Upkeep Homework

I read Canada.com regularly, sticking to the Victoria Times Colonist stories. One article from Mar 15 got me a little riled.

Hatley castle is a wonderful place to take pictures, and it sickens me that they want to erect a fence around the castle and the gardens so that they can charge an admission fee. I understand that they want to recoop their cost of upkeep, but surely Royal Roads did their homework when they took over the grounds? Didn’t they do financial forecasts to ensure they could afford this?

I really have no sympathy for them if they did no homework. That is a pet peeve of mine when this happens. Who has to pay? The public? How is that right? Those park grounds have been free for as long as I have lived in Victoria.

Like I said, I am sickened by this change. Yes I have a vested interest in keeping it free. I have gone on photo shoots there a couple times now, and would like to continue to keep shooting there. Not sure how likely I will be willing to pay to do this.

Ongoing Purchases

Last week I went to get some fenders for my new bike. The fenders I originally bought with the bike just didn’t fit, so I bought some replacements.

Setup was pretty easy, but very, very fiddly. Getting them aligned, but not rubbing is an ongoing process. I might take them off and start over. Yesterday I was able to actually test them out. I was pretty sceptical since they don’t cover very much of the tire, but after a few minutes on the wet roads I was suitably impressed. They kept the spray off my legs and off my butt. I arrived at work still relatively dry.

The other item I bought was a new pair of Mace riding shorts. I have worn them to work a few times, and on the weekend ride. Wow. Comfortable. Love them. I got them for a steal ($50 regular $85), but even at full price they would have been worth the price. Better than the Roach Indy shorts I have been wearing for years. The Mace shorts have a lining, zip crotch, tough button closure, and belt loops. Roach Indy shorts have a velcro closure that wears out after a while.

Anyway, 2 purchases that I am happy with. Gotta love that.

Bouncy Traction

Yesterday was a great ride. I haven’t been riding in a few months, so it was awesome to get out and stretch my legs. I rode the Bullit since it hasn’t seen any action in a very long time. Bouncy bikes are a lot of fun.

The group yesterday was a bunch of guys I haven’t ridden with in a while. Even Shane came out!

We generally took it easy, didn’t ride any high difficulty trails, but still had a great time. There were 6 of us riding, and 3 dogs. Perfect sized pack if you ask me. The dogs were really good and didn’t get in the way at all. Can’t say the same for some of the people though 😉 Just pulling your leg James.

Trail conditions were awesome too. Excellent traction, under clear blue skies, with crisp air. If I didn’t know the time of year I would have guessed it was a fall ride.

I was under a time limit, and had to be home around 3, so when time came to make a decision on what trail to ride, I chose one of my favorites out there: Snakes and Ladders. I railed the trail like I last rode it yesterday. The twists and turns came flooding back to me, and I just pedalled for what I was worth. Such a fun trail.

By this time Yoshi was getting pretty tired. He hasn’t had many long runs lately, and I think that mountain biking was pretty hard on him. He just wasn’t keeping up like he used to. On the way back to the truck I rode pretty slow down the hills so I wouldn’t get too far in front of him. He gets pretty frantic when he gets seperated from me. Not sure how much longer I will be able to take him riding. Maybe when Sox starts running again, and we can get Yoshi’s fitness level up. Makes me sad to think that a time will come when Yoshi just won’t be able to come out with me any more.

The other sad note was on the drive down Hartland Ave, I almost creamed a dog with my truck. This dog bolted out of a hedge lined yard straight towards the road. I have no idea how close it was, but I swerved violently around the dog. It continued across the street like nothing happened. That was a quick shot of adrenaline that I didn’t need.

Flat Dilemma

*sigh*

So I bought a new bike on the weekend. This is going to be used as my commuter bike for getting to and from work. I found a Louis Garneau road bike, in my size for a pretty decent price. Not sure how old it is, but it is a steel frame, that isn’t what I would call light.

I’m pretty happy with my purchase.

Yesterday after bringing it home, I noticed the front tire was flat. No big deal. I had a spare tube, and since I was going to be installing some fenders anyway, fixing the flat wouldn’t be a big deal.

Well, the fenders didn’t fit. Bummer. That took me a while to really figure that one out. I got the front one on OK, but the back clearance was just too tight. Off came the fenders, the bike came off the stand, and upstairs I went to get cleaned up.

Fast forward to this morning. Getting ready for work I was all psyched to ride the new bike in. Stepping into the garage I noticed the front tire was flat again. It dawned on me that I hadn’t checked the rim. It most likely needs new rim tape. Crap. I will have to pick some up today, and a couple more tubes. Tomorrow I should be able to ride it in though. Hopefully the weather holds for tomorrow, or until I can figure out my fender dilemma.

LOTDs – Glove Phone Launcher

Mitten-Gloves for Photographers Not sure if I would classify these as solely for photographers, but I can see how they could be used by photogs. The problem I see though is the inner glove, unless had some kevlar or leather finger tips, would be too slippery to operate the controls on a camera.

Bluetooth Pig Speakers – For Your Phone Not really bluetooth enabled, but cute none-the-less. Would make great iPod speakers for out in the garage I would think. They really are just pig shaped computer speakers.

SnackShotz Dog Biscuit Launcher Ahh, what fun. Shoot disc shaped dog treats up to 12 feet! Feed fido, and entertain yourself at the same time.

Wonderful Quote

Found via eclecticism

If you worry about equipment, you’re an amateur,
If you worry about money, you’re a professional,
If you worry about the light, you’re a master

– Herbert van Hulten

Requisite Adult

I feel like such an adult today. After getting up, I spent some time with the family (feels a little weird to write that). Sox and I got 4/5 of us family members (me, Sox, Sprout, and Yoshi) bundled up, and headed out for a bit. Starbucks was in order this morning, so after picking up our requisite drink, we took Yoshi for a walk at a nearby park.

He tore around like he hadn’t walked in a long time, and only got lost from us one time. Scares me every time he does that. He will take off so he can’t see or hear us, then somehow gets lost on the way back. He will then get frantic, and start heading back to where we started from (even if we aren’t heading in that direction). After retrieving the dog with the help of some other park go-ers, we were much relieved.

One the way home from the park we stopped to get some milk. Sigh. I can remember mom doing things like this when I was a kid. 🙂

Once home I got out the lawn mower for the first time this year. Yeesh, the yard was a mess. Branched everywhere, pine cones strewn about, weeds, large thick clumps of grass. The first mow is always the hardest. Thankfully I was able to get through it without the battery dieing (we have a battery powered electric mower).

After the grass I wrenched on my new commuter bike. Too bad for me the fenders I bought don’t fit properly. I have two options. The first is to return the fenders, and buyer a different variety that won’t offer the same protection, or I can buy new tires for the bike that aren’t as tall as the current ones. Still have to ponder that one.

Still lots of time left in the day, so I am trying to get caught up a little on my RSS reading. I am contemplating paring down my feed list. At the very least I will have to be more diligent about just marking a whole category as read. My programming feeds are getting further and further behind. There are a lot of articles I want to read, but there just isn’t enough time. If only there were 30 hours a day, and 8 days in a week!

All in all I am feeling like an adult. Not sure how that happened. 😉