Wild creatures of the Great North Shore

Sunday, 31 Oct, 2010 . . . HALLOWEEN

sedate

WILD

a great steel moose

unfortunate dinosaur graveyard

Winnie the Pooh . . .Winnie the Pooh . . .

They don't look so wild now . . .

and the most fearsome of them all

yes, that is a ferret . . .

Cuttin' to the chase

OK . . .

I know no one reads this blog for the clever writing, or even the

always truthful, complete and timely information.

Rather you look at it because of the cute ferret fhotos

so . . . let's just cut to the chase

Those of you that chose to read and follow directions

and be at "the church" at 9:00

missed a wonderful ridin' mornin'

I will never understand these signs

Don't people know how tempting it is?

Apparently it was cold this morning, all were appropriately attired

We quickly organized and began our Saturday morning trek

to the MOCHA MOOSE

The ever clever TIM, was apparently sending a coded

hand signal to Russ and Dave

The message must have been

"PUNCTURE AHEAD"

Russ, being the "penny pincher" that he is,

has a curious assortment of tools

(there's that $2.49 wrench again)

On the other hand, he managed to flat 

just at the right place . . . a place with a repair stand

At the MOOSE, there was plenty of discussion of 

funny mechanicals.

Something about 170 & 175 . . . and

something about some guy not knowing how to run his chain through

his rear derailleur.

name withheld to protect the guilty

SUNDAY, 31 OCT

10:00 am at BRIGHTON BEACH

EASY RIDE to the MOCHA MOOSE

HEY . . . We're NOT DONE YET!

OK . . . so it's a little cold, been a bit windy and snowy

What's your point?

We're meeting tomorrow (SATURDAY) 
at the CHURCH at 9:00

We'll decide the route at that time

  I suspect coffee will be involved

Riding was GREAT yesterday

It's a good thing we're riding bikes

and not playing soccer or something

because

Trials and tribulations

. . . . of a Single Speed Rider . . . .

It all began at mile 0

Seems one of our single speed dudes thought his gearing was wrong

and when flip flopping forgot to move his skewer

This skewer on the right (wrong) side thing is becoming a problem

that must be corrected . . . two weeks in a row!

Justice prevailed, when at mile 14

The bike being clearly in agony and out of balance

chose to loosen its left crank arm.

Certainly had the skewer been on the left side . . . 

I'm sure the first order of business post ride was:

The unplanned stop gave Mark a chance to model his new jersey

I got so excited when I saw it, I went car shopping

only to learn Saturn is no longer in business . . .

So Mark, what's up with the jersey?

Repair and runway work complete, off we went into the wind

Let's just be honest, those miles down
West Knife River Rd and Stanley were tough

As always . . . saved by the MOOSE

Mark simply can not stop modeling that damn jersey

Russ nervously awaits our final 20 miles WITH the WIND
(for those uninitiated, it is tougher on a single speed with the wind)

and manages to ride 14 miles at >2000 rpm
before his chain turns red hot

melts, and comes off . . .
(more Trial and Tribulations of the Single Speed Rider)
A repair with a $2.49 (plus tax) tool, and we are on our way

So what exactly did we learn after 55+ miles of 30 mph winds?

(your author will be away for a few days, but fear not for him. . .
it's a small problem in a large country)

Ducksicles . . . ?

My ducks were frozen this morning in their duck bath

This bike was cold

This guys feet were cold

These feet were colder still

While these feet were toasty warm

(plug for LAKE WINTER CYCLING SHOES

go BUY 'em, but please . . . BUY 'em LOCALLY!)

Apparently, today was WEAR RED day

Although I missed the memo, I did find 

(Any idea how hard it is to find a photo of a cold ferret?)

SATURDAY; 23 OCT  9:00 AM at "the CHURCH"

a promised, civilized ride

shaft drive bike at SAVAGES BICYCLE CENTER

I've been promising to post this for a few weeks.

You may recall I spent a bit of time during September in Fredericton, New Brunswick.

During my stay, SAVAGES BICYCLE CENTER let me use a Specialized Allez.

(a BIG THANK YOU to MATT SAVAGE!) 

Matt is the 3rd or 4th generation owner of this shop.

It is now the OLDEST BIKE SHOP in NORTH AMERICA, 1897

(as an aside, curiously, Matt came down with an unexplained illness and was unable to ride with me . . . not sure I believe it . . . this led to my riding with

Team Evil and Team OSB)

During their last move . . .  they found this in the basement.

It is thought to be made before 1910.

Of course it has the expected wooden wheels

But what was not to be expected 

it is SHAFT DRIVE

I hope you find this as cool as I do

We are still riding this week . . . check for details!

Dropping like flies

First there were six

(don't forget the photographer!)

Then Five

(still six if you count Logan!)

Then Four

(Dave, the wheel goes on the bike)

Three

Two

(Yes, that is Jim riding up the NEW PAVEMENT ON GLENWOOD

and yes, this was the most difficult photo of the year)

Then just Rich and Blondie

They were DROPPING LIKE FLIES

One final note . . . 

It seems last week one of our members said "Velo News"

 was available at Mt Royal.  He even went so far as to 

claim it was "as the second to last register"

I searched, and searched to no avail.

All I could find was 

VANITY FAIR

a simple mistake I am sure