Encounters with Rantwick, episode nine: I Couldn't Scare a Squirrel

Squirrels are smart in their own squirrely way. The squirrel you will see here has an excellent sense of the relative dangers posed by an automobile and a bicycle.

Maybe he would have been afraid of me if I had been sporting my new Mo... difficult to say.

Being squirrely is terribly underrated.

R A N T W I C K

Encounters with Rantwick, episode eight: My Tub Gets Thumped

It is a wonderful thing to run across a kindred spirit. When the kinship extends to extruded polymers, of course the relationship can take on an even deeper meaning...

Keep it sealed,

R A N T W I C K

Encounters with Rantwick, episode seven: Pathside Fizzie Bomb

Everybody who doesn't ride a bike in the street seems to know for sure that it is terribly dangerous. I beg to differ. It is not dangerous, especially when done well. Car and cyclist collisions are in most cases predictable and preventable.

Multi-use Pathways, on the other hand, can be a jungle; you never know what you'll run into on the path. No Road = No Rules, man. If you don't believe me, check out this latest instalment of Encounters with Rantwick. I didn't choose the word "jungle" lightly... we're talking guerrilla warfare-style exploding devices, man!

Wishing you fizz-free cycling,

R A N T W I C K

P.S. - My computer clock read 11:55 PM just before hitting the Publish button. Take that, Tuesday!

Encounters with Rantwick, episode six: Visions Divine and Deshaken

This instalment of Encounters with Rantwick will make sense if you have already read my posts about Cruise Night and Deshaker. If you haven't, it won't compute, so read 'em if you like, or watch the video and go back to them, or just skip it altogether and go ride your bike in what I consider the very best season for it! The WTF factor on this video is pretty high, so it won't be like you'll be missing anything.

I know it looks like I was swaying from side to side in some sort of freakish ecstasy in the video, but that was just how the camera panned on the handlebars while I was stopped there.

Thanks for reading and watching! Yer Pal,

R A N T W I C K

Encounters with Rantwick, episode five: Sir John A MacDonald!

As you may be aware, "Encounters with Rantwick" is a series of videos featuring the people and things I come across in my daily travels on my bike. Since most of my visitors come from the US, you may not be aware that today is Canada Day! Celebrated on July 1, Canada Day commemorates the enactment of the British North America Act in 1867, which saw four provinces unite to become the country known as Canada. Most Canadians simply refer to it as Confederation or Canada's Birthday, and it is the holiday equivalent to an American's 4th of July.

How fitting is it, then, that on Monday June 29, just in time to get the video ready, I encountered none other than Sir John A MacDonald on the bike path!

Sir John A was Canada's first Prime Minister, the man who first governed our newly minted country after confederation.

One thing that most Americans seem to have in abundance is a sense of patriotism that is very visible and very powerful. Canadians love their country every bit as much, but might seem to show it a little less. Never has a cliche applied so well as when I say that when it comes to Canadian patriotism, still waters run deep. As such, I feel a little weird wearing my patriotism on my sleeve like this, but it feels really good too. In the spirit of putting my patriotism "out there", I am pleased to present the following video montage, which includes my bike path meeting with Sir John A MacDonald!

Although I often joke, I'm not kidding now. I love this country, and I wouldn't trade living in it for anything. Happy Birthday, Canada!

R A N T W I C K

Encounters with Rantwick, episode four: Oblivious Road Hogs

Some road users are just beyond description, but I will attempt to try. Have you ever crossed paths with someone who does notice you, but proceeds just as though they hadn't? In this case I even got to overhear the twisted reasoning behind their actions as they waved their hand and explained some ridiculously false rules of the road to their passenger. My camera didn't pick it up thanks to vibration and rattle noise, but I definitely did, so I have captioned the following video.

I like and miss the oblivious alternate reality occupied by little kids... those two were great.

Don't Ever Change, Cutie-Pies!

R A N T W I C K

Encounters with Rantwick, episode three: Super Heroes

In my regular travels to and fro, I encounter all of the regular people you might expect. This episode of Encounters with Rantwick deals with other, less common people; Super Heroes! Known only by their super hero names, these two are rarely seen this clearly because of their super speed. Check this out:

And I didn't even get to thank them!

Remember, E-speed kills! Until next time,

R A N T W I C K

Encounters with Rantwick, episode two: Inspector Goose's extreme pie plate vigilance

If you don't read bikesnobNYC like I do, the title of this post won't make any sense. The short version is that the snob hates pie plates, but it's geese who have been doing something about it.



Pie plates are those plastic or metal discs that come on many bicycles, and are also called spoke protectors.



They supposedly guard your spokes against chain damage if it ends up way up there. The truth, however, is that any properly tuned bicycle would never need one thanks to the limiting screws on any modern derailleur.

I commute on a fixed gear bicycle (one gear only, no coasting, no derailleur), so in my case a pie plate would be extra super duper useless. Perhaps this was why I was subjected to my harrowing meeting with Inspector Goose:

Those three quick steps still cause me to shudder with fear when I see them. Most of you have pie plates on your bicycles. I have no personal interest in your removing them, but beware Inspector Goose, man, beware Inspector Goose.

Spring is Here! Ride that bike and I'll see you next Monday.

R A N T W I C K

Encounters with Rantwick, episode one: it would seem that I am hideous

I know I said Mondays would be my posting days, but I have been having fun trying out some new stuff on the computer, and I couldn't wait. My commitment to posting every Monday (at minimum) still stands.

In the absence of creativity, there's always amateur video. I encounter a wide variety of people and vehicles and creatures (sometimes all three combined) on my commute, and since I happen to own a mostly broken digital camera that's just right for strapping to a bicycle, I thought I would share some of these encounters with you. Who knows, if you're in London Ontario, you may end up starring in an episode of Encounters with Rantwick!

In this episode, I encounter three young people on the bike path. Seeing me coming, 2 of them begin heading to my left and 1 veers to my right, and then things get a little weird...

I wish to assure you that I did absolutely nothing to freak these girls out, just in case you're thinking I'm some sort of bike path weirdo riding around scaring people. In addition, I would also like to state for the record that I don't know who these people are.

Now, of course I know why those three really went a little crazy, but I'm rather enjoying this Quasimodo gig. I welcome you to guess what happened, and I will tell you if you are correct.

Try not to freak out too often,

R A N T W I C K