Wednesday, November 30, 2005

Ride into work for Wednesday, 30 November

Another day when it's just too warm. Also had a muppet on a bike decide he had had enough of riding on the sidewalk and wanted to go on the road, right in front of me. Roll on winter, either the muppets won't be out or they'll soon learn not to pull a stunt like that in the snow...

Distance logged: 12.715km
Time: 35:49
Average speed: 21.3km/hr
Max speed: 55.8 km/hr
Temperature: 7C, cloudy
Cumulative distance: 6542.834km
Cumulative cost per km: $0.23
Monthly distance: 549.725km
Monthly cost per km: $0.35

Ride home for Tuesday, 29 November

It dropped down to 6C by the time I set off, but it was still rather too warm.

Distance logged: 14.224km
Time: 41:11
Average speed: 20.7km/hr
Max speed: 46.4 km/hr
Temperature: 6C, cloudy, breezy
Cumulative distance: 6530.119km
Cumulative cost per km: $0.23
Monthly distance: 537.010km
Monthly cost per km: $0.36

Tuesday, November 29, 2005

Ride into work for Tuesday, 29 November

Today should be interesting, the forecast for this afternoon is 9C. More rain Thursday and Friday, but snow's due on Saturday - only flurries, though. I suppose at least with the temperature being this warm I'm saving on heating bills...

Distance logged: 12.738km
Time: 34:23
Average speed: 22.2km/hr
Max speed: 59 km/hr
Temperature: 1C, sunny
Cumulative distance: 6515.895km
Cumulative cost per km: $0.24
Monthly distance: 522.786km
Monthly cost per km: $0.37

Monday, November 28, 2005

Ride home for Monday, 28 November

I took my bike in at lunchtime (IdealBikes now being on their 12-6 winter hours) and Roger said he'd be able to get my bike ready for the evening, along with repairing the puncture that I picked up on the way there - some genius decided to smash a bottle on the sidewalk.

I was expecting the temperature to drop on the way home but it didn't, so the extra sleeveless jersey I wore was a tad excessive. The forecast is for a high of 10C tomorrow...

Distance logged: 13.666km
Time: 38:41
Average speed: 21.2km/hr
Max speed: 45.3 km/hr
Temperature: 2C, overcast
Cumulative distance: 6503.157km
Cumulative cost per km: $0.24
Monthly distance: 510.048km
Monthly cost per km: $0.38

Ride into work for Monday, 28 November

Nice cool ride in, although double digits are forecast for the rest of the week along with rain (possibility of flurries on Friday, though).

I swapped my chain yesterday as it was starting to get worn. Unfortunately I didn't change it in time, the new chain is now slipping in 6th gear - which is a bit odd, usually it's 4th gear that slips as that's the one I'm in most of the time. I can't complain though, this is the 4th chain on there and the sprocket's done about 2500km in some really nasty salty conditions.

Time: 34:42
Average speed: 22km/hr
Max speed: 55.8 km/hr
Temperature: -4C, sunny
Cumulative distance: 6489.491km
Cumulative cost per km: $0.23
Monthly distance: 496.382km
Monthly cost per km: $0.27

Sunday, November 27, 2005

Ride home for Friday, 25 November

A nice cool ride home. Maybe winter's finally starting to kick in?

Distance logged: 14.275km
Time: 43:03
Average speed: 19.7km/hr
Max speed: 46.6 km/hr
Temperature: 0C, cloudy
Cumulative distance: 6476.755km
Cumulative cost per km: $0.23
Monthly distance: 483.646km
Monthly cost per km: $0.28

Friday, November 25, 2005

Ride into work for Friday, 25 November

Another warm ride in, surprisingly enough without any rain - though the streets were still wet. After a couple of months of having the bike lane free of traffic, today there were two cars parked in the bike lane - one of which I nearly hit as it was just after a left turn traffic light and was hidden by a truck. Oh, for a HERF gun. Or failing that, a police officer to hand out tickets like confetti.

Time: 34:49
Average speed: 22km/hr
Max speed: 59.4 km/hr
Temperature: 6C, sunny
Cumulative distance: 6462.480km
Cumulative cost per km: $0.23
Monthly distance: 469.371km
Monthly cost per km: $0.29

Thursday, November 24, 2005

Ride home for Thursday, 24 November

Big temperature swing upwards accompanied by rain with winds gusting at 85km/hr meant I was sweating like buggery on the way home. It's starting to look like there isn't going to be a winter this year...

Distance logged: 14.252km
Time: 42:23
Average speed: 20.2km/hr
Max speed: 44.5 km/hr
Temperature: 9C, raining, windy
Cumulative distance: 6449.708km
Cumulative cost per km: $0.23
Monthly distance: 456.599km
Monthly cost per km: $0.30

Ride into work for Thursday, 24 November

Rode in a bit early again due to being on-site this week. According to the weather it was cloudy but no rain expected till midday, so much for that - after about 2km it started raining, and it was cold enough that it was sleet rather than rain. I didn't bother stopping to put rain pants on, and after about 10 minutes it stopped. Roll on real winter when there's no rain - at least then the snow just blows off rather than soaking through...

Distance logged: 12.782km
Time: 35:13
Average speed: 21.8km/hr
Max speed: 56.7 km/hr
Temperature: -1C, cloudy, intermittent rainshowers
Cumulative distance: 6435.456km
Cumulative cost per km: $0.23
Monthly distance: 442.347km
Monthly cost per km: $0.31

Wednesday, November 23, 2005

Ride home for Wednesday, 23 November

Heavy rain on the way home to make up for this morning. I left later than normal as I was on site, so I hit the Halifax rush-hour in full swing (or at least, as much of a rush-hour as Halifax gets).

Distance logged: 13.223km
Time: 41:16
Average speed: 19.2km/hr
Max speed: 46.2 km/hr
Temperature: 4C, raining
Cumulative distance: 6422.674km
Cumulative cost per km: $0.23
Monthly distance: 429.565km
Monthly cost per km: $0.31

Ride into work for Wednesday, 23 November

I dressed for rain as it was cloudy out and threatening rain. As a result, there was no rain. Some days, you just can't win...

Distance logged: 12.764km
Time: 34:21
Average speed: 22.3km/hr
Max speed: 62.4 km/hr
Temperature: 7C, cloudy
Cumulative distance: 6409.451km
Cumulative cost per km: $0.23
Monthly distance: 416.342km
Monthly cost per km: $0.32

Tuesday, November 22, 2005

Ride home for Tuesday, 22 November

I left a bit early today as the forecast started predicting thunderstorms late afternoon. It was pretty hairy as it was, according to Environment Canada the wind was 59km/hr with gusts of 85km/hr. I passed a bike cop who definitely wasn't having a fun time, I think he was managing just above walking pace riding into the headwind and didn't look too impressed at me zooming past at the blistering speed of 15km/hr.

Leaving early meant I managed to catch the wind before it changed, so I had quite a few tailwinds, for a change. Getting an 80km/hr gust pushing me off from a standing start at a traffic light was an interesting experience...

Distance logged: 14.271km
Time: 40:48
Average speed: 21km/hr
Max speed: 49.9 km/hr
Temperature: 13C, rain, heavy winds
Cumulative distance: 6396.687km
Cumulative cost per km: $0.23
Monthly distance: 403.578km
Monthly cost per km: $0.33

Ride into work for Tuesday, 22 November

I decided to ride into work as the worst of the weather isn't supposed to hit till evening. It was pretty windy, and I ended up taking a short route in. I caught a tailwind on a long straight section, though, so at least I had fun - riding at 50km/hr with hardly any effort!

I had the liner gloves on under my neoprene gloves, and rather than the usual rivulets of sweat that come out when I take the neoprene gloves off, there was just a slight touch of dampness. I really can't figure out how the liner gloves work, but I'm not complaining...

Distance logged: 12.757km
Time: 38:26
Average speed: 19.9km/hr
Max speed: 52 km/hr
Temperature: 10C, rainy, windy
Cumulative distance: 6382.416km
Cumulative cost per km: $0.23
Monthly distance: 389.307km
Monthly cost per km: $0.35

Monday, November 21, 2005

Ride home for Monday, 21 November

Picked up some odds and ends from MEC at lunchtime; brake pads, neck gaiter (my other one has disappeared), set of liner gloves and some lip balm. The liner gloves are rather impressive; I tested my gloves before putting them on, and they were cold and damp inside from the morning's ride in. I put the liner gloves on and then put the gloves over them, and it was like putting my hands into a warm sauna. Even stranger, when I got home I took the gloves off, and they were dry inside... As were the liner gloves! I'm rather bemused now as to where the sweat is going...

The ride home was slowed down by my cold and by the traffic - there were several long tailbacks of traffic which I was able to overtake, but I couldn't go as fast as I normally ride. I was still quicker than the traffic, of course...

I'm debating whether to ride or not tomorrow. The current forecast is the rain won't hit hard until the afternoon, so I might be lucky...

Distance logged: 14.294km
Time: 42:03
Average speed: 20.2km/hr
Max speed: 45.9 km/hr
Temperature: 9C-6C, cloudy
Cumulative distance: 6369.659km
Cumulative cost per km: $0.23
Monthly distance: 376.550km
Monthly cost per km: $0.36

Ride into work for Monday, 21 November

Not a great ride in as I have a stinking cold, but at least it cleared my head out a bit.

Not sure if I'm going to be riding in tomorrow, there's heavy south-east winds forecast of 90km/hr which should make my (generally north-west) commute home a little tricky...

Distance logged: 12.778km
Time: 34:25
Average speed: 22.3km/hr
Max speed: 59.5 km/hr
Temperature: 2C, overcast
Cumulative distance: 6355.365km
Cumulative cost per km: $0.23
Monthly distance: 362.256km
Monthly cost per km: $0.31

Sunday, November 20, 2005

Ride home for Friday, 18 November

Chilly ride home, found a problem with my new gloves - the sweat isn't drying out so they're constantly wet inside. I think I might pick up a pair of polypro liner gloves for $4.

I also did some maintenance on my bike over the weekend, I disassembled the rear brakes as they were sticking a bit and cleaned them out and regreased them. I also swapped the brake pads over from one side to another on both front and back; the bottom side of the brake pad was barely worn, so I figure I can get another month or two's use out of the pads before they actually wear out flat (as opposed to wearing at an angle).

Distance logged: 14.252km
Time: 41:49
Average speed: 20.5km/hr
Max speed: 47.9 km/hr
Temperature: 2C-0C, cloudy
Cumulative distance: 6342.587km
Cumulative cost per km: $0.23
Monthly distance: 349.478km
Monthly cost per km: $0.32

Friday, November 18, 2005

Ride into work for Friday, 18 November

A significantly more enjoyable ride in than the last couple of days. Unfortunately it's taking me so long to get ready in the morning I'm having to take a short route in to work. Such is the price of winter commuting... And we haven't even seen any snow yet!

Distance logged: 12.764km
Time: 32:58
Average speed: 23.2km/hr
Max speed: 64.7 km/hr
Temperature: 1C, sunny
Cumulative distance: 6328.335km
Cumulative cost per km: $0.23
Monthly distance: 335.226km
Monthly cost per km: $0.33

Thursday, November 17, 2005

Ride home for Thursday, 17 November

A better ride in than this morning, at least the wind died down. All the leaves on the road are starting to decompose in the rain and mix with the dirt and grit, so every time I braked I could feel a little bit more rim scraping off, so I took it easy on the braking. Even so when I cleaned my bike this evening I could see the front brake was almost down to the wear line - I had a quarter of a brake pad left last weekend!

Distance logged: 14.224km
Time: 43:34
Average speed: 19.6km/hr
Max speed: 46.8 km/hr
Temperature: 8C, drizzle
Cumulative distance: 6315.571km
Cumulative cost per km: $0.23
Monthly distance: 322.462km
Monthly cost per km: $0.35

Ride into work for Thursday, 17 November

Another crappy weather day with rain and wind. This time, I actually caught a few tailwinds, including one going uphill - it was quite a novelty to be pedalling uphill at 40km/hr with no effort! The downside of having wind this powerful was, of course, the headwinds and sidewinds. According to Environment Canada the wind was 40km/hr with gusts of 60km/hr. On top of this the warm temperature meant I was pretty severely overheated, even though I wore kneewarmers (to soak up the sweat) under the waterproof pants instead of cycling pants, and a shortsleeve jersey with armwarmers instead of a longsleeve jersey.

Distance logged: 12.717km
Time: 36:59
Average speed: 20.6km/hr
Max speed: 64.2 km/hr
Temperature: 15C, rainy, windy
Cumulative distance: 6301.347km
Cumulative cost per km: $0.23
Monthly distance: 308.238km
Monthly cost per km: $0.36

Wednesday, November 16, 2005

Ride home for Wednesday, 16 November

The ride home was at least better than this morning, although still rather damp. I managed to get the two tires home by putting them over my head, one onto each shoulder, working them over the backpack, then cable tying each shoulder strap on my backpack to a tyre. I don't know what I looked like, but no drivers came anywhere near me today. Needless to say, I'm not going to be adopting this as a regular method of car repellence...

Distance logged: 14.245km
Time: 42:55
Average speed: 19.9km/hr
Max speed: 45.7 km/hr
Temperature: 10C, foggy
Cumulative distance: 6288.630km
Cumulative cost per km: $0.23
Monthly distance: 295.521km
Monthly cost per km: $0.38

Ride into work for Wednesday, 16 November

Today was not a good day.

I put on my gaiters and reflective anklebands as it was raining outside. When I got to the end of the street, I realised I hadn't put on my rain pants. So, I pulled over and just about managed to squeeze my winter boots through the rain pants and get them on. Riding on, I was being hit by winds that constantly changed direction from sidewind to headwind (you will note, no mention of "tailwind"). As a result, the rain got pretty much everywhere, and I resigned myself to a pretty sucky commute.

Then, about halfway there, setting off from a traffic light, I heard a sudden "crunch" noise and felt my right foot suddenly sag. I managed to make the next turn onto a residential street, stopped, and found the axle in the pedal had snapped. I tried pedalling for a distance pushing inwards with my right foot, but that just didn't work as the pedal kept slipping out from under my boot. I then tried wrapping some bits of paper around the remains of the axle and stuffed the pedal back on to see if the friction would do the trick; unfortunately not. So, for the last half of the commute, I had to ride with a 5cm stub of axle instead of a pedal. I did an on-the-fly rejig of the commute so I would be going either flat or downhill most of the way, and managed to get in without any major problems, although my left leg got a real workout.

I picked up a Park Tool RW-3 mini pedal wrench and a cheap set of platform pedals from MEC at lunchtime. The RW-3 is definitely an emergency only tool - because it's so short there's next to no leverage, I ended up taking some corrugated cardboard and folding it over a couple of times and even then it felt like the wrench was going to leave a permanent mark. Still, at least the bike's rideable now.

I also picked up the 27" tyres for the new bike. It's going to be interesting getting them home, I can't find the velcro strap I was going to use to tie them down with...

Distance logged: 11.206km
Time: 35:03
Average speed: 18.9km/hr
Max speed: 54.1 km/hr
Temperature: 5C, raining, windy
Cumulative distance: 6274.385km
Cumulative cost per km: $0.23
Monthly distance: 281.276km
Monthly cost per km: $0.40

Tuesday, November 15, 2005

Ride home for Tuesday, 15 November

The Tiresparx are continuing to make a difference, everyone seems to slow down around me when they see the flashing blue lights. Most gratifying...

I had a comment from a pedestrian on the firetrail, "I thought you were a car coming towards me and I couldn't figure out how on earth you would fit!" - I guess the lights are quite effective!

Distance logged: 14.403km
Time: 41:23
Average speed: 20.9km/hr
Max speed: 46.8 km/hr
Temperature: 5C, cloudy
Cumulative distance: 6263.179km
Cumulative cost per km: $0.22
Monthly distance: 270.070km
Monthly cost per km: $0.21

Ride into work for Tuesday, 15 November

First ride in with the new winter gloves, they seemed to work fairly well.

Distance logged: 16.796km
Time: 43:25
Average speed: 23.2km/hr
Max speed: 61.4 km/hr
Temperature: 1C, sunny
Cumulative distance: 6248.776km
Cumulative cost per km: $0.22
Monthly distance: 255.667km
Monthly cost per km: $0.22

Monday, November 14, 2005

Ride home for Monday, 14 November

My ride home was certainly interesting; if I thought drivers were careful with the Tiresparx before, they were now positively wary! It wasn't until I was nearly home and had a driver slam on his brakes and stop for me at the crossing before I'd even pressed the button to cross that I realised they must be interpreting the flickering blue light as flashing lights from a police... bicycle? I'm a touch dubious, but careful reading of the bicycle section of the Nova Scotia Motor Vehicle Act shows nothing that would prohibit using this on my bike...

Distance logged: 14.321km
Time: 42:09
Average speed: 20.4km/hr
Max speed: 48.7 km/hr
Temperature: 14C, cloudy
Cumulative distance: 6231.980km
Cumulative cost per km: $0.22
Monthly distance: 238.871km
Monthly cost per km: $0.24

Ride into work for Monday, 14 November

Took the short way in as I was running late. As it turned out, it didn't matter, since I was the first one in - there was an accident on the highway that caused everyone else to be late anyway.

Took the Tiresparx back to MEC, the front one lost two of the LEDs - either a dry solder joint, or the immersion it received on Thursday damaged it (or both). Unfortunately they were out of the red/green/blue ones, there were two packs of blue ones left so I took one of them. It'll be interesting to see if there's any difference in driver behaviour between the RGB set and the blue-only ones.

Whilst I was at MEC, I picked up two 27" tubes and a pair of winter gloves (since mine have a rip in them from last year that isn't really fixable). Went into Ideal Bikes but they didn't have any narrow 27" tyres in, they're expecting some in later on today (the holiday last week threw off the delivery schedule). I'll go in tomorrow and see what's available.

Distance logged: 12.751km
Time: 32:52
Average speed: 23.3km/hr
Max speed: 60 km/hr
Temperature: 9C, overcast
Cumulative distance: 6217.659km
Cumulative cost per km: $0.22
Monthly distance: 224.550km
Monthly cost per km: $0.25

Sunday, November 13, 2005

Working on the new bike

I've been working on the new bike for the past couple of days. It was pretty sad looking when I got it:



The chain looked like it was completely shot:



And the pedals weren't looking too happy at all:



The gears were also rusted solid on the front derailleur, although the rear seemed OK. I started by cleaning off the chain with my chain cleaner, starting with hot water to get the surface dirt off, then chain cleaner, and alternating until the magnet in the chain cleaner wasn't pulling any more filings off. By that time the chain was clean and seemed pretty undamaged, so I oiled it up and left it.

Next I started on the front derailleur. I blasted WD40 at all the rusted parts to unseize them, which helped quite a bit. Once the WD40 evaporated I squirted some light oil in the derailleur and shifter, which ended up letting me shift up fine, but down was still iffy. With deduction skills that would have done Sherlock Holmes proud, I decided that the fact the cable was completely rusted was probably the reason.

I then disassembled the rear brake, since that was so rusted that not even WD40 would work. I decided the best bet would be to set up an electrolysis bath, since I was too lazy to sit and fiddle with a wire brush on all the tiny parts. I set up the test bath using some bent nails I had, some baking soda, some hookup wire, and the battery charger from my bike lights:



Needless to say, this is not the safest way to remove rust, but it does the trick. I would not recommend anyone do this unless you know exactly what you're doing; it's basically using a salt solution to [insert vague half-remembered high school level chemistry lesson on ions] by pulling the oxide out of ferrous oxide (ie rust), leaving ferrite (iron). A sample of just a few of the gases that may be given off are:

* Oxygen (er, fairly safe)
* Hydrogen (explosive)
* Carbon Monoxide and Dioxide (not good)
* Chlorine (really not good, so don't use table salt - aka Sodium Chloride)

After about 20 minutes, the dirt started lifting off:



Unfortunately, the yellow goop means chromium was coming off something. Looking at the nails I used, I realised they were galvanised. Chromium is quite a nasty substance and is a known carcinogen, and should not be poured down the drain or out on the bit of waste land out the back door. Oh no, quite definitely not.

I replaced the nails with the heat sink sheet from one of the dead Sparc Classics I've accumulated; this is a sheet of metal about 20cm by 20cm, around 1/4mm thick, that folds quite easily.

I also replaced the battery charger (pumping out 9VDC @ 1000mA) with a beefier transformer I had in my parts box (12VDC @ 1600mA). I then started on the pedals, stripping them down and degreasing them. Looking at the pedal innards the bike has been hardly used; there's no marks of wear on either the bearings or the bearing races, and the only marks of use on the pedal casing are where the pedal's been used to (presumably) lean the bike against the wall. The rust was everywhere, though:



I left the electrolysis bath running for an hour or so, and then took the pedal out, washed it off, dried it and rubbed off the rust with a rag, wiped a thin film of grease all over it then reassembled. Here's the result afterwards, with the other uncleaned pedal next to it:



The electrolysis can't do anything about the pitting, but the surface rust is removed or loosened, and any sub-surface rust is converted back to iron. The metal is immediately vulnerable to rust (I had rust forming after about 20 minutes), so anything cleaned in this method must be rinsed off immediately (to remove the salts), cleaned off with a rag (this will lift off remaining rust) and then coated with a thin film of grease to protect it. This means this technique must not be used on steel rims with rim brakes unless you want a really interesting time braking.

The tyres are completely shot, as are the tubes. I'm going to pick up new tyres and tubes tomorrow, then I should be able to take it out for a test ride to see if it'll hold enough to ride into town, where I can take it into the bike shop to get them to finish off what needs doing - I think new cables are probably all that's required, which any luck. After that I'll have a nicely lugged steel road bike with a near-perfect frame size for next to nothing!

Thursday, November 10, 2005

Ride into work for Thursday, 10 November

Rode into Bedford for a chiropractor's appointment. According to the weather forecast there is a heavy rainfall warning in effect, with winds of up to 80km/hr. The weather forecast was, to understate the case quite heavily, completely correct. I rode down Hammonds Plains Road into Bedford (a fairly steep downhill) and had to pedal hard to get above 20km/hr. The flipside was cycling back, I was able to ride uphill at 25km/hr with no real effort, which was quite enjoyable. I stopped off at home to change my boots (my summer boots, as I found out the hard way, are not entirely waterproof) and got a call from a client to fix up a system, so I ended up working from home for the day - not something I had a problem with in this weather!

On the way home I spotted a bike left out for the garbage down the street from our house. I went down to look at it after dropping my bike off, I now have a Nishiki Olympic pretty much identical to this one here, except my one has a mouldy(!) rear tyre. I'm also going to replace the grips on the handlebar (the neoprene is decomposing into little pieces), and I suspect replace the cables and maybe the chain. Apart from that it looks in really good condition, and it's also the right size for me - quite an achievement since it's difficult to find a manufacturer that sells frames big enough for me, so finding one in the garbage is a real bonus! It also looks like it has horizontal dropouts, so in theory I could even convert this into a single speed or fixed gear bike. In practice, I'll probably do it on the day when all the hills in Nova Scotia are finally flattened out...

Distance logged: 30.238km
Time: 85:21
Average speed: 21.3km/hr
Max speed: 60.0 km/hr
Temperature: 7C-11C, high winds, heavy rain
Cumulative distance: 6204.908km
Cumulative cost per km: $0.22
Monthly distance: 211.799km
Monthly cost per km: $0.12

Ride home for Wednesday, 09 November

Rode home with just the winter gloves, no liner, and I was OK.

The school I ride through on my way home was having a dance or something, there were a bunch of kids hanging out. As I did my usual jump off the fire trail onto the school driveway one of the kids shouted out, "whoah! Awesome bike!"; I don't know if it's a good thing or not that I have the teenager seal of approval...

Distance logged: 13.196km
Time: 37:11
Average speed: 21.3km/hr
Max speed: 50.7 km/hr
Temperature: 1C, breezy
Cumulative distance: 6174.670km
Cumulative cost per km: $0.22
Monthly distance: 181.561km
Monthly cost per km: $0.14

Ride into work for Wednesday, 09 November

Rode in with winter boots and gloves. I'm going to have to rethink my glove strategy (fleece gloves inside winter gloves), it's just too tight and there's no air circulation. Time for a trip to MEC, perhaps...

Time: 43:33
Average speed: 23.1km/hr
Max speed: 56.2 km/hr
Temperature: 1C, windy
Cumulative distance: 6161.474km
Cumulative cost per km: $0.22
Monthly distance: 168.365km
Monthly cost per km: $0.15

Tuesday, November 08, 2005

Ride home for Tuesday, 08 November

A really windy ride home, I'm surprised I made it as quickly as I did. I think in some of the headwinds I wasn't going much faster than walking.

Had cars giving me lots more space than usual, again. Unfortunately it only seems to work in the dark - drivers weren't so courteous this morning!

Distance logged: 14.235km
Time: 42:20
Average speed: 20.2km/hr
Max speed: 46.2 km/hr
Temperature: 8C, sunny, windy
Cumulative distance: 6144.697km
Cumulative cost per km: $0.22
Monthly distance: 151.588km
Monthly cost per km: $0.16

Ride into work for Tuesday, 08 November

No ride in yesterday due to sickness brought home from school by one of the sprogs and spread around the family over the weekend.

Windy ride in this morning, also fairly chilly - time to finish the winter preparations. Forecast for tonight and tomorrow morning calls for a chance of snow, too - just in time for Remembrance Day.

Distance logged: 16.726km
Time: 44:25
Average speed: 22.6km/hr
Max speed: 63.2 km/hr
Temperature: 5C, sunny, windy
Cumulative distance: 6130.462km
Cumulative cost per km: $0.22
Monthly distance: 137.353km
Monthly cost per km: $0.18

Saturday, November 05, 2005

Ride home for Friday, 04 November

Went over to MEC at lunchtime and picked up a new headband (which is plain black, instead of the rather odious purple colour on the image) as my original one seems to have been lost somewhere along the line.

While I was there I saw some "Tire Sparx" - little motion sensitive flashing devices that replace the dust cap on the tyre. These ones are red green and blue, and being the sucker for anything bright and flashy that I am I had to buy them - at $7.50 for two it was cheap enough to buy and chuck if they were rubbish. I had some Tireflys last year and they were OK, but not particularly bright, and the salt dissolved the plastic after about 4 or 5 months. These Tiresparx are insanely bright, and the red/green/blue combo means that at speed, I get a stripe of red, then green, then blue, as the LEDs fire in turn - which you can only see when the wheel's in motion, since they flash so close together. I popped them on my bike before I left work and there was much oohing and aaahing - the receptionist wants to get a set for her bike at home too now.

Once I got out onto the street, I was really quite impressed at how drivers took note of the lights. It was dark enough that they were really bright, and I had drivers overtaking me and driving parallel to me about 10 feet away so they could take a closer look. I didn't have a problem with this as it stopped drivers from getting too close, apart from when I wanted to get into the other lane and the driver took a few seconds before she saw me signalling, and then sped off looking rather embarrassed.

I also had a stoner dude leaning over the side of his balcony call out "whoah, cool bike, dude!", which makes me wonder what else it's possible (a sister company to the one that makes the Tiresparx makes an LED fan that displays messages when the blades spin so in theory quite a bit, although I'm not sure how small such a module could be). The same company also makes stick-on LEDs for pedals and stick-on LED strips for the top tube and down tube which are rather tempting - I might drop them an email asking where I can get their products in Canada.

It's rather ironic that after spending an awful lot of money on halogen lights, high-end LED lights, flashing lights, reflective tape and reflective clothing, $7.50-worth of flashing LEDs on the valve stem is all it takes for drivers to pay attention. Perhaps when Christmas approaches I'll pick up some battery powered Christmas lights for added gimcrackery!

Distance logged: 14.315km
Time: 40:04
Average speed: 21.2km/hr
Max speed: 48.7 km/hr
Temperature: 5C, windy
Cumulative distance: 6113.736km
Cumulative cost per km: $0.22
Monthly distance: 120.627km
Monthly cost per km: $0.21

Friday, November 04, 2005

Ride into work for Friday, 04 November

It's getting very close to the temperature where it's time to break out the winter boots...

Distance logged: 16.859km
Time: 42:08
Average speed: 24km/hr
Max speed: 55.5 km/hr
Temperature: 4C, windy
Cumulative distance: 6099.421km
Cumulative cost per km: $0.22
Monthly distance: 106.312km
Monthly cost per km: $0

Thursday, November 03, 2005

Ride home for Thursday, 03 November

Wet and windy ride home, there were a surprising number of cyclists around, though - more than I'd normally see. It'll be interesting to see how many continue on through winter...

Distance logged: 14.308km
Time: 43:50
Average speed: 19.6km/hr
Max speed: 45 km/hr
Temperature: 7C, raining
Cumulative distance: 6082.562km
Cumulative cost per km: $0.22
Monthly distance: 89.453km
Monthly cost per km: $0

Ride into work for Thursday, 03 November

Figured that Environment Canada might be telling the truth today and rode in with a short sleeve jersey and windbreaker. It was definitely cold, verging on cold enough to break out the winter boots. Quite a shock after the warm weather yesterday!

Distance logged: 16.852km
Time: 42:51
Average speed: 23.6km/hr
Max speed: 61.0 km/hr
Temperature: 2C, sunny
Cumulative distance: 6068.254km
Cumulative cost per km: $0.22
Monthly distance: 75.145km
Monthly cost per km: $0

Wednesday, November 02, 2005

Ride home for Wednesday, 02 November

Most unseasonable weather, I rode home in a short sleeve jersey and armwarmers where I would expect to need a windbreaker. I'm not complaining, though!

Distance logged: 14.321km
Time: 40:45
Average speed: 21.1km/hr
Max speed: 50.9 km/hr
Temperature: 10C, sunny, windy
Cumulative distance: 6051.402km
Cumulative cost per km: $0.22
Monthly distance: 58.293km
Monthly cost per km: $0

Ride into work for Wednesday, 02 November

It looked fairly dry out when I set off so I didn't bother putting on waterproofs, then about 10 minutes from work it started raining gently. About 5 minutes from work it started raining fairly hard. Fortunately, there's a dehumidifier in the server room here which is drying out my clothes quite nicely...

Distance logged: 12.810km
Time: 33:27
Average speed: 23km/hr
Max speed: 61.9 km/hr
Temperature: 13C, windy, rainy
Cumulative distance: 6037.081km
Cumulative cost per km: $0.22
Monthly distance: 43.972km
Monthly cost per km: $0

Tuesday, November 01, 2005

Ride home for Tuesday, 01 November

A surprisingly warm afternoon, it topped out at 19C. Allegedly there's going to be a snowstorm by Remembrance Day, temperatures are going to have to drop quite a bit for that to happen...

Distance logged: 14.310km
Time: 40:36
Average speed: 21.1km/hr
Max speed: 50.3 km/hr
Temperature: 16C, sunny
Cumulative distance: 6024.271km
Cumulative cost per km: $0.22
Monthly distance: 31.162km
Monthly cost per km: $0

Ride into work for Tuesday, 01 November

The temperature was 4C when I checked this morning so I dressed accordingly - short sleeve jersey, armwarmers, jacket, shorts and pants. By the time I was halfway through I was dripping with sweat, it felt like around 15 degrees. I really don't know what happened there...

Muppet of the day was another cyclist. First off, I was behind another car coming up to a four way stop. I waited behind the car for it to go, then waited for my turn. As I was about to set off, this older guy went past on my right and swung in front of me. I rode on and passed him pretty quickly (he wasn't pedalling particularly fast). I came up to the next intersection, which has the street across (that I go down) offset slightly to the left. Again, I was waiting behind a car which was turning left, and I was signalling to go left, and muppet came up on my right and continued parallel to the car. He was looking to the right, and had his wheel pointed to the right, so I assumed, him being on the right-hand side of the lane, he was turning right. As I crossed the road behind the car in a gap in traffic, I suddenly found Mr Muppet riding directly in front of me - he'd obviously ridden parallel to the car and decided to turn left. I gave him a blast of my horn as he didn't seem to have seen me and said, "did you see me there?" His response was "isn't it a nice day!" Obviously the guy wasn't the brightest spark and was an accident waiting to happen, so I decided to push on as fast as I could and get away from him.

Also saw Ms Muppet doing her usual walk on the road, today completely camouflaged from head to toe in grey.

Distance logged: 16.852km
Time: 42:38
Average speed: 23.7km/hr
Max speed: 62.3 km/hr
Temperature: 5C, sunny
Cumulative distance: 6009.961km
Cumulative cost per km: $0.22
Monthly distance: 16.852km
Monthly cost per km: $0