out with the old, in with the even older.

The Linear recumbent's frame crack puts it out of action for the next while, as I doubt I'll attempt a solution before next year. In the meantime, my brother Mike has nicely loaned me his old Infinity long-wheelbase, as he now has a very nice Velotechnik Streetmachine to ride.


Mike built this up from a frameset in the early 90's. I had been curious about bents ever since first heard of the in the mid-80's, but never could afford the $$$$ pricetag. Mike and I had talked about them for a while, and he took the plunge ahead of me. It was great to have a chance to finally ride one and determine that yes, this was going to be a good choice, though I didn't buy my Linear until '97.

The Infinity is from the same design period as the Linear (1980's), and along with the Ryan these three were the triumvirate of LWB under-seat steering (USS) bents. The Easy Racers Tour Easy was the choice for those that wanted the handlebars above the seat. The Infinity, like the Linear, is made from non-heat treated aluminum, and had a reputation for cracked frames (the Linear has a reputation for creaking frames due to its foldability, but not cracked ones).



The manufacturer solved this with later models by adding a small tube (see above) running alongside the main bottom tube from the rear dropout to the bottom bracket shell. Note also that the steering is done by cables from the steering arm to the fork! You don't see that any more on bents, but it was used for years in the aircraft industry, so is not a flawed concept.

So it was snooze time for the Linear, and since it's a folding bike it was easy to take apart for storage:

Upside down and wheels off.


Tailbox off - first time since I built it in '98! (sniff...)

Rack taken off, rear end of frame removed (attaches via QR levers), seat folded forward. Rear brake unit and derailer left attached via their cables and stored in bag.

The front fork will also fold back, but then I'd have to remove the front fender, and the bike will store just fine without that. Another photo of the crack that put this bike to sleep for a while:

9/11

This fifth anniversary of the attacks causes a remembrance for me. I have a connection to the World Trade Center, because the Jivewires played a show there. We were in the Windows On The World restaurant and bar on the 106 floor of the North Tower. The date was Saturday, October 21, 2000.

Previously, the band had played other clubs in NYC (and also the now-defunct Sunday Swing Dances at Irving Plaza), but when this gig came through it was a much bigger deal. Normally when we play in the States we try to get a few gigs lined up, say for three or four days in Boston, Albany, Washington DC, etc.. (One time we had two dates in NYC, and were able to stay in an apartment on 4th St. that rents out to travelling groups. It was cool to have the afternoon to explore the city a bit. I remember bassist Kurt and I going for a walk to the WTC, and looking straight up at the two towers. The next day sax player Brian and I later walked all the way to 50th St. and back, which is a pretty good hike [92 blocks round-trip]!) But the WTC gig came on short notice, and we did not want to say No, even though we did not have time to line up other gigs. So we did it as a one-nighter, driving the 7.5 hours there, playing 3 sets of music, then turning around and drive back that night. That's the glamourous side of the biz... :P

We arrived around 7:00pm, and loaded our gear into the building. We fortunately did not have to find and use the loading dock and freight elevator, but came in right off the street. The restaurant had its own elevator, which was quite large (about 12'x8'), and we just rolled our stuff in first, then some customers got on. I think that elevator rose about as fast as it could without making you sick, and the floor number display kicked in around 90 and flew by, slowing down around 103. Upon exiting we got our gear into the bar, with the stage being in the SE corner of the building. After setting things up I had to check out the view.

Looking out the north windows, you had an unobstructed view of downtown Manhattan, the Empire State Building, the Chrysler Building (my fave) and so on. Say what we want about skyscrapers, Big Business, etc., it was an impressive sight. I also thought of all the great music that happens in that city, and how it is (and has been) THE place for great jazz. Thinking of the Swing Era, with Benny Goodman and Duke Ellington and their great bands (they both played at the above-mentioned Irving Plaza), and later on people like Miles Davis, Charlie Parker, John Coltrane, etc. all coming there to prove themselves and help take the music to new places. Moving to the west windows, looking out over the Hudson River, with New Jersey on the other side. Towards the SW corner, and looking down at the harbour and the Statue Of Liberty. Then moving to the south windows and woah! - there's the South tower! At that height you don't expect to see another building right beside you, even though you know it exists. I could see folks on the top floor observation deck, and looking down the towers were close enough to each other that they seemed to meet at the base.

My reverie was broken by the manager saying we could get some food in the employee cafeteria, one flight up. So he led us out a set of doors into the stairwells. We all paused for a moment, looking down the steps. I think we all shuddered a bit, imagining what it would be like to have to get down 106 floors if the elevators were broken. Comments were made along the lines of "wouldn't want to have to run down those in a hurry" etc. Then we walked upstairs and ate our free food. The gig was a lot of fun, and as we sped back home through the dark night we hoped we would get to play there again.

And we almost did. A booking for the following Spring did not materialize, and another for August 11 had to cancelled due to U.S. Immigration screwing up our work visas. So another date was set for October 20, then came 9/11. As I watched the events unfold on TV I thought of that top floor, with the staff and patrons most likely trapped, because I could not see how they could make their way down those stairs given the amount of damage.

We still had the other U.S. dates to do that October, so that weekend we played Boston, then drove across Manhattan to head south along the New Jersey Turnpike to Washington. And as we drove we realized we would pass the site with only the Hudson River separating us, and when someone asked where the WTC site was I pointed "over there", where you can see the smoke still rising". It was a rather sombre and reflective trip to our next destination...

Trike at work pt. 2

The past few weeks have be quite uneventful, so here are a few pics of the trike at work. This is at the outdoor plaza for the Metropolitan Restaurant and Cafe M, where I currently play every Sunday from 11:00am to 2:00pm, and Thursdays from 5:00 to 8:00. Since it's outdoors the gig will come to a natural end as soon as the customers stop wishing to eat outside, so we have perhaps a few weeks left.



As you can see in the above photo, I can cycle right onto the plaza and park right where my drums need to be set up. This is such a nice change from hauling them up stairs or down long hallways! Though it does mean riding on the wide sidewalk for about 100 feet, otherwise I'd have to stop in a right-turn lane and haul the heavy beast up onto the walk to get to the plaza entrance. Once I've unloaded I simply move the trike over to the perimeter where it can snooze in the sun. Leaving the plaza requires going uphill and around a corner, beginning on the sidewalk, but that is only for about 50 feet, then as I make the turn I get on the road. The sidewalk issue is interesting, because if I stick to the road near that entrance I'm just in everyone's way and it's also a no-stopping zone. Being a 3-wheeler the trike can go as slow as it needs if there are pedestrians afoot (heh), and since it's for such a short stretch it seems to be the best solution.

Long view back towards the Cafe (and awaiting the other two band members).

The patio.

The restaurant and cafe are owned by the same people, and they originally wanted us to play for the patio, so we set up facing that way. But when folks are eating they don't always pay much attenti0n to us, and we had our backs to the cafe customers, who seem more appreciative of our efforts. So on the third gig we set up in the current format and everyone's happy.

I just realized this is probably a rather boring post, but hey, notice over on the right sidebar of this page - categories! Unlike some other blog hosts, Blogger does not offer this feature, but hacks have been created, and I happily used one of them. So now I can just direct people to the bike links if that's all they might be interested in. And please note that there is no category (yet) for "Boring". ;o)

Baby's first hot sauce (or, good thing I don't have kids!)

Plus, goofy site of the week: http://catsinsinks.com

fun bike photos

Been meaning to add these to my website, but why not toss 'em up here?

Lends new meaning to the term "bike shoes" (but are they clipless?)

Hoop Bike in Toronto. Photo by Vic Gedris.

Bike Gate.

This local ladybug bike makes me nostalgic for both Bee Bike and Cow Bike, so I've added pics of them below.

Yes, that's a mix of black and yellow electrical tape. Bee Bike's frame ended up being a little too flexy for me (just a cheap Raleigh Gran Prix), so it was donated to re-Cycles.


I found Cow Bike at re-Cycles and had to have her, and set it up as a basic city bike set up with only 6 speeds. She was stolen from my front porch - my first bike theft. There was a milk crate on the rear rack (quite apropos for a Cow Bike, no?), and the lock went through the crate and around a post. The thief actually somehow melted the area of the crate around the lock to get the bike free!

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...