snow sux

I was snowed out of riding, this weekend.

Please don't "Icebike" me. In Vancouver
we're talkin' "Slushbike" -- perhaps the
worst weather conditions for riding, short
of tornadoes, hurricanes or dense fog.

Having to slog my weekly trip to the
laundromat afoot was almost intolerable.

What really chafes is that last Thursday &
Friday were beautiful days, but I had to
go to work. I get a crummy weekend, and
then it'll be nice again during the upcoming
work week.

I hope it just rains next weekend.
That, I can deal with.


cheers,
Tom

--
Nothing is safe from me.
I'm really at:
tkeats curlicue vcn dot bc dot ca

"Tom Keats" wrote in message
...
I was snowed out of riding, this weekend.

Please don't "Icebike" me. In Vancouver
we're talkin' "Slushbike" -- perhaps the
worst weather conditions for riding, short
of tornadoes, hurricanes or dense fog.

Having to slog my weekly trip to the
laundromat afoot was almost intolerable.

What really chafes is that last Thursday &
Friday were beautiful days, but I had to
go to work. I get a crummy weekend, and
then it'll be nice again during the upcoming
work week.

I hope it just rains next weekend.
That, I can deal with.

"Tom Keats" wrote in message
...
I was snowed out of riding, this weekend.

Please don't "Icebike" me. In Vancouver
we're talkin' "Slushbike" -- perhaps the
worst weather conditions for riding, short
of tornadoes, hurricanes or dense fog.

Having to slog my weekly trip to the
laundromat afoot was almost intolerable.

What really chafes is that last Thursday &
Friday were beautiful days, but I had to
go to work. I get a crummy weekend, and
then it'll be nice again during the upcoming
work week.

I hope it just rains next weekend.
That, I can deal with.


cheers,
Tom

Oops. It would help if I wrote the post, wouldn't it?

It's all in the timing. I live out by Chilliwack. I got the ride in early
yesterday. Windy, flurries, but doable. Today was a rest day, and tomorrow
it's supposed to be 11 C in Vancouver. It's all good.

In article Y7M4j.36178$Zn.18493@edtnps90,
"Jim Flom" writes:
"Tom Keats" wrote in message
...
I was snowed out of riding, this weekend.

Please don't "Icebike" me. In Vancouver
we're talkin' "Slushbike" -- perhaps the
worst weather conditions for riding, short
of tornadoes, hurricanes or dense fog.

Having to slog my weekly trip to the
laundromat afoot was almost intolerable.

What really chafes is that last Thursday &
Friday were beautiful days, but I had to
go to work. I get a crummy weekend, and
then it'll be nice again during the upcoming
work week.

I hope it just rains next weekend.
That, I can deal with.


cheers,
Tom

Oops. It would help if I wrote the post, wouldn't it?

It's all in the timing.

When you're working afternoon shift, there's not much
wriggle-room for timing. Yeah, I could ride to work
(from near Main & 41st to Nelson & Blundell in East
Richmond) but I've already got my ride-sharing arrangement.
And there's enough big-rig traffic out that way to render
riding an unpleasant experience. So, I'm foregoing the
cycle-commuting option. Besides, my job is often physically
arduous, and at the end of a shift I don't have many calories
left to ride home. During the week I ride around, doing
errand runs before going to work. I'm immensely thankful
for those opportunities. A little riding before work gets
the blood flowing, and perks me up. But weekends are supposed
to be my Freedom days.

I live out by Chilliwack. I got the ride in early
yesterday. Windy, flurries, but doable. Today was a rest day, and tomorrow
it's supposed to be 11 C in Vancouver. It's all good.

Being so far up the Fraser Valley, I imagine you got a
bigger dump of snow than we did in Vancouver (Proper.)
That Pineapple Express is predicted to deluge us.
Bring it on!

Anyways, I'm just whinin' & gripin', because it's all
I can do about the situation. Poor, poor, pitiful me :-)

When I get the 'flu, I can't help but think about how
I took all my previous, happily healthy days for granted.
I guess being preempted from riding is a similar thing.
Oh, well.


cheers,
Tom
--
Nothing is safe from me.
I'm really at:
tkeats curlicue vcn dot bc dot ca

"Tom Keats" wrote...

When you're working afternoon shift, there's not much
wriggle-room for timing. Yeah, I could ride to work
(from near Main & 41st to Nelson & Blundell in East
Richmond) but I've already got my ride-sharing arrangement.
And there's enough big-rig traffic out that way to render
riding an unpleasant experience. So, I'm foregoing the
cycle-commuting option. Besides, my job is often physically
arduous, and at the end of a shift I don't have many calories
left to ride home. During the week I ride around, doing
errand runs before going to work. I'm immensely thankful
for those opportunities. A little riding before work gets
the blood flowing, and perks me up. But weekends are supposed
to be my Freedom days.

I don't think I'd be into commuting much either. But you're closer to the
city! That's been my "I wish I were..." since I came here. Yes you have to
deal with more traffic, but there's just more riding culture where you are.
I'm a frikkin' anomoly out here. maybe instead of doing errandss you can
get a fun ride in once or twice a week to hold you over till the weekend,
and if it gets like this, then at least you got something in. This time of
year, early morning is out and so is evening, so we're pretty much locked
into 8 am to 4 pm. My schedule is flexible that I can ride at lunch this
time of year if I need to. But the grass is always greener. Vancouver area
looks like cycling mecca from this angle.

Being so far up the Fraser Valley, I imagine you got a
bigger dump of snow than we did in Vancouver (Proper.)
That Pineapple Express is predicted to deluge us.
Bring it on!

Yeah it looks like serious rain tomorrow. But I think you might have gotten
more snow. Abbotsford got a lot I heard. We got more today than last
night. Wednesday looks nice. I'm 150 kilometers off my goal for the
year -- a fitness goal I may actually attain for a change!

--
JF

"Nothing gives one person so much advantage over another as to remain always
cool and unruffled under all circumstances. "
- Thomas Jefferson

"Tom Keats" wrote in message
...
I was snowed out of riding, this weekend.

Please don't "Icebike" me. In Vancouver
we're talkin' "Slushbike" -- perhaps the
worst weather conditions for riding, short
of tornadoes, hurricanes or dense fog.

Having to slog my weekly trip to the
laundromat afoot was almost intolerable.

What really chafes is that last Thursday &
Friday were beautiful days, but I had to
go to work. I get a crummy weekend, and
then it'll be nice again during the upcoming
work week.

I hope it just rains next weekend.
That, I can deal with.

Be afraid. Be very afraid.
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servl...y/Science/home

--
JF

"Nothing gives one person so much advantage over another as to remain always
cool and unruffled under all circumstances. "
- Thomas Jefferson

In article oRM4j.36183$Zn.2941@edtnps90,
"Jim Flom" writes:
"Tom Keats" wrote...

When you're working afternoon shift, there's not much
wriggle-room for timing. Yeah, I could ride to work
(from near Main & 41st to Nelson & Blundell in East
Richmond) but I've already got my ride-sharing arrangement.
And there's enough big-rig traffic out that way to render
riding an unpleasant experience. So, I'm foregoing the
cycle-commuting option. Besides, my job is often physically
arduous, and at the end of a shift I don't have many calories
left to ride home. During the week I ride around, doing
errand runs before going to work. I'm immensely thankful
for those opportunities. A little riding before work gets
the blood flowing, and perks me up. But weekends are supposed
to be my Freedom days.

I don't think I'd be into commuting much either. But you're closer to the
city!

Heh :-) I'm right in it!

That's been my "I wish I were..." since I came here. Yes you have to
deal with more traffic, but there's just more riding culture where you are.
I'm a frikkin' anomoly out here.

Kudos to you for being a cycling ambassador out
there in the car-centric realms. Yeah, there's
tons of riding culture here, and it's wonderful.

But Chilliwack is a pretty town, as is Hope.
If I had money, I'd retire up there.

maybe instead of doing errandss you can
get a fun ride in once or twice a week to hold you over till the weekend,
and if it gets like this, then at least you got something in. This time of
year, early morning is out and so is evening, so we're pretty much locked
into 8 am to 4 pm. My schedule is flexible that I can ride at lunch this
time of year if I need to. But the grass is always greener. Vancouver area
looks like cycling mecca from this angle.

I've had it good. I'm having it good. For the record,
my original post was largely tongue-in-cheek. A few
non-riding days out of the year is really no big whoop.
Although one really feels it when one is deprived, and
would love the opportunity to ride to the supermarket
for frozen perogies & sour cream. And t.p., lightbulbs,
garbage bags, a couple of cans of Chef Boy-Ar-Dee stuff,
a bag of grapefruits, a sack of powdered milk, a dozen
eggs, a couple of loaves of bread, block of cheese,
bottle o' catsup, a cabbage, green onions, a dozen leeks,
sesame oil, the right kind of noodles, pre-BBQ'd chicken,
garlic sausage, Keen's hot mustard, blueberry pancake syrup,
can o' King Oscar sardines (in olive oil, lightly smoked,)
Ritz cheese crackers, tomato soup, a little thingie of
Ben & Jerry's oreo ice cream, Polskie Ogorkie dill pickles,
J-Cloths, frozen fish 'n chips, tater tots, and a roll
of Certs. And a dozen wieners and a couple of boxes of
"original" (orange-coloured powdered cheese) K.D. And a
shaker of Hy's Cajun Seasoning. And some lamb chops and
turkey thighs to toss in the freezer. And some pepperoni
and Twizzlers to gnaw on for the ride home.

Being so far up the Fraser Valley, I imagine you got a
bigger dump of snow than we did in Vancouver (Proper.)
That Pineapple Express is predicted to deluge us.
Bring it on!

Yeah it looks like serious rain tomorrow. But I think you might have gotten
more snow. Abbotsford got a lot I heard. We got more today than last
night. Wednesday looks nice. I'm 150 kilometers off my goal for the
year -- a fitness goal I may actually attain for a change!


My current goal is to attain a Nikon d40X DSLR camera.
By the time I can afford it, there'll be something better
available for the same price.

Life is all about dealing with moving targets. I guess
it keeps it interesting.


cheers,
Tom

--
Nothing is safe from me.
I'm really at:
tkeats curlicue vcn dot bc dot ca

On Sun, 2 Dec 2007 20:29:09 -0800, (Tom Keats)
wrote, in part:

I was snowed out of riding, this weekend.

Please don't "Icebike" me. In Vancouver
we're talkin' "Slushbike" -- perhaps the
worst weather conditions for riding, short
of tornadoes, hurricanes or dense fog.
/
I insisted on riding just to spite the nasty stuff. The only bike
with fenders and treaded tires is das Mule. I rode it all last winter
just not on snow. Xtracycles are lots of fun on snow. That light
rear end demands a gentle touch. Only two body dabs before I got it.

Yesterday was beautiful. I had a head wind all the way to the PNE and
was plastered with snow by the time I arrived. Visibility was an
issue crossing the top of park. The ride home was grand. It had sorta
stopped snowing and the streets were quiet. The surface was passable
as the cars hadn't torn it all up yet.

Today was horrible except for the bit I rode along on a closed Cambie
Blvd. Alberta St was okay too because it hadn't been salted. Ontario
St. sucked bad at the intersection.

Riding on the snow wasn't too bad except the places where cars have
screwed up the surface. The slush ruts are a bitch. The surface
challenges made a routine 27 minute ride into a 40 minute puzzle.

I took the lane on Main coming home and got bathed in salted slurpee
but made pretty good time compared to the "bike route" slush trough.
--
zk

In article ,
Zoot Katz writes:
On Sun, 2 Dec 2007 20:29:09 -0800, (Tom Keats)
wrote, in part:

I was snowed out of riding, this weekend.

Please don't "Icebike" me. In Vancouver
we're talkin' "Slushbike" -- perhaps the
worst weather conditions for riding, short
of tornadoes, hurricanes or dense fog.
/
I insisted on riding just to spite the nasty stuff.

You're nutz grin

The only bike
with fenders and treaded tires is das Mule. I rode it all last winter
just not on snow. Xtracycles are lots of fun on snow. That light
rear end demands a gentle touch. Only two body dabs before I got it.

After hoofin' it to the laundromat, I subesquently
hoofed it to the Cambie St retox centre. Multitudinous
times I recovered from near wipeouts, umbrella in one
hand, and eco-friendly shopping bag in the other.
How one flails one's arms has a lot to do with recovering
from wiping out.

Yesterday was beautiful.

No it wasn't. Friday was beautiful. It was a Big Sky day,
in fact. Saturday stunk, and Sunday stunk even worse.

I had a head wind all the way to the PNE and
was plastered with snow by the time I arrived. Visibility was an
issue crossing the top of park. The ride home was grand. It had sorta
stopped snowing and the streets were quiet. The surface was passable
as the cars hadn't torn it all up yet.

Today was horrible

Yes, it was.
except for the bit I rode along on a closed Cambie
Blvd. Alberta St was okay too because it hadn't been salted. Ontario
St. sucked bad at the intersection.

There was a lake @ Cambie & 41st tonight. I had to jaywalk around it.

Riding on the snow wasn't too bad except the places where cars have
screwed up the surface. The slush ruts are a bitch. The surface
challenges made a routine 27 minute ride into a 40 minute puzzle.

I took the lane on Main coming home and got bathed in salted slurpee
but made pretty good time compared to the "bike route" slush trough.

Check-out Uncle Ming's Kitchen @ Main & 64th.

They serve their stuff up on paper plates (and
the tea in paper cups,) but it ain't bad. I like
their Sing Cho chow mein. Walk outa there with a
big yellow saffron curry smile on yer face.

Across the street is Wo's. They make a to-die-for
hot & sour soup with lots o' stuff in it.

Both places proffer $5.oo(+/-) lunch deals.


cheers,
Tom

--
Nothing is safe from me.
I'm really at:
tkeats curlicue vcn dot bc dot ca

Tom Keats wrote:
I was snowed out of riding, this weekend.

Please don't "Icebike" me. In Vancouver
we're talkin' "Slushbike" -- perhaps the
worst weather conditions for riding, short
of tornadoes, hurricanes or dense fog.

Ice here this morning and my icebike isn't prep'ed yet
for the season (studded knobbies/12v 20W headlight),
so it's a V8/4WD global warmer ride to the office this
morning.

Having to slog my weekly trip to the
laundromat afoot was almost intolerable.

Now you know how a Comanche felt when his horse got
stolen!

What really chafes is that last Thursday &
Friday were beautiful days, but I had to
go to work. I get a crummy weekend, and
then it'll be nice again during the upcoming
work week.

I hope it just rains next weekend.
That, I can deal with.

Nope! If it's winter and there's going to be
precipitation, I want snow!


SMH