a pilgrimage to the Guru (of crazybiking)

aka "drumbent visits the crazybikerchick". ;)

Crazybikerchick is the name of a very popular blog written by Tanya, a Toronto-based cyclist. It's so popular that Toronto's Now Magazine recently voted it "Best Personal Blog"! I don't know how many websites and blogs I've come across that link to hers, but suffice to say that she has struck a positive chord with cyclists from all over. She reports on her experiences of biking around the city, challenging herself to do her first century ride, and even a 200km randonneuring event! There are also updates on her knitting projects, as well as tales (tails?) of her two cats, Princess and Abby. I can't recall how I originally found her blog, but after reading a few posts, especially the one about renting a large bike trailer to bring stuff home from Ikea, I knew I had found a kindred spirit!

Turns out the cycling circles she travelled in included my friends Vic and Jen in Toronto, and after some comments made on each other's blog posts, and a few emails back and forth we got to know each other a bit. This past weekend I had to go to Toronto for some family matters, so Tanya and I thought it would be fun to finally meet in person.

The plan was to help her with some bike repair, since she had mentioned that she had been struggling with re-padding the canti brakes on her old hybrid. And if we had time we also hoped to get into creating some Bike Art. Alas, setting up those old post-style brakes is indeed a pain, especially when the only wrench available was a small adjustable one! (I had brought my Topeak multi-tool, but it does not have sockets or wrenches.) So it took far too long, and once done we used those nicely adjusted brakes to act as guides in truing the rear wheel. Well, after much futzing about I realized the rim had taken a hit at some point and was dented a bit, with no way to make it much better than it was. So, time to back off the brakes a tad, and in the end it all worked out OK.

And since so much time had been spent we realized it was getting way past dinnertime, and so we headed out for a fabbo Indian buffet. Upon returning we had a look at her Raleigh Twenty folding bike, and very nice touring bike. The Twenty is in great original shape, given its age, and just needed the headset adjusted. The touring bike was a little off in the shifting department, but I believe we got it all dialed back in OK. As soon as I got back to Ottawa I got a note from Tanya saying the hybrid's brakes worked very well indeed, and had already been put to an emergency test! After the hours of bike repair fun we decided to just sit and yak, instead of getting caught up in the Bike Art idea.

Here's Tanya, trying to stuff Abby into the handlebar bag of her tourer:

And here's Abby, getting her revenge by clawing on the tires:

and chewing on the derailer cable:

It was funny to watch Abby scratch at the tires, since Tanya had posted a comment about finding small punctures in her tubes and figuring out the culprit...

So it was very nice visit, and it looks like Tanya will be coming to Ottawa this weekend to join HPVOoO for its annual appearance in the local Santa Toy Parade, where she'll get to experience Ottawa's own crazybikerpeople! ;)

ATWAS (all the world's a stage) #2

This series would have more entries if I'd remember to bring my camera with me to the gigs!

Friday night saw the Jivewires performing across the river at La Maison de la Culture in Gatineau, Que. It's a very nice theatre, we were well received, and hope to appear there again. But yeah, no photos from moi.

Last night (Sat.) the band was at the National Arts Centre, where the Governor-General's Performing Arts Awards were taking place. Celebrities included Lorne Michaels (creator of Saturday Night Live), Robbie Roberstson (the Band), Buffy Ste. Marie, and Paul Schaffer (musical director for David Letterman) - all Canadian-born. For the fourth year in a row we played the after-show reception, when everyone comes out of the hall and into the lobby, where champagne and snacks are served. Quite a few of them feel like dancing after sitting on their butts for a few hours.


Since we had to set up in the lobby, I parked Kyoto right at the main door, beside the Red Carpet. Gotta love how the reflecto bits respond to the flash!


The friendly doorman was quite happy to hold the door for me as I made my trips, after we determined that security would probably not like me rolling the trike right inside. ;)

Setting up.

Food and drinks are put in place, and waiting musicians descend upon them. Above, Sandy, Rick, and Chris are thrilled with their morsels. We make sure to leave some for the patrons, of course!

Steve echoes my sentiments regarding the plates of pure chocolate cookies (a few of which made their way home with me. No whole plates of course, but certainly whole cookies).

At the end of the evening, Kyoto, having being locked to the nearby bike stand, is pulled over to the main doors. Straggling patrons are making their way to the waiting limos, while the drummer loads out.

I didn't take any crowd action photos, but you can get an idea of the fun from last year's pictures.

All the World's a Stage

As a working musician I find myself setting up my drums in some interesting spaces. Anywhere from jammed into a tight corner of a restaurant, to a festival stage where my drum riser is the size of my living room, and the nearest musician is 25 feet away! I thought it would be fun to take some photos of such places, so this is the first installment of "where I work", aka "all the world's a stage".

This past Saturday saw the Custums playing a fundraiser at the Aviation Musuem. This was our third year in a row for this event, and this year was special because they actually had a stage for us (last year we set up under the wing of one of the planes!). So the actual performance area was quite ordinary, but the setting was interesting with all the aircraft in close proximity. I took a few photos...

setting up the stage

a cool gyrocopter

An experimental plane. The outline on the left arm of the 'A' reads "cut here in an emergency"

a much larger 'copter, with rear view into the interior

This was on a smaller one. I'll bet you learn to duck... :P

Speaking of ducking, this is the wing we played under last year.

This tiny thing was the first production rocket-powered plane. Apparently they had a nasty tendency of blowing up upon take-off or landing.

Happy to set up in front of a Canadian classic

How bicycles are built

A cool 10 minute video clip showing how your basic errand bike is put together. I'd heard of wheel-building machines, and finally got to see one in action. Isn't YouTube great?



Thanks to Otto_It for the link.

Also, Friday random link: Snake Bike

more music

In a two-week period I've been offered the drum chair for two local Big Bands! This is fun, because the music is great to play, and also a challenge, because the drummer is in the hot seat with these large groups. If you can't drive the band then it'll sound like poop no matter how good everyone else is! You have to keep the tempo, set up the shots, guide the dynamics, interact with the soloists, so there's lots to stay on top of.

The first group is the Bill Jupp Band, which has ben around Ottawa for many years, and plays original tunes and arrangements written by Bill. This is mainly a rehearsal band, but it meets once a week and keeps both my reading and swing chops together. The rehearsal space is barely a kilometre away, and I can leave my junky old practice kit there and just commute with sticks and cymbals.

The second band is Grey Jazz, run by Bob Cleall, and the band's name comes from the fact that it is based in a senior's facility, though none of the players reside there. ;) But the musicians are mostly over 50, so I'm definitely the youngest player, not to mention the least grey. :P The band swings well, and I've just completed my first gig with them (had to sight-read a few charts on the fly!), so it's a working group. We rehearse ever Friday morning at 9:30, and being the night owl that I am that's only doable because 1) they have a drumkit there, and 2) it's only four blocks from my house! So I just get up, scarf down some breakfast, and stagger my way there...

Art!

My friend Wenna creates some fabulous and whimsical paintings. And now you can see a sampling of them online at her new website. I should commission something with a bicycle theme...

for you jazz fans...

I've got a gig that might interest some of you, this coming Saturday at the NAC's Fourth Stage:

Accompanied by:

J.P. Alain - Piano
Mark Rehder - Drums
Tom McMahon - Bass
Rick Rangno - Trumpet
Mike Tremblay - Tenor

I of course play with Steve's quartet, as does bassist Tom. Rick plays trumpet for the Jivewires, while J.P. and Mike are regulars on the scene. Should be a fine evening!

media attention

My cargo trike is the subject of a cover story in the Fall issue of "Better Bicycling", published by local organization Citizens for Safe Cycling.

I've not done much in the way of promoting Kyoto, other than just riding it on city streets to do the jobs I built it for. So when CfSC contacted me for the story I was happy to oblige. Other than one slip-up ("it’s a single-wheel recumbent bicycle" should read "three-wheel") it seems to be a good read. What's next? Front page on the Ottawa Citizen, or how about the Globe and Mail? Maybe I should head straight for TV coverage - where's my agent?... :D

current events

Thought I'd share some fave cartoons and a photo. Click on each one for the larger, more legible version.

Two from recent events:





An old "Bloom County" strip from its pre-Opus early days, about twenty years ago! The caricature is brilliant, and still quite relevant given that in U.S. politics "Liberal" has become a dirty word:

Snoozing lizard, found on someone's blog (sorry, forgot who!). Note its tiny rear feet wrapped around second spoke:

PABs finally legal in Ontario

Kyoto's electric-assist motor is now legal! The press release below was sent by Juergen.

+++++++

October 4, 2006 (Toronto)
For Immediate Release

The Electric Vehicle Council of Ottawa (EVCO) applauds today's announcement by Ontario Transportation Minister Donna Cansfield to permit electric-assist bicycles on Ontario roadways under a pilot project.

Electric-assist bicycles (officially called Power Assisted Bicycles or PABs) are bicycles with a small electric motor that are limited to a maximum speed of 32km/h and a maximum power of 500 Watts. Electric bicycles are zero-emission vehicles. Anyone in Ontario who is 16 years of age or older may ride an electric bike during the pilot project which is expected to last three years.

"Many Ontario citizens have been waiting eagerly to drive their electric bicycles legally or to acquire one" notes Etienne Gibeault, EVCO President. "We are thrilled that these electric vehicles are now legal."

Electric-assist bicycles are available, affordable and are as easy to use as a standard bicycle. The electric motor and battery pack provide cyclists with clean, quiet and non-polluting power -- ideal for hill climbing, extending one's range, assisting those with mobility impairments and reducing the effort associated with cycling (a bonus for those without shower facilities at work). Electric bike riders can get as much exercise as they choose without worrying about longer distances or over-exertion. Electric bikes allow the rider to pedal as much as desired while providing power-assist when required.

Electric bike riders are now able to do their part to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, improve air quality, and stay fit without having to worry about breaking the law. EVCO congratulates the Minister for taking this step and looks forward to a time when a variety of electric vehicles are
legal on Ontario roads.

"Relatively inexpensive electric vehicles are now within reach of the average consumer," says Etienne Gibeault. "This is a viable alternative for Ontarians who want something more than the traditional means of transportation."

****************************************

EVCO is a voluntary, non-profit organization that promotes the use of electric vehicles in applications where they are appropriate. Electric vehicles are viable transportation alternatives that are ecological, economical, practical and available. EVCO has been campaigning for the
legalization of electric bicycles in Ontario for over 3 years.

Spokesperson: Juergen Weichert (613) 746-7685
e-mail: info@evco.ca

The Electric Vehicle Council of Ottawa
P.O.Box 4044, Station "E"
Ottawa, ON, Canada
K1S 5B1
www.evco.ca

YouTube (and other) fun

Step right up! We've got humour, politics, music, cats - all courtesy of YouTube!

First off, a fabulous anti-war parody of "Tie a Yellow Ribbon..." (warning: naughty words, especially at the beginning!).



Next: Most have heard about Bill Clinton taking Fox interviewer Chris Wallace to task. And now this fabulous editorial from Keith Olberman. I couldn't quite believe it at first - here's a guy from the mainstream U.S. media (MSNBC) nailing Bush and his Administration to the wall! Well done, sir! And about time...



On the much lighter side: kitties! A compilation of feline goofiness.



And music:

Shredding: Heavy metal prog-rock accordion. Two Finnish musicians, along with the drummer and former bassist for King Crimson. If you're going to make a noise, this is a good one to make!



Sublime: my favourite female vocalist, Lisa Gerrard (formerly of Dead Can Dance). She has the most stunning and versatile voice I've ever heard.



And lastly, a non-Youtube link. Crazybikerchick Tanya has a fabulous "open letter to motorists who dislike cyclists". Check out the 90-plus comments!

more bridge fun

A different one this time, and Kyoto's first trip across the interprovincial Champlain Bridge.

My friend Andrea recently moved into a house on the Quebec side, quite near the Ottawa river and the bridge. She had a surplus microwave oven for me, and I decided to fetch it. Now, the cargo trike was overkill for this trip (could've used the trailer), but I wanted to see what it was like using the bridge's bike lanes, as I had only ridden on them with my 2-wheel bikes.

Yes, could have moved a few microwaves, or a refrigerator!

Andrea exclaims "no, don't show my messy garage!" But she is still moving in, so she is forgiven. ;)


Heading home, and the bike lane is just wide enough for Kyoto. The bridge has three motor vehicle lanes, with the middle HOV lane switching directions depending on time of day.

Looking west on a cloudy Sept. day (railings will be in the way of these shots, as I took them while in motion)

Crossing over Bate Island, the east end of which is a fave launching area for kayakers, as the rapids make for a fun play spot. Above is a quiet inlet.


My little camera strained as far as it could to bring you this ill-defined shot. The river is quite shallow here, especially at this time of year, and someone planted a bird-shaped sculpture on one of the rocks!

My only challenge on this trip was at the Ottawa end of the bridge. The bike lane narrows down to the old standard of about a metre wide, and Island Park Drive is one lane each way. If I take the main lane I slow everyone down, so I stuffed myself into the bike lane, as I only had two blocks to go before turning left into the residential area and onto my cross-town route. I always wonder what the cars behind me think as I put on the turn signal from the bike lane and move into the main lane. And I don't wait for someone to let me in, as that route is busy and no one wants to stop, so I just wait for a gap and toss the trike into it. As usual, no grief from anyone, either because they're being nice, or that they can't quite figure out what the thing is and they probably shouldn't provoke it. hehe

Ottawa's new cycling / pedestrian bridge

One day before International Car-Free Day a car-free bridge was opened across the Rideau Canal! It has no name yet (that will apparently happen at an official dedication ceremony next Spring), and some work is still being done, like the last set of stairs and some landscaping. But it's open and lots of folks are using it! I took Kyoto over it today to attend the CFD event at the University of Ottawa campus, and I'm impressed with the work. The bridge looks nice, and it's quite wide enough for both bike and foot traffic, though so far nothing has been done to delineate lanes (I've heard that the walkways will be along the sides with bikes in the middle).

So I had to take a few photos as I made my way back from the event. And yes, Ottawa is completely f-ing lame when it comes to Car Free Day, as City Council, which can't be considered Green by any stretch of the imagination, won't allow closure of a single block of any main street, so events have to be held in parking lots or plazas. Oh well, at least we have our nice new bridge!

Looking north towards Chateau Laurier

Looking west. At left in the bike helmet is fellow HPVOoO-er Charles, who has done a thorough photo documentation of the bridge's construction progress.

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!