tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-193308712011-11-02T01:28:47.087-07:00Thoughts of a cyclist, living in (semi)suburbia, bringing up kids.pedalmaniachttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11804061135496026187noreply@blogger.comBlogger801100tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19330871.post-29529141118527715432009-01-16T11:57:00.002-08:002009-01-16T12:00:26.405-08:00

How about this for a great idea?Make your own bike lane, wherever you are. Do you think this would actually deter cars from travelling too close?Maybe it's worth a shot.

pedalmaniachttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11804061135496026187noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19330871.post-2150270910992356572008-08-22T12:06:00.002-07:002008-08-22T12:08:56.442-07:00

Are there enough bike lanes on the North Shore? The North Shore Outlook has an online poll to find out what residents think. Here is the link:North Shore Outlook

pedalmaniachttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11804061135496026187noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19330871.post-20427968918669747312008-03-08T05:58:00.002-08:002008-03-08T06:09:19.444-08:00

Well it seems to be official. The North Shore Ripper series is here again. The NSMBA and James Wilson at Obsession Bikes always do a great job of this fun series of mountain bike events.Here is this years schedule:7th Ripper April 12th 2008 Fromme MountainSuper DH May 3rd 2008 Mt SeymourFromme-a-Thon May 24th 2008 Fromme MountainTriple Crown July 5th 2008 All

pedalmaniachttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11804061135496026187noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19330871.post-11626249862602803912008-03-08T05:13:00.005-08:002008-12-08T17:19:23.403-08:00

In the past month, two Tour de France "stars" have come out publicly in favour of bike commuting. Lance Armstrong has decided that cycling with traffic is too dangerous for the average cyclist and the answer to making the bike more prevalent in North American society is to give it it's own place -- the bike lane.Dave Zabriskie on the other hand is of the belief that bikes belong on the road but

pedalmaniachttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11804061135496026187noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19330871.post-100924294717199802008-02-11T21:02:00.002-08:002008-12-08T17:19:24.153-08:00

This is my best memory of the North American Handbuilt Bicycle Show. Stacks and stacks of trendy bikes piled high for all to see.My son and I made the pilgrimage to Portland this weekend to see both family and the Shrine that was the NAHBS. It was a spectacle to be sure. There were wonderful bikes from all over North America. Looking back on it I think of it more as an art show than an

pedalmaniachttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11804061135496026187noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19330871.post-27144567363256103862007-11-24T06:14:00.000-08:002008-12-08T17:19:25.290-08:00

It has been a couple of months now since we purchased the Rocky Mountain Solo CXD -- Rocky's cyclocross bike with disk brakes. I blogged about the bike right after we got it. We have made some changes to the bike since then. Now when I say "we" I mean my wife and I. I am in the lucky position to have a wife that is the relatively same height as I am so we decided to buy this bike as a "shared

pedalmaniachttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11804061135496026187noreply@blogger.com10tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19330871.post-35267318287696539622007-11-09T21:37:00.000-08:002007-11-09T21:44:43.726-08:00

This just in! Google Maps has announced that it has teamed up with Translink and added Vancouver to it's transit map. Vancouver is the first Canadian city to be added to this service.I just checked it out. It looks great. Here is a route from Grouse Mountain to Simon Fraser University. A quick look shows it gives the time of the next bus, all the transfers and how far you have to walk. Not

pedalmaniachttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11804061135496026187noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19330871.post-43594541323859655492007-10-30T05:05:00.000-07:002008-12-08T17:19:25.918-08:00

A few weeks ago it was "take your kid mountain biking day." I believe it was October 6th. I was planning to take a few kids from the neighbourhood, but it was a really ugly day, rainy and windy. My son was keen though, and at seven, has no real idea of the elements yet -- he just wanted to go biking. So he and I went and I was "schooled" appropriately. He showed me how to ride off ledges and

pedalmaniachttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11804061135496026187noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19330871.post-53545320070771433492007-10-21T06:18:00.000-07:002008-12-08T17:19:26.326-08:00

This has been on my "todo" list for a while now. I purchased this backpack in July, but I haven't used it consistently until recently.Disclaimer: I paid full pop for this pack, so I can say what I want.I have been looking for a waterproof pack for quite some time now. Most packs in this category are expensive and I do have to say that the Banjo Brothers pack is dirt cheap for what you get. I

pedalmaniachttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11804061135496026187noreply@blogger.com9tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19330871.post-6122411561306977572007-10-18T20:58:00.001-07:002008-12-08T17:19:26.619-08:00

There have been many other tributes to Richard. And to be truthful I didn't really know Richard. I had met him when he ran the North Shore Mountain Bike Festival and Conference and then the following year when the conference turned into the World Mountain Bike Conference and I used to bump into him now and again in the neighbourhood. I was also happy to see him get the reigns of the North Shore

pedalmaniachttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11804061135496026187noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19330871.post-28495577340914383322007-10-03T09:56:00.000-07:002008-12-08T17:19:26.923-08:00

I have been planning for a while now a review of wines with a link to cycling.Last night I was reading Momentum Magazine, a BC based bike culture periodical that is really quite good. Anyway there was an article about wine, more specifically wine with some sort of link to cycling (they beat me to it). They discussed 3 wines, each of which I have tried and enjoyed. One wine that they missed was

pedalmaniachttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11804061135496026187noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19330871.post-85232797664315217472007-09-30T05:39:00.000-07:002008-12-08T17:19:27.104-08:00

Well it is cross season, whatever that means. Anyway, we decided we needed another bike in the house. I have been thinking for a while about a more road like commuter bike, my wife wants a bike she can get some exercise on so we opted for a "shared" cyclocross bike. I thought I'd post the photo quickly. I haven't seen anything about this version of the Rocky Mountain Solo CX. In 2007 Rocky

pedalmaniachttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11804061135496026187noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19330871.post-35955724251630440292007-09-29T07:05:00.000-07:002007-09-29T07:16:13.111-07:00

Well the summer seemed to get away from me. I had a few weeks away in August and never seemed to get back into the swing of things when I got back. Then there was school starting -- I have 2 kids in school now (well one in kindergarten, so it only sort of counts) and then there was a fairly ill timed "boys" trip. So instead of just starting this whole blog thing up again I thought I'd share

pedalmaniachttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11804061135496026187noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19330871.post-76442935801064386642007-08-03T20:27:00.000-07:002007-08-03T20:41:13.632-07:00

Thankfully I'm going on vacation. I can't take it anymore. ex and would be politicians on the North Shore want mountain bikers off the trails. I hope it is a small NIMBY group that has little or no political clout, but you never know.It's bad enough that these people want mountain bikers out of a "working" forest, the North Shore has been logged and the skidder trails are still easy to find

pedalmaniachttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11804061135496026187noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19330871.post-56857927220457178722007-08-02T05:26:00.000-07:002008-12-08T17:19:27.257-08:00

Last night I went for a ride with "the boys". This generally is a weekly event. Like most Wednesdays I rode home from work on my commuter bike and then did the quick change to my freeride bike. This week we were riding on Mt. Fromme so I can just hop on my bike and ride up Mountain Highway to the trails.It was going to be a big night. We had planned on riding Upper Oil Can to Pink Starfish

pedalmaniachttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11804061135496026187noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19330871.post-76913166276254887742007-07-28T05:49:00.000-07:002008-12-08T17:19:27.402-08:00

A few weeks ago I was riding to work and noticed my bike computer was going wild. I was stopped. The computer was telling me I was going 99.9 km/h. This, of course, was doing wonders for my average speed. I started looking around and noticed that there was a UPS truck just in front of me. What kind of invisible waves of death were circling the UPS truck. Is there a higher incidence of

pedalmaniachttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11804061135496026187noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19330871.post-54248889923762329212007-07-20T11:47:00.001-07:002008-12-08T17:19:27.715-08:00

Recently we started a small reno to our house. My wife wanted a hot tub to ease her back problems and acquaintances of ours were getting rid of theirs, so I thought we were in luck. An inexpensive hot tub, all we had to do was get it home. Well then I realised there was some preparation work that went along with the hot tub.There needed to be a concrete pad 4" deep by 8' square. In order for

pedalmaniachttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11804061135496026187noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19330871.post-7791135428675323402007-07-11T10:18:00.000-07:002007-07-17T05:49:15.531-07:00

Ripper -- Triple Crown-- Ripper DadsWell it was the final Ripper of the season. This "event" is a poker challenge where the best hand wins -- not the fastest team, as I found out last year. This year me and the Guys went as the Ripper Dads. Being the Triple Crown we had to get to certain check points on each of three mountains -- Cypress, Fromme (Grouse) and Cypress. At each check point we

pedalmaniachttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11804061135496026187noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19330871.post-2412914315485762452007-06-09T05:57:00.000-07:002007-06-09T06:55:58.753-07:00

Well it has been a long time since I started this project. I posted about it last April, but it seems as though the "project" has been on the back burner since then. The idea was to get my old Chas Roberts frame back up and running. The frame was built in 1984 or 85 and I have had it ever since. The bike has gone through a number of iterations in it's life. The worst of which I am now trying

pedalmaniachttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11804061135496026187noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19330871.post-23140640121835094842007-06-09T05:14:00.000-07:002008-12-08T17:19:27.911-08:00

I've been listening to Grant Lawrence's podcast on CBC Radio3 for a couple of years now. It has opened my eyes to some of the great music that is produced in Canada that we never get to listen to on the radio here. I must admit some of the stuff that he plays is hit and miss, but in general the podcasts are well done. I usually listen to the podcast on my way to work (yes I ride with my Ipod).

pedalmaniachttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11804061135496026187noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19330871.post-32943149352713254222007-06-02T05:34:00.000-07:002008-12-08T17:19:28.102-08:00

I am about to recount a story that I am only now able to tell, two weeks after it occurred.It all happened over the Victoria Day long weekend (the week before Memorial Day). I had decided to take the kids to visit my parents at our cabin in the Okanangan. My wife, wisely, decided to have a "girls" weekend away from us and her in-laws. After the long drive to the Interior I decided I need to get

pedalmaniachttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11804061135496026187noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19330871.post-10629380240483670202007-04-28T20:55:00.000-07:002007-04-28T21:34:15.018-07:00

A couple of weeks ago I wrote about the all sponsors trail day on Mount Seymour. Most of these trail days put on by the NSMBA have a shop sponsor the day. The shop will supply lunch, maybe some draw prizes and help to organise the day's events. What was different about April 15th trail day was a number of shops helped to sponsor and organise the events and lunch for the day.The boys from

pedalmaniachttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11804061135496026187noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19330871.post-31968749899387070252007-04-15T21:03:00.000-07:002008-12-08T17:19:28.780-08:00

Today my son and I went to our first "Father Son" trail day. These trail days are organised by the NSMBA and are usually sponsored by one bike shop or another. This one was a bit different though, it was a group effort by a number of bike shops and was directed towards a long standing hiking trail that is minimally used by mountain bikers, the Baden Powell Trail. The Baden Powell Trail spans

pedalmaniachttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11804061135496026187noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19330871.post-43151526574915145942007-04-15T03:15:00.000-07:002008-12-08T17:19:28.920-08:00

Well it was the first NSMBA Ripper of the season today and in true Ripper form "it was an experience." The theme today was "what is up is down, what is forwards is backwards" according to Race Director James Wilson of Obsession Bikes. The race had two categories, the team and the solo. In the team category a good downhiller tries to find a "hired gun" cross country rider to climb up and he/she

pedalmaniachttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11804061135496026187noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19330871.post-77329256045517129032007-04-05T05:11:00.000-07:002007-04-05T06:19:44.927-07:00

This post is a response to a piece on the "North Van politics" blog where Ernie Crist, a former councillor in North Vancouver District, makes accusations that mountain biking on Mt. Fromme is environmentally damaging and unsustainable, and that North Van taxpayers are footing the bill for trail maintenance to "restore damaged trails."As a mountain biker, a North Van resident, and general outdoor

pedalmaniachttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11804061135496026187noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19330871.post-7485048631107646442007-03-31T05:28:00.000-07:002008-12-08T17:19:29.766-08:00

In my last entry I talked about the essential tools for commuting in the rain. I mentioned the mudflap, not this kind of mudflap, as an essential part of the fender. This is a follow up to that post.I recently bought a new pair of fenders for my commuter. My old fenders were a little narrow and I wanted wider tires, so I decided to get bigger fenders. The new fenders are Planet Bike Freddy

pedalmaniachttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11804061135496026187noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19330871.post-59520884880551879332007-03-10T10:03:00.000-08:002008-12-08T17:19:29.928-08:00

Recently my brother-in-law asked me what it takes to become a bike commuter in Vancouver. Now there are many "guides" out there that help with this, but Vancouver is a bit different, it rains here -- it rains A LOT here.So I thought I would put up my own list of what I think it takes to commute here. I also thought that I would put together two lists, a low budget list ( this post) and a "

pedalmaniachttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11804061135496026187noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19330871.post-55166950246940803912007-02-21T13:15:00.000-08:002007-02-21T13:16:30.193-08:00

There is something to be said for regular bike maintenance. In the winter months I have to say that the commuter bike takes a bit of abuse. This abuse mainly takes the form of neglect. The rains come here in the Pacific Northwest in October and continue until March, with no relief. My only real form of bike maintenance during this time is to add oil to my bitumen covered chain. I have this

pedalmaniachttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11804061135496026187noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19330871.post-42025508064592675782007-02-11T07:26:00.000-08:002007-02-08T06:18:19.033-08:00

Here in Vancouver there are three ways to cross Burrard Inlet. There is a Sea Bus from Lonsdale Quay and there are two bridges. A few years ago the Lions Gate bridge underwent a costly refit that changed it from 3 traffic lanes to 3 (wider) traffic lanes. The big improvement was to the sidewalks on either side of the bridge. They were brought up to Provincial standards, almost, for width.

pedalmaniachttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11804061135496026187noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19330871.post-33470255342173371432007-02-08T05:39:00.000-08:002008-12-08T17:19:30.099-08:00

Here is a good way of getting rid of some of that old gear and helping a good cause. The NSMBA is the North Shores foremost trail maintenance group. They are tireless in their efforts to promote mountain biking and trail access on the Shore. This Swap is in conjunction with the Vancouver Bike Expo so while your buying some recyled equipment you can also drool over the new stuff.

pedalmaniachttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11804061135496026187noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19330871.post-13894172408318990182007-02-08T05:06:00.000-08:002007-01-10T20:13:27.588-08:00

Last year I decided that my kids were old enough that I could get back a small portion of my life. I bought a new mountain bike and decided to get back riding with the "boys" on the weekends. So we rode. Life was good. And then one of my buddies talked me into doing the Test of Metal last year. He told me that there was stiff competition -- to register-- and that I had to register at high

pedalmaniachttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11804061135496026187noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19330871.post-63144922359978781072007-01-05T04:58:00.000-08:002007-01-05T05:47:03.188-08:00

This is hard for me, but it is time to come clean. We just got a second car. This has been a huge moral dilemma for me. We have tried to make a commitment to only have one car in our lives, but this has been difficult to organise especially on weekends. The work week is fine, I ride my bike to work and, when my wife needs a vehicle for work she drives or takes the bus when she doesn't.I

pedalmaniachttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11804061135496026187noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19330871.post-43637099887283755752006-12-01T20:35:00.000-08:002006-12-01T21:32:33.465-08:00

This week in Vancouver we had a bit of snow. OK we had a lot of snow, even by the rest of Canada's standards. We probably had 50 cm or more. That's a lot of snow! Especially when Vancouver is in no way prepared for anything but rain -- which we have also had a lot of this fall.Now rain is OK. Although, when it is combined with fallen leaves it is a bit of a problem. It's slippery, there is

pedalmaniachttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11804061135496026187noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19330871.post-1162006547836157632006-10-27T16:28:00.000-07:002006-10-27T20:41:39.250-07:00

See my Tabblo>Things are getting a bit wet here. The commute into work the past couple of days has been wet. I thought I needed to remember a little summer -- and it's only October.Tabblo seems to be a pretty good way to show photos. Check it out.

pedalmaniachttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11804061135496026187noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19330871.post-1161233330203212502006-10-18T21:28:00.000-07:002006-10-18T22:04:55.700-07:00

Before my son's fourth birthday we decided to try and get him to ride his bike without training wheels. Aiden was a keen rider, we rode trails with his training wheels on and what messed him up was his training wheels hitting roots, trees and rocks. He used to get so frustrated. He begged us to take them off. I was worried that this would be a step backward for him, but we were surprised and

pedalmaniachttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11804061135496026187noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19330871.post-1159916711422027652006-10-03T15:48:00.000-07:002006-10-03T16:05:11.436-07:00

Well summer is officially over, and I didn't blog once. Well almost.Anyway it was such a great summer and there was so many thing s to write about.... but there just wasn't enough time.Here are some of the great things that happened that over time I might get a chance to write about in the next few months. We had a month of vacation away from phones, internet, and T.V. We swam in the lake, sat

pedalmaniachttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11804061135496026187noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19330871.post-1157845229347354162006-09-09T16:34:00.000-07:002006-10-04T09:28:01.783-07:00

.flickr-photo { }.flickr-frame { float: right; text-align: center; margin-left: 15px; margin-bottom: 15px; }.flickr-caption { font-size: 0.8em; margin-top: 0px; } Softride extended,originally uploaded by pedalmaniac. Discalimer- I purchased this rack at full retail price, so I can say pretty much what I want about it.I bought this rack just before our trip to Oregon back at Easter. We have

pedalmaniachttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11804061135496026187noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19330871.post-1152508812235817682006-07-09T22:06:00.000-07:002006-07-09T22:20:12.246-07:00

I was really looking forward to the Triple Crown. Years ago we rode the Triple Crown in the other direction (west to east). I remember it being an epic day. We got lost, we ran into impassable obstacles, but we had an awesome time. For Ripper 4 I again teamed up with my fit friend Ron. Ron has been training for the Trans Rockies race in August and I have been doing a lot of bike commuting.

pedalmaniachttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11804061135496026187noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19330871.post-1152299509343386712006-07-07T11:51:00.000-07:002006-07-07T12:11:49.410-07:00

Well tomorrow is the final race (it is not a race, it's a poker challenge) in the Ripper Series put on by NSMBA and Dizzy Cycles.I have written about these races in previous posts. They are great community events. They bring all sorts of mountain bikers together for a fun filled day. Each of the Ripper's has been different. There was a cross country "esk" one, a Super D, a DH and finally a

pedalmaniachttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11804061135496026187noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19330871.post-1150899516939539802006-06-21T07:18:00.000-07:002006-07-07T11:51:21.146-07:00

This happened a few weeks ago now, but I'm just getting around to writing about it.What a wonderful concept. Close down a busy thoroughfare and have a street party. There was street hockey, DJ's, Dancing, and eating. There were Tall Bikes. My kids loved the Tall bikes. A could have ridden them all day if we would have let him. T needed some help -- she is not off her training wheels yet and

pedalmaniachttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11804061135496026187noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19330871.post-1150899487712698622006-06-21T07:17:00.001-07:002006-06-21T10:52:03.453-07:00

Last weekend I "competed" in the the Test of Metal mountain bike race in Squamish (B.C., Canada). This was the first cross country mountain bike race that I have been in for about 12 years. I used to be a road/track racer in the '80's and early '90's, competing at a provincial and national level. I actually moved to Vancouver so that I could ride all year round, and then 'life happened'. I

pedalmaniachttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11804061135496026187noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19330871.post-1150476471619587412006-06-16T09:03:00.000-07:002006-06-16T09:47:51.686-07:00

This blog seems to be changing from a commuting cycling blog to a mountain bike race blog. Oh well I'll get back to the commuting roots of the blog sometime. Right now most of my spare time is spent off road.I mentioned in the previous blog that Ripper 3 was upcoming. Well that was last Saturday. After Ripper 2 I was pretty thrilled. My partner and I had a fair ride and we finished in 6th

pedalmaniachttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11804061135496026187noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19330871.post-1149511502745302732006-06-05T05:16:00.000-07:002006-06-05T05:45:02.756-07:00

Well it has been a bad month for blogging, but it has also been a good month for everything else. I have been so busy there has been no time for typing.There was the trip up to the interior with the kids, a six year old's birthday party, there was the Ripper 2 Super D race, there has been training for the Test of Metal and there has been some time off the bike recovering from a bit of a "

pedalmaniachttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11804061135496026187noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19330871.post-1147383739720310292006-05-11T14:39:00.000-07:002006-05-11T14:45:57.583-07:00

.flickr-photo { }.flickr-frame { float: right; text-align: center; margin-left: 15px; margin-bottom: 15px; }.flickr-caption { font-size: 0.8em; margin-top: 0px; } The Duet,originally uploaded by pedalmaniac. Today at work we had a "bike expo". Not the bikes you and I use though.These bikes were for kids and adults that are less fortunate and can't ride bikes for themselves.These bikes help

pedalmaniachttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11804061135496026187noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19330871.post-1147196289025002242006-05-09T10:36:00.000-07:002006-05-09T10:38:09.043-07:00

I sent this letter to North Shore Driving School this morning in response to a close call I had with one of it's charges.Dear Sir or MadamI would like to report an incident that I believe was dangerous and uncalled for. This morning as I was riding my bike into work I was passed by one of your trucks just north of 1st avenue and Renfrew st at around 8:00 am going southbound. I heard the truck

pedalmaniachttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11804061135496026187noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19330871.post-1147180961057987682006-05-09T05:40:00.000-07:002006-05-09T06:25:22.326-07:00

John Henry Bikes is a LBS that yearly has a weekend event that usually has a big bike expo tied to a giant sale. This year was a bit different, the expo was a bit smaller and there was no dirt jumping competition. Instead they had the Flowriders doing demos on Saturday. It was amazing. I thought I had seen enough of that stuff -- you know young kids flying though the air, defying gravity and

pedalmaniachttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11804061135496026187noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19330871.post-1146679666482971282006-05-03T11:06:00.000-07:002006-05-03T11:07:46.496-07:00

Some nice photos and results posted on NSMB.com

pedalmaniachttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11804061135496026187noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19330871.post-1146510330083409602006-05-01T11:55:00.000-07:002006-05-01T15:19:31.590-07:00

Well for my first race in about 15 years I was pretty happy. Thankfully it was a fun race -- although it was pretty competitive up at the front.James from Dizzy Cycles organised a fun filled tough event that catered to a bunch of different riding styles.The start was a LeMans style where we ran for about 100m to our bikes -- the funny thing was that as we walked to the start line after placing

pedalmaniachttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11804061135496026187noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19330871.post-1146168130108311792006-04-27T13:00:00.000-07:002006-04-27T13:02:10.123-07:00

What am I thinking? Here is a video compelation of last year's Ripper Series. On the other hand it could be fun.

pedalmaniachttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11804061135496026187noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19330871.post-1146158938790172382006-04-27T10:26:00.000-07:002006-04-27T10:29:42.810-07:00

This weekend is the first race in the North Shore Ripper series. The race is up Mountain Highway to the seventh switchback on Mt Fromme and then down the Seventh Secret trail. The race is open to teams -- one rider will ride up and the other rider will ride down, or to solo competitors. I chose to ride solo. I'm not the fastest rider up, and I'm not the fastest rider down. But by combining the

pedalmaniachttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11804061135496026187noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19330871.post-1145711929021024732006-04-22T05:52:00.000-07:002006-04-22T06:18:49.246-07:00

I rode my mountain bike to work yesterday with the idea that I would go for a long off road ride on the way home. It was Friday, I was a little slow getting going in the morning -- kids to feed, dress and get to daycare. None-the-less I decided to take some trails on the way in to work.As I was riding I noticed that my grip on my left side was a little loose. We have just been to the Oregon

pedalmaniachttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11804061135496026187noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19330871.post-1145710339582631322006-04-22T05:27:00.000-07:002006-04-22T05:52:19.600-07:00

I didn't know it was possible, but last weekend --Easter -- I went the whole weekend (5 days) without riding. It's not that I didn't want to, or I didn't have a bike, I just couldn't.We went to the Oregon Coast for the weekend with my brother and sister in law. We met them in Portland where I had a new bike rack for the van waiting for me. I was quite excited about the rack -- I would be able

pedalmaniachttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11804061135496026187noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19330871.post-1144945177539754712006-04-13T09:02:00.000-07:002006-04-13T09:19:37.560-07:00

Well another year has passed. Actually a big one. Yes I turned 40 this week.I'm not sure how I feel about it. On one hand I don't feel any different than when I was 30.I know it sounds a bit cliche. I am still me. Just because I woke up on Tuesday and was 40 didn't mean things were going to be different.I still ride daily.I still play with and teach my kids daily.I'm still pals with my wife

pedalmaniachttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11804061135496026187noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19330871.post-1144359140732835292006-04-06T14:10:00.000-07:002006-04-07T16:36:05.326-07:00

So I thought I'd go in a few mountain bike races this year. I haven't raced for probably 10 years. I'm a bit worried, needless to say. I'll start with the "loonie" races that are on Wednesday evenings. They are supposed to be a lot of fun and are under an hour long. They have various locations around the Lower Mainland.I think I'll also try and do the Ripper Series. These are also "fun"

pedalmaniachttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11804061135496026187noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19330871.post-1144355113788649532006-04-06T13:18:00.000-07:002006-04-06T13:26:11.450-07:00

It is time to partake is some Karma building. We have been riding this trail, and others, and have been enjoying the hard work of others. Now it is time to give a day, or a morning, or a couple of hours. It's good for karma. It's good for the trail. It saves the environment. Come on out, have some fun, work some muscles that perhaps need some work. Socialize, and play in the mud.See you

pedalmaniachttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11804061135496026187noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19330871.post-1144069138980770972006-04-03T05:22:00.000-07:002006-04-03T05:58:59.040-07:00

This weekend I had the opportunity to participate in a pilot project for some graduate work a student is undertaking at UVic. The title was "Freeride Physiology Study" .There were a number of reasons for partaking in the study. First of all I remember when I was doing my graduate work and what a p.i.ta. it was recruiting subjects. So whenever I can help out I do. Second of all it is always

pedalmaniachttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11804061135496026187noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19330871.post-1143947444163309172006-04-01T18:44:00.000-08:002006-04-01T19:29:38.266-08:00

I've got three "project bikes" on the deck right now. Actually I have finished my cross country bike, so I can strike that from the list, but I'll talk about it anyway.Project 1: I decided, now that I have a "freeride" bike, I would upgrade my old all mountain bike and make it into a better cross country bike. I had a 1997 Deep Cove Hummer. It's a great bike that deserves some upgrading. It's

pedalmaniachttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11804061135496026187noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19330871.post-1143244094814344202006-03-24T15:36:00.000-08:002006-03-24T15:48:14.836-08:00

I have friends that are single parents.I have always thought it is the toughest job in the world.I have a wife and two kids. We can distribute the work.Single parents can'tThis week I have been a single parent. E. is on a business tripShe is excited about it. I am excited for her.I was also excited because I get to spend uninterrupted time with the kids.I had a plan, drive them to daycare and

pedalmaniachttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11804061135496026187noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19330871.post-1143140864613143842006-03-23T10:56:00.000-08:002006-03-23T11:07:44.630-08:00

The other night T and I set about to have some fun. We got out a bunch of toys and started to play.Then my feet got too hot.It's those darn Thorlo light hikers. T picked up the sock and decided it was a puppet.We decorated the puppet, put on some ear rings, hair clips, necklaces andVoila, an awesome toy.We had spent half an hour making this art sock.Time well spent.Then I remembered that this

pedalmaniachttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11804061135496026187noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19330871.post-1143090119748203482006-03-22T20:53:00.000-08:002006-03-22T21:01:59.766-08:00

Today I'm at home with my eldest. There seems to be a nasty virus going around daycare, so I'm at home nursing him back to health hoping that I don't miss two days of work. My wife is away on business, so it's just me and the kids.We've had a great day. Some puzzles -- a lot of puzzles, some reading, I got a bit of work done -- thank goodness for VPN's.As I was puzzling with A, I was

pedalmaniachttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11804061135496026187noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19330871.post-1142831489623013812006-03-19T20:34:00.000-08:002006-03-19T21:11:40.913-08:00

Today on our weekly boys ride we had a bit of an epic. One of the reasons we moved to the Shore was to ride and partake in all the outdoor activities that this part of Vancouver has to offer, without always relying on a car to get us to the trailhead. Today was one of those perfect days.When organising the ride we realised that there was too much snow on Mt. Fromme to ride up and have a decent

pedalmaniachttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11804061135496026187noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19330871.post-1141999880077878122006-03-10T05:41:00.000-08:002006-03-10T06:58:24.230-08:00

I've been thinking a lot lately about why I ride.It keeps me fit -- body and mind.It keeps me in touch with my community.It is social -- I get to see my friends again (something I missed after having kids)but I think most of all I love cycling because of it's purity.Cycling is simple. You get on and pedal. You can go anywhere, anytime, and feel exhilarated.So then I got to thinking "how can you

pedalmaniachttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11804061135496026187noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19330871.post-1141997738865851902006-03-10T05:18:00.000-08:002006-03-10T06:33:32.573-08:00

Wow, this has been a bad week for riding.I generally ride to work Tuesday to Friday, usually regardless of the weather.There are a couple of weeks a year that I don't ride, usually in late November of December.The main reason is snow.Vancouver drivers are notoriously bad in the snow, we rarely see it and when we do we are often "caught off guard"(imagine, Canadians being "caught off guard" when

pedalmaniachttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11804061135496026187noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19330871.post-1141570548987268742006-03-05T06:31:00.000-08:002006-03-05T07:14:18.156-08:00

For the past couple of years I have been feeling an increasing need to become involved in some community advocacy. There are a number of things that I am interested in, but the one I think of the most is cycling. There are a number of groups in Vancouver that are interesting. North Shore Mountain Bike Association (NSMBA) advocates for mountain bikers needs and rights on the trails of the famed

pedalmaniachttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11804061135496026187noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19330871.post-1141568578292190672006-03-05T06:11:00.000-08:002006-03-05T06:22:58.313-08:00

We just got back from three days in Whistler. My Wife and I that is. No kids.This was our first vacation away from the kids.It was oddly nice, although I missed them madly, it was great to get away.We skied, downhill and skate.We ate at nice restaurants.We slept.But generally we did what we wanted.We didn't have kids asking us for stuff, complaining about who's is bigger or generally being "at

pedalmaniachttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11804061135496026187noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19330871.post-1140968702552634482006-02-26T07:00:00.000-08:002006-02-26T14:15:19.230-08:00

Mardigras in the snow!It seems odd but there was a Mardigras celebration in North Vancouver.We bundled up and braved the cold. It was snowing and all the volunteers were frozen.The Cleveland Dam was decorated with streamers and flags -- all made out of mylar-- and then was lit with multi coloured lights. There were flowers and designs, hanging art and all sorts of wonderfully imaginative things.

pedalmaniachttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11804061135496026187noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19330871.post-1140360157288383212006-02-19T05:49:00.000-08:002006-02-19T07:31:38.173-08:00

Yesterday my brothers-in-law and I took the older kids to the Outdoor/Golf show.The cousins love to see the dirt jumpers and I love to see all the new bike swag. Not that I am interested in the consumerism of the whole thing, I just love bikes.I have some highlights.Huuk bikes, a new North Van company making free ride bikes, was there with a couple of his new bikes. What I thought was cool was he

pedalmaniachttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11804061135496026187noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19330871.post-1140113918989172492006-02-16T09:54:00.000-08:002006-02-16T10:18:40.823-08:00

I have been on this respect thing for a little while. I know I have only written one entry about it, but I have been thinking about it a lot lately.Riding to work this morning I saw a couple of things that got me thinking about respect for pedestrians. The first incident occurred as I was coming down Mountain Highway this morning. This road has a side walk on only one side of the street (

pedalmaniachttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11804061135496026187noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19330871.post-1139357575628629092006-02-07T16:07:00.000-08:002006-02-07T16:12:55.630-08:00

This is a follow up to a previous post about the record breaking rainfall. I don't want to be obsessed about this, but it has been quite astonishing. Here is an article from the local newspaper stating the obvious -- The North Shore got 2-3 X's the amount of rain the airport got (where the rain gage is). Almost a meter in some places!!Although the snow line rises and falls quickly, we have been

pedalmaniachttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11804061135496026187noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19330871.post-1139151482278209052006-02-05T06:40:00.000-08:002006-02-07T16:03:09.773-08:00

A big thanks to the welcoming committee at Commute by Bike. I've been lurking on their site for a while now, but lately I had to comment on some of the posts. There were two posts in particular that hit pretty close to home. One was high on the nostalgia meter and the other was high on the current content meter.The nostalgia meter was peaked when I saw the tribute to RAD -- you know the BMX film

pedalmaniachttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11804061135496026187noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19330871.post-1138981403153871992006-02-03T06:58:00.000-08:002006-02-03T09:34:23.086-08:00

This post probably won't be written the same way as I have been thinking about it since riding home from work yesterday.I had had a frustrating day at work, it wasn't raining out, so I decided to take the long way home and ride around Stanley Park. This meant that I went through downtown, something that I really don't like. There is a lot of traffic and everyone is in a hurry.Getting to downtown

pedalmaniachttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11804061135496026187noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19330871.post-1138815723428895162006-02-01T09:33:00.000-08:002006-02-02T02:58:40.286-08:00

Finally something Vancouverites can be proud of. The wettest January on record.29 of 31 days had some form of precipitation (rain).In fact we also broke the previous rainfall record of 282mm in the month of January.That's almost 30 cm of rain, 1 ft! In one month!Where does it all go?I guess on the upside we don't have to shovel it.The grass is always green.The crocus' are out.There is a ton of

pedalmaniachttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11804061135496026187noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19330871.post-1138546145820821052006-01-29T06:49:00.000-08:002006-01-29T06:58:11.306-08:00

.flickr-photo { }.flickr-frame { float: right; text-align: center; margin-left: 15px; margin-bottom: 15px; }.flickr-caption { font-size: 0.8em; margin-top: 0px; } Freezing Couple,originally uploaded by pedalmaniac. I mentioned earlier that we went skiing on Sunday mornings. Here is last weeks photo.It looks cold. We're getting ready to go this morning.Maybe we shouldn't -- it looks cold.Oh

pedalmaniachttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11804061135496026187noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19330871.post-1138464877015505292006-01-28T07:50:00.000-08:002006-01-28T08:14:37.186-08:00

Last night we went to a play. This is remarkable for a couple of reasons. First we haven't been to a play in a while. Second we went to something that I had a pretty good grasp of the subject matter.Eadweard Muybridge; Studies in Motion was on at UBC. It was mesmerizing. The stage production was incredible. The story was interesting and the subject matter -- for me anyway-- was relevant.Eadweard

pedalmaniachttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11804061135496026187noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19330871.post-1138390816100636802006-01-27T11:36:00.000-08:002006-01-27T12:24:45.613-08:00

Friday we had some great weather here in Vancouver, and it sure was needed. As I have said before we have had much too much rain this winter on the wet coast. It seems though that the days that are less wet or, can I say it, "just overcast", are definitely a welcome relief.Having said that, Sunday was not very nice. Sunday was a full day though. Skate skiing in the morning and mountain biking

pedalmaniachttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11804061135496026187noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19330871.post-1138387631569253132006-01-27T10:46:00.000-08:002006-01-27T12:57:10.863-08:00

This is kind of cool. I got the idea from Gwadzilla.Click on the image to make your own name in images from Flickr

pedalmaniachttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11804061135496026187noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19330871.post-1137940522563674032006-01-22T06:35:00.000-08:002006-01-27T14:50:00.033-08:00

There's a new shop in town, different bikesJeff the manager has been around for a while. In fact I was just thinking about the bikes that I have bought since moving to Vancouver. All have been from Jeff.In the early days when Jeff was with Cove BikesI got my Hummer from him in 1997My commuter, a Kona Dr. Dew, in 2000My wife's hard tail, a Kona Caldera, in 2000Our Trail-a-bike once we had kids in

pedalmaniachttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11804061135496026187noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19330871.post-1137939995063011902006-01-22T06:06:00.000-08:002006-01-22T06:32:19.673-08:00

27 straight days of rain! And we didn't even get the record, it was 28. We had one day of reprieve and then straight back at it. But Friday, another reprieve day.It started the same as most days, I got on my bike and rode to work. One difference though -- I was dry. I saw that the day,although not sunny, shouldn't be one wasted inside. I left work a bit early and rode home.I swapped my commuter

pedalmaniachttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11804061135496026187noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19330871.post-1133017199096945732005-11-26T06:58:00.000-08:002005-11-26T06:59:59.103-08:00

Well we seem to be in the entering the wet season. I was thinking about times at the lake with family -- what a great summer. Here are some pictures of the kids and my brother. Good times -- more to be had I'm sure 

pedalmaniachttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11804061135496026187noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19330871.post-1133016620751399462005-11-26T06:49:00.000-08:002006-01-22T06:06:15.826-08:00

I guess I should create a test page to see how this will look. I hope to use this blog to explore cycling, family life, and our place in community. we'll see how it goes. I have a lot of inspiration.Pedalmaniac

pedalmaniachttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11804061135496026187noreply@blogger.com0