Jerome's Bikes

Ice Fishing

2012-01-22T16:47:00.000-07:00

Yesterday's forecast was supposed to be +2C(36F) and sunny. Earlier in week my buddy emailed to see if I wanted to head out ice fishing with the kids, and seeing as yesterday was the day it was supposed to warm up, I thought it would have been a great idea.

Weather forecasters are often wrong as was the case yesterday. I think the warmest it got was -12C (10F) but we dressed for it and had fun. We also never caught any fish (we were going for Pike) but that didn't really matter either. Just good fun on a frozen lake in the winter. For northerner's it's just par for the course.

I brought along my Canon EOS 3 and shot off a roll of Kodak Ektar 100.

On Social Media

2012-01-08T08:53:00.002-07:00

It's become such a huge part of modern life these days. Twitter, Facebook, Google plus, Linkedin, and on and on. In a way it's become the new mall, the new place to hang out. It seems everyone is there. At first, I was so excited about this change in the way we interact with other people, the way we see what they're doing and what's going on in their lives. But now, I'm not so sure.

As a generalization, everyone is awesome and their lives are awesome according to their social media presence, and by this I am mostly referring to Facebook and Twitter. "I just rocked a 2 hr run, what a great start to the day!", "Crap, my BMW SUV has a flat. Again. FML!", "Just booked the most awesome wedding couple for next summer in Venice." And on and on and on. It's easy to see these and say, "I slept in today, don't drive a BMW and I just lost a potential client. I must suck at life".

When you start reading these, it's easy to fall into thinking that these status updates are the whole story of what's going on in their lives. It's easy to begin to think that everyone else is better than you at almost everything. They're life rocks. But when you're only getting part of the stream of what's really happening, they're basically bullshitting you. They're only revelling the parts of their lives that will make them look good. Social media has cleverly created a subtle way for people to brag. And it's effective. And, I'm just as guilty of this as anyone. When you first log on, you see how others use these sites, and say, "oh, that's what you do here, let me try."

Now, obviously people you don't know aren't going to share every part of their lives with you. Why would they? You don't know them. It's not a real relationship. And if it's not a real relationship, what's the point of spending much time on it in the first place? These are the questions I've been asking myself.

I decided in August of last year that 2012 was going to be the year I deleted my Facebook account. I had 336 "friends" on there. At least 80% of them I'd never met in my life, or if I had, I wouldn't know who they were if I bumped into them on the street. My real life friends that I actually care deeply about I see on a regular basis. And, we never really interact on Facebook anyway. No, we get together and catch up over coffee or a meal. We share the highs and lows of our life, and when we need help or are struggling with something, we can share it because we care to the point that we'll do something about it for each other. It's what real friendship is about.

Now blogging is a little different. I follow blogs that are typically subject driven. I like bikes, coffee, photography, outdoor life, guns and motorcycles. People who publish blogs that are based on subject matter, typically do it to share knowledge and experience on the particular subject. They can become fairly personal which is nice and makes the blog not so clinical and corporate. But I rarely find them to be bragging. Someone is building up a bike, they'll tell you the problems they're having. This isn't working or that part they ordered doesn't fit and now it's for sale. It's educational, and almost always they bring enough of their personality into it that it's feels personal and like genuine sharing. I'm a huge fan of blogging and bloggers.

Twitter is alright. I really like the 140 character limit. There is none of this "see what questions so and so answered about you", or "you've been invited to waste half your life on farmville" and that crap that is so rampant on Facebook. On twitter you can follow people, and people can follow you but it's not obligatory. I can be followed without following that person back and visa versa. It's great. And the biggest thing I like about Twitter over Facebook is that on Twitter, you're followers to each other, not "friends". Facebook has abused an important word and cheapened it. While it was maybe a nice thought at the time to make the site feel warm and fuzzy, a friend is so much more than an online interaction.

It's 2012. I've had my dating period with social media and now realize what it is and what it isn't. 2012 is going to be more social and less social media. It's time to reclaim the term, friend.

Welcome 2012

2012-01-01T18:47:00.001-07:00

As is tradition for the last several years, we welcomed the new year in at the condo in Fernie. I love it here. The more I'm here, the more I love it. Temping to make our time here permanent....

We hauled up our cross country skis, but there is very little snow here. Last year at this time, there was several feet on the ground. This year, barely several inches. Oh well. We're turning it into a weekend of lounging, just like the last time we came up here.

Good food, coffee, reading, drawing and hanging with the family. A great way to bring in the new year.

And on the subject of coffee, there's something that I meant to blog about last year but never got around to doing. I've been roasting my own coffee for almost a year now. If you've never had fresh roasted (and by fresh I mean within a few days) roasted coffee, you're seriously missing out. I've gotten my system down, my roaster figured out, and I'm not too humble to say that I roast some darn good coffee. I'll get working on a detailed post to share with you this year.

Here's a batch I roasted two weeks ago:

Here's to a great start to a new year!

patience

2011-12-08T21:53:00.001-07:00

this, is what I call patience.

Hero from Miguel Endara on Vimeo.

instax project

2011-12-03T12:42:00.001-07:00

This summer while my sweet wife and I were in Fernie celebrating 10 years of marriage, we picked up a cool little sign in a cool little shop. Instantly I knew what I wanted to do with it. We've turning it into half of an ongoing display where we stick current instax photos of fun parts of everyday life. It's hung between our living room and kitchen, and a fun way to make art. When friends come over, it's always a fun little conversation piece.

Don't let your photos grow up to be jpegs. Shooting instant film is an easy way to ensure that never happens:)

My Parent's Farm | Film

2011-11-24T19:52:00.001-07:00

From earlier this summer. Expired C-41 B&W shot while testing a 1969 Konica Reflex T that I found and repaired.

Movember | Day 20

2011-11-20T21:47:00.001-07:00

Well, 2/3 through my mustache growing season and it's finally starting to fill in. Believe it or not, I sport a one thousand dollar mustache. That's the dollar figure I've raised so far for Movember. Hoping for more, kinda looking forward to an upper lip shave (although the 'stache will always be the manliest patch of face hair). And here's where I hit you up for a donation:{) - see that, that's a mustache smiley;{)

http://mobro.co/jeremygoertz

Fernie | Film Photography

2011-11-20T15:14:00.001-07:00

From our chill weekend in Fernie. Kodak Portra Professional 400, and the last two images were shot on Kodak Gold 200 that expired in 2002. I love the colour that comes from film. And with no post production what-so-ever, it's a winner.

if you don't have enough time...

2011-11-13T09:54:00.001-07:00

...stop watching TV.

Just one of the great lines in this cool little clip. Worth watching, worth living by. Enjoy:)

My favourite mountain hide away

2011-11-12T07:49:00.001-07:00

I'm enjoying a little chill time with the family in Fernie right now. I so love this place. Quiet, peaceful, amazing food, and lots to do. This trip though, we're committing to rest and relaxation. Lot's of lounging, games, TV and hot tubbing.

This was the view I woke up to this morning and felt so grateful to be in a beautiful, warm and cozy condo. Think it's time for a fire and some coffee...

winter showed up yesterday

2011-11-05T08:29:00.001-06:00

Looks like we have winter here. -17C and bad driving conditions came yesterday. This is the canal behind our house. It's said that we are going to have a colder winter than usual. Why do I live here again?

Poor Skully

2011-11-04T21:03:00.000-06:00

How cute little pup underwent a little surgery. He know where's the classic dog-cone-of-shame. It'll be off soon enough.

Deer season

2011-11-03T20:53:00.001-06:00

I'm going to give deer hunting a go this year. I've never done it before, so lots to learn. My boys and I headed out scouting before the season opened(which was officially yesterday in my area) to see if we could find a promising location. I think we did.

I brought along a roll of Kodak Gold 200 with me that expired in 2005. I seriously love shooting expired film.

MOVEMBER cometh

2011-10-31T22:31:00.000-06:00

It's that special time of year again, when all over the world, men start out on a clean shaven face, and grow a moustache. And all for a worthy cause, to raise money and awareness for prostate cancer. This year, I'm taking part.

My reasons for doing so are two-fold. One, I love having a moustache. Problem is, my wife hates it so typically it's never there. (only when she's out of town do I have the pleasure of sporting that under lip patch of manliness). And Two, my dad went through a bout with prostate cancer this past year. He was fortunate, and came through with success that the doctors could only have hoped for.

So starting tomorrow, I'll be growing a 'stache. I'm not gonna lie, I'm quite looking forward to looking like a creepy dude for a while:{) -moustache smiley face-

To round out things for this post, here's a little video I put together while my wife was on a shopping trip to Phoenix last year. She and her friends went for four days, and the kids and I stayed home. Boredom in the evening lead me to creating this:

how to groom your moustache from Jeremy Goertz on Vimeo.

Cheers!

Human Flight

2011-10-24T20:56:00.001-06:00

As previously shared on MLW, this is a great video. Especially check out around the 1:30 mark.

bring it back to life

2011-10-24T20:44:00.003-06:00

Well, seeing as my other blog isn't shaping up to be what I'd hoped it would (mostly just because I seem to be short on time to create the type of content that I've wanted to) I think I'll fire up this old bad boy again.

I've been thinking a lot about when I started this blog back in 2006, it was just a random posting mostly about bicycles. It kind of turned into a whatever type of blog, and that was when I enjoyed it the most. I have a soft spot in my heart for this blog. It's introduced me to some great people and blogs. I've met, in person, other bloggers, and have made some great friends. Both via the interwebs and in person.

So, here goes another kick at the cat. I'll keep this a loose blog, posting anything that I might find interesting and some of the goings-on in my life. I'm going to play with layout a bit, and hopefully I can sort out a better way to upload photos. Thanks for sticking around, and I hope all'yall continue to enjoy it. Life is good:)

Why does this blog still get so many hits?

2011-10-22T09:05:00.001-06:00

Seriously, more traffic daily than any of my other sites I actually update. Telling me something?

This blog is done. But....

2011-05-10T00:19:00.002-06:00

...another has been born.

I've started a new personal blog. One more suited to how I want to blog, and what I want to blog. Make Life Well.

I'm really excited about my new blog, and I hope you enjoy it.

Cheers,

Jeremy

A little mid-day gravel grinder

2011-05-02T15:37:00.004-06:00

I got an early start this morning, with much computer work accomplished, and this afternoon was 19C (66F) so that meant one thing. Gravel!

I road a few access roads out of town, and then hit up the canal path. Over the winter the county has been installing a new liner in the canal. It'll make it more efficient with less water loss, but it also means that a lot of the path has been closed while the heavy equipment is doing their thing.
As I approached the canal I didn't see any dust in the distance, or hear the machines working, so I figured it'd be a safe bet to ride down for a few miles and see what was going on.
They are really tearing it up, and the path along the canal is incredibly rough in places. Almost unridable. No work was being done today, so I ignored the road closed signs and kept the cranks spinning.

While they're installing the new liner, they're also upgrading the pedestrian bridges over the canal. This will be nice when they're done, but in the mean time, it means that my route was cut off half way, and I ended up just doubling back and retracing my path.
This was the first decent gravel ride I've had this year in shorts and a t-shirt, and man was it nice. Birds are back singing, gofers running all over and we're even starting to get bugs back! It's weird to be excited about the bugs, but after riding today, I'm so glad for the changing of seasons. It's more than welcome after the winter that we've had.

Fernie Snowmobiling Pic Dump

2011-04-24T16:49:00.006-06:00

A few weekends ago, me and 3 good friends had a weekend away, just to be men. Men in the mountains. With horsepower. I tell you, it was one of the best weekends of my life.

I'm back in Fernie now with my family taking some time to relax, unwind and catch up on things. Including blogging.

If you've never been on top of a mountain, in 4 feet of fresh powder, with no sounds what-so-ever, you've never experience just how incredible this harsh and unforgiving country can be. Mountains are amazing. We had a lot of snow the first two days of riding but on the third day, Sunday, we were given a gift. It was incredible.

the 4 of us on the trail up to the play areas (powder bowls)

this is where we were going to. untouched powder, 4 feet deep. heaven.

we did end up having to tow one sled out. as luck would have it, we were just finishing up on our last day when the trouble came. nice.

sometimes the best way to get un-stuck is just to roll your machine over. why not stand on it while upside down huh?

on Saturday we chopped down a dead tree and enjoyed a campfire at lunch

heaps of high-fives went around!

when the snow is this deep, you need to be careful where and when you stop. this stuff is so easy to get stuck in!

stuck

stuck and digging (did waaayy too much of this on Saturday)

met up with another group of guys. good visiting, and then a bit of one-uping each other with the audience. good fun.

on Sunday, it was really this warm. We ate lunch shirtless. about 45 minutes. awesome!

the fun with snowmobiling, is you can climb like no other machine. but, every now and then (or quite often) you get stuck. that's a pretty steep grade.

Big Brother

2011-04-10T20:18:00.003-06:00

A few weeks ago, while spending some time in Phoenix, I picked up another Bialetti Moka Press. The new one is the 12 cup version. Now, when we have friends over, we can all enjoy amazing coffee without me spending precious hang-out time making coffee after coffee after coffee:)

First bike ride since my elbow fracture

2011-03-26T23:28:00.004-06:00

Today was planned to be a busy day. Mostly cleaning up our rental house in Rockyford in preparation for new tenants moving in this coming week. Seeing as most of the day would be spent cleaning, fixing and doing tasks that generally are not that exciting, I figured I'd better get out for a nice early morning ride. Have something like this to go on can make the day much better.

This was the first time I'd tried riding since my little incident on the snowmobile. Oddly, I ended up having quite a bit of wrist pain after the ride, while my elbow was fine. Not enough to worry about though. With a mild(er) temp of -4C (25F) I'm really looking forward to spring coming on. Fought a strong headwind on the way back, but that just adds to workout. A great hour and a bit of snow-gravel goodness.

Right before taking this last shot, the large sheet of ice I was standing on broke free. Mad scramble, but just managed to get off without dipping my feet. That would have made for a miserable ride back home. I guess I need to be more mindful of these things this time of year.

Snowmobiling

2011-03-07T06:20:00.004-07:00

I suppose I'll keep the odd post coming. I've resolved that it might not be very frequent, and I've removed the pressure I'd put on myself to "make sure this makes it to the blog" that was keeping me from enjoying activities I was doing, and blogging about them. But, if I happen to have a camera around, and happen to snap a few frames, I'll probably get to posting it here. More low key, and enjoyable. That's the whole point of sharing via a blog isn't it? It's supposed to be fun? And it is.

This past Friday, 3 of my good friends and I were lucky enough to all schedule a day off, and head out on our snowmobiles. Our sweet wives thought it would be good for us to have a day off, absolved of our fatherly duties and just hang out and be guys for a while. We've got amazing wives! And, when guys are being guys, it often leads to a bit of craziness and in my case, stupidity.

Case in point: When I get behind the throttle of anything fast, I like to let caution flee from my mind. I love the feeling of being scared. It's a rush that has gotten me in trouble more than a time or two. I'd written off my sport bike 3 times, and was hospitalized once. But after I got to the point where I could wheelie for over 2 miles, shift through all 6 gears and top out at 140 miles per hour (not kph, MPH) all without letting the front tire touch the ground, that is a true reward.

Back to the snowmobiling. We're planning a weekend trip to the mountains to sled, and we viewed this day as a "test" ride. Kind of a chance to ride together and familiarize ourselves with each others riding style. We were just cruising the priairies, riding in the irrigation canals and blazing across the frozen lakes. We'd stop whenever we found a piece of terrain that offered a chance to play around. Once such piece was a nice snowdrift on a frozen lake.

My friend Brad said, "hey, I'm gonna try a superman!" I thought it was a great idea. Only problem: you need some serious airtime to pull of a full extension superman and land it. I tried a few times, couldn't quite get the full extension I wanted and then decided I'd just let it all hang out. Full extension, try and pull the landing, but mostly worry about full extension. I got the full extension I wanted, and the landing, well, there just wasn't time. The good news: we had video rolling. The bad news, I fractured my elbow. But, in the end, the pain was worth the split second of glory.

Check out the video:

Cheers,

Jeremy

On it's last leg?

2011-02-25T05:38:00.004-07:00

Not sure what to make of this blog anymore. Maybe it's the winter months keeping me off the bike? At the same time, there's lots of other stuff going on I could be blogging about. Skiing, running, my search for new hiking/camping gear. The thing is, I have no desire to post here anymore. That desire has been gone for over a year now.

I remember back in the early days of this blog. I kept posting and posting. I had no stat-counter widgets installed and had no idea if anyone ever even read this thing. Then, I got a comment. Hoky smokes a comment! Someone has read this at least once! The early days of bike blogging were exciting. I started to feel connected to a community of cycling bloggers and really, I still do.

I remember always thinking about whatever I happened to be doing at the time. Is this a good blog post? Should I be taking some pictures? I'd even start drafting up the post in my head. Setting the flavour of the post and working on the wording. Serious? Humorous? Educational? I was really excited to blog here and thought about it all the time. Then I started a few other blogs. A blog for my house renovation in Rockyford, which I deleted about 2years ago. A blog dedicated to bicycle maintenance which only lived for about 6 months even through it did have a bit of readership. There's the 12hrs blog which I still find interesting and enjoy. The thing I like about that blog is that others contribute from different parts of the world. It makes it interesting.

I've met some great people and made some really good friends both in person and 'online' via this blog. Smudgemo in Berkley and I met up for Pints during a business trip I took to Oakland. He's a great guy, and I consider him a friend. I've met up with Vik for lunch a few times when he lived in Calgary, we got together for a few rides (recumbent cruise in the prairie and a fixie ramble through downtown Calgary) and I even bought a bike from him. Another great person I've met in real life thanks to this blog. The Drumheller Mail found my blog somehow and offered me a spot to blog for them. I didn't take it, but all this is to say that blogging has been a great experience for me.

Then I started photo-blogging. Now, there is a big difference between the photo-blog world and the bike-blog world. Photo bloggers typically share a few snaps from their recent shoots and are geared more towards impressing their clients and aimed at attracting new ones. They seem to serve more a business/advertising function and that's fine, it's what they're for. Bike blogs seems to have more of an honest approach to them. It's not 'uncool' to leave comments and congratulations for the interesting things going on in the blog posts of other bike bloggers. Photo-blogs typically don't have this. There seems to be a feeling that it's uncool for one photographer to comment "excellent images, those are great" on another photographers blog post. Does leaving that kind of comment somehow make the commenting photographer 'less good' than the photographer who is posting? It not true, but seems to be the case. And I think it's a shame. The sense of camaraderie and friendship is far greater in the bicycle blogging world than the photo blogging world. I'd like to see that change.

Recently I've discovered the tumbler blog, which is all the rage right now. I really like the simplicity of it. It's far less involved than blogger and typically tumblr blog posts are very short and sweet. Many are simply one picture. My tumblr blog is for the most part random snap shots taken with my iPhone. Again, there's no real interaction with other folks reading, but there's also very little effort put into a post. My tumblr posts are published on my facebook and twitter feeds. I get a lot of visits to my tumblr blog (an average of 60-100 unique visitors per day) but again, not interaction. It's more of a one-way conversation. Thinking of it, I kind of wonder if the whole facebook thing has caused me to come to this place of not taking the interest in my bike blog the way I used to.

There have been some great bike bloggers I've followed who have thought about shutting down their blogs and some who have. I flirt with the idea all the time. The interface with blogger is really bugging me. I'm not sure if there's a way around it, but I find that only being able to upload 5 photos at a time is a real PITA. Blogger inserts my images and mixes up the order that I want them to appear all the time. It drives me nuts. Maybe there's a better way to upload to a blogger blog, but I don't know if it.

All this to say that I'm going to be leaving this blog alone for a while. I've already started, but this is more of an official notice. While I still can't come to a place to kill it completely, I'm going to resolve that I wont' be posting much here anymore. Maybe later on in time I'll get re-inspired to blog here more often, and I'm sure that the odd post will pop up once and a while, but all this is just short of pulling the plug completely. I'll still leave this blog here, and I'm keeping my blogger account mostly just so I can continue to comment on the other bicycle blogs that I enjoy. They all show up in my google reader and I enjoy reading them as much as I always have. It's just the feed from this blog wont' be showing up in other's RSS feeds nearly as much.

I'll still be blogging my regular old goings-on on my tumbr blog, and of course my photo blogs here and here, and for the most part, that's where you'll find me.

For the past 5 years it's been a great ride, I've enjoyed it, and appreciate all who have read, commented, taught and encouraged me via Jerome's bikes. Thank you, take care and God bless.

Cheers,

Jeremy

Another instalment of 12hrs happened on Saturday

2011-02-15T07:01:00.003-07:00

While participation wasn't very high, it's still fun to know that I'm documenting my day, the same time others are in other parts of the world are documenting theirs. The cool part is coming together on the blog and seeing how the same day looked to other people in their own little part of the world.

I'd like to get another one organized with even more people in a few months. If you're interested in taking part, let me know and I can hook you up to be a contributor.

Check it out here: http://12hoursinphotos.blogspot.com/

Winter

2011-02-10T07:06:00.008-07:00

It's been a hard winter this year. All of those "bad parts of winter" seem to have happened to me this year.

I was stranded in a small town I was shooting a wedding in with now way to get home, had to spend the night. I was only 30kms from my house.
A few days later I hit black ice while driving and wound up in the ditch.
And this week, the furnace in our Rockyford house quit. The pipes burst. And we had some flooding.

Seriously, what's up?! Most winters are so-so, some cold, some snow but nothing major. This year it's been intense. I've got 7 feet of snow piled up on the front lawn.

There is a part of me that loves this weather though. Some years we'll get a little snow, but mostly just brown dead grass and muddy roads to stare at. This year has been white. And white is nice to look at. We seem to get a nasty cold front bringing temps in the minus twenties, followed by a few days of above freezing. Cycled on and off, over and over.

Right now I'm spending my days driving out to Rockyford, checking on how the dehumidifier is doing it's job, driving back and going about my typical business. Rockyford is a house that we used to live in, and then rented out as when we bought our new house in Strathmore. We haven't had tenants in it since August, and as such, no one noticed the temperature going down inside as the furnace was dying. And, snap. There goes a water line.

On the upside though, this winter has been one that I've been outside more than any other. With my new found interest in nordic skiing, some warm days for cycling and running, I've been outside in the beautiful winter a lot. And by beautiful, I mean gorgeous. This year has brought more picturesque scenes of perfectly smooth snow covered fields and tress that are all white with snow than any winter in recent memory. It's amazing. It's funny how a winter can bring the worst and the best of it's season all at the same time.

My direction: forget about the minor inconveniences of winter and focus on the awesomeness of this season. Winter, I'll take it!

Downhill Skiing

2011-02-07T05:52:00.005-07:00

Last Thursday, a buddy Brad and I took the day off for some downhill skiing. We met a bunch of other friends at the hill, Mt. Norquay, and ripped hard all day long. It was a busy day at the hill, so we skied most of the day on the North American Chair. It services double black diamond runs, which were amazing. Not very busy, super steep and lots of powder. We rode hard all day long, and by the end of the day, our legs were mush. A good day on the slopes indeed.

I've only downhill skied once in the last 17 years prior to this trip. I started skiing when I was 4 and switched to snowboarding when I was 14. I decided to go back to the skis because teaching kids to ski when you're on a board is way more difficult than when you're on skis. Oddly though, I haven't skied with the kids yet (other than watch them while they're in lessons). After my 15 year hiatus, the old grove of skiing comes back fairly quickly.

I feel so lucky living 1.5 hrs from this

Brad and I were bush-whacking, and all of a sudden he disappeared. He didn't see this 25' drop in time. no injuries though:) (he right below my ski tips - 25' down)

view from the top of the North American Chair

here's a little video of a few of my attempts at jumping

A far cry from Monday

2011-02-02T16:05:00.000-07:00

Today's skiing brought sunshine, soft sticky snow and 3 above freezing. One wool cycling jersey and a very thin shell and I was just right for hard efforts. Even rockin a new Walz cycling cap just for kicks.

Tomorrow I'll be hitting mountains for some downhill skiing. Hope this warm weather holds:)

Sent from my iPhone

"If you don't like the weather, wait a few minutes"

2011-02-02T05:14:00.004-07:00

This is a familiar phrase to those of us who live in Southern Alberta. It seems true all year long. Summer days can bring wild sweeps of temperature readings in just a few short hours as in winter. Maybe more noticeable in winter, and often more appreciated.

Last week on Thursday morning, I headed out for a quick gravel grinder before having a "photog-nerd-fest-lunch with a bunch of great Calgary photographers. It was 7C (44F) when I headed out. Then, on Friday, snow and cold blew in. Monday I went for a ski behind my house, and it was -27C (-16F) when I left the house mid afternoon. Now, today, we're expected to warm up to above freezing again. Crazy.

With the warm spell we had last week, XC skiing wasn't an option, as we had lost a lot of snow. A single speed 29er serves well to get you outside and seeing things. It was muddy and much like the riding of spring.

gravel slop

With a hearty dump of snow and cold temps over the weekend, back to skiing again. It makes for a fun change up for sure.

I still find I make the mistake of over-dressing when I'm out skiing in the extreme cold. I had a balaclava on, and ended up taking that off right away, unzipping my coat half way and opening up the arm-pit vents. Sweating at -30 can be dangerous, it's a delicate mix of not getting tingly cold, and not over-heating. Being outside for an hour and a half, I came in with sweat-drenched gear. Fine if I'm right behind my house, but I'd hate to end up like this while out on a ski trail somewhere. The dialling-in continues.

With the old ski tracks melted away, and 10" of new snow, I had to set some new tracks for myself. The first few laps were a slow slog, but now they're ready for some faster skiing. Here's a quick video of me setting some new tracks. Most of the time my ski tips remained hidden under the white stuff.

More XC Skiing in Fernie

2011-01-23T20:42:00.009-07:00

After only a few weeks away, we couldn't resist another chance to head back to Fernie for a weekend away. Being as I'm living the freelance lifestyle, we opted let our oldest miss a day of school, and turn this into a long weekend. Freelance is risky and downright scary at times, but it also has it's perks.

Last time we were skiing in Fernie, the temp was -17C (1F). This time, temps are just above freezing. Quite a nice treat considering the intense winter that we've had so far. This was also the first time that we set out for any considerable distance with the whole family in tow. I am amazed at how well my sons are picking this up. They are moving well enough that actually do cover some ground. And my little girl, she's loving the chariot with the XC ski attachment. Usually it only takes about 10 minutes and she's out catching up on her beauty rest. Between yesterday and the day before, we had over 5 hrs of skiing. Not back considering we're doing it all with 3 kids 6 and under. Just shows that if you want to do things outside and be active, children aren't a hinderance to most activities. You just need to adapt a bit, and use the right gear.

Here's some pics and video of the last two days.

I'm amazed at how kids can contort themselves to get upright again. It's almost easier for them to get up after a fall than us.

My oldest going on his first 'downhill'

My youngest son is getting it well. If you look at the video, he's actually gliding on his skis.

A nice piece on hand made bicycles

2011-01-20T14:36:00.000-07:00

FROM STEEL: The Making of a Soulcraft from michael evans on Vimeo.

Bialetti Coffee Maker

2011-01-19T11:12:00.003-07:00

When we were in Fernie for the last bit of 2010, I thought I'd check out a few of the sporting shops to see what that had in the way of back-country coffee making stuff. Thinking along the lines of micro-touring, I wanted something that was small, light and able to brew fresh with a small stove.

Beyond that, I'm a coffee snob. Have been for years. I've hand picked beens in South America, toured coffee plantations in Venezuala and visited a few different coffee roasters in multiple countries. I love good coffee. The idea of brewing a cup or two, and keeping it sealed in a thermos on my bike doesn't appeal to me the same as a cup of brewed espresso does. Even if I'm only out for a short little afternoon ride, the trouble of brewing a fresh shot, is so worth it to me.
During my search, I ended up finding a quite famous little espresso maker. The Bialetti Mocka Press. It came highly recommended by a few folks at the store and thought for 30 bucks, it was worth a try. I went back to our condo in Fernie and made a few pots to test it out. Now, this is about the only way I make coffee at all anymore. Even at home.
If you're looking to have some great coffee while out camping, and even at home for that matter, I highly recommend the Bialetti. They are available in sizes from two cup all the way up to 12. Light, tough, packable and makes excellent java.

I also have a crumby video of me brewing a cup with my camp stove in my garage here.

Cheers,

Jeremy

The benefits of working from home

2011-01-18T11:36:00.002-07:00

I came upstairs from the basement (where I do my work - I call it the dungeon) to the smell of fresh bagels being made by my sweet wife. She's awesome, and she spoils me so so much!

Chariot XC-ski attachment

2011-01-17T17:26:00.007-07:00

Cross country skiing is where it's at right now. We were able to outfit the whole family with new gear, but finding a day warm enough to test it out was testing our patience. Today, we watched the thermometer outside of our kitchen window show that it was warming up. -15C. Yay! Still not warm, but we were getting sick of waiting so out the door we went.

It's so nice to have this open space right behind our house. If we got cold, we're only a 2 minute walk from the warmth of our home, and hot chocolate!

I had wondered about the performance of the XC-ski attachment for our Chariot X-Country (which BTW is an amazing stroller/bike trailer - one of the best "child accessories" we've ever bought and worth every penny) and I stumbled across a local (Alberta at least) blogger who uses one. Oddly enough I found her blog via twitter, and while I was in Fernie. Natalie posted about skiing in Fernie while we had just arrived there on our last trip. Small world. She highly recommended the ski attachment and said it worked very well. Her only complaint is that you can't ever find them for sale used. Good enough of a review for me! We picked one at Bow Cycle last week.

My first thoughts of the ski attachment...Excellent addition to the chariot. The skis are very simple to install, built very well (like the rest of the Chariot) and with just my 2 year old in it, it pulls amazingly well. Like really well. I had my six year old in it with my daughter for about 15 minutes, and while it's not as easy, it's certainly doable for several hours. I am amazed at how well this works!

The boys were petering-out, so they took turns riding with their sister. The brilliant design of the Chariot makes attaching their skis to the back when not being used a snap. Chariot products are so smart, and just work so well in real world conditions.

The additional skis leave an interesting trail for other skiers to scratch their heads over. The great thing is it doesn't affect the ski trials for others.

Out here on the prairies, we like to head for any trees we can find. Feels more "wildernessy" that way:)

Last time we were out in Fernie, my little girl ended up getting a mild case of frost-nip. Not quite frost bite, but enough to scare Steph and I and make us feel like terrible parents. We took extra precautions this time. It was noticeably warmer inside the Chariot (we had the covers all closed up) and when the boys were in there, they said it was nice and warm. So much so that our little girly fell asleep!
We're going to head out a few more times before our next trip to Fernie. The boys need a bit more practice at getting up by themselves, but they are doing incredibly well. This is such a fun family activity and it's so nice to have something we can all do to get out of the house in the winter.

Our yard is starting to look like a ski-lodge

Go outside and have some fun!

Had a bit of a (off) road trip today...

2011-01-13T01:31:00.000-07:00

...an hour later, I was back driving. We've had some intense weather here in Alberta lately.

This past weekend was shooting a wedding, in which the blizzard turn so nasty, none of the guests (and myself) were able to leave the small village the event was held in. I ended up spending the night crashing on the floor of the bride's father's house. 150 other folks were put up in local homes also. It was declared a local state of emergency. The next morning, there was a 40+ person brunch put on in the house and it was a great time of visiting.

After I got home, I used my dad's bobcat to clear my 2 car suburban driveway. 8 ft snow pile now resides on my front lawn.

And today, this. Black ice, slowly creeping along at 90 km/hr and boom, in the ditch. It's -30C with the windchill. We Canadians are forced to be tough sometimes.

Love it!

Late night nordic ski

2011-01-04T22:56:00.005-07:00

As a great change up from running (and/or a nice compliment to it), cross country skiing in the dark is a blast. For some reason I thought it would be faster than running though. My average speed was 10:13 per mile skiing. I run between 8 and 9 min/mile, depending on the flavor of the day.

There is another nordic skier setting some nice tracks right behind my house on the canal, so I did 4 laps for a fun 6 miles.

I can't get over how fun this is! (I will be paying for it tomorrow though. I hurt in ways I never do after running).

Doug was so right!

2011-01-04T12:34:00.000-07:00

Bar-mitts make a huge difference. With just a thin wool glove under these, my fingers stayed toasty warm for 1/2 hour this morning in -10C. Can't wait to take em out for some gravel grinding.

Ski Fernie (nordic style)

2011-01-01T20:23:00.006-07:00

We had an incredible time on the cross country trails at the Fernie Golf Course today. We weren't able to find any ski rentals for the kids, but we did pick up a set for my sweet wife to try. Good news, she loves it!

I guess we're now in the hunt for some kids nordic skis and a set for my wife. Also looking to pick up the cross country ski attachment for our Chariot so our youngest can come along too.

Being as we weren't able to find skis for the kids, Steph and I took turns between doing a few laps on the trails, and tobogganing with with the kids. Win/win!
For the last hour, Steph cruised on the skis, and I walked with the kids around the trails. They love getting out in winter and being able to just slowly toodle around at their own pace. After I gave each of the boys one of my ski poles, and they became "arctic explorers". Even started a dialog between each other to further the adventure. It was awesome to see.

Even my little girlie-girl lasted for 3 hours in the -17C (1.4F) temp. She had a blast.

It's days like today that make me so thankful to live in a country that affords adventures like this. There are some things about a cold nasty winter that I don't love; but then, there's days like this. Love the winter time!

Bringing in the New Year

2010-12-31T12:48:00.003-07:00

Seems to be a growing tradition for New Years Eve. Again, we find ourselves at the Condo in Fernie. I love it here. The temptation to move here grows and grows with every return we make. Fernie has a really great feel to it. Lot's of young families (almost all of them being very active and into outdoor activities) the usual ski-town mix of young Aussies, Kiwis and a few Europeans, and of course Fernie has it's share of Canadians visiting from their homes a few hours away. It makes for a friendly mix of strangers who all seem to be pleased to be here, and act as though they're enjoying themselves. This type of company feels good.

Tomorrow we're renting nordic skis for the whole family (I brought my along) and we're going to check out the trails that have been groomed at the Fernie Golf Course. We drove by yesterday, and there are lot's of families out skiing. Looks like some great trails that should be easy enough for small children. I'm stoked about it.

Whenever I come to Fernie, I'm always amazed at the number and interestingness of the bicycles seen around this town. I've always thought it would be cool to start photographing all of the bikes that I see here in Fernie, and create a collection to share. Bikes of Fernie. I finally started doing that, and yesterday got a few frames of some bikes. I'll be putting a post together of all the bikes seen this trip, when we're done here.

I hope you and yours have a very wonderful New Year, and make it something better than last year. For you, and everyone you know.

Cheers,

Jeremy

Cross county skiing

2010-12-27T19:57:00.005-07:00

My sweet wife bought me some nordic skis for Christmas. I went out tonight for the first time, and it was so fun. I'm sure I look very ungraceful, and I've got to figure out the whole waxing thing, but I am so stoked to be doing a lot more of this!

Another home video

2010-12-27T06:33:00.005-07:00

I've got this thing lately for taking video with my DSLR. For my photography, my main camera is the Canon 5D Mk2. This a great camera for stills, but it also shoots full HD video. Pair that up with some fast lenses (large aperture - shallow depth of field) and you get a look that is quite cinematic. I shot this with a 50mm f1.2 lens. This allows shooting in low light, and also give a very shallow depth of field. It allows you to have a very tight focus range, and blur out the background and foreground. It can be a bit tricky to use, but the results are so much better than using a typical 'camcorder'.

I'm on a real kick for making these little home videos now. It's a nice way to preserve memories. Enjoy.

Dinner at Japanese Village from Jeremy Goertz on Vimeo.

The season for people

2010-12-19T13:05:00.006-07:00

Lot's of get togethers happen at this time of year. It's awesome and I love it. Earlier this week a bunch of our friends came over to our house and brought some food and drinks. I took a few pics a shot a few clips of video. I love the way we prioritize people at this time of year more than any other. We should act like this all year long! Enjoy.

Friends over at Christmas time from Jeremy Goertz on Vimeo.

Good Decisions

2010-12-18T18:02:00.005-07:00

We lead busy lives. Too busy I'm convinced. It seams that these days, it's so easy to get wrapped up in this, be a part of that and get involved in all manner of things. Good things, things that are on their own just fine. It's up to us, though, to keep these things in check. There are always going to be groups, organizations and people that need as much of you as you can possibly give. Sometimes you just need to say no.

Today we did that. First was hockey practice with a 7:30 am ice time. Both of my boys are on the same team, and I'm one of the coaches. We opted not to go today. Yesterday I was asked to shoot a few assignments for our local paper. I said no. I turned down photography for Friday night, Saturday and some on Sunday too. Our family needed something different than the typical business that weekends can bring.

Instead of all these things, we decided to take a family day. We all slept in, and then we snuggled in bed for a half an hour. All five of us. We slowly started to cook a big breakfast. As a family. Everything happened at a relaxed pace, nothing hurried. We laughed, we all helped out, we all ate at the same time at the same table. The only thing that was important was that we were together, eating and enjoying just being a family.

I think it's good to be involved in stuff, and I do feel that when you commit to something, it is important to show up. But every now and then, there comes a time when the best thing you can do, is step back. Even if only for a weekend.

I hope yours is great!

What a difference those studs make

2010-12-18T09:04:00.000-07:00

For the type of snow that we usually have around here, I think the Schwalbe snow studs are an excellent tire. Their design is self cleaning, and even when riding in mud, the treads free themselves of junk by the time they're ready to bite back down into the ground.

When I drop the air pressure down to about 30 PSI, like i did yesterday, I can get really nice bite from the studs. Even in 4-6" deep ice ruts that we have at some of the intersections, the tires hold their course for the most part. Pump them up to 45 PSI, and the studs almost don't touch the surface for when the roads are clear.

Now they're aren't overly large tires, which makes deep fresh powder a challenge for them, but for commute type riding, and running errands on city streets, these are an excellent tire.

It feels good to be back riding in traffic again, and not worrying about losing traction. Lots of looks of amazement (or insanity) from the motorists.

Ride yer bike.

Studded tires

2010-12-17T06:06:00.005-07:00

I've finally gotten around to putting the studded tires on the Xtracycle. It's taken me a while to get at it as I've been mostly riding for fun lately. Those rides only require about 1/2 block of riding on streets before I hit the canal path and then gravel. The Karate Monkey does fine on these conditions, but without studded tires, any riding on streets is pretty iffy.

This is the 4th year I've had this set of studded tires, and I'm amazed at how well they are holding up. The rubber still has that almost greasy feel of brand new tires and the studs are still in decent condition. If I were buying studded tires right now, I'd probably opt for the newer Marathon winter tire, but at the time (4 years ago), this was the easiest winter tire for me to get my hands on. They're still stocked at MEC, and compared to non-studded tires, the traction difference does justify buying a set.

I'm still considering a set of ice-spiker's for the Karate Monkey. If I did, I'd also add some fenders and end up with a great winter errand bike. But then again, I'd lose it for the service of exploring and the fun rides. The one issue I have with the Xtracycle is that with the longer tail, weight distribution is more concentrated on the front tire. I often spin out going up short steep hills and when I'm taking off. I've even rode around with dead weight in the Xtracycle, just to aid it's traction issues. I suppose for the shorter distances that I have to go in this small town, a little back wheel slipping isn't a huge issue.

I've started adding stickers to my deck

These are the Specialized Nimbus EX tires that I run on the Xtra in the summer. I can't say enough good about these tires. Fast, smooth (enough), and they have amazing traction in rain. Again, after more than 4 years of service, they're in pretty decent conditions still.

I have't even lost one stud.

Finally ready for winter

I'm trying out a new two-flasher setup on the front.

A great blog post to check out

2010-12-16T19:16:00.002-07:00

Fellow bike blogger Derrick, wrote an excellent post on bicycles, life and marriage. This man has some great words to say. Head over to his blog and check it.

Exploring the options

2010-12-14T05:15:00.004-07:00

I am weighing out a few different options for this blog, and my personal blogging in general. When I started this blog way back in the day (over 4 years ago), I was mostly just looking for a viral place to connect with others who were as interested in bicycling as I am. Not too many of my close friends share this passion with me, and living in a smaller town makes it hard to join or even be a part of any cycling groups or clubs. This blog has done a great job of connecting me with some great cyclists all over the world. I feel like I've made some genuine friends with people I've never met, or may never meet in real life. 'Online friends' sound so ridiculous, but in this day and age, I feel it's more legit than it's ever been. Many of the folks I follow via their blogs and so one, I probably would be hanging out with quite a bit in 'real life'. If we weren't so far away of course. I've even had the good pleasure to meet some great bloggers in real life, and I like them even more than I did when I only knew them through blog contact. (And by the way, it does seem weird typing this still. Somehow I've still got a stigma regarding the whole 'internet-social' thing) Vik, is a great guy and I've bought a bike from him, rode with him and had lunch on a few occasions. Smudgemo and I met up for beers once while I was on a quick business trip to Oakland. The fact of the matter is that the internet is indeed a social place, fill with real life people. We may never meet them, but we can still hang, and get caught up in our little worlds of interest that we share. It's great. Chris, Doug, Jon, Hughie and Micheal to name a few, are people that I may never meet in person, but we do share a common interest and enjoy each other's online interaction.

That leads me to exploring some of my options. My interests are vast and varied, and many come and go. There are a few though, that do keep my interest, and I find as I'm getting older, I tend to bounce around from one thing to the next less. I love bicycles. Bummer is that in the winter my riding drops quite a bit. I run more than I ride. Food. I love food. I regularly post iPhone pics of the food in my life on my tumbler blog, which is more of just a random dump of quickly shot iphone pics. It's not interactive at all, and I like it more it's non-committal nature. Throw pics up when I can. Nothing more. I have a love/hate relationship with Facebook, and my twitter is more oriented towards business. Then there are my photography blogs, which I will keep as places for people to view my latest photography work. But lately, I've been wanting a place where I can blog about more of the activities and interests that are in my life. Cycling, running, food, design, beer, photography, family, DIY and simple living. I want to put up more quality posts, with quality images (seeing as I've got some decent camera gear) about a variety of topics.

I find myself asking if this blog is the right place to do it. The first thing that bugs me about this blog is the name. Way back when I started it, I had never put much onto the old inter-web, and I choose a nickname for it's title. My name isn't Jerome. It's Jeremy. And the URL very clearly states 'bikes' in it. Would it be fair to have less content on bikes than other topics? I think the only thing that is making me think so much about changing up to a different blog, is that this one has some sentimental value to me. It's where it all began for me, and it's done me very well. I feel that blogging here is a decision that has enriched my life and I really like what this little blog has done for me and how it's allowed me to meet and interact with so many great people.

There's a steady stream of traffic that comes here. Would I lose some of that? I guess I might. But then who cares? I do hate to inconvenience anyone who might want to continue to follow what I blog, by making them have to update their bookmarks. But, hopefully the change will be worth it with a larger stream of content that they'd enjoy. It's not an easy decision, and it hasn't been made for sure yet. But I am indeed leaning towards a new site with more content that spans a great interest of topics.

All this to say that there may be some changes coming in the way that I blog about my personal interests. Any thoughts or suggestions?

I'll keep you posted.

Cheers,

Jeremy

Even when it's cold out, I feel sorry for those stuck in cars

2010-12-02T15:16:00.005-07:00

I'm sure they're taking pity on me too, out there, in the cold, riding a bike. If they only knew how great it is.

I do still need to work on my winter gear though. Nasty cold fingers again. It was -9C (15F) and -14C (7F) with the windchill, and my skiing gloves just don't do the trick. This surprises me as they are good gloves, and while on the ski hills, they're always great. Must be the wind. I'm gonna look into a set of poggies, or some snowmobile mitts. Flirting with frostbite isn't much fun, and limits time outside. Today after about 15 minutes I was in pain. Shut the ride down at an hour, and again, pain when I came inside.

Still beats being stuck in a car!

Ride yer bike!

Dialling in the winter gear

2010-11-22T20:33:00.005-07:00

Every year, it seems to take a few rides to get used to riding in the cold weather. Not so much the being out in it, but the dressing properly. After a few rides, usually your gear is sorted, and you can adjust up and down, to be fairly spot on with the varying temperatures, all being cold.

This past Saturday, I took an hour and a half, to start to process. It was -23C when I left my house, and from what I remembered, I had my best selection of gear to ride in the cold, be as mobile as possible, and not overheat. For folks who don't ride in extreme cold conditions, it's far easier and more common to over-dress, and over heat than it is to under-dress. Of course once you over heat, and start sweating, then the cold can get dangerous.

With two base layers of good wool, a thin polar-fleece jacket and a wind breaker, my torso was perfect. For the legs, a thing pair of tights worn under my favorite manpris did the job. For my head, I tried something new. A thin balaclava, with my skiing helmet and goggles. Worked great. For it's intended purpose, my ski helmet would offer sufficient protection in a wipe out, and without tons of air vents and a fleece liner with earflaps, it's warm! My hands were another story. They were feeling pretty cold after 1 1/2 hrs outside, but when I stepped into our warm house, freak! I just wanted to cut them off they hurt so bad. Felt like a baby, but it was painful. Just the day before I had a pair of pogies in my hand an opted not to buy them. Now I'm wondering if they might help out.

The fact that I stop and take pictures doesn't help the hands out much either. It was my right hand, the shutter-triggering hand, that felt the coldest while out riding.

I think that once I can figure out something to keep the hands warm and toasty, I should be good to go. Winter cycling is my favorite type of cycling and I'm not sure why. I don't even like cold weather much. But there's something about the quite stillness and isolation that seems to be magnified in the cold of winter. Rides seam more epic, even though I go less distance. Somehow, 6 miles from home feels like exploring some far reaches of an uninhabited land. It's invigorating.
I'm trying to find places that I've ridden by before, but never really noticed. Exploring more deeply my own backyard you could say.
One great revelation of this exploring is the canal system, and the long culverts that are now dry and trekkable. These are really cool to walk through. This one is right under highway #1. Semis, cars and trucks were passing over-head. I couldn't hear them, they didn't know I was there. It made for a great place for a little break. Next time, I'm bringing a small stove with me and I'm going to make a cup of coffee. Micro-touring, and my good man Chris has coined it.
It's so great to get away, slow down, and enjoy what nobody else notices or can even see. Little things can have such a profound effect on life. Even in the cold.

P.S.- As a side; I write affectionately of the cold weather from here, a room overlooking the thirteenth hole of a beautiful golf course in Phoenix Arizona. Maybe the memory of the pain of cold has quickly faded. :)

Cheers.

From Yesterday

2010-11-17T09:20:00.002-07:00

From a crazy and fun fashion shoot yesterday.More will be up soon on my photoblog.

Old Man Winter

2010-11-17T07:41:00.000-07:00

Monday brought a nice mid morning bike ride with light rain. Tuesday morning brought a dump of snow and windchill temps of -18C.

I guess this is indeed where I live. And, for the next several months, this will be the scene.

Eagle Lake

2010-11-15T13:11:00.008-07:00

This morning I got back into the early morning routine again. After a few days in Montana, and then a Joe McNally 2day photography seminar, it was time to get back to work. 4:30am, down to the computer to work on pictures.

This morning all the cylinders were firing at 100% and I was able to bang out a whole lot of my to-do list before most people were even out of bed. As a reward, I gave myself a nice mid morning 10 mile bike ride. Being mid November, and the fact that we have no snow yet, I figured I had better get out there and enjoy the warm weather while it lasts. And by 'while it lasts', I mean today. We have a winter storm warning for tonight. Up to 10cm of snow expected.

I decided to head out on a ride that I hand't done in full for a year or so. Eagle Lake. There is a great little double track gravel path all the way, and, it crosses over the river too. I did a fashion shoot on the other side of the lake this summer, and wanted to kind of figure out the geography of the entire lake. I went as far as the crossing and then turned around. Here are some pictures of the trip.

Rode the bike paths out of town

found this location that might be good for a photo-shoot

the start of the path to eagle lake

all along the trail there are picnic tables. kind of nice

rear fender on for the mud. I was surprised how much of a difference this made

here is where the trail crosses the lake

even 5 miles out with no vehicle access, punks do their thing

I rode about a 1/4 of the way across, just to check it out

a thin layer of ice has started to form

go anywhere do anything friend

On the way back there was a fork in the road, this way dead ended

back on the right path, on the way home

Mid morning rides area always sweet. Somehow it feel like I'm getting away with something.

Cheers.

Xtra recycling

2010-11-02T14:31:00.005-06:00

After cleaning the basement, and doing some re-organizing of my creative space (the basement is where I edit photos, blog, and mess around with different studio lighting equipment) I needed to get out for some fresh air.

We had been saving up our corrugated cardboard for a while to take to the local recycling facility. Feeling the need for a little ride in the nice warm weather we're having, might as well do some chores at the same time huh?

The Xtracycle is such and enabler. Prior to having it, I'd most likely have to drive a car to the recycling yard. Now, a large (this time light) load isn't an issue. Having this bike around is so handy, and gets me out on the bike more. I love that about it.

Getting rid of stuff

2010-11-02T06:14:00.003-06:00

This past weekend we made some great advances towards de-cluttering our lives. First thing Saturday morning my wife and I headed down to the basement to start going through all of our stuff that was stowed away in boxes.

The very thought of that, stuff sitting in closed boxes bugs me. How long do I leave it in there before I surrender to the fact that indeed, I don't use this stuff. Rarely do I think about most of it, and even rarer still is when I actually use it. For some reason, I've been believing that there was good reason to stick stuff into boxes, stack the boxes is some far off, hard-to-reach corner of the basement, and then leave it. Seriously? What's up with that? Crazy.

We rid old collectibles (anyone have use for an 1852 printing of Noah Webster's work, the dictionary? - still trying to rationalize why I need this incredible book in my basement) old decorations and stuff that meant something to us at one time, but now simply bother me, as I have to move them around to access other junk in the basement.

It all started when we first moved from Strathmore to Rockyford several years ago. Moving will do that to you. Especially when you move to a smaller house. Even while in Rockyford, I was continually chipping away at my collection of worldly possessions. 5 pick-up loads in a year! That's a lot of stuff. That was just the start.

After moving back to Strathmore, we again did some major purging so we wouldn't have to just move stuff and stick it back into hiding, and I would say that compared to most (always a terrible measuring device - other people) we don't have that much junk we don't use. But to me, still too much. We had two food dehydrators. We've only ever had one going at a time. Why have two?

Since making the switch to a mac computer, I thought I should keep my PC desktop and laptop just incase I need them for some obscure business software I couldn't live without. A year now and the need for such software hasn't arisen. After I remove the personal information, I'll have two decent computers in need of a good home. Even on my mac, I'm becoming ruthless at keeping the desktop clean. I'll try out new programs, but if I don't use them actively, I uninstall. All my image files I'm working on are stored in multiple hard drives (took about a year to figure a fast, secure means of processing my digital work) and it keeps my computer free and clean. When I need to find something on it, there is no scrolling through useless or misplaced electronic information. I know where stuff is, and I can access it very fast when I need to. All that is a result of conscious sifting, and removing.

Whether it be electronic data, or cheap junk at walmart, we seem to be so given to consumerism. The idea seems to spread that just because we can have something, we should. Widget this, doodad that. All these things that we don't need, but since we can "afford" them (and I quote un-quote afford, because if you aren't paying cash, you probably can't "afford" it), and they were offered to us, we should indeed purchase them, take them home, and then stick them in boxes in our basement, or store it in a folder on our computers.

I've been calling it minimalism as of late, but it's more than that. While I do love the minimalist aesthetic, and the ideals, it also has a lot to do with attitude. Contentment. Being happy with what you have, and not want want want more. I used to think of contentment as settling. After fighting it out with junk in my basement, I now view contentment as a superior train of thought, and one that I now seek out with passion.

I'm trying to work my way to 100 personal items. Not sure I'll ever get there, but that is the goal. Not just for the sake of making a particular goal, but rather simply because the more stuff I'm getting rid of, the clearer my mind is, the less time I waste organizing junk, and the more liberated I feel.

To have less to worry about and fret over is a good thing isn't it? Then own less and ride a bike. See?!

Winter cometh

2010-10-26T12:37:00.004-06:00

I had my first ride in the snow yesterday. I had planned on picking my son up from school and taking him for lunch in the car, but I left the keys in the Van, and my wife was in Calgary for a few hours. Kind of a happy accident. Warm headgear, gloves and go.I'm pretty sure I'm instantly a "cool dad" with all the school kids when I take my son to or pick him up from school on Soots. All the kids come up and are all like, "oh, that's so cool, sweet!" My son just grins.
Did a little riding around the park to avoid construction on the way home. Without the studded tires on, and no weight on the back of the Xtra, it's a whole lot of slip and slide. But a whole lot of fun too.
I'm so stoked to get in winter riding mode. The invigoration that comes from the icy air is like none other. I'll be shodding the wheels with studded tires soon and then, bring on the cold n' nasties!

(not much traction offered in snow)

Fall riding with the Family

2010-10-26T12:25:00.005-06:00

This post is about a week late. But who cares.

Last weekend, with the fading nice weather, we figured it'd be wise to make the best of it. After church, the younger kidlets had a nap, and my oldest son and I headed out on the Karate Monkey. We brought a sling shot with us. At 6, it's time he learned such skills. A few hours, a few miles and just the two of us. It was awesome.

After we got home, everyone was up, and we hitched the trailer to my wife's Kona, and the 5 of us headed out for a ramble with no destination in mind. Just hit up some gravel, some canal path and enjoy being together. At the turn around point, we stopped, had a picnic of Oreos, and did some more sling shot shooting. Getting out, enjoying being together and having fun. This my friends is the awesomeness that is family. Love it.

Spotted: ANT

2010-10-26T06:40:00.001-06:00

I've never seen a real ANT bicycle before, but walking to my vehicle after shooting a wedding in downtown Calgary, there it was. So sweet.

Errands

2010-10-16T13:35:00.004-06:00

I had some errands to run this morning, and opted to do them on the Long Haul Trucker. Love this bike. It's weird, I seem to go through spells where I exclusively ride either my LHT, or the Karate Monkey, or the fixie. One of these bikes will be my go to for a long while, and then I'll switch it up.

There are some things you get to experience that you would totally miss if you weren't on a bike. One of those things is crazy kids stunting in their cars. I watched the driver of this car start his power slide, lose it, and almost get it back. Not quite though. I also saw the cop watch the whole thing. Buddy scored himself a $225 ticket (which was pretty mild in my opinion) and a few demerits. I chatted with him while he was waiting for the tow truck. He said, "yeah, they're just giving me a little slap on the wrist." I would say so.
Stopped to listen to a few voicemails on my cell phone that I received while riding. My phone rings more now than it ever has before. I kind of hate it, but mostly it's clients booking sessions and discussing photos, so it's not all bad. It is nice to opt not to take the call and keep pedaling though.
This is the trail right behind my house. Now that the canal is drained (see last photo) there are a few places with rock-paths that I can cross if I need too. Saved myself a whole 3 minutes today. Go me! Once the snow flies, quite a few people cross country ski in there. I think I'm gonna pick up a used set of skies and give it a try this year.

Spotted: Retro-direct drive bicycle

2010-10-10T17:04:00.003-06:00

Right now I'm hanging out with my sweet wife and kids at my parents condo, in what is quickly becoming one of my favourite places on earth. Fernie BC. Love it here. This is a huge bike town. Not only for the incredible down hill riding to be had at the Fernie Mountain Resort, but also for transportation. People who live here ride their bikes everywhere and all year long. There are some great "utility" bikes to be seen here. Classic road bikes, mountain bikes converted to cruisers with milk crates on the front and everything in between. While walking for a bagel this afternoon with the family, I spotted this bike. At first it was the mismatched handle bars that made me think the owner was bike geek (non bike geeks seem to care much more about the look of their bikes) but then I noticed it.This is the very first retro-direct drive bike I've seen in real life. Sweet! Pedal forward and you have one gear range. Pedal backwards and you've got a completely different speed. It's a two speed bike that needs no shifting. So cool to see one of these at random.
Ride yer bike!

Fall Riding

2010-10-07T05:37:00.004-06:00

Fall is such a great time to be riding. The smells, the colours and the sounds of leaves crunching under the tires. This season seams to be one of the fastest to go by, and every year I just try and try to hold onto it and make it last.To that end, I've been out on my LHT. A lot. Typically several rides per day. Saddle time is the goal, not distance or speed. I'd hate to be rushing through the parks and pathways with this kind of scenery anyway. Slow down, enjoy the ride and take it in. That's what it's about.

Cheers.

Soon, the studs will be back on the bikes....

2010-09-20T14:53:00.003-06:00

The weather we've had in Southern Alberta has been pretty terrible this summer. August was the only month so far this calendar year that we haven't had snow. We've had very few hot days, and my short-wearing days were less this year than I remember them being ever. After a terrible, cool, wet summer, it's hard to get excited about winter coming.

Until I remember how much fun winter cycling is. I almost think I prefer it to summer cycling. Everything about it is a little more epic. Lights, studded bike tires, careful wardrobe selection, and the fact that a perfectly flat and straight gravel road can turn into an almost impossible-to-ride trail with the slush and snow. Winter is harder on the bikes, and every ride pretty much requires an after ride wash-down, but it's a little funner. There's a greater feeling of achievement after a winter ride than a summer ride. Not that I don't love a nice warm ramble in the country on a hot summer day, stopping to take pictures and drink water while the birds and bugs sing around you. Those are great too, and I"m sure I'll be missing them come mid-January when I'm staring outside at -30 degrees.

I'm not sure why (and I think it's kind of sick) but, I'm pretty stoked for winter cycling to be coming around.

JG - The Personal Side

2010-09-07T22:34:00.002-06:00

Here's something I don't think I've shared here before, but I've got a very loose blog-type thingy where I dump mostly random pictures. It's a tumbler blog (which have my allegiance with their incredibly simple and well designed platform) called JG - The Personal Side.

Mostly it's just a pick dump of what I'm up to. Mostly populated with iPhone photos that I take at random times through out my days. You can find it here.

(As if anyone needed another pointless blog to read huh?)

A little morning "Trucker" ramble

2010-09-06T09:01:00.001-06:00

Fixie

2010-08-24T16:06:00.001-06:00

Find myself into riding this thing again. Everywhere. A lot. What a great bike.

A few errands

2010-08-20T20:30:00.001-06:00

The Mystery bike mysteriously disappeared!

2010-08-19T20:33:00.003-06:00

Well, okay, it wasn't mysterious I guess. But it is gone. After giving long thought to my cycling needs, and the style of riding that I do most often, a skinny tired road racing bike was a ride that would be much use by me. So, I found it a good home. Or a good home found it. Jeff is going to put it to good use and is going to use it in some triathlons. It would indeed be a fine ride for that. Quick, but comfy. Man I will miss that bike.

Back to further thinking of my cycling needs. When I consider what bikes I actually ride, and where I actually like to ride them, I can't really dream up figures and stats. What I ride is what I ride. What I ride is my LHT and my Karate Monkey. That's pretty much it. My fixie used to see a lot of use, but after a bit of a close call earlier this year (my foot slipped off the pedal while trying to do an emergency skid stop) I kind of wonder if it's the smartest thing for me to ride a brakeless fixie, when I have a wife and family at home. I love them, they love me, and they do want me to make it home safely.

Put brakes on the fixie? Well, the kicker for me and that bike is it's pure aesthetic. I love how clean it is. When there's brakes installed, it just doesn't look as good to me. It's the clean and pure line of just bicycle that I love about that bike.

So, I'm selling it. I posted previously that I was going to sell it, but I didn't have it priced to sell really. I think I was trying to sort of go through the motions of selling a bike, minimizing my possessions, without actually having to do it. Now it's time. I'm listing it for $400. Maybe that's high? Don't think so. Paul Hubs, hand built wheels. It's a solid bike and it's well put together. If I can't get $400 for it, I'll sell it for less. I will sell it though. That's the sure thing.

I'm not sure why, but there's something about having lots of bikes that really doesn't sit well with me anymore. Not sure why. I used to revel in the fact that I had 13 bicycles, all road ready, and all mine. Not all were fancy or worth bragging about, but I like to have them. Now, I'm constantly weighing the pros and cons of each one of my bicycles. So far this year I've rid 6 from my collection. I feel as though I'm not done yet.

The question is always in my mind: "if I could only ride the KM or the LHT, which would be the best for me." I can't say. I could get some gears for the KM, and set it up for more of a utility bike that would still do well off road. I could get some slightly more aggressive treads on the LHT and use that as my only bike. I had a little email dialog with a local cyclist this week who suggested the Salsa Fargo would be the perfect in between bike for me. Yes, it might very well be. But, chances of finding one of those used are slim to none. And, I'm not going to be buying any new bikes in the near future.

For now, I continue to weigh the options and ponder what to do next. And of course, ride my bikes!

Cheers,

Jeremy

get outside and notice the un-noticed

2010-08-18T14:02:00.004-06:00

It's good for the mind, body and soul.

Shameless self promotion

2010-08-03T16:33:00.004-06:00

This has nothing to do with cycling, but I'm posting it to my bike blog anyway. This is something that is really exciting to me, and to me, it means a lot. I was listed as one of Canada's top emerging photographers by Photolife magazine. Such an honour. Check it out on my photoblog.

Breath

2010-07-19T23:36:00.005-06:00

Yesterday, I seriously needed a breathe of fresh air. Had a perfectly nice person waste an hour of my life, chit-chatting, while I had a huge to-do list that wasn't being overcome. The whole day was like that. Lots to do, but somehow, nothing getting done. Time waster here, time waster there, everywhere a time waster. Not or lack of trying either.

After said person finally let me go (after telling me of her childhood vacations, past houses, children that have moved on and countless other details of her life) I was in a foul mood. I'd never met this person in my life. And somehow we're good to chat for an hour? While I've got things to do? Fuming at this point.

My sweet wife, knowing what's best for me, suggested I head out for a little bike ride. While my to do list was bursting, and nothing for the day had diminished it, I did agree. Going for a ride was probably the most productive thing I could do at that point.
So, I threw my old 20D around my neck, checked the pressure of the LHT tires and headed out. Nowhere in mind, but hard on the pedals. Hard on them with thoughts of piss and vinegar. Thoughts of how I'd just lost an hour of my life I'll never get back. Thoughts of how such a person has no idea of how rude that was and how detrimental it was to my business. All for what? Chit chat? I pedalled harder.
My route started routine, and I was cruising the gravel in no time. My favourite roads were unraveling before me, winding here and there with their graceful flow, but all I could think about was this horrific person (criminal by this time in my mind) who wanted to babble on for what seamed like forever about nothing that I cared, or ever would care about. By this point, I think it was adversely affecting my health, and taking a toll on my heart and veins.

I continued in the building rage.
The effect of your favourite gravel route and irrigation canal can have a very powerful, honing effect on ones attitude. I slowly was feeling more relaxed. I'd have to make myself get angry again out this incident and remember how angry I was. And I'd seem to have to do it again and again.
Then, all of a sudden, I realized, who cares? I've still got a huge list of things to do, much of which I can contemplate out here, on this great gravel route, while doing one of my favourite things. I realized how much of my time and energy I'd wasted in anger about a silly little situation. I reminded myself again that I indeed can't control everything, nor would it be good if I could. I could never handle such a task. People are people and people are different. This gal was a different flavour than I'd ever met, but she was still a person. She is still important. If she want's to tell me her childhood vacations, issues she's having with her builder, or the details of her life, I should just sit back, enjoy it and remember that indeed, she's a person too. This may not have been on my agenda for today, but, it is now and if it's made it's way into my daily schedule, I must treat it as important, and realize that indeed, sometimes you just need to let other people's agenda's have a little affect on your day.
I'm not saying that you can be loose with your time. Hardly at all. I'm the guy who just doesn't ever answer the phone, because I'm in the middle of something. I protect my time like it's going to save my life. I don't let others waste a second of it. But today, I realized again, people need to come before our "to-do" lists.

Cheers.

Back in the Day

2010-07-19T23:17:00.005-06:00

We all used to ride to work. All five of use. That's me in the middle, sporting the #5 on my t-shirt. It started with just me, riding everyday. Day in and day out. Then a few others joined along. Then, there was 5.

Now I don't work there anymore. No one rides anymore. Kinda sad.

Sometimes by simply being seen doing, your influence can be surprising.

Ride yer bike.

Mystery Bike Revealed - Peugeot Sante

2010-07-08T22:34:00.004-06:00

Finally I've gotten around to putting some pictures up of my 'mystery' bike that I've been slowly, very slowly been plunking away on since last summer. The idea was to get it up and on the road fairly quickly, but all too soon time was slipping away and I resolved that this would be a winter project. Technically, it ended up a spring project, but, it's done.I'd been searching for some time to find a nice, decent quality steel frame road bike that actually fit me. 62cm frames aren't the most common in local classified ads. I was pretty much sure I wouldn't find anything decent and thought that if the desire to ride a fast, skinny tired road bike bit me that hard, I'd have to save up the pennies and buy a new one. Well, I found a great deal on a bike that had been spared from being placed out in the dumpster. The gent that I purchase the bike from didn't want to see the bike going to waste, but also wasn't really in a place where he needed another bike project. In the end, I got a sweet deal on it, and now, I've finally got a really nice steel frame road bike that fits.
The bike is a mid-late 80s Peugeot Sante. Made in France, with a Renolds 531P tubeset, nervex lugs and simplex drop outs. That 531 P says so much about this bike. One of the finer tubesets that you could build a bike with at the time.
This bicycle has such an amazing ride. Very aggressive in it's riding position, but the ride itself is smooth. The drive train is Shimano Sante, which was basically a limited edition Dura-Ace line commissioned for this frame. Pearlescent paint was a distinctive feature of the line. That and the special chain-ring bolts that were smooth on the outer side. The brakes are really impressive for their vintage, and after a re-build, the shifting is silky smooth. This bike never had many miles on it. The bio-pace chain rings are in excellent condition. It's pretty cool to have a bike this old, and be able to leave so much of the original hardware on it, without sacrificing performance.
I was thinking about painting the frame, but quite quickly kaiboshed that idea. Added some white tires and bar tape to keep in tune with the aesthetic of the components and paint.
Haven't logged too many miles on it yet, but that'll soon change. Going from the LHT, to this, I'm again amazed at how fast you can actually move under your own power. Skinny tired, go fast bikes are really something.

Cheers.

alternative transportation at it's finest (or something)

2010-07-01T18:54:00.002-06:00

Just a little update

2010-07-01T18:38:00.004-06:00

Well, things have been pretty busy for me lately. Haven't even been out riding too much. Certainly not enough. Just wanted to throw an update out there for the cycling-blog-o-sphere that I used to be so involved in. Haven't forgotten you, and I keep up with yall on my google reader. Just haven't been contributing to it all that much.

A photo of the mystery bike will be coming soon. After a few more rides on it to get it dialled in just right.

Also, I'm giving an iPad away on my new websit e which is dedicated to family, wedding and lifestyle photography. I'm keeping my other site, jeremygoertz.com, for commercial, fashion and personal photography that wouldn't really interest people wanting family photography. In an effort to tailor content for different audiences, I think this separation should work well.

Now, this contest is a tough one for me. Why? Because I don't have an iPad, and I want one. So bad. Yet I'm giving one away? Yup. I wanted something fun to kick start the new site, and to me at least winning an iPad is a whole whack of fun!

Minimalists Ideals start to take hold

2010-06-23T05:46:00.004-06:00

Over the past year or so, I've been really contemplating the idea of minimalism.

Minimalism isn't really new or revolutionary, nor would minimalism necessarily be the best way to describe the thought process. Maybe it is, but minimalism seams to be more of a title to counter-act the consumeristic lifestyle that we as North Americans have been so caught up in. Always need the latest and greatest, always need more. Why? The thought process of minimalism is to pair everything down to the smallest amount that we can comfortably get by on. Try to do without the latest and greatest. Be content with what we have. My motivation for minimalism has stemmed from my frustration with trying to keep all of my worldly possessions in order. My life, may not even look minimalistic yet. I've always been a bit of a collector, and even as a kid, I would hate to get rid of anything, "in case I might need it later." Classic.

A lot of my life and my stuff has been very easy to pair down. Stuff that I've had for years, I've given away over the last year. I've kept track and I've hauled 8 pickup truck loads (and I mean completely loaded truck-fulls of 'stuff') in the past year and a half. Most of it is easy, and I've gotten my personal belongings to a much more manageable level. Still not near done, but I've made some real progress. One area that I thought would be completely unaffected by minimalism was my bicycles. Turns out, I was wrong. Yesterday I gave away 3 bikes and my old trusty trek frame (which was pretty much the starting point of my bike commuting and this blog). Today, I put up the fixie for sale.

I'm trying to pair my bike collection down to as few bikes I can have, and still partake in my favourite styles of riding. The fact of the matter is that I don't need a great city bike with a front basket for the one day a year that I make a wine and cheese run before enjoying he sunset with my wife on the back deck. I did that once last year, and I've romanticized the ride ever since. It was probably the biggest reason I kept that bike so long. Hadn't ridden it since. Get rid of the bike, keep the memory.

My bike collection to meet my style of riding should be quite nicely accommodated with the following: my LHT, my Karate Monkey, my Xtracycle, and my Rockabilly Boogy. Those are the bikes that I ride the most. There is also the 'mystery bike' (which I should probably get pictures up here) that would have it's place, but most likely will go. That will still leave me with 4 bicycles, which is quite a collection to the average person. To a cycling fanatic, it's hardly respectable, but to a minimalist, it's plenty. Who knows, it may be culled down even further, but my thoughts are this. My LHT is a great bike for errands, long relaxing rides in the country, and for road rides. My Karate Monkey has been my evening bike ride 'go to' for quite a while. This was very different than what I thought when I bought it. I didn't think I'd ride the Karate Monkey near as much as I do, and it's just such a great bike. Soots (Xtracycle) is obviously for hauling kids and groceries and running whatever other errands I might need to run. And lastly, the Rockabilly Boogy. This bike is just for fun. Since my wife has a cruiser to match, it's a bike that I'll hang onto, even though it's mostly a novelty. Every other one of my bikes is a better, more efficient ride, but sometimes it's fun to just cruise with my bride (of 9 years now!) and go no-where important slowly.

I've been told by people that I'll regret getting rid of my bikes. If I truly do find that I can't live without the collection I currently have, I can always build it back up again. But I don't think that'll be the case. The fact that I'll have fewer bikes to maintain accessories and ride makes me worry that I'll see how great simple is, and be tempted to further reduce my fleet. That, wouldn't be a bad thing.

To the fixie. I'm gong to try and sell it locally. Shipping is a royal pain in the butt and quite expensive to anywhere south of the border. So, locally, I've got it listed for $650 with a few options.

Life is getting simpler and I'm liking it.

Sometimes, you just need a ride in the country

2010-05-30T23:05:00.006-06:00

It's been crazy busy for me lately. Work on the photography business, work on spring projects around the house, heck, I've even been busy with work on my bicycles. Busyness isn't always a good thing. Don't get me wrong, it's good to keep active and to be 'doing' things. Sometimes though, we can too easily let ourselves get too busy, so that we don't take the time to stop, reflect, and just enjoy simple pleasures that life gives us. They are always there, it is just too seldom that we actually stop and take notice.

Tonight, I was heading out for a ride after putting the kids to bed. Now, most nights, I'll grab the Karate Monkey, and roll it out, for some crank spinning, gravel grinding exercise styled riding. But tonight, tonight I wanted something different. I wanted to just slowly poke around the country side, listen to the birds, and smell the rain in the fields.
When I left home, it was lightly raining. I looked up, and pointed my bike in a direction that looked like to might not be raining quite so much. North. Not long after heading out of town, the rain was tapering off, and the sun was shining in the distance. That was my destination.
An incredible few moments were afforded to me. The sun broke through, the road dried up, and the wildlife was out enjoying the evening with me. I saw 13 deer, 9 hawks, 2 owls and hundreds of other smaller animals. A lone coyote wandering a nearby fence line. The red-winged black birds cranking out their song. The glory that we go whipping by in our cars everyday. Tonight, it was mine to enjoy. And I so did.

Life is Good.

Kick Stand Coffee

2010-05-29T11:55:00.003-06:00

These guys are onto something. Kickstand. A mobile coffee shop, that's transported by bicycle. Cool idea, and I hope it goes really well for Peter, Neal and Aaron.

Kickstand Coffee from Brian W. Jones on Vimeo.

Sometimes I want to move!

2010-05-29T10:40:00.001-06:00

So, no riding the mystery bike today. What's up with this weather?

I rode the mystery bike tonight

2010-05-26T23:14:00.002-06:00

I got a quick little zip (very quick and very little) on the "mystery bike" tonight. I need a new chain (wasn't successful in re-connecting the old chain and keeping the link free) and once that's in place, I'll put some pictures up here on the blog. But, my initial impressions: incredible! This bike is fast. And, it fits me like a glove. I felt so incredibly comfortable on this bike, and I felt like it was custom made for me. That might change after I spend a few hours in the saddle non-stop, but this bike is right for me. I'm so stoked to almost have it on the road, and I'm stoked to be able to post some pics soon.

Cheers.

Back out on the LHT

2010-05-26T18:13:00.000-06:00

I forgot how great this bike is. For some reason, all of the other
bikes in the garage have been getting all of the attention lately. A
shame indeed. This bike fits so well, rides so well, and handles so
many different purposes, it makes all the others in the herd nervous.
LHT, you rock!

Fixie Ramble

2010-05-24T12:15:00.002-06:00

mad fixie skills

2010-05-20T22:39:00.001-06:00

Chris Akrigg THE MAURICE.0 from chris akrigg on Vimeo.

Way fast steel

2010-05-12T22:15:00.001-06:00

Just another teaser of the mystery bike. If it weren't for the fact
that I didn't notice the BB spindle was brunelled (bearing raceway
pitted - just an old millwright term) this bike would be ready for a
shakedown ride tomorrow morning. All I need is to pick up a cartridge
BB(anything wrong with a cartridge BB on classic, vintage steel made
in France) and a 1/2 hour and this baby will be blowing me away with
it's speed, razor sharp handling, and incredible ride.

Any guesses on what it is yet? Hint: the bike model name and the
Shimano groupo that hangs on it are both called the same. Think
limited edition.

Serious progress on the mystery bike

2010-05-10T21:26:00.001-06:00

There was a serious hurdle that's been crossed this past weekend. Now,
the re-build. I'm super pumped about this bike, and can't wait to get
it all finish for the reveal. Stay tuned!

Good for the mind

2010-05-05T20:59:00.003-06:00

The end of last week I was stressed for some reason. Well, maybe more just frustrated, and without patience than stressed. I didn't even know why. Maybe the kids were being crazy? They're always crazy. Usually it doesn't get to me. Had a good week of shooting, and had some great shoots coming up on the weekend. It bugged me that I couldn't put my figure on the reason I was feeling so off.

When I'm feeling this way, regardless of the reason, there's a sure fire way to ease the funk. Getting out, away from any hustle and bustle, and just being alone in a quite place. For me, this usually happens on a bicycle. My bike takes me to great places. They don't even have to be far. Just away, quite, and alone. So I can think, and re-align. When hanging out with a sunset like this, how could you be frustrated? Good medicine for sure.

A simple bike helps. No gears = no worry.

Thank you Karate Monkey.

I'm gonna try and neglect this blog a little less

2010-04-30T15:55:00.003-06:00

Things have been very, very busy with my new photography business. It's a good thing for sure. But, I've been feeling guilty about still having this blog around, and having it get so little attention. I would rather give something up, than to do a mediocre job of it. I was seriously considering calling it quits on this blog. It wouldn't be the first blog I've decided has run it's course. When my house renovation was done, I pulled the blog from the internet. (they still haven't called asking for it back.....hhmmmm)

But then I got to thinking. I still ride my bike a lot. I still love geeking out over bikes and sharing whatever it is I might be geeking out over. Plus, I'm met some excellent people via this blog. Both in reality and virtually. I've even made some good friends, and all though this crazy little blogosphere. This blog has been too good to me to just give it up. I still enjoy thinking, writing and taking pictures of bike related pursuits. I just need to put that stuff up here a little more frequently.

If I'm going to keep a cycling blog, I better actually keep a cycling blog! More to come....

Cheers.

Possible new (light) gravel cruiser

2010-04-24T15:53:00.002-06:00

Looking at a few options for a light(er) 700c gravel cruiser. My Karate Monkey is nice, but the big meats, and heavy frame are a little overkill for speedy gravel cruising. My LHT has been assigned to gravel duty in the past, but it's not ideal either. A while ago I started thinking about building up a gravel specific machine, and seeing if I could do it from the parts bin. While cleaning the garage today, an idea came.

Take the old faithful Antelope frame, the touring wheels from a Miyata 100LT I sold, and some Nitto mustache bars. I'm thinking about a 1X8 drivetrain. I don't need a huge gear range, but it would be nice to compensate for slight inclines/decline, and for the wind.

The 700c wheel actually fit well in the frame, although I don't think fenders will be an option. Not that I really want any for this specific build either. I've got some Shimano bar end shifters I could use, and some Shimano 600 brakes that are in pretty nice shape. I'll need a new stem, as this one puts the bars a bit too far forward. You'll also notice a stem extender in there. This frame is really too small for me, by a long shot. But, with the seat-post extension, and the stem extender, it's a pretty nice fit. Add those 700c wheels, and this thing has about an inch more BB clearance that the Karate Monkey. This might just turn into a really sweet, nice and fast gravel machine.

18 miles of smiles

2010-04-18T21:18:00.000-06:00

Found a great new route along the canal this evening. Trail head is
just a block from my house. How have I never opted to explore this
before? I hardly started down it, but it's gonna make for some great
longer rides this summer!

Cool gravel grinder

2010-04-11T21:00:00.000-06:00

15 miles of quiet back roads, my thoughts, and my good old friend,
Karate Monkey. A nice little polish to a great weekend.

Treating myself after the kids are in bed. So good.

2010-04-05T21:25:00.000-06:00

A great link

2010-03-26T13:03:00.003-06:00

I just received an email from a fine Gent letting me know that this humble cycling blog has made a 55 list of sites that will get you into shape and are eco-friendly. Now, that's not the big deal. The big deal is the others that are on that same list. Fatcyclist, Gwadzilla, Kent's Bike Blog, EcoVelo, Drunk Cyclist, BikeRadar.com and many others. Seriously, check out the list here. It's a list of what I would put together as some great cycling resources. Thanks for the link Ron, it's a honor nto be part of such a great group of sites.

Shooting a sick rider in Fernie

2010-03-25T12:45:00.002-06:00

Hanging out with the family in Fernie right now, and with a little free time, and my mobile lighting gear, I figured I might as well hang at the local skate part for a bit. Met a great rider who can really kick it. No brakes, no chain. Yes, his bike doesn't have a chain right now. It's all about balance and momentum, and making them work your way. Serious talent, way fun to watch, even more to shoot. Enjoy.

You can check out the flickr set here with lighting info if you so care.

Stuck seat post

2010-03-14T19:01:00.000-06:00

Anyone got any sure fire ways of un-stucking an aluminum seat post
from a steel frame that's not too destructive?

Breakfast

2010-03-11T08:52:00.004-07:00

1 part gravel, 1 part Karate Monkey, I part sunrise.

Spin cranks furiously for 1hr. Serve and Enjoy.

Ryan Leech on Bike Commuting

2010-03-05T18:01:00.000-07:00

A great music video

2010-03-03T11:16:00.005-07:00

I've been a fan of OK GO for a while now. They've just released their new music video, and it's everywhere right now. Even here! Worth a watch. Cheers.

BTW, I'm having trouble embedding this into Blogger properly, so you may just want to double click the video and watch it directly on youtube. Sorry 'bout that.

What does one do with his first day as a pro photographer?

2010-03-01T17:51:00.006-07:00

Go for a bike ride of course.

Today was my first official day as a full time photographer. I've been counting down the days, and it's finally here. I did get a lot of photography related work done today, but I wanted to do something that would be a huge reminder of the benefit of making this lifestyle work. I figured if I taste what this life is like, and the perks that come with it, it'll give me real motivation to bust my chops at it.

I started out by taking my oldest son to kindergarten. He loved that I was the one taking him. I washed my truck, did a little banking, and then hit the mac editing some photos from a shoot I had over the weekend. Had lunch, and after that, I gave myself what I consider a great luxury, and something that brings me huge pleasure. An afternoon bike ride. I don't know why, but riding my bike in bright daylight, when the world is bustling and things aren't sleeping is my favourite time to ride.

With the warm temps (5C) I figured it was time the Karate Monkey got a taste of some gravel again. She missed it. So did I. An easy 10 mile gravel cruise. What a great way to enjoy my first day in my new career. Couldn't be happier, couldn't want to work harder for anything else.

Gravel Goodness

Drowning Machine - Careful!

Soaking in the country views

I opted not to drink the water I brought with me

Canal crossing

And the ride wouldn't be complete without stopping at the santa statue in the middle of no where for a photo.

All this riding was done right close to home. I say that I'm doing it for the exercise, but even if this was bad for me, it's way too good not to do. The mud was thick, the legs got soar and it was a blast. I love these little adventures smack dab in the middle of my day.

Guess what I've got planned for tomorrow?

More on mnmlism - letting go of desires

2010-02-22T15:54:00.000-07:00

Straight from the minimalist blog. I take no credit for any of this. I've simply read it, and want to pass it on. Being un-copy-righted, makes that nice and easy. Enjoy.

mnmlist : 02.2010 : letting go of desires (mind)

We all have desires – it’s part of the human condition.

We want to be loved, to have friends, to experience joy, to have security.

But a desire for things is not as natural as we’re often led to believe. Sure, we all have desires for things: nice cars, nice clothes, nice houses, cool computers and iPhones, beautiful furniture and notebooks and shoes and jewelry and bags and bikes and on and on.

But these desires are manufactured in us, by advertising and marketing. They play on our natural instincts: for hoarding (security), for the pleasures of food and drugs and sex (desire for joy), for fitting in with clothes and bikes and gadgets (desire for friends), and so on.

Desires like these lead to all kinds of problems — in fact, all the problems of modern society. They are rooted in the immense power of corporations in our society, and their drive for massive profits. Problems result that include obesity and related diseases, massive consumer debt, shallow consumerism, overwork (to make money for all these things), lack of true human connection, and more.

And while desires are perfectly natural and unavoidable, if we can learn to let go of the manufactured desires, we’ll start to free ourselves from the chains of consumerism.

Start to become aware of these desires – recognize their signs in you. Pause before acting on them. Take deep breaths, go for a walk, get some perspective. You don’t really need more things, and buying is not the answer. Make do without and find happiness without more stuff.

Let the desire go, and feel the lightness, the freedom. Become liberated from desires, one at a time (not forever, but for the moment). You’ll love it.

Homemade multigrain

2010-02-13T10:13:00.001-07:00

We've been making our own bread for a while now, about a loaf a day,
and it just keeps getting better. My sweet wife found a recipe for
multigrain that actually rises well. This is some of the best bread
I've had in my life. What a great way to start the weekend!

Those old 3 speed hubs get me everytime

2010-02-09T12:02:00.002-07:00

As if I needed another project.

On minimalism

2010-02-05T14:20:00.003-07:00

Over the past several years or so, I've been taking steps toward simplifying my life. Every aspect of it. Not that it was ever really complicated, and this move wasn't born out of stress or frustration. Rather, it was an idea I'd stumbled upon and was really taken with. Less is more. I've been a pack rat my whole life. I used to keep stuff just in case I might need it. I used to have hundreds of pounds of scrap steel in my garage in case I needed it for the next project I took on. Never know when you'll need a small bit of tubing, or some stainless steel sheet metal right? Well no. It was a complete waste and a complete headache.

Moving really brings into light the junk that you have but never use. I would say that in the past 4 years, I've rid over half of my belongings. Yet I still have too much stuff. As of recently I've made some hard cuts. I threw out a cabbage patch kid I got from my grandma when I was about 4. Fairfax Bouris was his name. Why the heck would I keep such a toy? Sentimental reasons. The argument there is in the memory, not the object. Take a photo of it and chuck it out.

My main source of inspiration on minimalism is mnmlist.com. A great site with some great thoughts. I have been so impressed with how good it feels to let things go. To free myself from the obsessive consumerist model that has been placed on us. To go through the basement and come out with literally 4 pickup truck loads of stuff, even after we’d moved, feels excellent. I’ve given much of my stuff away to people I know would want or need it. The rest has gone to the local recycling yard.

I challenge anyone reading this to give the idea of minimalism a moment to sit on your brain. Think it through a little. It’s not like you have to start drastically and get rid of everything less a blanket. Maybe start by going through your closet and seeing which clothes you haven’t worn in the last year. Any chance you’ll wear them in the next? Hmm. If you can’t bring yourself to actually get rid of stuff, maybe box it up and put it in the basement for a while. You’ll have started the detachment process. If you haven’t missed it in a few weeks or months, maybe you can get rid of it. My sister in law is trying this, and so far she’s impressed.

Without to much of my own babbling on the subject, I’ll turn it to Leo Babuata, who has written the below. It has been copied straight from his mnmlist website and is copyright free, so it is here, in his words, just as it is on his website. Enjoy, and thanks Leo for the great work you’ve done on your site. I will be sharing more minimalist posts from his site here, just to get them out there, but this bit is a good start. Cheers.

mnmlist: the essentials
How to do minimalism in steps
You can become a minimalist overnight, by not only changing your mindset but renouncing all possessions.
Of course, that's not a realistic approach for most of us. We have families, jobs, lives, and unless we're willing to give up those lives, our approach won't be so drastic.
Slow change is best for most people.
And so I recommend you do it in steps, as I've done. Here's what these steps might look like:
1. Stop buying unnecessary things. This step was important for me as I was trying to get out of a mountain of debt (achieved, btw). Only buy the necessities, and always ask yourself: is this truly necessary? Stop the bleeding first.
2. Get rid of the obvious things. Stuff that's getting in your way, that you rarely ever use. You can often fill up a few boxes immediately, put them in your car, and donate them to a thrift shop or to friends and family the next day.
3. Get rid of more obvious things. Now that you've cleared up some of the clutter, you can take a look around and start seeing other things you rarely use. Box these up as well.
4. Clear the clutter on your floors. If your floors are barely visible because you have clothes and boxes and different items all over the place, start clearing your floors.
5. Clear other flat surfaces. Shelves, table tops, counter tops. They don't have to be completely clear, but should only have a few essential objects.
6. Start going into closets and drawers. One place at a time, start clearing out clutter.
7. Cut back another third. At this point, you should have simplified drastically, but you can revisit what you still own and see things you don't really use that often.
8. Start letting go, emotionally. For emotional reasons, there will be things that you "just can't part" with -- clothes or shoes or books or mementoes or gifts, childhood items. This is difficult, but given time, you'll learn that such attachments aren't necessary.
9. Get rid of another third. At this point, you're pretty minimalist, but you can cut back more.
10. Et cetera. The process will never end, until you actually give up everything. I'm not there yet.
These steps are just a rough outline of what I went through, but it's a look into a process that might help.