had a gorgeous drive to work this morning

I have heard it said that you should "Shoot with the phone you have", so that is what I did :)

the anatomy of a winter bike mk?!?

This winter bike of mine has had almost as many versions of itself built up as there are types of winters in Southern Ontario.

I think I may have hit upon a good set up for this year.

I invariably use cheap as dirt plastic pedals with just bushings. Why? Winter, its and and salt, is very tough on bike parts and I don't care to ruin expensive pedals. Plus, I tend to push harder on the pedals - snow makes for more high torque launches than bare pavement - and often after one winter the pedals are bent. These cost about $8 or so, maximum.

I raided the parts room at the shop and bought some old stock - a Blackspire chainring (32 tooth) and an ancient old crank. I also used some spacers and long ass chain ring bolts to centre the ring better with the rear cassette. A chain keeper of some sort keeps the chain from hopping under shifts. The system is a 1x8 set up now. I never (never) used the large ring or granny gear ring in the winter so I decided this time around to just do away with the silly things. Why the Blackspire ring? I am hopping that the fact that it seems seriously overbuilt compared to the Shimano stuff will make it last longer. If not, I will source a dedicated single speed crank/chain ring combo in the spring and see how that lasts.

Out come the frankenfenders and Continental Winter Contacts. No studs yet. They come into play later in the winter if we get an icy one. I have two sets - one from Finland and one from Germany - should the need arise.

Disk brakes because I like stopping. I have run rim brakes in the winter and hate them. I have heard people complain about disk brakes in the snow but these have given zero issues. They are filthy, dirty, covered in crap, and stop like crazy in all conditions. The pads are about to enter their third winter. There is no evidence of bad wear on them yet. The only catch is that no petroleum based product had better touch the things. Fair enough. And easy enough to do too. These brakes are Avid BB5 brakes - dirt cheap, but very effective.

Splash guards and frankenfenders abound on this bike. I also go crazy with the rust check spray. I hose down various moving parts and the bottom bracket areas liberally with the stuff. That is one of the reason why this BB is about to enter its 4th winter without any gritty grinding sounds. Still runs smoothly.

Another view of the mud flap and frankenfender goodness.

Some old good stuff. 1998 XTR Rapid Rise. Some hate it, but I like it. Works well. Shifts perfectly. Should last a few winters before crudding up beyond help. I have given it its first massive coating of rust spray which will help keep corrosion off and things moving - gotta love a rust preventative which also lubes. Speaking of which, I use a wet lube - White Lightning I think - which will last a whole week in the winter of daily use. Not bad. Phil's Tenacious Lube lasts less than one day and basically just makes a mess. Waste of money.

There you have it. The bike as a whole. Parts were raided off of my old (now sold) Specialized S-Works bike to make this beast more beast :) There will be no rack this winter due to a stripped frame mount (oops) and me getting a courier bag later this season. Also, expect another bottle mount to hold my Specialized Keg with a do everything tool kit to be located on the seat tube. It is the kit I carry with me everywhere on my Sutra.

So there you have it, this winter's set up!

Most of our snow has melted as of these pictures being taken. Last night, there was lots. Since I took the pictures 15 minutes ago, a couple cm have fallen with no end in sight.

Where is that pesky coffee pot?

winter has started

The sad thing about the start of winter around here is that it stops and starts in fits.

One day, it will be cold and snow will pile up, and the next, it will be warm and the snow will melt.

While this can lead to some pretty pretty photographs depending on the quality of the snow, it means the death of the cycling season for me.

Some places do not go to extremes with their snow removal techniques in public spaces, but in Southern Ontario where I live, we collectively turn the roads of the province into a massive toxic salt lick. This means that my good bikes are done for the year the minute the roads are treated for the first time.

The roads were treated yesterday for the first time this winter.

Time to get out the winter beater and sally forth!

periodic blahs

Periodically, I get the blahs with my creative self.

I have two hobbies.

Both take a lot of time and effort to do well.

Cycling can be very all consuming. There is always another hill to climb, trail to ride, kilometre to pedal. It never ends. Bicycles are to me a wonderful machine which just makes me happy. It may sound silly to some, but I am always happy if I am in a room with a bicycle.

I think it is because of the good memories that the bicycle engenders for me. As a child, it represented freedom. Freedom from walking everywhere. Freedom from the local. I could go so much farther, and so much faster. It was pure fun. As I got older and entered my teen years, the bicycle became a way to get around and my horizons really broadened. It came to represent some of the best times I had with my father as a teen. I loved (loved!!) our rides together. It also set me apart from my peers. I am not a joiner. I like to be different. Almost no one I knew understood why the word Campagnolo made me smile with a fierce inner delight. No one got it. And I liked it that way. It meant that I was not normal.

And I liked it that way.

As an adult, the bicycle became something to play with even more. I took a foolish break from riding during my university years and fell hard for cars. Dumb. Later, I got back into riding via mountain bikes and spent years racking up kilometres in the dirt, scars on my body, and smiles on my face. I loved it.

Still do.

Now, a bicycle is both a toy - road riding to see what is over the hill still makes me smile, and a week is ruined if it does not involve both dirt and a bicycle - and a mode of transport. It is freedom again. Freedom from traffic, from stress, from soul crushing driving.

I can never ride enough.

However, it is not my only hobby.

I also like taking pictures of things. I like it a lot. It can be very meditative. The creative process - using a chunk of metal, plastic, glass, and electronics to create a thing of beauty is something which has a great deal of appeal to me. I like to create.

I have it in my head to someday take a picture which is a piece of actual art.

I am one of those who believes that photography can be art. It CAN be art. Not every photograph is art. Not by a long shot. But a photograph can be art.

What makes it so?

If a picture moves you. If it makes you stop, look, and gasp. If it tells a real story. If it makes you look again and again.

Then it is art. Or, at least, it nears it.

I want to create art someday.

I don't feel as if I have taken my picture yet. Some of what I have done comes close, but I have not taken that picture which makes me look at it and say yes, now I have taken The Picture.

Today, the inspiration well is dry. It feels as if there is nothing there. Most of what I am doing now is just documentary picture taking. It is of no import. Boring. Dull.

In part, this is because I have taken just about all the useful pictures that I can take locally. In part, this is because I just have a case of the photographic blahs and know that it will pass. In part, it is because I feel as if I cannot ever take The Picture.

Of course that is silly because there is no such thing as The Picture and the seeking of it is a quest with no end.

In that, photography is like cycling. A quest with no end.

just a picture, or, I ain't dead!