spring meanderings

The last few days have seen a fair bit of wandering about by me, my family, and my friends. Spring is here - despite what the snow and ice pellets we are getting today might suggest - and that means that opportunities for taking pictures outside are on the rise. At least, they are on the rise if colour and contrast is something that is of interest.

on the subject of freds

"Real" cyclists, whatever they are, do not like Freds.

What, dear reader, might a Fred be?

There is much blather about this on the interwebs but it boils down to this: a Fred is a person who has more gear than their apparent abilities suggest they can really make use of. Sometimes, this is true. The implication though is that the person referring to the owner of said nice gear as a Fred can make better use of that gear. Sometimes, this is also true. Also, Freds talk about training all the time. They talk about numbers. They are merciless enthusiasts who are often out to convert the heathen. But mostly they ride nice gear that costs a lot and dress the part. This makes them either genuinely smug, or gives them the appearance of being genuinely smug.

That bugs some people. Especially those who really wish that they had that nice gear who have fallen under the sway of the green monster.

However, what the term Fred really seems to refer to in practice is a person riding a nice or expensive bike who is going slower than the person calling them a Fred. This way, they can say, "You should have seen that guy I dusted/smoked/beat on his expensive bike! He couldn't ride! What a Fred!" thus implying that the victor in the one sided race up the road made better use of their money by buying a cheaper bike which they can clearly ride faster than that Fred. Moral superiority attained!

The fact that this "Fred" may have just ridden that day ten times what the "victor" in the Cat 6 (commuter MUP race) event rides in a month may not enter into the mind of the self righteous.

A person's degree of Fredliness becomes relative to the person referring to them as a Fred. A fast rider who dusts off a slower rider on a nicer bike may, perhaps, refer to that slower rider as a Fred. A slow rider who dusts off a tired faster rider on an expensive bike may do likewise. Ironically, all this does is make the name calling "victor" either genuinely smug, or gives them the appearance of being genuinely smug.

So, to avoid a bad case of pot calling the kettle black, Fred not!

small world, isn't it?

Lately, for some reason, I have found myself having fun taking pictures of very small things.

this ride brought to you by garmin connect

Went out on a bit of a ride with Cedric and Rob today. Was a good one. The sun was out, it was a pleasant if chilly temperature. I had a good time. Soon, very soon, speeds will rise on this route as the collective gets their riding legs back under them.

more spring madness

I managed to get out with Martin today for some photo work and coffee. We travelled from Waterloo to Paris (Ontario, not the one in France) and took some pictures along the way.

Here is a selection of what we got on our travels today.

Found in the river at Glen Morris - this area is usually not under water at all. With the usual springtime melt, coupled with the heavy rains over the last few days, the river is running very high and much along its edge that normally is dry, is submerged.

Shot from the sidewalk, this collection of things out front of this stuccoed house struck both me and Martin as being worthy of a photograph.

The light today was that very muted light that comes with rain and heavy overcast.

Most of the bright colour came from unnatural sources thanks in large part to our delayed spring.

The barest hint of green is all that is out there, even along the shores of the river where you would expect to find more of it.

Excellent advice here - driving to the left of the sign would be a messy and rather wet experience.

Running high and not dry. Lots of water today over the dam in Paris.

ice see

Had some ice fall down from above today. Not much, but it looked (n)ice.

uptown ice sprinkles

entombed thorns

waiting for warm butts

icy forests

out for coffee

A good friend of mine and I spent a bit of time out for coffee today. We talked about cycling, photography, and life in general.

Talking about photography reminded both of us that it has been too long since we have done anything with the cameras. A short walk ensued.

single speed outside the coffee shop

alley windows

name a beer

working hard

from a later walk

schmuck truck

'twas a good time.