Paris Bike Polo Video

BIKE POLO TOURNAMENT - CPCV09 from Androsky Knauer on Vimeo.

pretty good short video from the polo nutcases in paris.

enjoy.

then come out and play polo with us on wednesdays and thursdays.

Get some exercise and vent at Stride Gallery

...from here.

seems like a trip down to the stride gallery is in order this week.

i think it would be fun to ride around a (virtual) city and shoot at bush, cheney, rice and co.

might also feel therapeutic - especially for this closet politician hater.

CARS ARE LIKE CIGARETTES

click on the title to get to the article.

his arguement makes a lot of sense but also shows what we are up against if we want to reduce car usage by the masses. i dont think i can say anything extra to support his view - he seems to have covered most of the bases.

with the commuter challenge happening next week here in calgary, i thought it would be a good idea to reflect for a moment on this idea that we are addicted to cars and that that addiction is not unfamiliar.

Calgary Cyclist's Killer Faces Sentencing

all i want to say about this is get it over with, sentence this bastard, and put him away for life. Brian's family deserves to have their son back - thats not going to happen - however, getting this saga over and done with will allow everyone that was close to Brian to finally close this painful chapter and move on with their lives.

Links are here and here and here .

WINNIPEG BIKE POLO

SMALLER WORLD?

my latest read...

here is an exerpt from the book -

“ Once the dust settles from the various crises rocking financial markets, we are looking at the same basic demand–supply imbalance that we were looking at before the recession began. That imbalance took us to nearly $150 per barrel before the recession set in. In the next cycle, the same imbalance will probably take us to $200 per barrel before another recession temporarily knocks back prices and demand. ”

pretty interesting read so far. i am not 100% sold on everything he is saying but do agree that we are going to see some big changes coming in the not-too-distant-future. arguments like this serve to support the idea that we need to change the way we have been living for the last 5 decades. the funny thing is that most people are just living for today, without any thought of tomorrow - and its those people who are going to be the ones who complain the loudest and have the hardest time adapting to the new reality that will be higher prices for EVERYTHING!

all you have to do is look at the price of gasoline right now. i was in canmore yesterday and gas was already at $0.98/L - and the summer "driving season" isnt every upon us yet and we are supposedly in the middle of "the great recession". whats gonna happen to those prices when the economy turns around and begins to take off again???

well i am am happy to predict away - and my prediction is that gas will be over a dollar within the next 2 months and by next summer we will again see prices close to $1.50/L. you watch.

once those gas prices get there - and higher - big ideas like Plan It, or small ideas like bike commuting will suddenly not be so revolutionary or radical. they will simply make sense.

ADVOCATE IT AND PLAN IT

the city of calgary is holding open forums on their proposed Plan It policy for the city. if you have been paying attention to the local news you will know that there is alot of resistance coming from the "free market" crowd - the same crowd that has given us sprawling suburbs and brutal commutes. if you are merely curious or a supporter of the concepts and direction of this plan, make an effort to go to one of the open houses in your area and dont be afraid to give the "planners" your thoughts. there have been some critisisms leveled at Plan It for not having any "teeth" to enforce the policies outlined - however - i think it is better to have this plan approved by City Council as is - over not at all. Maybe once it is passed the "teeth" can be added?

on a separate, but similar, note - City Council voted on the Memorial Drive Sunday Parkway closure a couple weeks ago and thankfully it passed - although not without some grandstanding from Ald. McIvor and his pals on council. if you are not familiar with this issue - check this out for an idea of what is inspiring this closure. What i dont understand i why the alderman that are opposing this concept are choosing to make such a big deal about yet another road closure. roads are closed all over this city - all the time. stampede. lilac fest. marda gras. the list is endless. the only thing that makes sense is that these alderman (mcivor, chabot, dcu mainly) must have a grudge against the "lefties" on council - that would explain alot.

regardless, if you are in favour of more livable streets, safer roads, street parties, and a calgary that puts people ahead of cars - you should plan to come down to memorial drive on august 16th to enjoy the summer and your fellow calgarians. if the closure is deemed successful, there will be a push to expand the closure's length and add more days of closures in the coming years. see you there?

finally, my time on the BoD of Bike Calgary has been truly inspiring and i have this feeling that cycling for transportation in this city is going to continue to grow. through bike calgary i have met some incredibly passionate people who are fully commited to getting transportation cycling on the agenda at city hall. we (the BoD) have begun to foster good working relationships with the "lefties" on city council and they are listening to our concerns and are beginning to advocate for them. these city councillors are very important to our cause, but they cannot do it alone. they need us - all of us - to support them too.

supporting these initiatives is easy. write a letter to your alderman in support of plan it and/or the memorial closure. if you read the herald online, dont be afraid to leave comments of support for alternative transportation issues. ride your bike to work when you can. ride to the grocery store once and a while. SPEAK UP! anything and everything helps.

TUESDAY NITE RACING IS ON!

calgary's summer criterium series kicked off tonite. this race series has been running pretty consistently since 2000 (although it was started many years before that) and offers road racing cyclists a chance to tune up their sprinting and cornering on a technical, 4-corner circuit.

the races are short, usually around 30 minutes and features a few different ability levels for "newbie" cyclists and experts alike.

if you are new to road racing, curious about road racing, want to work on your pack-riding skills, or improve your speed - these are worth checking out. the racing is usually great - egged on by the fast course and hairy corners.

people fall off sometimes. thats racing. as i say to my son, "if you ride bikes, you will fall off of bikes."

STREET SLAYER PICS

last thursday, the right on track charity auction went down at the bamboo tiki room. it seemed to be very well attended and i think all the frames ended up being auctioned off to happy bidders - to the benefit of the charity right to play. i chatted with a couple of the organizers (tasha and michelle) and they are hoping to do the event again next year, maybe with bmx frames and cruiser bikes too!

great event, great cause, good times!

i won the auction on this devilish looking frameset and am looking forward to getting it assembled soon. look for a review as soon as its built.

FRONT YARD PROJECT - PHASE 1, EXTRACTION - COMPLETE

i have been wanting to remove my front lawn for many reasons, for many years. i have finally decided to pull the trigger this year and make it happen.

man-o, what a job!

i rented a sod cutter and it worked pretty well with multiple passes, however, what a workout! the tool weighed about 200lbs and was a brute to operate. i also rented a tiller to loosen the soil and that tool was also a brute to operate!

behold the destruction!

next up is to set the stone patio back in place (next to the deck) and then the transplanting/planting of the 30+ native shrubs, trees, and perrenials will begin.

after that we will install one fence panel on either side of the walkway to give us a little more privacy and wind protection and i guess it would be appropriate to hold a party for the official opening of club1410's new patio...stay tuned.

if you want an invite to the opening, leave a comment.