Rides and Races - Toronto Fixed

Yesterday I was riding along Queen just passing University going West and some dude tried to pass me on a bike and his chain just snapped. It was impressive to see him stay upright after having all that torque go nowhere.

I did the same thing last summer, but only managed to keep it upright long enough to steer it into a curb and land on my face.:o

Let it be known; standing your ground on bicycle advocacy in St. Jamestown will not win you ANY friends. That being said, I believe I got my point across after blocking southbound traffic on Sherbourne to illustrate to a cabbie - Diamond A174 - that parking in the bike lane is tantamount to a bicycle parking sideways in a live traffic lane. I only had TWO death threats!

I don't recommend it and probably would have thought wiser - had I thought - but honestly at this point I've really had enough.

My apologies for the excess of ranting lately, but honestly you're the only group who can understand the frustration.

Anyone going out for bike polo tomorrow eve? Bellwoods @ 7 I believe.

it always heartens me to know i'm not the only one.

shame to hear the bad news about the child. RIP victoria.

good for you ryan. i often do those sorts of things on my commute home on college (especially with all my friends getting hit this summer) but lately i've been trying this "being a nice person" crap.

ryan is straightedge


Yesterday I was riding along Queen just passing University going West and some dude tried to pass me on a bike and his chain just snapped. It was impressive to see him stay upright after having all that torque go nowhere.

Wow, he must've dialed it up past 400w.

it always heartens me to know i'm not the only one.

shame to hear the bad news about the child. RIP victoria.

I went to the little shrine today after work. It was very sad. I talked with an old guy across the street who was just staring at the flowers, completely stricken.

my photos from the wknd: http://www.flickr.com/photos/wes/sets/72157601749543660/

http://farm2.static.flickr.com/1075/1270404162_61c8e9e846.jpg

Let it be known; standing your ground on bicycle advocacy in St. Jamestown will not win you ANY friends. That being said, I believe I got my point across after blocking southbound traffic on Sherbourne to illustrate to a cabbie - Diamond A174 - that parking in the bike lane is tantamount to a bicycle parking sideways in a live traffic lane. I only had TWO death threats!

I don't recommend it and probably would have thought wiser - had I thought - but honestly at this point I've really had enough.

My apologies for the excess of ranting lately, but honestly you're the only group who can understand the frustration.

they could sure use your help down in miami> http://www.nbc6.net/news/13997516/detail.html?rss=ami&psp=news

somnambulant: really nice. you're not using the stock lens on the rebel, are you?

op: what are you talking about?

they could sure use your help down in miami> http://www.nbc6.net/news/13997516/detail.html?rss=ami&psp=news

11 cyclists injured.. "Two of the bicyclists were being treated at Ryder Trauma Center in critical but stable condition. Another five are at local hospitals in stable condition and the others were treated at the scene."

"The driver, 62-year-old Juan Tanaka, has been issued a citation for violation of right way."

what the ****? that's it?

Does anyone have any fav eating establishments in the UofT/Chinatown/Kensington area? I usually try and bring leftovers for lunch, but I eat out sometimes at lunch. I've got a pretty good list of regular places, but it's always nice to have a new option!

at the moment i enjoy the empanada place across the street from jumbo empanadas, sort of next to sugovia meats. they have a 'chorizo argentino' empanada that is really nice. oh and Swatow of course for straight-up chinese.

11 cyclists injured.. "Two of the bicyclists were being treated at Ryder Trauma Center in critical but stable condition. Another five are at local hospitals in stable condition and the others were treated at the scene."

"The driver, 62-year-old Juan Tanaka, has been issued a citation for violation of right way."

what the ****? that's it?

Well, the US is the land of litigation.... that may also be an early charge too. But hey, wouldn't want buddy to lose his licence would we? Like the sot who was just recently sentenced to five years after driving drunk onto the 401 the wrong way killing two men in a head on. Of course she survived, albeit with some injuries. Luckily she is also barred from driving for 16 years after the five. So she'll be 66 by the time she gets her licence back. Nice going, judge. She'll be due for an SUV or motorhome by then.

I am progressively more and more staggered by a system that feels driving a vehicle is a right rather than a priviledge.

somnambulant: really nice. you're not using the stock lens on the rebel, are you?

Nope.. I didn't get the kit, just the body. I already had a few lenses that I had been using with my d30 (note: not 30d :P).

I am progressively more and more staggered by a system that feels driving a vehicle is a right rather than a priviledge.

Pretty much exactly what I've been saying lately.

Don't post much, but I like reading this forum for the reality check it provides. No one here is overly militant, just observant about things which aren't quite right. It sure helps me when dealing with aggro drivers, none of my friends or co-workers cares much about bikes so I don't get much feedback from them. Thanks all!

Oh dear, thong lap looked terrifying.

NEGATIVE DRAG…

There's also the split Oval Concepts track fork that creates less drag than if there were no fork on the bike at all (?!). Basically it creates a vacuum that pulls the airflow away from the rear half of the front wheel. Fancy stuff.

It's my birthday next Monday, so I'm having a little gathering at my place on Saturday evening starting at around 7:00.

What the **** is up with this pop and chips 7pm start time bull****, Wes? I'm off work at 5 but then I'm busy for awhile. Hopefully I can swing by before you're in your jammies, so try to hold out to when the street lights go on.

What the **** is up with this pop and chips 7pm start time bull****, Wes? I'm off work at 5 but then I'm busy for awhile. Hopefully I can swing by before you're in your jammies, so try to hold out to when the street lights go on.

Due to his rapidly advancing years he just must get his beauty sleep or he gets all puffy and cranky. :D

Oh dear, thong lap looked terrifying.

Not only did he do a sub 50 minute lap he did it on one of these.....ouch! Oh to be 15 again. The term "waffle butt" comes to mind.

Due to his rapidly advancing years he just must get his beauty sleep or he gets all puffy and cranky. :D

It's funny because it's true!

Anyone riding tonight?

Also: do you think traffic coming back from Albion is going to be redonkulous on Monday (long weekend)? I talked to Brad yesterday on my way home and he's interested in coming out too. Any idea what time we'd get going?

If anyone remembers me posting about a swarming mob robbing people in the West End.. apparently they've been caught. Crazy ****.

http://www.cbc.ca/canada/toronto/story/2007/08/30/parks-swarming.html

Ahhhh what a perfect day for a nice bike ride. @#*&$!

What the **** is up with this pop and chips 7pm start time bull****, Wes? I'm off work at 5 but then I'm busy for awhile. Hopefully I can swing by before you're in your jammies, so try to hold out to when the street lights go on.

hahahahahahaha...I saw that one coming...wes important question...will there be loot bags and pin the tail on the Donkey?

Ahhhh what a perfect day for a nice bike ride. @#*&$!

sh!tty shoulder...dammit we need to rig suttin up so u can ride...or just smoke a d00bie and go ride ;)

Ahhhh what a perfect day for a nice bike ride. @#*&$!

Dan...give me a call asap

does anyone have a hookup on a tandem or an extracycle? poor dan.

hahahahahahaha...I saw that one coming...wes important question...will there be loot bags and pin the tail on the Donkey?

You're a donkey

just smoke a d00bie and go ride ;)

:D

You're a donkey

:lol:

nice one d!ck weed!

There's also the split Oval Concepts track fork that creates less drag than if there were no fork on the bike at all (?!). Basically it creates a vacuum that pulls the airflow away from the rear half of the front wheel. Fancy stuff.

As a former student of fluid mechanics (I managed to pass the course.. barely), I'll try to qualify this "no fork" business. I'm guessing that the claim means that the fork makes a nice smooth surface for the air passing by, turning the turbulent (random, chaotic) flow into a laminar (smooth, steady state) "jet". The resulting drag for the total system (fork+wheel) is then lower than that of the wheel by itself in a wind tunnel.

Of course, I think you'd have to worry more about friction than aerodynamic drag if you had no fork at all. :D

http://toronto.craigslist.org/bik/409505392.html

hopefully this is a joke.

http://toronto.craigslist.org/bik/409505392.html

hopefully this is a joke.

I think more a diss on "fixie culture" than a joke.

LOL. Has to be a joke, just has to be. That totally jives with this from the King Kog site though:

Attention customers interested in Aerospoke wheels:
Due to the high demand in these wheels there is a 2 week wait time. The Aerospoke Company themselves can not keep up with the orders. The availability of them is constantly fluxuating! From a 2-4 day wait time to a possible 3 week wait time. Especially orders with powdercoating. I have them available online to order, But at this time it is only for pre orders. If you need it to show up in less time please do not order from here.
Thank you- Gina Marie

A while back I posted about buying a pretty cheap Ultegra front brake from Nashbar.. some asked me about it later but I'm not sure if the sale was still on. I was browsing their Labo(u)r day sale and found it again, at an even cheaper price, so I figured I'd share:

Ultegra Front Caliper for $17.99 (http://www.nashbar.com/profile.cfm?category=&subcategory=&brand=&sku=21377&storetype=estore&estoreid=1036&pagename=Estore%3A%20Labor%20Day%20Sale)

:lol: stunted out fixie...wooooooooooord

I was a little bored today and thought I would have a gander at the Politics and Religion forum. Holy crap there are some backwards thinking nutjobs on this board. among the useful nuggets I found were..
#1 Global warming is a hoax
#2 Bush is the greatest president ever
#3 Religious Indoctrination in the military is a good thing
#4 Arab/Middle Eastern people are all evil
#5 Ted Nugent is a better musician than Frank Zappa
and on and on and on......this is only a quick list of what came to mind. I thought all bike riders were liberal, hippie types. How wrong I was!

I thought all bike riders were liberal, hippie types. How wrong I was!

Not when you have a mostly American population.. you never know what you'll get!

Is a stunted out fixie one that is all busted up from having been stunted on?
P&R is indeed an eclectic mix of folks... no wonder so many threads there break down into name calling flame wars. Almost as bad as A&S.

so the fall/winter MEC catalogue came in the mail today: they have new merino wool "retro" jerseys that look nice (but not as nice as my vintage one with champion stripes :P) and SOLAR powered lights... which is news to me. sounds like an interesting concept but i wonder how hard it would be to keep them charged in the winter?

It's funny because it's true!

Anyone riding tonight?

If I get the baby room painted I may be, call me if you are going out, I'll swing by Sat after catering if it's not too late althougth th last wedding I did ended at 2:15 in the AM so might just be Jer and I out rabble rousing at that time. I love catering, did a gig on Wednesday for 4 people at their home. 6 hours to do apps and 3 courses. Easy money.

I had something else to add but I forgot what it was.

Oh yeah, that was me yelling at you Mike at Pottery Rd the other day.

Solar powered lights sounds really cool. If they are anything like solar powered lawn lights then they will leave mucho to be desired. Excited at the thought. I'm thinking about emailing Counselor Vaughan about how we might get the message out to motorists about a variety of issues. Rapid Red Light/Stop right rolling turns, crosswalk issues, bike lane abuses, etc. I'm thinking asking the billboard/advertising industry for rolling PSA's regarding these issues. AS well as hammering home safe passing distances and it's a privilege to drive. Maybe a 'with great power comes great responsibility' approach ... this way they can still feel all big and tough. Ryan, I wish I had seen your lesson on bike lane parking... I get it all the time down here at Queen's Quay...madness, parking right under the NO STOPPING sign. 0 enforcement. I'm calling Beck to advise them to tell their drivers, because the calls to the police will be forthcoming.

Does anyone have any suggestions for stickers to throw on the back of your own car that are related to bike respect? My other car is a bike...

Solar powered lights sounds really cool. If they are anything like solar powered lawn lights then they will leave mucho to be desired. Excited at the thought. I'm thinking about emailing Counselor Vaughan about how we might get the message out to motorists about a variety of issues. Rapid Red Light/Stop right rolling turns, crosswalk issues, bike lane abuses, etc. I'm thinking asking the billboard/advertising industry for rolling PSA's regarding these issues. AS well as hammering home safe passing distances and it's a privilege to drive. Maybe a 'with great power comes great responsibility' approach ... this way they can still feel all big and tough. Ryan, I wish I had seen your lesson on bike lane parking... I get it all the time down here at Queen's Quay...madness, parking right under the NO STOPPING sign. 0 enforcement. I'm calling Beck to advise them to tell their drivers, because the calls to the police will be forthcoming.

somewhat excited, somewhat... dubious.

PSAs are a start; anything to get the message out there. i'd love to equate driving with handling dangerous weapons, but i'm sure the automobile lobby'd quash that real quick.

the more people that inundate cab companies the better. again, i'd love if people boycotted bad drivers/companies until things improved, but that's not so likely. and something about having children to feed.

i'll be debuting my new "LOOK" campaign tomorrow at critical mass. you too can get crafty, it's fun:

step 1 - put image of bicycle on the back of a t-shirt
step 2 - add an "L" and "K" on either side. L O-O K
step 3 - wear. ride. smile and wave. repeat.

Does anyone have any suggestions for stickers to throw on the back of your own car that are related to bike respect? My other car is a bike...

K-Fresh has one on the back of CAVERN2. :D

Does anyone have any suggestions for stickers to throw on the back of your own car that are related to bike respect? My other car is a bike...

i saw one on the way home that made me smile: "share the road with bicycles"

Does anyone have any suggestions for stickers to throw on the back of your own car that are related to bike respect? My other car is a bike...

The O.C.A has free "I Share The Road With Cyclists" stickers.

K-Fresh has one on the back of CAVERN2. :D

K-Fresh? BWAA HAHAHAHAHA!! But Wes...I am not feeling....you know....fresh. Any ideas?

K-fresh ... oh yea!!!