Rides and Races - Toronto Fixed

Right now I'm in the awesome camp on the ROM renovations, still undecided on the AGO and slightly against OCAD. Any way you slice it though its still better then most of the depressingly boring buildings in toronto.

Even if all it does it too get people talking about architecture in Toronto it's a good time.
I can't wait it's finished and lit from within.

Right now I'm in the awesome camp on the ROM renovations, still undecided on the AGO and slightly against OCAD. Any way you slice it though its still better then most of the depressingly boring buildings in toronto.

i'm still not sure what to make of the ROM yet. i would think that kind of architecture is more appropriate for a modern art museum or some such thing.

i'm still not sure what to make of the ROM yet. i would think that kind of architecture is more appropriate for a modern art museum or some such thing.

Because there is a modern art gallery of note in Toronto that would have the money to afford such a project...

Sorry but I just think we should take what we can get when it comes to innovative ideas, plus a lot more people go to the ROM then would ever go to a modern art gallery, unless you plan on transplanting the Corcoran here

Theres nothing innovative about the ROM design, nor really with the AGO addition in my book. More of the same old international sh*t. No character.

Compared to the other submissions I saw I was disappointed with both choices. Oh boy, we finally have our own Gehry! And its nothing special! Big whoop!

The AGO is in such dire need of good art inside. Then they go and spend millions on putting some ornamental crap on the front and installing a fancy staircase. I'd rather just look at the nice paintings.

I don't think he was too excited to do this project as it is.

it was a nice day to ride around the city http://www.flickr.com/photos/steeker/323320257/

Even if all it does it too get people talking about architecture in Toronto it's a good time.


The AGO is in such dire need of good art inside. Then they go and spend millions on putting some ornamental crap on the front and installing a fancy staircase. I'd rather just look at the nice paintings.

+2 :P


edit: nice shot steeker

Shiz the problem is that there isn't that much nice art left around to BUY anymore. The really nice stuff is in the big museums or crazy private collections and rarely, if ever, comes up for sale. Johannes Vermeer's work is a perfect example of this. Since those works were painted there has only ever been 1 show that managed to get a sizeable number under one roof and it was only done by cajoling the private holders to allow masterpieces like "The Girl with a Pearl Earring" out of their collections under extreme guard. The institutional collections are rotated so some of the best Haring pieces sit in the back of the MOMA and there are Monet's at the Tate that can't be shown because there condition is just to dire to put them under lights. This has all led to the ridiculously over priced high end art market that we are experiencing and means that a place like the AGO is never going to do better then group of 7 and traveling shows.

Either way I like the crystal and think it adds a really nice touch to that part of the city, just my two cents. I must say that this weather has been just righteous, street luging in December, biking to work with only a wool sweater and arm warmers, man the real winter is going to suck hard.

Offhoff ....where do you luge around here?
Jonesin' to try that ****....

has anyone tried one of those taiwanese ipod look a likes from ebay? a guy in my class bought one, when he told me i thought he would never actually get it but lo and behold he uses it daily and at least looks like a decent product. any of the tech heads here advise otherwise?

Nope. They work fine. They just don't have the capacity the ipods do.

Burlington/Hamilton Jammer, your welcome to come out but you'd need leathers and a DOT helmet which is always the biggest hurdle. I remember your a fair bit bigger then me so my leathers won't fit you but I can see if someone has a spare pair they'd let you throw on. If you want to try the mini version of it hit my email/PM me and we can take a long longboard out for you to try the whole deal at Russell Hill or Bickford. As you probably know from skateboarding you have to start slow and move up.

Went and picked up the new wheel this afternoon. Nice to be riding fixed again. Big thanks to Milke and gang at Cycle Therapy. Beautiful wheel, handbuilt and rode like a dream on the ride home. Surly 135mm flip-flop hub, 14t durace cog and Alex td17 disc rim. So sexy and smooth. Going to take a pic in the sun tomorrow. Too bad I have to go to the ROM tonight, wanted to go for a long ride. Ironic after all the talk here about it, I've riden by the new addition and never really noticed. I'll take a look tonight and put my .02 in later.

it was a nice day to ride around the city http://www.flickr.com/photos/steeker/323320257/

nice image steeker; i remember the adventure of riding those cars with my grandad when i was a kid. brings me back.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/steeker/321858500/

http://toronto.craigslist.org/bik/248773810.html

Somebody should get these. Good deal. Good for winter and rain.

damnit.. I knew I should have bought these as a spare. took a spill tonight and shredded the knees of mine. d'oh! I'm cursed I tells ya! (I'm ok though.. but I scuffed my 105 shifters and brooks too :()


edit:
ps. this is wes @ cavern.. :P

edit:
ps. this is wes @ cavern.. :P

Rofl you nerdd

Shiz the problem is that there isn't that much nice art left around to BUY anymore.

I said NICE, not expensive. Theres a huge difference in my mind... Lots of the most expensive art I don't care for at all. I'd like to see the AGO pick up more contemporary artists as although it is a general art gallery I've always felt their modern collection (and some of the antiques/artifacts etc) have been their strongest. I don't go to galleries to 'see' such and such's masterpieces. I go to look at art. I don't care who made it or how much it costs.

The AGO has never had enough money to buy old masters and international masterpieces though. They could have got some just recently but they opted for the Gehry instead, because donors would rather have their name on a building than on a little label next to a painting.

Hey Wes, ask keith if he has any cranks in 110. Cheers.

Hit by a car tonight on Young St. Luckily for me, I was barely scratched (somehow). My bike was not so lucky. The wheels are phuked, and the tape is gone, and my TT lever has seen better days. There is also a cut in the seat. Luckily for me, the guy was nice. He stopped and gave me his info (Plate #, Phone number, Name etc.) so we can settle without getting the police involved. Luckily for him, I work in a bike shop so he won't get robbed when paying for the new parts.

Just goes to show, if you are nice after hitting a cyclist, he/she is far less likely to take you to the poor house over it.

It was his fault, but he was very apologetic, and eager to get me fixed up. Also, I was surprised at how many people went "WhooooH!" when I was hit. And even more people wanting to make sure that I was ok.

After getting the info off the guy, and brushing the dirt off my shoulders I continued, with two screwed up wheels down to Henry's Camera Store to look ad DSLR Cameras. I wanted to buy one so bad, but resisted, knowing that it was probably the adrenaline talking.

Take careful notes about any pain that develops as you get over the adrenaline and watch for shock setting in. If you notice anything out of the ordinary get to a doctor quick in case you hurt yourself without realizing it. Might be worth it to get a check out either way better safe then sorry.

Take careful notes about any pain that develops as you get over the adrenaline and watch for shock setting in. If you notice anything out of the ordinary get to a doctor quick in case you hurt yourself without realizing it. Might be worth it to get a check out either way better safe then sorry.

I might have to go anyhow. I woke up this morning, and the upper left part of my jaw was frozen. Turns out it was just extreme congestion of the sinuses cutting off the circulation to my teeth, but that sure ruined my morning.

I was ok after that before getting run over. Sheesh, what a day.

As you probably know from skateboarding you have to start slow and move up.

Oh man that made me soooo wanna go do it.
Start small...yes indeed that's how us old school skaters become old, old school skaters no?.
You mean I can't get a new stick for Xmas and be doing pressure flips on my first day?
I've met sooo many kids that have been skating for like four years and have given it up for all the busted bones they received over skating themselves. In 25 years of skating I think I only broke two bones, one toe, and one finger(i ran over it try to grab on the vert, instead of popping to grab)

Can't be many luging days left.......
Have you tried it on ice? I totally want to try that as well.....Calgary apparently you are allowed to give it a good. Tired old sled with rusty rails no doubt. :lol:

For the helmet...if I can find a used motorcycle helmet somewhere, any shapes/styles REALLY not conducive to luging? ie..makes you hold your head/neck in a weird position.

I might have to go anyhow. I woke up this morning, and the upper left part of my jaw was frozen. Turns out it was just extreme congestion of the sinuses cutting off the circulation to my teeth, but that sure ruined my morning.

I was ok after that before getting run over. Sheesh, what a day.

Damn Sir Robin....
Glad to hear you are OK.
Yea the adrenaline can make a world of difference at the scene but once it wears off......
Sooo glad the driver treated it like a real accident and not 'WTF you doing you bikin' SOB....blah blah'

Hope you get back on the well tip soonest.

Wow, you are lucky. Was it dark when it happened? How was it his fault?

Wow, you are lucky. Was it dark when it happened? How was it his fault?

It was dark, but I had my trusty BLT Super Doppler on.

It was his fault because the street he was entering in from had a stop sign, and I did not. It wasn't really even an intersection. It was a street entering in on Young. When he entered the street he did not look first to see me coming. When he intersected me with no time to stop, I was forced to go around, and in front of him, at which point he still did not stop. He continued, hitting me, and nearly rolling over my bike.

He drove into moving right-of-way traffic, ie. me (with full lights and bell), thus making it his fault.

It was dark, but I had my trusty BLT Super Doppler on.

It was his fault because the street he was entering in from had a stop sign, and I did not. It wasn't really even an intersection. It was a street entering in on Young. When he entered the street he did not look first to see me coming. When he intersected me with no time to stop, I was forced to go around, and in front of him, at which point he still did not stop. He continued, hitting me, and nearly rolling over my bike.

He drove into moving right-of-way traffic, ie. me (with full lights and bell), thus making it his fault.

Ah, I see, that is nuts. There was talk in this thread the other day about whether there are worse drivers downtown lately, I think I would agree. It might be all the extra people shopping or something, but I've had a few close scrapes lately as well.

Damn, didn't you just build your SS to keep your surly in one piece?
Good to hear you are alright. Last time I got hit I was on an adrenaline rush, but my arm and knee still hurt and my legs were shaking like mexican jumping beans. I've never had anyone who hit me offer to pay for damages to my bike without it being brought up by a cop.


It was dark, but I had my trusty BLT Super Doppler on.

It was his fault because the street he was entering in from had a stop sign, and I did not. It wasn't really even an intersection. It was a street entering in on Young. When he entered the street he did not look first to see me coming. When he intersected me with no time to stop, I was forced to go around, and in front of him, at which point he still did not stop. He continued, hitting me, and nearly rolling over my bike.

He drove into moving right-of-way traffic, ie. me (with full lights and bell), thus making it his fault.

A taxi did this to me yesterday morning, except he was backing onto king. It was insane. I was travelling at the speed of traffic with a streetcar next to me. A taxi backs onto king from a one way street in to my lane (he was backing the wrong way as it were), which puts me on a full collision course towards him when I am about a streetcar's length away. I saw it coming but he obviously didn't. I didn't have time to stop, so I had to veer into the next lane wiping the side of the streetcar. I still managed to give his trunk a mighty wallop though as I went by. The cars behind couldn't get through obviously and slammed on the brakes. Stationary honking ensued. If I had been an auto we would have had 2 cars totally written off and probably crashed into the completely packed streetcar. Makes me so mad these idiots don't care about the lives and safety of others.

Ah, I see, that is nuts. There was talk in this thread the other day about whether there are worse drivers downtown lately, I think I would agree. It might be all the extra people shopping or something, but I've had a few close scrapes lately as well.

Looks to me like it's getting worse. Crazy aggressive drivers force other to drive the same way. Survival of the fittest. All I want for x-mas are my 2 true wheels back.

Jammer, when you get "serious" about luging you invest in a hang gliding helmet because they are designed to allow you to see through the bottom. For first timers anything that is DOT approved is going to be just fine, runs don't last that long so your usually OK even if your positioning isn't perfect.

He drove into moving right-of-way traffic, ie. me (with full lights and bell), thus making it his fault.

Hope everything works out OK. Glad you're not hurt too bad.

Every day I love my air zound more and more. I've only got it on the one bike... but every time I ride one of my other bikes 'round town I really feel like I'm at a disadvantage without it.

Jammer, when you get "serious" about luging you invest in a hang gliding helmet because they are designed to allow you to see through the bottom. For first timers anything that is DOT approved is going to be just fine, runs don't last that long so your usually OK even if your positioning isn't perfect.

sweeet...the search for a DOT brain bucket....begins

glad your ok and not hurt Sirrobinofcoxly

damn.. spills for the both of us tonight. Glad you made it out unscathed (physically). Mine was all by myself at Queen/Victoria, lane-splitting in rush-hour traffic. Stupid street car tracks turning South onto Victoria!

I also had that "WWoOoAH" noise from people on the corner, and a nice fellow ran out and made sure traffic stopped and was going to help me up and I was already on my feet. Scraped up my brifters and brooks swift (noooo!), and put holes in my goretex pants. d'oh.

murphy's law kicked in since I'm thinking about selling the lemond (to finance another geared bike) and passed up those $25 pants on craigslist. So, I *would* scrape up my mint-condition shifters and rip holes in my pants. :P

nothin I can do now! anyhoo.. time for food and then sleep.

Thanks for the concern everyone. It's good to be walking.


damn.. spills for the both of us tonight. Glad you made it out unscathed (physically). Mine was all by myself at Queen/Victoria, lane-splitting in rush-hour traffic. Stupid street car tracks turning South onto Victoria!

I also had that "WWoOoAH" noise from people on the corner, and a nice fellow ran out and made sure traffic stopped and was going to help me up and I was already on my feet. Scraped up my brifters and brooks swift (noooo!), and put holes in my goretex pants. d'oh.

murphy's law kicked in since I'm thinking about selling the lemond (to finance another geared bike) and passed up those $25 pants on craigslist. So, I *would* scrape up my mint-condition shifters and rip holes in my pants. :P

nothin I can do now! anyhoo.. time for food and then sleep.

Hope you're doing ok too. Too bad about the brifters. They just ain't cheap. This town is getting crazy. Just to think that I was car dodging through heavy traffic on bloor, and I get nailed on young with very little traffic. And for you, those tracks are unforgiving.

We should have a gimp ride, where all the injured folks ride their scratched up and damaged bikes.

I said NICE, not expensive. Theres a huge difference in my mind... Lots of the most expensive art I don't care for at all. I'd like to see the AGO pick up more contemporary artists as although it is a general art gallery I've always felt their modern collection (and some of the antiques/artifacts etc) have been their strongest. I don't go to galleries to 'see' such and such's masterpieces. I go to look at art. I don't care who made it or how much it costs.

i agree. the best part of the AGO is the modern art gallery (that chuck close piece is my favourite). there are a lot of great canadian artists who need exposure, and i think being one of (if not) the biggest galleries in canada, it would be stupid not to capitalize on that reputation/potential. the swing space exhibits were a step in the right direction.

and they need more photography, in the absence of any dedicated photography galleries here.

toronto sucks.

Two down in one day is crappy. Glad to hear you're both okay. Checked out the ROM tonight, can't figuye out what that cubisy crystal thing is supposed to be. Ruined an otherwise nice building in my mind. I'm like the Monty Python Pope, I may not know much about art, but I know what I like.

crash bang boom! man, it's bad karma out there. glad to hear all the accident victims are in one piece. get yourself checked out robin and don't forget to stretch.

it's supposed to be nice on sunday if anyone is interested in meeting for coffee in the morning and not riding that hard...

EDIT: wes, shame about the scraping up a new brooks; i have some proofide if you need to treat the scuff.

Wes, you can replace the front "shiny" caps on the brifters if I'm not mistaken. Also, you can probably clean your saddle up a lot w/ some decent leather polish if it's really deep. Don't break yourself. Robin, I think I actually "met" you one time outside of curbside - I said I liked your bike as I was on my way out and you were locking up. Glad to hear you're in one piece. If you need any replacement stuff for your bike that you guys don't normally stock, let me know and I'll see if I can toss it on an order here (at Cycle Therapy).


I find I've grown really superstitious regarding traffic mishaps. Some stuff I won't even mention because I don't want to jinx myself (this is the first time in my life I've ever been like that about something). Oh, and people have been insane for me lately too, but I've been trying to be a better man and not act out avec rage. For example, now when someone cuts me off and almost sends their bumper through my shin bone I lay a hand of love on their hood and gently cradle the vehicle until it goes on its own path. Unlike before when I smashed the ****er and broke ****.

crash bang boom! man, it's bad karma out there. glad to hear all the accident victims are in one piece. get yourself checked out robin and don't forget to stretch.

it's supposed to be nice on sunday if anyone is interested in meeting for coffee in the morning and not riding that hard...

EDIT: wes, shame about the scraping up a new brooks; i have some proofide if you need to treat the scuff.

Coffee is god, and a ride would be nice.

Hey Mike, thanks again. Went out for about an hour tonight, wheel is great, no cog slips and was able to do a few skids no problem. Great job.

Hey Mike, thanks again. Went out for about an hour tonight, wheel is great, no cog slips and was able to do a few skids no problem. Great job.

Mucho thanks, I'll pass it along - oh, and thanks for the booze. You've won our hearts. ;)

I alway's take care crossing multiple streetcar tracks even in the dry, victoria and queen is nasty so is church and queen

I alway's take care crossing multiple streetcar tracks even in the dry, victoria and queen is nasty so is church and queen
Ahh yes Victoria and Queen. I took a nice spill there one day at work. I got all cocky and tried to cross the intersection in the left lane. Then it was like oh **** I knew I was going to go down.

Wow look at this:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_6KdJd8M1ZI

sweet. I wish I was that good at something!

Today looks like a nice time to leisurely do my errands. another global warming day so this might be your last chance for some nice weather riding until late december!

*feels waaay uncoordinated after viewing that*

pardon my ignorance, but what is 'lane splitting'? Is that when you ride down a two lane road while straddling the lane dividers?

pardon my ignorance, but what is 'lane splitting'? Is that when you ride down a two lane road while straddling the lane dividers?

Yup

So I'm still riding my phuked up Surly to work out of spite. You just can't kill that bike. I'm getting the damage assessed by the Mechs at Curbside on Monday, and then sending to bill to my hitter. Can't wait to get it back to normal. Need new rims, new TT lever, and some new bar tape.

woh...slow night tonight.

Maybe I'm the only one who stays in on a saturday night. Blarg.

Heheh, I am cooking some awesome gnocchi, watching the first DVD of Arrested Development and having a coffee before I head out to a potluck. Man, gnocchi are the easiest thing to make, I hope no one at the thing knows this; I think I'll tell them that I made them from scratch ;)

I was out and about today and there is a lot of construction in the west end lately, hopefully some of those cement trucks and piledrivers find their way over to my 'hood, it is bumpy as hell on Roncey lately.