bike broke

Well, this is the first time I've had a bike break on me!

I was riding my Linear recumbent on the Ottawa River pathway towards Brittania Park, and noticed the rear tire was chirping as it rubbed the frame. Stopped, tightened up the quick release, then kept going. The chirping returned, and so I figured maybe the hub's bearing adjustment was coming loose and causing the wheel to move laterally. So I stopped at the park and flipped the bike on its back (not the smoothest manouvre with that long frame and tailbox). Sure enough, the wheel had some lateral motion to it, but not due to a loose hub. It was due to a rather long crack in the left chainstay!!



This occurred right behind the reinforcing U-plate that joins the two stays together, right where they connect with the main frame (they attach with two quick-releases, because the bike folds at this juncture). This is also right under the seat, as all my weight is on this point, and I guess nine years of that stressed things a bit too much.



Since I was about 12 km from home, I had to decide between calling a cab (and subsequently folding and half-dismantling the beast to fit), or trying to ride home. I figured I'd see how far could get riding, and was actually able to make it back home in one piece, though I of course slowed down greatly for any bumps and dips, and grimaced as I went over them.

I now have three options, because since this broken rear end of the bike can be disconnected I can still save the machine: 1) Buy a new set of stays, but that would cost over $300US., 2) Make a new rear end out of steel, using the same design (welding pal Juergen gave a thumbs-up to this), or something incorporating suspension, and 3) scrap the bike and use the bits to make a new recumbent. Hmm...

The design of this bike has some issues that I'd heard about, and have now had confirmed. The original chainstay design consisted of flat aluminum stock, and the stays were apparently rather flexible. Mine has the second incarnation, where the plates have a shallow "V" formed through their middles for extra stiffening. But those have had their problems as well, and I know that the current builder has a new design in the works (the original company is out of business, but the name and design have been revived by Peter Stull of the Bicycle Man). There have been two other issues with my bike over the years. The first happened when the bike was two years old, and that was a crack in the weld where the BB shell fits into it mounting plate, causing much creaking. That whole unit was replaced under warranty by the original company, but it took six months to get done.

The second was potentially very dangerous. Since the bike has under-seat steering, a rod is needed to connect the steering bar to the front fork. This is done by way of a telescoping tube, and the inner, front section is drilled with holes so that one can adjust the length of the whole rod (to fit riders of different sizes. The seat slides fore and aft as well). The holes are for fitting a pin that backs up the clamping mechanism, and this rod is hollow, so the many holes definitely compromise the strength of this tube. One day I was arriving home and as I came to a stop the steering came loose in my hands. I kept the bike upright and thought "wtf?" I looked down and there was the front, inner tube, snapped in half through one of the holes! If that had happened at any speed I would have instantly lost control of the bike and crashed. I got rather angry at the stupidity of this design, and since the company was gone at that point I had to deal with it myself. I bought a new solid bar of aluminum, and simply drilled one hole where it was needed. That has held up just fine over the past three years. I posted this idea to the Linear listserv, and mentioned to Peter that this is something he should keep an eye on as he works to improve the bike's design.

I have loved the comfort of this bike, and that comfort has allowed me to do a lot more cycling and for greater distances than any of my upright bikes. So I still want to have a recumbent bike, but will take my time to decide if this one will live again, or get turned into another one.

Further trike fun

Last Friday and Saturday saw me playing a hotel gig in the wilds of Kanata (western suburb, about 20 km from downtown). A bit too far for Kyoto, but I was at least able to be multi-modal about my transport. My other two musical accomplices were coming by minivan from Aylmer, which meant they had to come across the Champlain Bridge. My younger brother lives a few blocks from there, so I pedaled to his house, unloaded the drums, then parked the trike. The guys then picked me up to continue our journey without having to go out of their way, which would have been in the opposite direction to pick me up a home. That worked out very well!

Next up, I had a noon-hour show to play yesterday in the downtown core. And as I was making my way along Queen St. I see an RCMP car parked at the curb. Now, in my three years of cargo triking not a single police officer has commented on this machine. They've driven around me, driven past me, but never stopped or engaged me. I've just figured they observe the standard SEP mantra (Somebody Else's Problem). So I'm triking along, and the officer must have seen me in his side mirror, as he looked out and back, gave me a big thumbs-up, an shouted "all right, that's great!". I just gave a big smile, shouted thanks, and continued on my way...

BTW, this gig was at the World Exchange Plaza, and the "stage" is that low expanse of flat rock facing the building. So I can trike right up to the stage and unload! Then at the end it's back over the sidewalk, onto the street, and homeward bound.

Goofy pic of the week. While waiting for the rest of the HPVOoO gang to arrive for Sunday dinner, Richard snaps this photo of his son Nico and I having an existential debate regarding the menu items:

HPVOoO Sunday dinner

The HPVOoO Sunday dinner gathering has been a ritual for close to four years now. And for the past two we've been dining at the Vietnamese Noodle House, conveniently located two blocks from my house. :) Sometimes there may be only three or four of us, but we've also had over twenty, with an average of around eight. One of the handy things about these dinners is that when we meet or hear from people that seek advice about recumbents and fun bikes we can just tell them to join us. If they're lucky we can sometmes arrange to have a machine on hand that they'd like to try out. Quite often we go for a ride afterwards, regardless of the season. And the ride often begins with us hanging out in front of Richard's (RGB) house* around the corner. That's when new folks can check out whatever hpvs are on hand, and / or one of our members can show off their newest creation or purchase.

This past Sunday we were on our way over to Preston St. to have some dessert (gelato) and check out a vehicle. While gathering a RGB's I noticed a funny, and very red, plastic tub chair at the curb. At first I ignored it, as from a distance it looked like it lookd like it was cracked, which upon inspection proved to be just a cord draped over from the dead lamp standing behind it. So I tossed it into the back of Kyoto, and then Adina climbed in and we went for a short hop. I later figured out that there were two chairs stuck together, one perfectly fitting into the other!



Then we eventually all pushed off, stopping behind Pub Italia to check out the owner's cool little Vespa delivery truck (curiously called the VespaCar). This thing has three wheels, and and is registered as a motorcycle (the steering is done with a motorcycle-type bar setup). Joe, the owner, admitted that the handling was "interesting" while cornering, as this type of layout makes for a tippy machine. We put Kyoto beside it, and noted that they were the same length. Now, his truck would be nicer, in that it carries more weight and would keep one dry in wet weather, but on the other hand it needs gas, a vehicle license, and also tips over more easily! ;) Not to mention the challenge of finding parts for this vintage foreign machine...



Then it was over to the gelato place where I pulled in behind a parked car, and then decided it would be fun to pull out the two chairs for sit-down dessert. Note RGB's well-lit tallbike (built by Mike, in ballcap looking at the camera) at the extreme right.

All photos by Richard, found at the day's photo page.

As we were getting ready to leave we noticed a bunch of stuff on the curbside from an emptied apartment. Charles and I grabbed some shelving, along with some venetian blinds, and then we all proceeded to his place to deliver his catch, then home for me with mine. RGB was thinking of heading back to grab some of the filing cabinets...

* Richard lives 2.5 blocks from me, while builders Juergen and Mike Watson live in the east and west ends of the city, respectively. So with these "hubs" of creative activity we thought we needed a good acronym for whatever the heck they are. I came up with ARMPIT (Advanced Research and Meeting Place for Ingenious Transport), with Richard and I being ARMPIT Central, and the others naturally ARMPIT East and ARMPIT West. We'd have a South, but don't know anyone out there, and North, well, from here that'd put you in the Ottawa River...

Oil Safari

A good, multi-part article in the Chicago Tribune.

" What does it take to quench America’s mighty thirst for gasoline? Pulitzer-winning correspondent Paul Salopek traced gas pumped at a suburban Chicago station to the fuel’s sources around the globe. In doing so, he reveals how our oil addiction binds us to some of the most hostile corners of the planet—and to a petroleum economy edging toward crisis."

Thanks to fellow HPVOoOer Brian M. for the link!

trike adventures in burb-land.

So after a week of having e-assist on the trike, what's the verdict?

I like it.

The two biggest features are of course help with hills, but also getting up to speed a bit more quickly, which is good in certain traffic situations. After triking to my Sunday gig, and again to a show in the Market last Thursday (and also just playing around after the weekly HPVOoO Sunday dinner), I thought it was time to see how how it fared further from the downtown nest. So last Friday I decided to head south, which meant using an arterial road like Bank or Bronson, with the Value Village store at Bank and Walkley as a destination.

Bank St. is the city's Main Drag, and for the most part the curb lanes are full of parked cars. I could've taken that route, but I'd have all the cagers breathing (exhaust-ing?) down my neck as I took the only available lane. Plus it has one heck of a hill just past the Rideau River...

Bronson is wider, but is a very ugly road. A former residential road (and in the mid-1800s it was the western boundary of Ottawa) it is now an arterial feeder route with two lanes in each direction, undivided, and the right lanes have precious little extra width for cyclists. On my 2-wheel bikes I avoid it whenever possible, but I do have to cross it to get many places, since I live a few blocks west. After skirting by the upscale Glebe neighbourhood it turns into a 6-lane divided road as it heads past Carleton University, and later shrinks down to a 2-lane route called the Airport Parkway (with an 80 kph limit).

With all these positive aspects I decide to try it! I cycle down my street as far as possible until it gets cut off by the mid-town highway (417), then head east three blocks and get on Bronson. The traffic here is busy, what with the highway access ramps, but not travelling too fast. Once past the underpass it picks up a bit, but traffic lights and sheer volume keep the flow down and allow me to keep pace. A kilometre later past Carling Ave. it picks up, but is also a slight downslope and fly down as fas as I can. Any traffic behind me just pulls into the available left lane and goes around. But shortly it starts to rise as the approach to the bridge over the canal begins and my speed naturally drops. I apply the assist and do my best to make it over, but one buttwipe in a van behind me honks aggressively and then zooms around yelling at me - the first time I've had any abuse in three years of riding this trike. Part of the problem is that at this point the speed limit rises to 60 kph, and the road widens and everyone starts accelerating, because soon they can fly up the long straightaway past the University.

But once over the bridge a bike lane opens up, and I stuff myself in here (just barely) and with some e-assist I pedal up the gradual, kilometre-long hill (perhaps 8% grade). At the top of the hill I turn off at Heron Rd. to make my way east to Bank St., another kilometre or so away. Heron is four lanes divided, and again afternoon traffic just goes around me. Some confusion near Bank, as there's a parking lot outlet for the Canadian Tire store, and some cars are not sure how fast I'm going and whether they can pull out. Trun onto Bank St., which at this point is a busy, undivided four lane (with centre turn lanes that open up) and some impatient drivers. I had to get over into the left and then centre lane make a turn, and even though my signal was on I eventually just had to stuff myself into the lane, as no one was leaving room for me.

I turned in at Altavista so I could visit both a music store and the local Sally Ann. Then back out onto Bank for a block, then turning ino the large Value Village lot. After the usual perusal of the aisles the irony is that for once I found no large items that needed the trike to get them home! Instead of heading back down Bank I headed west along Walkley (divided 4-lane), and found the traffic fairly light. I was heading for Riverside Drive, but first turned down a wide residential street for about a km, then over to northbound Riverside, another undivided 4-lane. Traffic was not too bad here, and I decided not to mess with the lovely traffic patterns needed to get onto northbound Bronson, and decided to head for Prince of Wales Drive (old hwy. 16), since its shoulders are designated bike "lanes". So I got into the left lane to get back onto Heron, which widens here into six lanes. That might sound intimidating, but it means two lanes for others to pass me. ;) The bridge over the canal here is rather steep (for a heavy cargo trike) and the assist was full on to help me over at anything less than a crawl. I then turned north onto PoW, and a nice ride back to Dow's Lake, where I turned onto Preston St., which put me back in my 'hood.

Verdict? Well, pedaling a large vehicle that takes up a lane requires a modicum of persistence and bullheadedness. Downtown-ish it's fine - motor vehicle traffic expects to travel more slowly, so I never feel too pressured. But out in the burbs the car is king, and the speeds are higher, so one's fortitude gets tested much more readily. Without the assist I would have crawled over a few of those hills and bridges, and even with it I was faster, but certainly not keeping up. And that was travelling without any kind of load in the cargo bed. Juergen has suggested eventually putting together a larger battery pack that I could install just for these longer excursions, but for carrying a load it seems that a stronger motor might also be in order. That said, I almost never gig out in the burbs, and can usually get a lift from a fellow band member if needed.

It was good to find out how the assist would help in a more challenging road environment, but I don't plan on making it a habit to trike out there. The machine will continue doing what it does downtown, with the assist helping when needed. Going further afield will need a re-think in terms of both batteries and motor. BTW, after my excursion the battery pack still seemed to have juice, though of course I did not want to run it down completely. It took about 3.5 hours to recharge.

The cargo trike gets some help

Kyoto, sporting new rear wheel hub motor.

For a while now I've been pondering electric-assist for my cargo trike (aka, "drumtrike"). As with many heavy, load-carrying vehicles not much effort is needed to maintain cadence on flat terrain. Like a big ship in the water, once it gets going it's fine. But starting up, or worse, climbing a hill, and forward motion becomes a real effort. I can be pedaling at 15 kph, and then hit a small overpass or bridge and drop to 5 kph. Just slowly winch my way up and over while cars speed past and while beginning to sweat.

For instance, those familiar with Ottawa know there's an incline in front of the Chateau Laurier as Wellington St. rises up to Parliament Hill. You don't really notice it in a motor vehicle, and on a typical 2-wheel bike you just gear down a bit to get yourself over. But with Kyoto carrying me and 200 lbs. of gear it's a real effort to get up that hill at anything less than a crawl. My current Sunday gig is based at the foot of this hill. Great fun heading there, but I have do the grind back up (at least the big sweat happens after the gig, not on the way there!). On the 30C+ days we've had this summer I've occasionally felt a bit light-headed and / or nauseous from the exertion, and it's not a good feeling. And there are some other spots in town like this, like any time I head due west from my place, which requires going down the escarpment and then back up over the O-train tracks.

My friend Juergen, the guy who helped me build the trike (and did the welding for free!), has gotten into the electric-assist business. Check out his website: www.acclivity.ca/ He is a member of EVCO (Electric Vehicle Council of Ottawa), and they are successfully lobbying the Provincial Gov't. to change the outdated laws that prevent electric (and e-assist) vehicles from being used on public roads. Juergen has been waving the e-assist carrot in front of me for a while now, and I have been resisting, mainly because I've wanted to try and make Kyoto happen under my own power. But while living car-free is a noble goal, as a drummer I still have this stuff to schlep around, and with pedal-power only I'm limited as to the distance I can go (in terms of time spent getting there), and what sort of shape I'm in when I get to the gig. It's not fun showing up to a wedding or corporate event drenched in sweat, then, after setting all the gear up, finding a place to rinse off and don the penguin suit and look presentable for the event.

So, if there ever was an application for e-assist, a cargo vehicle like mine would be it! Juergen had a sweet deal for me, so this past weekend I triked over to his place, and a Wilderness Energy BL-36 kit was installed.

20" (406) wheel with hub motor. The spokes were a bit loose, so they got tightened up.


Throttle, controller box, and kill switch (on brake lever)


Battery pack (consisting of three 12-volt, 7-amp hour SLAs), and charger.


Hub motor wheel, with zipties holding the wiring harness under the frame.

Throttle control installed. This was the most comfortable position, so the rearview mirror's bar-end mount was removed. I'll add on a bar-end that can fit into the open end of the handlebar.

Controller box mounted under cargo box. This was quickly tossed together, and needs to be re-done, as the box is partly upside down and its bottom is vulnerable to moisture.

For now, the battery pack just rests in the cargo box. A hole was drilled to let the pack connect with the controller.


I'm not using the brake lever that came with the legally-mandated kill switch, as it's for a canti brake, not the v-brake I have on the trike. For now it's mounted until I decide to keep this complete kit, and then wire the switch into the v-brake lever.


This kit was designed to be added to a standard 2-wheel bike. So adding it to a heavy cargo vehicle means it will have to work harder, and so we may have to modify as we go. While testing at his place, Juergen hooked in a current meter, and preliminary trial runs showed that with 200+ lbs. in the cargo box and adding full throttle made the voltage really drop. So when the throttle is needed I should ease into it a bit if I want the batteries to last the trip. This battery pack will be fine for a few kilometres of distance, but a larger pack will be necessary for more extended use (though of course that pack would be heavier...).

And so I headed home. I used the assist to get up one bridge a little more quickly (even though I had no cargo to carry, it's still a long slope and with motor traffic behind me why not get over it ASAP?), and again to clear a wide intersection a little more quickly (mainly just for fun). Otherwise it was pedal power as usual for the 6 km trip. The next morning (yesterday) saw the first trip moving drums. The goofy thing was that the hole I had drilled to pass the battery's cable to the controller was done while the battery was inside recharging (I was rather hot and tired). I had mounted the controller under the box quite nicely, forgetting the shortness of the battery's cable. Doh... So when I went to hook up the battery the next morning I realized I was not going to have assist on the way to the gig, as I had no time to correct my error! To add to the fun I picked up bandleader Steve's small PA set-up (in return for him picking me up in his van for long, rainy, or winter trips), so I had at least 2o0 lbs. to deal with. I got to the gig just fine (one short hill I just sweated up), and when I had a break I just snipped the zip-ties and moved the controller over to where it is in the photo above so that the cables could connect.

At the end of the gig I got the trike loaded up and made my way to the intersection, and then up that hill. The motor worked very nicely, keeping me a little more with other traffic, and also without feeling like my heart was going to explode. It does not really add to my top end speed, and while that would be helpful for extending the trike's range, I'll already gain travel time by not slowing to a crawl on hills like this.

The main drawback is that if the trike is being left unattended I must remove the battery pack and take it with me (on the Sunday gig the trike is parked in a corner of the plaza we play on, so no concerns there). The tiny 12-volt battery I've been using for the trike's lighting system hides in its small box, and that sometimes get left to Fate. But the big pack needs to come with me, and it's not something I'd want to carry around for any length of time. This will be even more so if I go to a bigger pack, so once I settle on things I'll look into building a locking battery compartment under the cargo box. Add 36-volts worth of solar panels and the batteries might be able to stay there! Hmm...

Oh, and while at Juergen's Kyoto got some tailgate stickers. The 'gate of course already sports the Kyoto "license plate", and a few weeks ago I also added a hand-drawn Flying Spaghetti Monster emblem. I think I'm becoming a devout Pastafarian. ;)


Many thanks to Juergen for his help in getting this assist concept together! If you think you need electric-assist for any of your bikes, he's the one to talk to: www.acclivity.ca

Politics

This past week I breathed a sigh of relief.

My niece Marianne, who is 17, left a few weeks ago to visit family in, you guessed it, Lebanon. Many of her Mom's family still live there, and while Marianne has visited quite a few times over the years this was her first solo trip. I remember Jon (her Dad, my bro) telling me that she had left the previous weekend, and the next night after his call was when the stupidity began.

The village she was staying in is about an hour north of Beirut, and bombs even fell up there. She was able to get out safely with some other family members, making their way back to Montreal via the boat to Cyprus, and then the plane home. While we are very happy that she made it, we're all of course are concerned about the fate of those who must remain because it is their Home.

The perpetual Middle East turmoil makes me think of the Bush Administration's demented thought processes, and this linked commentary sums it up nicely for me:

http://scoop.epluribusmedia.org/story/2006/7/29/7026/75241

There's a lot of political blather going around these days, and I don't wish to add to it, but the stuff happening right really makes my blood boil...

Funny...

Sent to me by Doug Y. - thanks!

++++++++++

Subject: Illegal Immigrants.

The flood of American liberals sneaking across the border into Canada has intensified in the past week, sparking calls for increased patrols to stop the illegal immigration.

The unflinching arrogance of the Bush Administration is prompting the exodus among liberal citizens who fear they'll soon be required to hunt, pray in public, and agree with Bill O'Reilly.

Canadian border farmers say it's not uncommon to see dozens of sociology professors, animal-rights activists, and Unitarians* crossing their fields at night. "I went out to milk the cows the other day, and there was a Hollywood producer huddled in the barn," said Manitoba farmer Red Greenfield, whose acreage borders North Dakota.

The producer was cold, exhausted, and hungry. "He asked me if I could spare a latte and some free-range chicken. When I said I didn't have any, he left. Didn't even get a chance to show him my screenplay, eh?"

In an effort to stop the illegal aliens, Greenfield erected higher fences, but the liberals scaled them. So he tried installing speakers that blare Rush Limbaugh across the fields. "Not real effective," he said. "The liberals still got through, and Rush annoyed the cows so much they wouldn't give milk."

Officials are particularly concerned about smugglers who meet liberals near the Canadian border, pack them into Volvo station wagons, drive them across the border and leave them to fend for themselves. "A lot of these people are not prepared for rugged conditions," an Ontario border patrolman said. "I found one carload without a drop of drinking water. They did have a nice little Napa Valley cabernet, though."

When liberals are caught, they're sent back across the border, often wailing loudly that they fear retribution from conservatives. Rumors have been circulating about the Bush administration establishing re-education camps in which liberals will be forced to drink domestic beer and watch NASCAR.

Liberals have turned to sometimes-ingenious ways of crossing the border. Some have taken to posing as senior citizens on bus trips to buy cheap Canadian prescription drugs. After catching a half-dozen young vegans disguised in powdered wigs, Canadian immigration authorities began stopping buses and quizzing the supposed senior-citizen passengers. "If they can't identify the accordion player on The Lawrence Welk Show, we get suspicious about their age," an official said.

Canadian citizens have complained that the illegal immigrants are creating an organic-broccoli shortage and renting all the good Susan Sarandon movies." I feel sorry for American liberals, but the Canadian economy just can't support them," an Ottawa resident said. "How many art-history majors does one country need?"

In an effort to ease tensions between the United States and Canada, Vice President Dick Cheney met with the Canadian ambassador and pledged that the administration would take steps to reassure liberals, a source close to Cheney said. "We're going to have some Peter, Paul & Mary concerts. And we might put some endangered species on postage stamps. The President is determined to reach out.

++++++++

*I was raised Unitarian, so that line really had me on the floor.

JazzFest, BluesFest, MeowFest...

(thanks to Mike B. for "MeowFest")

Ok, so Jett's not thrilled with travel either. He made about as much noise as Kitty did, increasing along with the bike's speed or the ambient traffic noise. But he was fine once at the vet, and not so noisy on the way home. While stopped at a busy intersection he let out a good one, and a little kid nearby tugged at his Mom and said "I hear a cat" and she said "really? I don't think there are any cats around here". I just look up at the sky and whistle...

Guess he's going to lick his way out of the cage...


After letting him out he sat and thought for a moment, then came back for a forgiveness hug...


... and then off to the back yard for a recovery snooze.

Trip to the Vet

It was time for Kitty's annual check-up, and of course it had to be on the hottest day (so far) of the year (33C). Here's the routine: Kitty goes into her carrier, the carrier goes into the cargo trailer, the lid gets put on the trailer to keep visual stimulation down for her. But not today - I figured she'd be a rather unhappy feline in this heat, so the top stayed off and the breeze generated by cycling kept her from overheating.

carrier inside trailer


there's foam padding underneath to smooth the ride

She meowed on and off for the first half of the 2 km journey, but then settled down to the odd complaint. It was fun passing pedestrians, as they heard "meooow!" but couldn't quite figure where it was coming from. Once we got to the Vet she was fine, and her examination did not take long and she got her shots and then back into the carrier. She didn't meow as much on the way home, and once back indoors she quickly forgave me for my transgression. On Thursday it's Jett's turn, and this will be his first trip by bike, since when I got him last year he had already gotten his shots...

"OK, you can put me and that stoopid camera down, and let me out!"

random fun

Went to Value Village last week with my friend Wenna, and while she found a cool jacket, I came away with the grand prize, a gotta-be-one-of-a-kind-it'll-fetch-big-bucks-on-eBay Oscar the Grouch cookie jar!

OK, so he looks more like a cross between Oscar and ET, which might lower the eBay bidding... ;o)

And on my last trip I found a fun hat. Now, I'm not generally a fan of ball caps (think they look best only on ballplayers and kids) but they are handy while gardening, mowing the lawn, etc., so why not do such things in style?



And while this has nothing to do with secondhand stores, a good photo of Jett (who does happen to be a "previously enjoyed" cat ) in full snooze mode:

tandem fun

A while back the re-Cycles Bicycle Co-op received a donation of an old CCM tandem. Single speed with coaster (back-pedal) brake, old 26 x 1 3/8 wheels, probably built back in the 1960s.


Upon close inspection at the shop we noticed that the top and down tubes had been re-welded to the head tube. Also, even though the frame was very clean there was rust on the bottom tube, and even a small split in the metal about 1/2" long. So, the bike couldn't be sold until that was dealt with. I brought it home, hoping to eventually get it to Juergen's (he did the welding work on my cargo trike) so we can braze on a sleeve or some other kind of fix.

In the meantime, I put two hose clamps around the split so that the bike could at least be taken out for some rides to see was it was like. The verdict? The crappy front sidepull brake did not do a very good job, even with better pads. The coaster brake was also not very good, needing an overhaul. Also, one speed meant for a workout on such a heavy bike. So I got an idea...

One of those modern cruiser replica bikes had come into re-Cycles, with damage to the front end. But it did have a very new Sturmey-Archer 3-speed rear wheel with coaster brake! So, that came home for the tandem, and I realized that since it was a mtn. bike 26" wheel (ISO 559) I should change the tandem's front wheel to match it. This meant changing the fork, and a side benefit to that was it allowed the fitting of a modern V-brake for much better stopping power (and the new back-pedal brake is great as well). And as I thought this through I got an even more brilliant (or twisted) idea - use a suspension fork! The re-welded head tube gave ample evidence of the front end not liking the stress of bad bumps, and suspension would ease that. So I found a cheap fork, changed out the headset, and voila:

(yes, that's a cheap cable lock around the front end)

definitely has a bit of rake to it...

ding-dong bell for captain, honky bulb horn for stoker

shiny almost-new 3-speed

3-speed cable routing to cope with frame tube layout and double chain set-up

Verdict? Much better! Also, I added quick-releases to the seatposts so the bike could easily be adjusted to different rider sizes. The stock fenders had to come off, but I was able to squeeze the cruiser's fat rear fender in there. I could not make any fender I had fit the front end due to tight clearances, so on a rainy day the captain gets wet toes. The 3-speed could use a larger cog to lower the gearing a bit, as 3rd doesn't get used all that much, but that's a mod for another day...

Sunday Fun, Part 2

This coming Sunday sees me back at my regular summer gig with the Steve Berndt Jazz Quartet (we were interrupted for two weeks by the Jazz Festival, of all things...).

We play from 11:00am to 2:00pm at the Metropolitan Restaurant, located at Sussex and Rideau, in the new building between the Chateau Laurier and Chapters. We play outside on the plaza, so even if you don't want to pay for breakfast you can grab a a coffee or gelato at Cafe 'M' and sit at the little tables. Or heck, just walk by and wave Hello!



And if you're really lucky, I just might be wearing my Serious Artiste sunglasses...

Sunday Fun, Part 1

This coming Sunday there will be a fundraising show at the Bronson Centre for DanceAbility, the Ottawa School of Dance's groundbreaking program to open the world of dance to the disabled. Director Shara Weaver has put together a varied program for the evening. I will be performing with the Grasshoppas, and we open the show.

Other performers include: Ottawa Voices, City of Moves, Dr. Lee and the Sufi Girl, and the Steve Wint and DanceAbility hip hop extravaganza.

Sunday July 9th, 7pm.
Bronson Centre - 211 Bronson Ave. (1 block north of Somerset).
Street parking is free Sundays, but it'll be more fun to ride your bike. ;o)

Jazz festival gig

While I did rant (below) against the local paper for its lack of coverage, our show was a great success! The venue was sold out, and we got a standing ovation, to which we responded with an encore. It was a huge thrill for me to drum with an ensemble of this size - I am in control of the tempo and dynamics, and everyone must follow. If I do it right it sounds amazing, and if I get slack there's nowhere to hide and everyone knows its me! :P

What I really like is the change in contrasts that are available with such a group. With a piece like the Cuban Fire Suite it's pretty much full blast with blazing trumpets and swirling reeds. Or we play a soft ballad like Isfahan (played beautifully by Jivewires altoist Sandy Gordon), where I just play gently with brushes.

Director Adrian Cho has been receiving some glowing reviews (including one from Jacques Émond, the Festival's Director) and posting them to our website, and we'll have photos very soon on the Gallery page. If you haven't yet visited the site, this page has both audio and video clips from last February's performances, along with photographs of this and the shows in 2005 (before I joined).

Ottawa Citizen: kiss my musical ass

A open letter to the Ottawa Citizen:

Regarding your coverage of this year's Jazz Festival, I do not understand why you chose to ignore the Impressions in Jazz Orchestra's performance at the NAC. No reporter sent, and not even a mention in your wrap-up review (in which you do find time to whine about the jam sessions...).

Why were we overlooked? Is it because we're "local", and thus perhaps perceived as untalented or not worthy? It could not have been the music; it's not every day you get to hear an augmented Big Band (standard line-up plus 2 French horns and tuba) play music by Ellington, Coltrane, and Kenton; music that is rarely heard because it needs a large and expensive group to make it happen; music that in many cases has never been heard in Canada before. No, it couldn't be that... it must have been because we're local.

Look - we were the only Ottawa group to take part in that NAC series, with over 20 of Ottawa's finest professional musicians. And Adrian Cho worked extremely hard to bring us all together (imagine trying to schedule rehearsals with over 20 busy people?). And we musicians got paid, but he did it all for free. He even paid for the arrangements that came in from New York out of his own pocket. That's called dedication, out of a desire for nothing more that to hear this great music get played.

And it seems that you people could care less. Thank you so much for being a true supporter of live music in Ottawa. Any wonder there's no real jazz scene in this city, when you know the local papers won't bother to tell anyone what's going on! Maybe you'll enjoy a jazz festival full of "acts from elsewhere", because if local talent cannot find work (due to lack of promotion) it either 'quits and gets a day job', or just moves (as many have) to become part of that great "elsewhere".

Trike at work

I used Kyoto to get to last Friday's Jazz Festival gig at the NAC. The weather was perfect for the 2 km glide across town, and I cycled up to the Artists Entrance and loading dock:



I rolled right into the dock, and the attendant came out with a "WTF?" look on his face. But he quickly figured it out, and was very helpful. He ran and got a dolly for me, and once the drums were loaded on I said "I need to go park this thing outside" (since one is almost never allowed to leave a vehicle at a loading dock unattended for any length of time), to which he replied " no need, you can lock it up right there to that railing. I'll tell the security guy". Sweet, sez me. ;o) It made for a very easy load-in and load-out.


Of course, those pesky reflective pieces do far too good a job with the camera's flash...

It's a cat's life...

Kitty and Jett (no, I didn't name them) absolutely love being outdoors. They have their own trapdoor for coming and going, though every now and then one of their 'friends' makes use of it as well. Kitty grew up two houses away, so its her 'hood and she supervises things. But Jett really seems to revel in the sunshine, as I often find him lying on his back with his stomach exposed to the rays (no photo of that yet).

Kitty (top) and Jett, enjoying the sun.


Jett loves this spot for posing and snoozing...

drums 'n bikes

I recently played a hand drumming gig with my friends Jack and Bridget. And what I realized, as we gathered together to cycle to the event, was that all the conveyances used to move the drums were built by me!

Background: after building my first cargo trailer, Jack saw it and said that's what he needed as well, so we did a swap, with him building me a nice drum , and me building a copy of my trailer. Then later on I built Kyoto, my cargo trike to haul my various drums and other large things. And last Fall I built a larger version of my cargo trailer for Bridget, so that she could haul her drums around.

So the above-mentioned gig was a minorly momentous moment with three of my four projects in the same space doing the same job. So I had to get a photo taken...

Bike fun

One of my biggest passions is self-propulsion, and just about anything that is pedal-powered.

And while some may consider my cargo trike to be a creative manifestation of this, there's a local guy that always takes this sort of thing to the extreme, and his name is Mike Watson. Mike dreams up some often odd yet fun cycling machines, like the BMX trike mentioned a few posts back, and a few years ago I bought his Rainbow Chopper. Mike has so many creations that he recently had a bit of a sell-off, just to make room in his backyard for more! Many of them can be seen at the HPVOoO site, like Goldmember, the shopping cart trike, swing bike (#1), and the "Two Tall" tandem.

Last Saturday morning Mike was in the neighbourhood to show of his latest thing, which for a change was rather subtle, but still fun. It's a regular bike with an extra-tall stem, so the handlebar is way up there for comfy cruising.

Note the golf ball on the end of the kickstand

Cockpit close-up

Mike on bike

Demonstrating the alternate "aero" position
(I suggested a chin rest...)

Festival season

Ottawa's outdoor festival season starts in May with the Tulip Festival, though it is often at risk of rainy and / or cool weather (not to mention unpredictable tulip growth). But June is when things really get going. This past weekend saw the Franco-Ontario Fest. outside of City Hall, the Fringe Fest. in around around Arts Court, and the Italian Fest. on Preston St.

Next up will be the Jazz Festival, immediately followed by BluesFest (the 2nd-largest Blues festival in North America!). I will be appearing at the Jazz Fest with the "Impressions in Jazz Orchestra", a project put together by Ottawa bassist Adrian Cho. Adrian began this ensemble last summer, and I joined as drummer back in December to prepare for some February concerts. Now it has become an official repertory group, and this time we are playing some jazz with both latin and classical flavours in the mix, as well as straight-ahead Swing. We even have some NACO (National Arts Centre Orchestra) musicians in the group, so it's a great ensemble that I get to power along with my drums, and the sound can be tremendous!

The February performance at Dominion-Chalmers Church
(Photo by Brett Delmage)

Way-too-early 8:00am rehearsal for same
(Photo by percussionist Alvaro)

Click here for the Festival's page on the IJO

Steve's Music is the official instrument supplier for this festival, so a drumkit can be made available for me, but I'd rather use my own, so as usual my cargo trike will be pressed into service to move it to the National Arts Centre and back.

Family

This past weekend the family gathered here in Ottawa for our mom's 85th birthday. And it was the first time all five siblings were together in ten years! Sister Christine (the oldest) flew in from Calgary, Eric and wife Max from Toronto, and Jon and his two teenaged daughters Marianne and Rebecca came up from Montreal. We all gathered at youngest brother Mike's place (a 20 min. bike ride for me), where he lives with his wife Jane and their youngest son Mark (home from university). Mom and step-dad Gerry (they've been together for 26 years now) came up from Kingston, and we spoiled them with a room at the ritzy Chateau Laurier Hotel.

The weather was rather crappy, being only 14 C and rainy, instead of the seasonal 23C, but the weather cleared enough for us to go for a walk down to the Ottawa River and play in the nearby park. Marianne (18) and Rebecca (14) actually love to make the trip to see family, especially here in Ottawa, since Mike and I like to play and be silly with them. Some teens can get rather uptight when the adults start getting goofy, but not these two! They join right in... (though perhaps things might be different if their friends were around).


Mom, surrounded by her offspring (L to R: Christie, Jon, Mom, Me, Mike, Eric)

The highlight was dinner of course, with dessert being a pie instead of cake. The pie featured a candle centrepiece that said "crone". This was because Mom has reclaimed that word from its typically derogatory meaning ("she's an old crone"), to reinstate it to its proper use as meaning "wise elder (woman)". I think "old crone" came into use by patriarchal men to denigrate a wise woman's powers, especially if she was calling them to task on their decisions or behaviour!


And don't worry, we had more than one pie. ;o)

After dinner was done, we gathered in the living room to do what we love best - sing! Jon played guitar, I occasionally played light percussion, and we all harmonized as we saw fit, or just listened. There are some songs Jon sings quite beautifully that Mom and the rest of us really like, so by the time those came along in the late evening we were quite sated.

The next day I had to play my weekly Sunday Brunch gig with my jazz quartet, which conveniently occurs at a restaurant right beside the Chateau Laurier! So everyone gathered there to eat and watch us do our musical thing. When the food was done I of course had to remain, and the rest headed off to visit the new and impressive (so I'm told) War Mueseum. From there they gradually made their ways back home. We all had a fabulous time, and while we're all getting older we still know how to have fun together. It's been a year of significant numbers in our family - our Dad (who lives with Nonnie, his wife of 30 years in Toronto) turned 90 back in March, Mom turned 85 in early June, and Eric turns 60 in November!


Everybody, incl. Jane's sis and family, plus Tiga the Cat.

A funny coincidence: as mentioned above, the last time all five siblings were together was ten years ago, and that was for Mike and Jane's wedding here in Ottawa. And my band The Jivewires played at the wedding. This time, the four musicians in the brunch jazz quartet were all members of the Jives for that gig! So, an interesting synchronicity of events...

hop hop hop

Ok, after that little introductory post it's time for a MegaPost!

If you've been to my website, you'll know that one of the groups I'm involved with is the Grasshoppa Dance Exchange (both as musician and webmaster). We're a loose affiliation of dancers and musicians that bring movement and sound to city streets in an improv fashion called "Hops". Well, last week we were part of the Canada Dance Festival, performing a work called "Diffusion", which was commissioned by the Festival. This meant a Hop each day of the week, and while music wasn't needed for all of them, I did take part on three of the days.

(Photo by Mike Gifford)

For Monday's Hop I assumed the role of "official videographer", using my Canon digicam in movie mode to take short video clips. I had fun doing that, because there were Hops happening at six different intersections, all conveniently located in my neighbourhood. And one of those intersections was right at the end of my driveway! So I did not have very far to go to take part. ;o)

Of course, taking movie clips meant they had to be processed, which meant that I got to explore Apple's iMovie program. As with the other iLife programs, this was pretty easy to figure out and at least get some instant results (I love it when technology helps, not hinders, the creative process). I was able to do basic things like fade the clips in and out and add titles. I'm pretty happy with the results, and you can see them on the Hoppa video page.

Tuesday's Hop had dancing at various intersections along Bank St., Ottawa's main drag. Fellow musician Jason and I realized we couldn't just pick one spot and stay there, so we decided to each start at one end and move towards each other. He was to begin downtown at Sparks St. and then walk up. I had to start at Catherine St. by the highway, and was going to walk as well, but didn't want to walk all the way to that starting point carrying my drum rig. But if I took my bike I'd have to leave it there, then walk or bus back to get it when done. But as I looked out my window I had an idea...

My friend rgb had bought Mike Watson's bmx trike. Mike is our local crazy bike builder - this mainly means the bikes are crazy, though perhaps Mike must be to some degree in order to envision the things! This machine is basically a bmx bike with two front wheels instead of one, and it's loads of fun for stunt riding (mainly up on two wheels. A photo of me doing so in a parade can be seen here). After finding out the hard way that the trike's brakes were a bit out of shape, I took the thing home (rgb and I only live two blocks apart) to put some better pads on it and adjust things properly. So the trike was sitting under my window, and when looking at it I realized I could attach my parade drum to the front end, like so:



And it worked out brilliantly! I was even able to add my leather stick / accessory bag. I cycled to the start, played with that group while never leaving the seat, then pedaled off to the next one, eventually meeting up with Jason in the middle, then continuing on. And once done I simply cycled back home! Of course I got a few looks while doing all of this, but I've become rather inured over the years of doing silly things on bikes to not care. hehe

(photo by rgb)

Friday's Hop was a Parade in the Elmvale area involving the basic themes of loud and quiet. When we were soft there was no sound, and we each draped ourselves in dark clothes or blankets while moving slowly. Then someone would yell and we'd toss this stuff off and get rowdy and loud. This went back and forth for about ten blocks, ending with us collapsing in a grassy field off a walking path. And that was the end of the Diffuson project.

OK, there's other stuff going on, but that can wait for another (shorter?) post.