Rides and Races - Toronto Fixed

more carnage anyone? he still crosses the finish line!!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k_ONY63vC1U

haha I was feebly hoping he'd just land back on his wheels. No such luck.

Maaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaan, I am staying in today, I don't want to go out there at all. I just feel cold looking outside. Two more months of this, you reckon?

Maaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaan, I am staying in today, I don't want to go out there at all. I just feel cold looking outside. Two more months of this, you reckon?

hahahahahahaha fingers crossed...ive been riding thru tha **** man...love it...as long as your covered up youre good! I used to ride thru winter in Ottawa...that was wayyyyyyyyyy worse! ;)

I have been enjoying the unusual patience and courtesy of car drivers the last few days. Bad road conditions seem to bring out the good in people. It seems now that the roads are semi-passable some have gone back to their errant ways. The goombah thought he was a big man cutting me off in to the snowy intersection...he might have even thought I would fall down. Unfortunately for him I didn't go down and am quite able to match the streetcars speed while taking up the full curb lane. I had my I-Pod on but I could swear I heard some horn honking and screamed obscenities. Good thing it was drowned out by sweet sweet music...my delicate sensibilities cant handle cursing.

The car that tried to pass me by driving into some empty parking spaces must not have remembered that the empty parking spaces were full of snow, because she was about to plow into a big snow bank just before she lurched back into the lane right where I was, forcing me to brace my whole right side against the car and start bashing at the window. The lady went deer-in-the-headlights (Unlike yesterday morning's dude who got out of the car and threatened to beat me up), so I just overtook her and took the lane and made her wait for me to get to the next intersection.

The thing that bothers me about this weather is that cars sit on your ass waiting for the one decent opportunity to pass, or they try to pass when its not really possible to pass and then they have to drop back again. I'm just waiting for a guy to try to pass me and hit some ice and start spinning, taking me out. Or if I lose traction adn go down they don't have a chance in hell to avoid running me over. I move to the side and wave cars past whenever its safe and convenient to do so but these guys don't get it.

Take the lane, and when a car gets too close .... tell them to backTF off. Seriously, wave them off.....it's your life, in bad road conditions. NiiiiceKeith.

I have been enjoying the unusual patience and courtesy of car drivers the last few days. Bad road conditions seem to bring out the good in people. It seems now that the roads are semi-passable some have gone back to their errant ways. The goombah thought he was a big man cutting me off in to the snowy intersection...he might have even thought I would fall down. Unfortunately for him I didn't go down and am quite able to match the streetcars speed while taking up the full curb lane. I had my I-Pod on but I could swear I heard some horn honking and screamed obscenities. Good thing it was drowned out by sweet sweet music...my delicate sensibilities cant handle cursing.

finally the true use of the ipod is realised ;):D

Take the lane, and when a car gets too close .... tell them to backTF off. Seriously, wave them off.....it's your life, in bad road conditions. NiiiiceKeith.

I wave them off, but the wind my hand creates is often not strong enough to blow the car back from behind me, so they ignore it and sit on my ass. Maybe I need to work out my triceps? The last time I waved someone off I think he got offended because he buzzed me the first chance he got and then got out of his car and threatened to beat me up.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YGnLDr6jRSI


There's a little bit of smut action at 6:46


HOT!

I wave them off, but the wind my hand creates is often not strong enough to blow the car back from behind me, so they ignore it and sit on my ass. Maybe I need to work out my triceps? The last time I waved someone off I think he got offended because he buzzed me the first chance he got and then got out of his car and threatened to beat me up.

Where are you riding to meet such wonderful examples of humanity? I've been sailin' the last couple days and haven;t heard so much as a horn but I've not been allowing a pass at all. They HAVE to fully go into the next lane to get around me, I'm not threading when I do this though.

That is strange, it has been ages since someone threatened to beat me up. Months almost ;)

6 O'clock, Jet...across from The Cavern.... you've had it. :lol:

Where are you riding to meet such wonderful examples of humanity? I've been sailin' the last couple days and haven;t heard so omuch as a horn but I've not been allowing a pass at all. They HAVE to fully go into the next lane to get around me, I'm not threading when I do this though.

Here is my route:
http://www.gmap-pedometer.com/?r=710660
I get regularly messed with on the section of Shaw that has a grass median, on the section of Wellington and Niagara between Strachan and Bathurst, and then occasionally along front, usually close to Spadina. This past year I have probably had 5-6 people threaten to physically assault or kill me, during my commute to work. I'm not a violent person.

That grass median section of Shaw is wacky. With parking their is barely room for one. Open your car door too quick and it might get cleaved off. And a school zone to boot, nothing like yellin' about how your gonna kill the biker with Mom and Johnny walking to school. With Front (especially Bathurst and Spadina) you are getting all just off the Gardner ppl, suburbanites with no clue about sharing with riders. Where's your office?

I work in the eastern half of union station, right at bay and front. I call the section between spadina and bay 'The Gauntlet'. No rules apply here, and anyone in a car or on foot or on a bike will be guarunteed to do the most unpredictable stupid maeneuver with no warning. There are lines of cabbies waiting like wolves to pull a U turn from a parking space to catch a fare across the street, or pull out in front of you just to pull back in so they can be at the front of the taxi stand. And right now there is crazy construction going on closing one of the lanes, nevermind the delivery vans parked everywhere and the terrible road surface. Also the peds swarm across the streeth whether you're speeding towards them or not. Safety in numbers I guess.

I should really just go down to Queen's Key blvd and head east

With Front (especially Bathurst and Spadina) you are getting all just off the Gardner ppl, suburbanites with no clue about sharing with riders.


this is so true!

danhalen - i sent you a pm

This past year I have probably had 5-6 people threaten to physically assault or kill me, during my commute to work. I'm not a violent person.

Odd, I would have figured your route would take you along Queen with all those threats. I had a naked guy chase me on my bike right by the mental hospital and at the 7-11 on Queen near Jamieson (it has been paved over now, likely for condos, the gentrifying of Parkdale continues unabated) I've been 3 or 4 times threatened and one time this vagrant grabbed my bike while I was on it and tried to run off with it. It was very bizarre, I think he was on crack or something. Anywho, yeah, Queen is always nuts but man, I love that street.

I would suggest a new route then..one that has you drop as straight down on Union as possible. Ossington/Shaw to Harbord, east to university(fast with many lanes to play in and nice long lights), to rip straight down, driven on by city dwellers.... Hope ya Jammin' too.

I used to take bay street south but its the most brutal road during rush hour. I wish they would just take away those 'bike, taxi, bus' lane signs because they are a ******** tease and nobody follows them and police don't enforce it. Plus who the hell wants to share a lane with taxis and buses, and then have cars suddenly merge right into you to make a right turn? Stupid city planners. I've given university a try, but on most days, shaw is the best street ever to go south on. Its just the occasional f*cktard who messes with me that ruins it. I'm sure I'd have more incidents on University simply because its so much busier.

Union then, which one carves past Queen Park? I alway get them confused. I meant the one where hospital row is. If you get splattered there you're set. I ride down the left side when I ride it, super visable and no turns with the exception of Adelaide I think.

University starts south of Queen's Park and heads downhill to the lake. Its called Avenue road north of Queen's Park. Union isn't a street its just the train station.

:lol: Bay and university...of course ...sorry dude, I don;t know half the names DownTown, I just ride 'em on my travels. I love rippin Spadina, right down the middle, but that's me. For Avenue Road I'm right aligned until I hit College, then I get over to the left generally...no hard and fast rules mind U. I would recommend avoiding that section of Front like the plaque though during rush hour.

University starts south of Queen's Park and heads downhill to the lake. Its called Avenue road north of Queen's Park. Union isn't a street its just the train station.
And Queen's Park Crescent between College and Hoskins. I find Avenue/Queens Park/University to be a good quick route down from the North. I used to ride that route all the time when I lived west. You can hammer and get every light from Dupont down to Front. Plus because it is a 4 lane street in most places, less boneheads are likely to get bent out of shape because you are taking the whole curb lane.

I usually take up that whole bike lane on Bay unless there is a cab or bus wanting to get by, but we all know that we are faster than cabs/buses, so it doesn't happen often. A couple of times a person in a car has honked at me and I just point up to one of those signs that depicts the bus and cab and bicycle and keep right in the middle. Bay is nice now that it has re-paved, a few years ago it was unrideable.

I wish the cops would enforce it because a lot of cars use that lane and it really screws things up. Better yet, they should let us cyclists write tickets; I could write up 100 a day just on Bay street.

Super Exciting Sighting...Toyota has a 4x4 test track right near the lake, down here at Queen's Quay and Yonge. Bit east of Yonge behind all the parking.... I'm doing a lap after work. MTB's Yo! I don;t know how long this track is gonna be there but this sounds like a night time fun fun fun! I'm guesin' it's autoshow related. I don;t even know how watched it is during the day...I'v eseen two truucks moving on it....then drive away.... to get more test pilots? Plenty of time for a few laps it would seem.

for any of you veg-o-matic vegans out there i conjured up a simple recipe you may enjoy: sweat one diced onion, 3 cloves pureed garlic and some shredded carrot (about a cup) in a good amount of olive oil. add 500g or so of chickpeas and sprinkle with corriander and some 'zatar' (middle eastern spice, a mix of sesame seeds, sumach and thyme), deglaze with a little water and bang it in the oven and cook until most of the water is gone. a tasty appetizer if you're not in the mood for meat.

la la la

Who will be post 20,000?

If you make it, I will eat it

those are risky words my friend. didn't you read my post about sweetbreads?

those are risky words my friend. didn't you read my post about sweetbreads?

I didn't write that. :) You and pyze should be our head chef for our first annual bikeforums cook off...!

Who will be post 20,000?

Aw a bit too early, that's like 260 something more posts to spam.

I didn't write that. :) You and pyze should be our head chef for our first annual bikeforums cook off...!

In that case it shall be ribs, ribs and more ribs. And tofu ribs for the veg crowd. And beer. And corn on the cob, maybe some homemade slow cooked beans, slaw.. And then more beer. I won't be drafting anyone the next day on the ride though.

So is the rule v-brakes levers work with canti brakes, or the other way around? Or not at all.

Thanks for the stem JW, works great. All three bars fit in no problem. Now have a cruiser, flat and bullhorn bar set with levers and only takes about 2 minutes to switch out.

Tried the track .... too much snow, can't build any speed. If it was dirt it would rock.

I think V brake levers will work with cantis, but if you run V brake calipers you HAVE to use V brake levers.

Tried the track .... too much snow, can't build any speed. If it was dirt it would rock.

That sucks. I was thinkin' of heading down and trying it out.

those are risky words my friend. didn't you read my post about sweetbreads?
what kind of sweet breads??????????????????/////

Money Shot - A little bike porn I took today.

http://i28.photobucket.com/albums/c235/Sirrobinofcoxly/IMG_0671.jpg

^^You at work tomorrow?^^

Got my wheels :) they look so nice omg lol, I need tires though.

Hey Keith, what do you have in terms of 16t 1/8 cogs, any Dura-Ace?

So is the rule v-brakes levers work with canti brakes, or the other way around? Or not at all.

Yep v-brake levers work with canti brakes decently.

V-bake levers pull more cable than canti levers, so you might need to set up your brake cable 'looser' than if you were running them with a canti lever, this is just so that the point in which the brake engages is in a comfortable spot and not right at the start of the lever movement.

You wont have as much power or modulation, but they'll still stop you.

If you are using v-brakes with canti levers, then you'll run into the problems. You need to use a device to amplify the cable travel of the lever. In this case you're better off just getting the correct lever.

what kind of sweet breads??????????????????/////
Not cinnabons, thats for sure.

Not cinnabons, thats for sure.
awesome ! you know cinnabons (cindy) she is sweet

^^You at work tomorrow?^^

You bet. I'm at work now! But I won't have my bike with me in this weather.

You bet. I'm at work now! But I won't have my bike with me in this weather.
Whats wrong with this weather?

When I have to put on 30 layers of clothes to go 5km :) Went for a short ride around town last night and drivers are seem even less patient than when it's warm/nice outside.

Whats wrong with this weather?

Well, nothing really. I ride to work in weather like this, but my Orbea (pictured in money shot) stays warm at home.

Money Shot - A little bike porn I took today.

http://i28.photobucket.com/albums/c235/Sirrobinofcoxly/IMG_0671.jpg

How do you like those tires?

Hey Robin how late are you guys open tonight? If it's 5 I won't make it. If it's 6 then I'll try and stop by. ROCK AND ROLL. ahem.

OT: I'm replacing my dual 17" CRT with either a dual LCD or CRT +1 setup. Any recommendations either way? Looking for either dual 22" Widescreen or dual 20" CRT + 19" 3rd monitor. Space is not an issue, neither is heat or power consumption.