iTV better stream pirated videos too.. Otherwise it's all pretty meh. (yes, I watched the news coverage come in online as well)

Let the pirating begin! YAR!

It's interesting to see the Nano revert back to the mini-like asthetic.

meh, I still don't want an ipod or mac... I like ugly brute-force looking electronics with as many moving mechanical parts as possible.
Like this:

Only without Robin...

I like my bashed up old Rio Karma that I have disassembled and reassembled several times.

i just read an update in the star about another cyclist getting killed by a truck this morning. https://tinyurl.com/fd87s
so that's the third truck/cyclist fatality this year?! damn, not much you can do when a cement truck plows into you going the same way. no mention if he was rear-ended or anything.
correction: it occured 430pm yesterday but was reported by the star this morning.

I'm finally fixed!!

And I love love love love love it!!!

Unfortunately I don't have a digital camera with me in Victoria, so the pictures will have to wait until I get one. But my IRO Mark V has finally been built. And although not quite complete (I'm riding a ghetto fab $15 front wheel at the moment), i think it's fantastic. Thank you cavernmech for getting me started.

Victoria is an interesting place. I've run into only 2 fixed riders. It's full of hardcore roadies, and hardcore downhill mtb'ers. Oh, and a ****load of bmx kids. One roadie dude asked "isn't that the kind of bike you use to deliver mail?"

One question: there's a slight grinding-type noise (not really a grinding, but more of a parts rubbing together too much) coming from my rear hub area when spinning fast. Could that possibly be from the chain tension being too tight?

I want Robin's boots...they kick a**

Congrats! I was thinking about you today (aww) when I cut through camh to go get myself some lunch at the pakistani/indian place on spadina.

Your chain should be as tight as it can be without having any binding. Basically what I'd do is turn the bike upside down (or prop it's back wheel off the ground somehow) and find the tight spot by wiggling the chain up and down while turning the cranks. From what I understand you should still have an inch or so of play there. Also, try spinning the crank, letting go, and seeing if you can see it slowing down when it passes the tight spot. That's just my totally self-created technique however..

Another option: is your chain dirty and/or not lubed enough? Mine gets pretty grindy if I don't clean/lube it regularly (especially after rainy weather).

ps. the kind of bike you use to deliver mail? wtf? what kind of bars do you have on there? or was that an ignorant victoria roadie's idea of what a messenger does?

I think that guy laid a burn down on you. You two should have raced to see who the real man is. And you should haver laid down the 'pink slips' to your bikes as a bet, like in Rob's favorite movie, The Fast and The Furious

I used to make my girlfriend watch that movie with me at least once a weekend.

and wes, right now i've got drops. i think he was referring to the handful of messengers here (there are about 5 of them)

burninated * 2!



edit: I'm surprised Rob hasn't mentioned that this is page 500.
edit2: I've actually seen a Canada Post dude delivering mail on a Lightspeed Ti mountain bike. :S

hahahahahahaha thats a good one!...yup I forgot to put my canada post logo on the frame

TROGDOOOOOOOOORRRRR!!!!

burninating the peasants.

TROGDOOOOOOOOORRRRR!!!!

Where he was hit is a dirty stretch of road. You have trucks heading north on Leslie both East and Westbound. The spot under the bridge, there, is a usual speedtrap so you can believe traffic speeds get pretty high. I could easily see a collision there, buddy in the truck highballing westbound (there's not a lot of room on the curbside with two westbound lanes) and the need for a cyclist to shift left to avoid the northbound turnlane that turns off. Plus it's pothole/grating city. My whiteknuckle ride is eastbound on Eglinton and trying to cross the lanes to make a left onto Leslie. I've had busses/heavy trucks pass me within a few inches on that stretch. A big thanks to the city for not repairing the only alternate, sunnybrook park trails, and ensuring it's an unviable commute by requiring you to walk your bike out at Edwards Gardens.

While there's always a lot of noise about bike paths in the downtown, what's critically needed is a viable East/West and northbound corridor in this neighborhood.

I've stopped using track nuts. I've stripped two as well.

Lets not get onto bike lanes... I see my future as somehow very involved in them and don't want to spoil it for myself.

Any of you guys have any experience touring? I've been idly looking at touring bikes but I keep ending up looking at cyclocross bikes instead, which seem more versatile and race-friendly, but with essentially touring (slightly tighter) geometry and the whole glut of brazeons, rack and fender mounts. Soma doublecross comes to mind. Is this a good idea for a bike to cross canada, keeping in mind I will want to fart around on it in Toronto before and after?

The Doublecross is sweet. A real nice steel, reasonably priced, multi use bike. There were a few guys doing cross on em last year and they loved em. The IRD cross is quite nice also...Crossfire?...altho not sure about braze-ons. Slap on some 23 road tires and you can do road rides as well. Pure touring bikes are made a bit stouter in the construction for heavy loads.

keith, is there a link to the toronto global-gutz course? or is it hush-hush....? i checked the mess-media site, as well as the gg site but found nuthin'. is it not customary to make public alley-cat routes?

oh no you di-ent!

If I remember correctly, it was a mouth dropping occurance.
I was the starter of the event and thought I had set the skid line far enough away from Cherry St. that no way was anyone going to reach it. Surprise - Chris had just come back from a beer run, almost losing his start time, so when I called him he was stoke to move - and did he move - like a shot when he hit the line but so smooth, and kept on going, and going, and, and, and there was silence, then awe, then screaming.

He went around both barriers at Cherry and Mill to stop 6 inches short of the west curb of Cherry St. I paced off the distance to about 140 meters, then went back the next day with a tape measure - 146.5 meters. Unbelievable.

see'ing I can't ride my SingleSpeed I am very stoned and am enjoying it

Stop that

Yeah...I usually like to post alleycat courses in the public domain....this way the cops dont have to guess where to bust everyone. Is there a sarcasm italic?
But seriously....traditional alleycat courses are kept secret from the racers. You get the first checkpoint at the start....each subsequent one yields a new and exciting destination!
Oh yeah...results are at dirkdarko.com

my supposed water proof pants dont seem so waterproof today

lucky I didnt wear my workpants underneath.

One of the things to keep in mind if you are thinking of using a CX frame for touring is heel clearance for the rear paniers, especially since you have big feet. I haven't tried a rack and panniers on my CX frame yet, but I think it may be tight. I don't see why you couldn't use a touring specific frame for cross though, so maybe that's the most practical option.

Man O man did CANADA ever represent in the overall results!!!!!