An hour and 5.5K later, it was time to head home. The moon -- even at half -- was bright enough to be caught first with a lens flare and then reflected in the bay.
I'll definitely have to do more night paddling -- there's a full moon next week!
2008-07-10
Frenchman's Bay @ Dusk
Tonight I drove out to Pickering to pick up my bike and its shiny new crank assembly & pedals. Afterwards, I drove over to Frenchman's Bay, ended up on the east side, got lost briefly in suburbia, and finally found my way to West Shore Blvd and the lake. The east side was much more lively, with a band entertaining people loudly enough I could listen in from a distance from the shore.
An hour and 5.5K later, it was time to head home. The moon -- even at half -- was bright enough to be caught first with a lens flare and then reflected in the bay.
I'll definitely have to do more night paddling -- there's a full moon next week!
An hour and 5.5K later, it was time to head home. The moon -- even at half -- was bright enough to be caught first with a lens flare and then reflected in the bay.
I'll definitely have to do more night paddling -- there's a full moon next week!
2008-07-07
26.050K
Friday/Saturday: 20K. With my other half's bike, went to and from my mom's house twice, including taking her out for her first ride of the season.
Sunday I did my usual 6K paddle from Galloway Rd to Bellamy Ravine and back, plus a short swim in the still *very* cold, but refreshing lake at the midpoint.
Sunday I did my usual 6K paddle from Galloway Rd to Bellamy Ravine and back, plus a short swim in the still *very* cold, but refreshing lake at the midpoint.
2008-07-01
A broken pedal
Clearly I'm not handy-capable. Sunday I reinstalled the pedals I removed in order to get my bike home from Ottawa, but they didn't want to go on properly, so I ... forced it. While it worked for a 25K ride w/ Paul that day, it seems like that was a bad idea.
4.5K into my ride today with Andrew, my right pedal fell off. I tried to make it work, but there was nothing holding it on, so every revolution it just fell off again. After another few K of one-pedal-action, we gave up and headed back to Lawrence Ave to await a lift home.
On the second attempt we did about another 13K, this time using my fiancé's bike. Aside from the over-zealous seat (it's just too soft and springy!) her bike rides like a dream. Mine is going in for service tomorrow, since it's Canada Day today.
On the plus side, as of today I've done 400K by bike this season and just over 40K by kayak (covering about 18K of lake shore). Woohoo!
4.5K into my ride today with Andrew, my right pedal fell off. I tried to make it work, but there was nothing holding it on, so every revolution it just fell off again. After another few K of one-pedal-action, we gave up and headed back to Lawrence Ave to await a lift home.
On the second attempt we did about another 13K, this time using my fiancé's bike. Aside from the over-zealous seat (it's just too soft and springy!) her bike rides like a dream. Mine is going in for service tomorrow, since it's Canada Day today.
On the plus side, as of today I've done 400K by bike this season and just over 40K by kayak (covering about 18K of lake shore). Woohoo!
2008-06-28
Scarborough to Pickering
In my continuing quest to paddle the whole north shore of Lake Ontario, I've now mapped another chunk of the lake: about 7.5K from Rouge Beach Park, the far east side of Scarborough to Frenchman's Bay in Pickering.
Kayak: Rouge Beach Park, Scarborough to Frenchman's Bay, Pickering
Share your bike routes @ Bikely.com
This also marks the first time I've paddled back to the car and had to use the Yakima rack twice in a day. It certainly makes loading easier than last summer's el-cheapo foam pads, especially since I can now load single-handedly.
Kayak: Rouge Beach Park, Scarborough to Frenchman's Bay, Pickering
Share your bike routes @ Bikely.com
This also marks the first time I've paddled back to the car and had to use the Yakima rack twice in a day. It certainly makes loading easier than last summer's el-cheapo foam pads, especially since I can now load single-handedly.
2008-06-27
Ottawa Cycling Trip: Day 2
Day two began with coffee & a Vector energy bar, then 17K of biking with about 30lbs of clothing and hardware on my back, to retrace my route from the night before and get back to the Eclipse Foundation office by 10am.
Stopping a few times to snap pictures (and seriously consider jumping in the river to cool off), it took me about an hour to get to the office... drenched in sweat. New to the area, I overshot Woodroffe and added a couple K to the trip.
Luckily, since I had everything with me, I was able to change quickly, and the workshop began with Denis chairing things while I attempted to cool down.
Bjorn offered to drive me to the train station to save me another gruelling 15K trek -- the added bonus being I missed the afternoon thunderstorms & rush hour traffic.
VIA was reasonably accommodating to my need to get home with my bike, and rather than forcing me to use Purolator and to maybe get my bike back on Monday, if not Wednesday (because of Canada Day), they instead allowed me to transport it on the train for $20 + taxes.
I thought I was adhering to the "only two articles" rule:
But digging through the site further, their site DOES state which trains and trips allow checked baggage, that bikes must be checked, and that checking a bike as baggage is $20. However, I had to dig through a number of locations before I found this information, so perhaps it's really a usability issue.
Or I'm just stupid, and misread the statement that bike BOXES are free to mean that the contents would also be free.
Still, it seems odd that the Toronto-Ottawa corridor wouldn't provide a baggage car given all the traffic that line apparently gets.
Ah, well, live and learn.
Stopping a few times to snap pictures (and seriously consider jumping in the river to cool off), it took me about an hour to get to the office... drenched in sweat. New to the area, I overshot Woodroffe and added a couple K to the trip.
Luckily, since I had everything with me, I was able to change quickly, and the workshop began with Denis chairing things while I attempted to cool down.
Bjorn offered to drive me to the train station to save me another gruelling 15K trek -- the added bonus being I missed the afternoon thunderstorms & rush hour traffic.
VIA was reasonably accommodating to my need to get home with my bike, and rather than forcing me to use Purolator and to maybe get my bike back on Monday, if not Wednesday (because of Canada Day), they instead allowed me to transport it on the train for $20 + taxes.
I thought I was adhering to the "only two articles" rule:
But digging through the site further, their site DOES state which trains and trips allow checked baggage, that bikes must be checked, and that checking a bike as baggage is $20. However, I had to dig through a number of locations before I found this information, so perhaps it's really a usability issue.
Or I'm just stupid, and misread the statement that bike BOXES are free to mean that the contents would also be free.
Still, it seems odd that the Toronto-Ottawa corridor wouldn't provide a baggage car given all the traffic that line apparently gets.
Ah, well, live and learn.
2008-06-25
Ottawa Cycling Trip: Day 1
Ottawa-Gatineau, for those who don't live there and already know this, is freakin' beautiful -- especially by bike.
Ottawa Train Station to Gatineau to Eclipse Foundation to Gatineau
Share your bike routes @ Bikely.com
Unfortunately, VIA doesn't provide checked baggage service on its Toronto to Ottawa trains... so while I was able to bring my bike onboard because there was an empty train car (and their staff sympathized w/ my predicament), it's looking like I'll have to courier it home w/ Purolator for $40 or so.
So, after arriving at the train station, I biked the 7.6K to my hotel, showered, changed, and found some bike shops in Ottawa and Gatineau from which I could get the tools I'll need tomorrow to remove my pedals and twist my forks around so I can put it in a box. Yet another service VIA could offer, but doesn't, is to stock $25 work of wrenches to enable customers to adjust their bikes for transport.
Since there were 3 bike shops on my way to the Eclipse Foundation's Ganymede Release party, I decided to detour from the Google Maps route I'd brought and trek across Carling. Of the three, Cycle Power (with an actual website linked from Google Maps) came first and were friendly & helpful. I learned that bike prices are going up 15-20% over the next year due to rising fuel costs and rising demand for bikes. Until the supply catches up to the demand, expect to pay more.
Got to the party fashionably late, but with my return travel plan solved. Missed the food, but caught the dunk tank festivities.
After clocking 38K on an empty stomach, I walked over to the Thai restaurant across from the Museum of Civilizations on Rue Laurier, and ordered the special/sampler. Great soup. Nice, spicy chicken curry. Tasty, but unimaginative pad thai w/ two large shrimp. Despite the slow service (a table for 1, with one one beer, one dish, and desert took 90 mins), I'd go back. Unfortunately I didn't have time to hit the hotel pool... ah, well, next time.
Ottawa Train Station to Gatineau to Eclipse Foundation to Gatineau
Share your bike routes @ Bikely.com
Unfortunately, VIA doesn't provide checked baggage service on its Toronto to Ottawa trains... so while I was able to bring my bike onboard because there was an empty train car (and their staff sympathized w/ my predicament), it's looking like I'll have to courier it home w/ Purolator for $40 or so.
So, after arriving at the train station, I biked the 7.6K to my hotel, showered, changed, and found some bike shops in Ottawa and Gatineau from which I could get the tools I'll need tomorrow to remove my pedals and twist my forks around so I can put it in a box. Yet another service VIA could offer, but doesn't, is to stock $25 work of wrenches to enable customers to adjust their bikes for transport.
Since there were 3 bike shops on my way to the Eclipse Foundation's Ganymede Release party, I decided to detour from the Google Maps route I'd brought and trek across Carling. Of the three, Cycle Power (with an actual website linked from Google Maps) came first and were friendly & helpful. I learned that bike prices are going up 15-20% over the next year due to rising fuel costs and rising demand for bikes. Until the supply catches up to the demand, expect to pay more.
Got to the party fashionably late, but with my return travel plan solved. Missed the food, but caught the dunk tank festivities.
After clocking 38K on an empty stomach, I walked over to the Thai restaurant across from the Museum of Civilizations on Rue Laurier, and ordered the special/sampler. Great soup. Nice, spicy chicken curry. Tasty, but unimaginative pad thai w/ two large shrimp. Despite the slow service (a table for 1, with one one beer, one dish, and desert took 90 mins), I'd go back. Unfortunately I didn't have time to hit the hotel pool... ah, well, next time.
2008-06-23
By The Numbers
Paul suggested I keep track of my elapsed transit, so here's a quick recap of 2008 so far:
| Bike Odometer Reading, Last Season: | 1917km |
| Bike Odometer Reading, Currently: | 2214km |
| Elapsed Cycling Distance This Year: | 297km |
| Est. Distance Travelled By Water (5 trips): | 30km |
| 2008 Transit Distance: | 327km |
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