ITS 1988 ALL OVER AGAIN IN CALGARY



...guess what these two things have in common?

they were both rolled out in 1988 - curbside recycling in edmonton and bon jovi's awesome hairstyle.

to be frank, this is sad commentary really. what this shows is how far calgary is behind the times - and in a bigger sense - how self-absorbed people in this city are. we have more in common with big US cities like houston than we do with edmonton. even though we now have these great blue bins - we are still lagging behind edmonton in that recycling in edmonton also includes organics - and calgary doesnt, yet.

dont get me wrong - i am stoked to finally have a curbside recycling program here - its just that even after waiting 21 years to implement this program, the city of calgary still cant go the whole way and do something truely comprehensive. all of that is not surprising, especially when you look at it from a macro-planning level: the city is just now realizing that constant expansion of the suburbs is not a good strategy (duh, welcome to the 90's) and that alternative transportation strategies are needed quickly (duh, welcome to the 21st century) to deal with traffic problems that are brewing all over.

ok - enough complaining. time to go fill up my blue bin with all the recyclables i have been stockpiling since last fall!

FUCK YOU WINTER! I WILL DEFEAT YOU!




yesterday, citizens of calgary woke up to yet another massive dump of wet snow, close to a foot where i was. enough already! to lift the spirits, hypejim and i went for a trudge through the inglewood bird sanctuary trails - which were covered with the aforementioned wet snow. being outside was nice, the birds were out looking for something to eat, and the sunshine was nice - when you were out of the wind. the walk was just what i needed to jump start my attitude, leading me to head out for a great 40km ride later in the day.

now, oldman winter, you need to fuckoff!

bitchin'

DEATH PEDAL Trailer by Kareem Shehab from Killa KAreem on Vimeo.

found here...

FIXED 60


i ripped this off last week and am still paying for it today with quads so stiff i cant even bend my knees!

BICYCLE BAND

from here.

POLO SEASON IS ALMOST HERE!



see you there too?

2005 ROLLING CAB-MERLOT

alright - here is another "bike" wine for ya. this one is from australia, which has cultivated its own popular wine culture and selections. generally, i find myself in the auzzie aisle at the wine shop more than any other country. i guess i just find their wines generally affordable and easy to drink. i was hoping to write a brief report on this bottle, but, well, i had a few other drinks before i got into this and, well, i put my drunkypants on kinda tight and dont remember anything about how it tasted.

the bottle is empty though - that has to be a good sign, non?

f50

in keeping with my goal of completing a "fixie century" this summer i got out on the weekend and got 50km on the fixed gear. it felt great and my legs are not nearly as sore and stiff as the last time i rode. i rode pretty much the same route as last time (see previous post) but extended it a little by heading down through north glenmore park and back over the glenmore dam to river park - where i reconnected with my city loop.

one thing i have noticed is the strength that seems to be building in my quads from riding the fixie on the road. i think its because of two factors - simply having to stomp up hills encountered and skid-stops. i could feel my right quad wanting to cramp a little yesterday during a couple quick stops, which forced me to start skidding more with the left leg to balance it out and avoid the horror that is quad cramps - didnt get a cramp, dont want one!

i had my gps with me but failed to restart it after a quick water stop at bow cycle - so no map this time - sorry.

next up - f60 this week sometime.

FUZZY BIKE 2.0

see you there?

B.I.K.E.
my copy is on the way! if you are unfamiliar with this movie, click on the link above and check out a couple of the video clips - c'est tres tres rowdy!

i think the calgary film festival screened it a year or two ago - did any of you see it? if it meets my strict criteria maybe i'll arrange a screening for a few of us at tubby's and we can throw PBR cans at the screen a la blues brothers style!

RIVENDELL BICYCLE WORKS NEWSLETTER
if you are into bikes, into tinkering with bikes, into old bikes, into bike tech or bike fitting - the newsletter from these guys is worth a read. their general perspective is - well - crusty/curmudgenly/old-skool.

however, there is a lot to be said for fighting against the "keeping-up-with-lance" consumerist bike culture that permeates the bike industry today. i have never owned a bike with dura-ace or record - having always thought that it was a little excessive for this guy - and have always enjoyed trying to make old bike shit work with various other old bike shit - there is something about the creativity needed to make unlike things work together that i have always enjoyed. hell, all you have to do is look at the current state of the world economy (meaning, uncontrolled consumerism and greed) to see in 20/20 technicolour that the last 50 years of consumer culture has proven itself to be unsustainable and destined to the trash heap of history. i think you can also look at the way the youth/art/hipster culture has embraced fixedgear bikes as a sign that simple is indeed cool again. no need to spend $7000 on the latest carbon-whizbang-speedmachine - just find any old bike in the garbage, strip it down, and ride like a banshee. uncomplicated fun.

these guys have it figured out i think. sure, some of the new bike technology is cool and some of it will live on for years to come - but by and large - i beleive that most of it will disappear into the "great-catalog-of-cool-bike-junk-that-didnt-stand-up".

GIRLS ON BIKES

...being the hetero boy that i am - and always happy to see girls on bikes - i am now even more happy to have found this site. it seems the site author is mostly into the fixie-chick scene, which is ok i guess, however more pics of pretty bikes with girls on top would be nice too.

now i can be happy (as a little girl!) looking at girls on bikes from the comfort of my livingroom.

FIXED40

...just a little fixie ride the other day. i am working up towards completing a "fixed century" this summer and will post a few of the rides that i do as buildup towards the big ride. i will probably do a few more rides of this distance before taking it up to a 60km ride.

anybody wanna join me? it would be nice to have a wheel to suck...

SEARS CANADA SELLING CARBON ROAD BIKES!



what has the world come to when you can buy a full-carbon road bike from sears - unassembled!??? it must be nice, with all those reflectors, "designed by mongoose" monicker and $75 going to charity. way to go sears!

weird.

RED BICYCLETTE MERLOT 2005


for you discerning wine-o cyclists out there, here is a fine example of why the french are still considered one of the best wine producing nations on earth. a fine dark colour, with saviory notes of dung, sweat, and plum with a sweet finish and a pleasant, well behaved tannin. all that for $16. a worthy addition to any bottle cage.

seriously. dung? sweat?