#yegbike commute: merely cool at -6°C with southwest winds. Surfaces icy patches, especially in the river valley, but melt patches all over. Main roads and MUPS bare pavement, with the previous caveat. Traffic weekday light, fairly respectful. Not many people about, even in the inner city. Not a […]

When I first moved out to Vancouver in the late 1980’s, I worked a health food/vegetarian diner very much in the middle of the ‘new age’ era. There existed a directory of all the ‘new age’ facilities and activities in the area. I remember one ranch offering a program called ‘chop wood, carry […]

This weekend, we are staying at a guest cabin/chalet out past Pigeon Lake, a mile or so before Winfield. We’ve stayed here before, it’s a nice medium sized property about a days bike ride from home. But we took a Communauto this time. Too warm for skiing - yesterday […] [Original post on mstdn.ca]

#yegbike commute: cool at -9°C with southwest winds. Funny how a few Celsius degrees feels considerably warmer. Surfaces still with reasonably good snowpack, minor MUPS still not done, a bit of a slog but rideable, certainly with the fatbike. Traffic medium weekday levels, not too annoying. A […]

#yegbike commute: -17°C is cold enough, with a medium southeast wind. Surfaces are mostly good snowpack. Major MUPS done, and the others rideable, but it really is a fatbike day. Traffic medium levels and medium annoying. Not many people about, street life was downright absent in the Boyle […]

#yegbike commute: chilly at -9°C with medium gusty northeasterly winds. Small amount of fresh powdery snow falling - maybe a few cm this far? Covers the ice quite nicely, good day for the fatbike. Traffic medium but well mannered, not many people about on the paths. Actually not a bad ride […]

#yegbike commute: cold at -13°C with slight northeasterly wind. Some bits of snow, not significant. Most surfaces good snowpack, most MUPS done. Icy patches throughout. Traffic not bad, street life quiet. Just another winter ride, not perfect, not horrible. #earworm ‘Taking It To The Streets’ […]

Supper involved poblano peppers. This involves getting the skins superheated so that they blister with black, such that the skin peels off later after they cool. Unfortunately nothing in our kitchen gets that hot, at least not very easily. So the oven was used, with a high broil. I did the […]

So glad this is my weekend, and I don’t have to riding home in this. Or preparing the #yegbike commute pm update! https://share.icloud.com/photos/093QBHQY2vuMRu1pXY3sgtmOw #yegwx

Today I'm looking up Rep Al Green D-TX and the Rev Al Green. They are similar ages, but different people. One has filed multiple charges against Donald Trump, one is a funky soul singer whose songs I know so well. Am so glad both people are alive and kicking in this world.

#yegbike commute: warm at 0°C with negligible wind. Unfortunately, that warm reduced the snowpack to mush on most MUPS, and the uncleared minor ones were quite the slog. Main roads also has large patches of brown sugar mush. Traffic was weekday medium, but not too annoying. Street life was out […]

Today’s secret mission at work was showing the residents who are more of a classic rock familiarity how Whiter Shade of Pale was sort of based on JS Bach ‘Air on the G String’. Not sure they were convinced, but I did get to work in some beautiful music. https://youtu.be/CvglW3KNSsQ

#yegbike commute: merely chilly at -11°C with no significant wind. Most surfaces still snow covered, minor MUPS are not done and a little skittery on regular gravel tires. Main roads medium brown sugar- rideable. Traffic medium weekday levels, not too annoying. Not many people about. Not a bad […]

#yegbike commute, pm update: a small fall of snow through the day - maybe a few cm (an inch) of fresh loose powder. If you can find virgin snow on a wide path it's smooth sailing on regular tires, pretty bumpy on ghost footprints. Main roads quite pressed down, minor roads mushy but rideable […]

#yegbike commute: cold at -20°C, but no wind really makes that temperature quite bearable. Light skiff of snow covering surfaces quite nicely, providing traction on the icy bits. Intersections require caution for pressed ice and chunky bits. Traffic medium, not too annoying at all. Not many […]

#yegbike commute: cold at -18°C with slight southeast wind. Surfaces mostly good, slight brown sugar spots rather than icy. Many paved surfaces bare, other good snowpack. Some pressed ice and ruts, but not to terrible. Took the summer gravel bike with regular gravel tires to good effect […]

When I first heard of the ‘crying horse’ manufacturing defect for the Year of the Horse, I knew I needed to have one. But it’s even more effective than I hoped. The Crying Horse looks - Concerned? Worried? Scared? Anyway, it’s great.

#yegbike wise things were very decent today. Went for my first longer ride since the Tuesday snowdump. From Delton to Victoria Park and back. Most non-priority bike lanes are not yet cleared but residential streets are very well packed. Love the winter wonderland with a blue sky and a February […]

#yegbike bike lane clearing: This morning, 96 St in Delton and 119 Ave in Alberta Avenue were cleared. 96 St in McCauley was not (but no problem riding the road there).

#yegbike commute - once again didn’t happen, took the bus. Good and cold at -25°C with a stiff and gusty northwest wind that chills to the bone. Some MUPS done, at least the 83rd Ave SconaBahn in Old Strathcona. Looks like good snowpack is forming. The ETS 51 goes right through my family history […]

#yegbike commute didn’t happen. Took the bus. About -15°C with medium northwest winds for a chilly morning. Maybe a few inches of loose powdery snow all over. From what I saw, nothing had been cleared yet. #earworm ‘Desperado’, The eagles.

#yegbike commute; cold at -6°C with chilly northeast wind. A light dusting of crunchy snow makes the icy parts even icier. Just what we need. At least traffic was light and mostly non-annoying. Street life quiet, but again a dying fire that seems to have been burning toxic waste in the inner […]

#yegbike commute, winter ride your bike to work day edition: slightly above 0°C with light southwest winds. Surfaces remain icy in the river valley hills. Flats remain pretty good, mindfulness still required for icy patches in weird places. Traffic mostly light and not too annoying- the […]

#yegbike commute: -2°C feels warmer than a Celsius number would suggest maybe it’s the light southwest wind. Surfaces remain treacherously icy in the river valley, that’s just how it is now, I guess. Traffic was light, street life subdued, and not a bad ride overall. The few usual dog walkers […]

#yegbike commute: still cool at -4°C with light southwest winds. Surfaces remain treacherously icy on the river valley paths, but I finally found a route that bypasses the worst parts. And again, the flats are just fine. Traffic was blessedly light, street life were in their tents. Not a bad […]

#yegbike commute: still cool at -5°C with light southwest winds. Icy parts still icy in the river valley and approaches - I took the road today. The flats are still quite fine, melt puddles on minor paths carefully rideable. Not too bad of a ride overall. Traffic medium weekday levels, not too […]

I did watch the Bad Bunny SuperbOwl half-time show, and it was amazing. Coded political/historical theatre as spectacle - worthy of the Roman Coliseum?! But this is the Bad Bunny live performance that really got my attention. https://youtu.be/ouuPSxE1hK4

#yegbike commute, pm update: 95% of the commute is just fine. Up on the flats parts of the city (99% of it?) roads are bare, paths are merely lightly icy in patches, it's really spring-like conditions. OK, false-spring conditions. But the River Valley... took the Tawatinå (new LRT Bridge) route […]

#yegbike commute: cool at -5°C with slight westerly wind. Ice in spots, particularly Scona Hill and Greirson Hill MUPS - really treacherous. Flats not too bad, but melt puddles are frozen anywhere. Thought I might taken the summer gravel bike and not leave with extra time - wrong on both counts […]

#yegbike commute: well above zero, +8°C with light but gusty northeasterly winds. You would think that such a warm overnight would reduce ice, but the paths are mushy AND icy - that doesn’t seem fair. Mindfulness required. Traffic medium levels and annoying. Street life mostly absent. A few […]

#yegbike commute: slightly above zero with light southwest winds. Surfaces are slushy and icy, main roads just wet. All that lovely snowpack is more of an annoying mush. Traffic medium annoying, a few dog walkers and joggers on the paths. Street life shouty. Fairly good ride with serenity and […]

#yegbike commute: now slightly above zero, and one can feel the difference. Slight northwest wind, surfaces much better today. Still icy in spots, but much more rideable. Traffic blessedly light, not too annoying. Street life surprisingly absent, only a few dog walkers about. Not a bad day for […]

The BikeFarmer video is out on the group ride/vigil in Minneapolis this weekend. @NNN - did you make the edit? https://youtu.be/flk1nIkqW5w

#yegbike commute: a little below zero, light southwest winds. Maybe a cm or 2 of crunchy heavy snow overnight - does provide good textured traction on the icy surfaces, but a bit of work to power through it. Paths are better than the roads- paths have easier going than slippery ruts of the main […]

#yegbike commute: warmish at +3°C with slight northwest wind. Surfaces fairly icy, snowpack covered with a ight sheen, sidewalks slippery. Main roads okay, but caution is required throughout. It’s not as bad as I feared, but it’s not good. Traffic was blessedly light, and mostly driving slow and […]

Looks my #yegbike LBS Strathcona Cycles got broken into - by ripping off the front door! Went around to look, fearing the worst, but the couple repairing the door said only a few bikes were stolen. The store looked largely intact. If anyone knows Mindy and The Captain, please send our regards […]

This STILL hits so hard.

#yegbike commute, pm update: softening snow pack gets mushy or reveals that the ice was there all along - and the call was coming from INSIDE the house! We only get a few good days of riding, I guess. The welding truck was still there on the raised, separated bike lane on 96th Street and 108th […]

#yegbike commute: still finding -10°C cold, with slight northeast wind. Surfaces mostly good, but must be mindful that it’s still icy, manageable and rideable as it is. Traffic medium weekday levels and medium annoying. Must remember that a truck parked in the bike lane is merely annoying, not […]

One of the main YouTube creators that I regularly watch is the BikeFarmer. Mostly he fixes up low-value older bikes for resale at a low price with practical real life biking by regular people. He also rants along in a monologue throughout the process. He's based in Wisconson, is close to […]

This large 4X4 truck was parked in the bike lane on 96th Street and 108th Ave Yesterday. Today, a second vehicle was parked behind the truck. The truck has Ontario plates, and I have not noticed this truck in this neighbourhood previously. I am inclined to be […] [Original post on mstdn.ca]

#yegbike commute: -10°C is still cold, with a light southeastern wind. Surfaces mostly good, but there still is ice about. 1 little wipeout in Greisbach on a road I was going to avoid. Traffic medium weekday levels, not too annoying. Street life present but quiet. Saw a scooter! Paths mostly […]

#yegbike commute: still cold at -13°C with very slight northwest breeze. Surfaces quite good, either snowpack or bare pavement - don’t know exactly when things went from horrible to ideal, maybe yesterday? Traffic light, surprisingly so. Street life quiet, a few dog walkers on the paths. Only a […]

Oh dear. This is an excerpt from an independent bike shop in Minneapolis, Angry Catfish: Alex Pretti was a customer of ACF. A member of our local cycling community. An integral community member serving as a nurse at our local VA hospital. Murdered while standing up to bullies in his city. Then […]

There have been #yegbike commutes this week, but for one reason or another, reports didn’t get published. Suffice it to say that it is still winter. All the icy spots and conditions haven’t changed that much. Rutted ice on minor roads improves slowly, but new black ice forms somewhere else […]

The summer gravel bike was never meant to be a winter beater with studded tires. But it sure does a good job at it, and makes the good parts of the winter #yegbike commute quite enjoyable. And I don't think any bike I would have would make the miserable parts blissful. The required amount of […]

There was a #yegbike commute this morning. It was cold and icy, and when I finally got to work, my parking spot was a ramp of ice. My bike fell over, panniers fell off, and my coffee mug spilled all over. I was not in high spirits. The #earworm was "Walk On" by Neil Young. Saskatchewan Drive […]

2/2 #yegbike complaining continued: These icy bits were rideable for me to a mechanical disaster last week. The ice bike winter beater had the chain snap on me going up Scona Hill. I turns out I had threaded the chain through the derailleur improperly. As I wait for more parts on order, I had […]

Some weekend errands by #yegbike this weekend. Most MUPS are okay with icy snowpack, but anywhere and everywhere, the intersectoins with cross streets can be thick rutted ice valleys. The Streetcar MUP through Old Stratchona gets the mention of shame this time! From the Granite Curling Club […]