7/29/2007
Ok ... time to plan something new.
After the trip I did not ride very often during my vacation. I have continued to ride to work however. I will now endeavor to regain my trip form. I will also look into another trip... where, when, how?, not known yet... stay tuned.
Day 4
- Departure 09:00
- Arrival 15:30
Beautiful sunny day with only 80km to do... easy right?
On day 1 I had noticed the the last 16km arriving at St.Jovite was downhill... a steady descent which was very much appreciated considering my broken spoke & wheel problem. I knew however that I would have to go up this 16km stretch on my return. I did it in one shot... no stopping. The "grimace" on my face during this uphill climb must have been quite a site. The bikers I met going downhill seamed to fear me. The rest of the day was quite pleasant... but when it was finally done... let's just say that staying off my bike for a few days was not a problem.
- Arrival 15:30
Beautiful sunny day with only 80km to do... easy right?
On day 1 I had noticed the the last 16km arriving at St.Jovite was downhill... a steady descent which was very much appreciated considering my broken spoke & wheel problem. I knew however that I would have to go up this 16km stretch on my return. I did it in one shot... no stopping. The "grimace" on my face during this uphill climb must have been quite a site. The bikers I met going downhill seamed to fear me. The rest of the day was quite pleasant... but when it was finally done... let's just say that staying off my bike for a few days was not a problem.
Day 3
- Departure 09:45
- Arrival at 17:45
A full day with absolutely no mechanical failures of any kind. WOW!
I only left at 09:45 because I had breakfast at the hotel & I was waiting for the local Home Hardware to open so I could buy an inner tube. I was taking no chances on a second flat today. During my search for the proper inner tube... I noticed my ass was a bit sore... actually very sore. So I also purchased a new bike seat.(gel very cumfy)
The weather however was a different story... rain, thunder, lightning & more rain... let's just say I felt very close to nature. I tried to wait for the heavy rain to stop underneath shelter, but I had no choice but to ride during the storms. The sun came out for the last 15 km. I was wet & hot... that's good if you're... never mind.
121km problem free.
- Arrival at 17:45
A full day with absolutely no mechanical failures of any kind. WOW!
I only left at 09:45 because I had breakfast at the hotel & I was waiting for the local Home Hardware to open so I could buy an inner tube. I was taking no chances on a second flat today. During my search for the proper inner tube... I noticed my ass was a bit sore... actually very sore. So I also purchased a new bike seat.(gel very cumfy)
The weather however was a different story... rain, thunder, lightning & more rain... let's just say I felt very close to nature. I tried to wait for the heavy rain to stop underneath shelter, but I had no choice but to ride during the storms. The sun came out for the last 15 km. I was wet & hot... that's good if you're... never mind.
121km problem free.
7/19/2007
Day 2
- Departure around 07:00
- Wheel alignment problem around 08:00, 15km.
- Flat tire around 09:30 34km.
- Repaired and back on road around 10:30
- wheel alignment repair done manually 12:00 60km.
- Back on road 45 min. later.
- Arrival at Mt.Laurier 16:00, 121km.
- Beer & further spoke adjustments...in the hotel room, 16:45
Nice sunny hot day marked by heat, "the wheel" & a flat.
I discovered that the wheel the bike shop in St.Jovite sold me... had not had the spokes tightened or the wheel aligned. (Stupid C*** SUCKER) I also in my haste had not replaced the inner tube properly in the "new wheel"... which caused a "kink" and an eventual flat tire. All problems where more or less sorted by 13:00. However I still had 60km. to get to Mt.Laurier. I made it on fumes... stopping every 5km. for the last 20km.
- Wheel alignment problem around 08:00, 15km.
- Flat tire around 09:30 34km.
- Repaired and back on road around 10:30
- wheel alignment repair done manually 12:00 60km.
- Back on road 45 min. later.
- Arrival at Mt.Laurier 16:00, 121km.
- Beer & further spoke adjustments...in the hotel room, 16:45
Nice sunny hot day marked by heat, "the wheel" & a flat.
I discovered that the wheel the bike shop in St.Jovite sold me... had not had the spokes tightened or the wheel aligned. (Stupid C*** SUCKER) I also in my haste had not replaced the inner tube properly in the "new wheel"... which caused a "kink" and an eventual flat tire. All problems where more or less sorted by 13:00. However I still had 60km. to get to Mt.Laurier. I made it on fumes... stopping every 5km. for the last 20km.
Day 1
- Left St. Jerome at 07:30.
- Stop for a bite after 20km.
- Arrived at Val David around 10:00, about 40km.
- Broken spoke at about 64km.
- Arrived at St.Jovite at 14:30 with crooked bad wheel, 84km.
- Found bike shop around 15:30.
- Found cheap Motel around 16:00
- Drank first beer at 16:01.
The first day was marked by rain & the recurring wheel problem. As you will remember from my previous post:
"I was encouraged strongly by my friend Julie to have a "professional" repair it... something about my safety... women!?"
Well apologies to Julie...
However... I did have to repair the wheel myself again. The Bike shop where I purchased the "new wheel", had no repairman available.
- Stop for a bite after 20km.
- Arrived at Val David around 10:00, about 40km.
- Broken spoke at about 64km.
- Arrived at St.Jovite at 14:30 with crooked bad wheel, 84km.
- Found bike shop around 15:30.
- Found cheap Motel around 16:00
- Drank first beer at 16:01.
The first day was marked by rain & the recurring wheel problem. As you will remember from my previous post:
"I was encouraged strongly by my friend Julie to have a "professional" repair it... something about my safety... women!?"
Well apologies to Julie...
However... I did have to repair the wheel myself again. The Bike shop where I purchased the "new wheel", had no repairman available.
7/12/2007
I'm Back!!!
I'm alive... barely. I'm off camping now... I will tell the whole story when I get back.
I added some pics from
Flickr in the right column.
I added some pics from
Flickr in the right column.
7/08/2007
7/07/2007
NOTHING WILL STOP ME!
On Friday I did my usual lunch hour bike ride from Westmount to Ville St Pierre. Apon my return I heard a "Ping!"... not good! The back wheel seemed to be a bit crooked. Apparently I broke a spoke. At first there was no panic... simply something I would have to repair. I got a spoke from a local bike shop in order to repair it. After removing the tire upon further inspection... the spoke was broken on the side were all the gears are... I would have to take apart the whole wheel (bearings & all) . Most bike shops at this time of year have a 3 to 4 day waiting list for repairs... this would not do. (I guess most bikes break down in July?) I took it upon myself to repair it. I got the attachment to remove the gears... and of I went... 3 1/2 hours later of sweat, swearing and blood... I was almost ready to give up & simply buy a new wheel. I was encouraged strongly by my friend Julie to have a "professional" repair it... something about my safety... women!? I believed however I had repaired it properly... I just needed to adjust the bearings better. Well this morning I took it to a "professional"... and he confirmed that my spoke repair was done perfectly... I had simply tightened the bearing bolt to tight. The bike is now repaired... NOTHING WILL STOP ME!
7/05/2007
The Plan!
I only did 14km on it... I swear.
We have now arrived at the point of madness.
« Le P’tit Train du Nord »
St Jerome to Mont Laurier... 200km of hell... & I'm going to do it... twice!
Hey maybe I'll even make a blog about it!
Ok you're now officially caught up...
How fast was I going?
Well what did you think would happen? I wanted to know how how far & how fast...
Hooked...
I actually found myself looking forward to riding... and seeing how far I could go. A trip after work from my house in Cote St Luc to Pointe Claire... made me realize the potential. I looked up all the bicycle paths in Montreal on the net... & was amazed. I actually began to go biking on my lunch hour... I know... WTF!
3 weeks later...
Biked to work everyday... rain or shine. I actually began to like it. I began to "ride" ( biking lingo) more often for recreation... I began to actually try and improve my pace... I kept track of how much time I spent per day riding... I... got rid of the stupid Supercycle stickers on my bike.
Here is a picture of my newly improved blue bike.
Even got a rear fender... was tired of getting my ass wet.
Here is a picture of my newly improved blue bike.
Even got a rear fender... was tired of getting my ass wet.
In the beginning...
The next few posts are a retrospective 2 1/2 months on how I got to this point.
The idea of buying a $65 bus pass every month seemed quite excessive. I certainly was not willing to cut back on the smokes or the beer. Biking to work seemed to be a possibility. However the question would be... how long before it became just passing fancy? How long before a bicycle would simply clutter the hallway of my small apartment?
With all this enthusiastic pessimism... I decided a cheap bicycle would be the way to go in the beginning... or the ending.
Introducing the Canadian Tire Supercycle.... more specifically the
(18-speed Supercycle 1800)
$99.99
The idea of buying a $65 bus pass every month seemed quite excessive. I certainly was not willing to cut back on the smokes or the beer. Biking to work seemed to be a possibility. However the question would be... how long before it became just passing fancy? How long before a bicycle would simply clutter the hallway of my small apartment?
With all this enthusiastic pessimism... I decided a cheap bicycle would be the way to go in the beginning... or the ending.
Introducing the Canadian Tire Supercycle.... more specifically the
(18-speed Supercycle 1800)
$99.99
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