creaking noises which I assumed were seat related for well over a year. Recently, I bought a new seat and seat post, both of which I firmly bolted into place. Possibly overly firmly.
Steve and I discussed various options including "new" bikes. One was a second-hand road bike that was a bit too small. The other was a new touring bike, complete with a Brooks saddle. In the latter case, the idea was that I would demote Leonardo to commuting status. I wasn't entirely convinced by either option. Also, many of the dynamic components of die Fleddermoose are very new, viz the wheels, brake shifters, tires, etc. I enquired if they could get me a new frame and conduct a parts transplant. However, it seems that these days, road bike frames are only equipped for disc brakes. After some discussion, I decided that the best short term option was to take die Fleddermoose home and use some of her parts to make Leonardo more commuter friendly for the time being.
It was a sunny day, so I set up the bike stand on the sidewalk in front of my condo. I removed the thumb bell, the wheels, the tires, the mudguards, forward reflector and the rear rack (complete with milk crate) from die Fleddermoose. I took off the tires and rear rack from Leonardo and installed the narrower tires, mudguard, rear rack, thumb bell and forward reflector from die Fleddermoose. This involved a certain amount of swearing and frustration.
Loose chips.
In the midst of this, a guy from across the street came over and asked if I would be interested in doing a bike repair job for him. I refrained from insulting him. I did inform him that I was quite frankly an amateur, only fit for minor bits of maintenance. I recommended that if he had a serious need, that he patronise one of the local bike shops. He did not take offence at this, and offered to sell me an really old bike frame, dirt cheap. Given my situation, I said that I was interested. So he produced the frame. It was a small, rusted, ladies' bike frame. I took one look at it, and said "No, thank you." We chatted for a bit. He had the idea that he might put components on the frame to turn it into what he described as a "Frankenstein" bike. I have heard such an idea before, notably from my sister. In all honesty, I didn't get a very practical vibe from the guy, so I gently suggested that the frame was beyond re-use and that recycling was the realistic option.**
So, Leonardo is now set up for commuting. In theory, I could go forward with only one bike, and swap bits out for when I go touring. However, Leonardo feels a bit too long for city biking.
Then again, I can easily invest in a commuting bike. One thought is to go for a folding bike so I could take it on the Metro during rush hour. The more attractive idea is get a new frame and transplant the parts. Yet another idea is to do both. This plays into the "X+1" ideal number of bikes. I don't have to deal with "Y-1".
In writing this post, I double-checked when I had acquired Floria die Fleddermoose. This was done thanks to this blog post. It was a shade less than 10 years ago that I bought her. November 2009 to be precise. She served fewer years than the Castafiore. The shorter lifespan can probably be attributed to her aluminium construction.
* I make no apologies for being an XL-sized rider. That is due to my height (6'2") which is due to genetics. I also have the endorsement of Margo, which I quote: "Large nephews make good windbreaks."
** I later saw the frame put out for rubbish.
Yesterday, I took Floria die Fleddermoose in for a minor bit of maintenance. Today, I got a phone call from the bike shop. While working on the bike, they noticed that there was a crack in the frame at the weld of the top tube and the seat tube. They stopped work and recommended extreme caution using the bike. When I got to the bike shop, Steve, the manager, asked if I had a receipt from when I bought the bike. I replied that it had been ten years or so since I bought it, and therefore I didn't have it. Also, I suspect that either La Cordée or DeVinci could plead normal wear and tear, and/or abnormal usage, viz. an XL-sized rider* on a L-sized bike using a long seat post to compensate. As well, I had been hearing creaking noises which I assumed were seat related for well over a year. Recently, I bought a new seat and seat post, both of which I firmly bolted into place. Possibly overly firmly.
Steve and I discussed various options including "new" bikes. One was a second-hand road bike that was a bit too small. The other was a new touring bike, complete with a Brooks saddle. In the latter case, the idea was that I would demote Leonardo to commuting status. I wasn't entirely convinced by either option. Also, many of the dynamic components of die Fleddermoose are very new, viz the wheels, brake shifters, tires, etc. I enquired if they could get me a new frame and conduct a parts transplant. However, it seems that these days, road bike frames are only equipped for disc brakes. After some discussion, I decided that the best short term option was to take die Fleddermoose home and use some of her parts to make Leonardo more commuter friendly for the time being.
It was a sunny day, so I set up the bike stand on the sidewalk in front of my condo. I removed the thumb bell, the wheels, the tires, the mudguards, forward reflector and the rear rack (complete with milk crate) from die Fleddermoose. I took off the tires and rear rack from Leonardo and installed the narrower tires, mudguard, rear rack, thumb bell and forward reflector from die Fleddermoose. This involved a certain amount of swearing and frustration.
In the midst of this, a guy from across the street came over and asked if I would be interested in doing a bike repair job for him. I refrained from insulting him. I did inform him that I was quite frankly an amateur, only fit for minor bits of maintenance. I recommended that if he had a serious need, that he patronise one of the local bike shops. He did not take offence at this, and offered to sell me an really old bike frame, dirt cheap. Given my situation, I said that I was interested. So he produced the frame. It was a small, rusted, ladies' bike frame. I took one look at it, and said "No, thank you." We chatted for a bit. He had the idea that he might put components on the frame to turn it into what he described as a "Frankenstein" bike. I have heard such an idea before, notably from my sister. In all honesty, I didn't get a very practical vibe from the guy, so I gently suggested that the frame was beyond re-use and that recycling was the realistic option.**
Then again, I can easily invest in a commuting bike. One thought is to go for a folding bike so I could take it on the Metro during rush hour. The more attractive idea is get a new frame and transplant the parts. Yet another idea is to do both. This plays into the "X+1" ideal number of bikes. I don't have to deal with "Y-1".
In writing this post, I double-checked when I had acquired Floria die Fleddermoose. This was done thanks to this blog post. It was a shade less than 10 years ago that I bought her. November 2009 to be precise. She served fewer years than the Castafiore. The shorter lifespan can probably be attributed to her aluminium construction.
* I make no apologies for being an XL-sized rider. That is due to my height (6'2") which is due to genetics. I also have the endorsement of Margo, which I quote: "Large nephews make good windbreaks."
** I later saw the frame put out for rubbish.
Sunday, 25 August 2019
On a coincidence of airport names
In a conversation with the Paternal Unit, I realized that I will shortly be flying out of Diefenbaker (or YXE) to Pearson (or YYZ) where I will change planes to get to Trudeau (YUL). This sequence follows the sequence of tenure in office of the PMs in question. It also intrigues as, if I am not mistaken, includes all the airports named for Canadian PMs except for Ottawa’s MacDonald-Cartier which is “only” half-named for a PM.
Addendum:
When I got to Pearson, I checked the departure board to see which gate my flight to Trudeau was, I discovered it was the same gate I had just exited. So technically, I didn't change planes: I just changed flights and seats. The plus side of this was that my checked luggage stayed with me.
Addendum:
When I got to Pearson, I checked the departure board to see which gate my flight to Trudeau was, I discovered it was the same gate I had just exited. So technically, I didn't change planes: I just changed flights and seats. The plus side of this was that my checked luggage stayed with me.
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