Author: gfox (old content)

Crow Golf

Just got back ffrom Macaulay Point park where Yoshi and I went for a walk. Gorgeous morning out there. SUnny and warm. Too warm for my hoodie.

On the way to the park we passed a beach. From far away I watched a crow trying to break open a clam. He would grab it in his beak ,fly up about 20 feet, then drop it on the rocks. No luck. I saw the crow repeat this several times. As I got closer I heard the clam hit a rock, and knew that it didn’t sound right. When I got close enough I saw that the crow was trying to break open a golf ball. 🙂 No luck there.

Insult to injury: another crow swooped in and drove away the first crow.

Moron Approaching

I got something to say here. To the drivers of vehicles on the streets of Victoria, get your heads out of your collective asses.

It’s not that hard to be a safe driver, and yet, there are lots of examples of stupidity by careless and clueless drivers. Since I am now a regular cyclist this trend scares me, and I know it scares Sox too.

My Friday commute home was a prime example of what makes me irate. 3 incidents in a 10 minute ride.

The first was as I was climbing a hill on Esquialt Road and approached Tyee, an SUV passed me with their right turn blinker on. No big deal since there was lots of room for them to get past me and make the corner. Stupid lady driver stops and looks back through her vehicle at me. She was wanting me to pass her on the inside. I had to stop and wait on the uphill. Why do people think this is a god idea? Pass a cyclist then stop on a busy road to let the cyclist pass them? Yeah, good idea moron.

The next incident was by a cab. Again on Esquimalt I approached Dominion the stupid taxi driver started to pass me with his turn signal on, I saw this and began to wonder. Sure enough cabbie turns in front of me, cutting me off, forcing me to grab the brakes. I yelled at him, something along the lines of “what the fuck are you doing”. One of the fares in the cab then gave me the finger. I was pretty displeased by that act, so I read the plate, and started reciting it over and over the rest of the ride.

The last incident was at the 4 way stop by my house. When it was my turn to go I noticed another car aproach the stop. Before I knew it they were taking a left turn to end up in the same direction I was going (I was going straight). I yelled Hey at the lady, and she didn’t react. I yelled again and finally she looked over and was shocked that I was there (she ended up driving down the center of the road for a bit).

In none of these incidents was I in any real danger but this is only because I was on the lookout for these moronic episodes. I just hope my luck won’t run out. All it will take is one slip up by me or someone else, and I will have a much more somber post here.

If you drive, please be aware of cyclists. Don’t do stupid things around them. Give cyclists the room on the road they deserve. Don’t pass a cyclist that is approaching an intersection. Slow down a little and let them have the right of way. It won’t cost you any real time on your trip, but it will cause less stress for the cyclist. Share the road. There is plenty of it out there for everyone.

Shuttle Section

My race run today was pretty good. Only one small bobble that caused me concern, and another that caused a small slippage in time. The concerning one was one of my feet slipping off the pedal while in the air during a bug jump. Yipes. Right in front of a bunch of people.

As usual it was a fun race, but I think I would have had more fun if I had done the race with some friends.

The details. I got to the race site around 10:30. I got geared up, and headed to the pit to register. After paying I grabbed my plate and got in line for the shuttle. Attaching it just as I got on the shuttle I was a little anxious. I was feeling a little tired, and not as fresh as I would have liked.

Jumping off the shuttle I made my way to the top of the course, got my armour all strapped on and set out for an easy run down. No taking chances, no pushing myself, just ensuring that I know the course and am ready for the race. No problems during the run. Previous races I have managed to crash pretty hard during my practice and I really wanted to not do that this year. Mission accomplished.

At the bottom of the course I headed back to my truck, dropped off my camelbak, ate some food, grabbed a bottle of water and a cliff bar, then headed back to the pit to get ready for the race.

I took a shuttle up and settled in for a wait. The begginers were doing their runs, and my plate number was 241. Add in the 1 minute intervls and I was in for quite a wait.

Once I saw 220 on the starting block I started getting myself psyched up for my run. I tightened up my armour, put on my jersey, and got my bike in the correct gear.

Climbing the starting block I started getting my pre-race jitters. Hearing the 20 second countdown I felt the nerves disappear. 10 seconds. At 5 seconds to go I started my stopwatch. 3 … 2 … 1 I hit hard on my pedals and started my run.

I remember the upper tree section well. I bobbed and weaved through the trees pedalling as much as I could. There was one line I didn’t hit quite right, but a quick couple pedal strokes and I was back up to speed.

I dropped onto the first fireroad crossing then down into the muddy woops section. Quickly I was through this section then into the sandy, rocky, bumpy mess that is the middle of the course. I tried to stick my lines as best I could, but going as fast as I was, I was getting bucked around quite a bit. The table tops I chickened out on, spiking the brakes beforehand to control my the amount of air I took.

After the last road crossing I geared up for the finishing chute. I almost slid out on the uphil section, but saved it, pedalled hard for the flat bit, then dropped into the berms. I got quite a shock as I almost slid out on the sandy berms, but held it together did the final drop and pedalled as much as I could across the finish line.

Overall, not a bad run. I probably could have done a little better with a newer bike, but you make do with what you have. I also noticed I didn’t push my limits during the race like I would have a couple years ago. 🙂 That is a good thing, but still a little surprising to me.

Overall a good race, but I would have liked to go a little faster 🙂 Results are up already, and I placed 33 of 68. Like I said, not quite as good as the Victoria race, but a challenge is fun too.

Suspension Branches

Race practice today was pretty good. I was glad to see the course has not changed much since the last time I raced it. My first run down was horrible though. My suspension was not set correctly, and my tire pressure was way too high. This combination lead to a very choppy run. Fixing those two things made for a much nicer experience, and way more fun for the rest of my runs.

Race run will have to be at the max if I want to place well though. This is a very fast course with some big jumps. Challenging for me, but fun for most (it seems). Hopefully I can pull together a good race run like I did for the Victoria DH.

No crashes today. I really hope I can say the same for tomorrow.

One sad note: I scratched my new goggles. Damn. I caught a few branches today so it must have been one of them. Now I regret not getting some tearaway strips as lens protection. Grrr.

Hammerfest Jumps

This weekend is Hammerfest weekend. Much like previous years I am really looking forward to the race. I hope the course hasn’t changed too much from previous years, but I hope there are a few changes.

Each year the course is different due to new logging, and since I missed last year’s race, I am expecting more than a few changes. 2 years ago was a fun race though. New, and big, table top jumps. Large open sections of no trees to hit (done that a few times during this race). Less uphill than previous years.

Plus, for the first race ever, I will be wearing a decent pair of goggles. New Oakley MX O Frames. Sweet. No more way too dark and scratched to hell ex ski goggles from the 70’s for me. 🙂

Tracing Debit

2 nights ago I realized my debit card was missing. Recently I have accidentally put it in the wrong spot in my wallet, but this time was different. It was not in my wallet at all.

I tried tracing back my steps and wanted to check my account online, but without my debit card number I couldn’t get into my account.

I had used my card at the mall, so I checked there. Nope. I may have lost it at Costco or somewhere in between, but I just could not remember the last time I had used it.

With a bit of trepadation I went to the bank expecting a hassle. I was very wrong. No line up. I got to walk right up to the teller. I told the guy that I lost my debit card. He asked for id and asked if I wanted a new card. In a matter of less than 5 minutes he had a new one hooked up to my account.

On my way out of the bank I used their handy dandy pin changer et voila, fresh debit card. I love it when the bank exceeds my expectations for customer service. Seems to rarely happen.

Beer Dreams

“Sometimes when I reflect back on all the beer I drink I feel ashamed – Then I look into the glass and think about the workers in the brewery and all of their hopes and dreams. If I didn’t drink this beer, they might be out of work and their dreams would be shattered. Then I say to myself, ‘It is better that I drink this beer and let their dreams come true than be selfish and worry about my liver.'”
-Deep Thought, Jack Handy