Butterflies, 2 High Guys & a Near Dognapping

The fat bike I've been enjoying for some time now has become my #1 commuter, even in summer. While not as fast as some of my bikes, it is comfortable and fun. Given my remaining balance issues, it also erases most worry arising from cracks, potholes and uneven surfaces. However, as I get older I'm finding my neck and shoulders are giving me increasing grief no matter what bike I'm riding. I'm not even in the saddle for long these days, mostly just doing about 14km each weekday on my commute. Maybe I just need to ride more. Hmm. Perhaps. But buying "solutions" is so much more fun!

I have long been intrigued by trekking / butterfly handlebars. I'm thinking these might offer enough hand positions, including a much closer and less wide position that will give my neck a break.

How I cover these bars remains up in the air. Do I want to get my old bolt-on grips on there somehow? I have some good bar tape that's just been sitting around for a few years... or what about FOAM? These bars came with FOAM to cover them. I can't think of FOAM for handlebars without thinking of the gawdawful super puffy porous foam on some doofus' drop bars during my youth that looked like this:

Thanks to Cafiend for naming the actual product, Grab-On Handlebar Foam. The stuff I remember was an even cheaper and more easily destroyed version I think.

They were worse than what came with these bars, which was more dense and less ridiculously puffy:

The bars did not come with the sram tape, just those foam tubes. I just don't know if I can get my head around FOAM use. Thoughts?

Now, on to the 2 High Guys. I watch a depressing amount of CNN, which means I've seen a commercial about a certain car insurance product for older people from a certain insurance company many many times. You can tell what generation of people are joining the AARP crowd by how they behave. Most attendees of Woodstock, for example, are 65-75 years old now. You can tell:

You tell me these 2 guys aren't high as fuck. Go ahead. Tell me that. Tell me.

Lastly, have you ever seen a dog tied up outside a place and felt a strong urge to simply take it?

As you can see I saw this little dog months ago, when it was cold and snowy, which only made my yearning to dognap him stronger. Instead I took a picture and waited for a loving owner to come back, which happened in due course.

That's it for now. Stay well, enjoy everything you can in these whacked out times and I'll attempt to touch base again soon.

Yer Pal,

R A N T W I C K

Holy Cow, Has It Really Been 6 Months? That's Crazy!

Although if things are gonna be Crazy, now's the time I guess. I hope any and all weirdos still reading this blog are doing all right and have not been dealt anything too painful in this strange time.

Strange indeed, but in some ways not so bad. Putting a kink in our constant rush to consume is not an entirely bad thing. I've also read some good stuff about reduced pollution and rebounding species. While I strongly suspect a rest is not as good as a change in these areas, good news is still good news, you know.

I have perceived one other positive change, but I need to check with you to see if I'm imagining it. I think people, learning to change their ways and maintain distance in public, on the sidewalk, in stores etc., are doing it with their cars while passing me on my bike. Is it all in my head, or is social distancing translating into more considerate drivers? Perhaps less traffic just means more room to give me room, but I like to think it is an actual change in driving behaviours brought about, by all things, a virus. If true, how wonderful would it be if it became a good habit that stuck? A man can dream, right?

In other good news, geese still like hissing at me:

I don't have good video to show it, but I have also learned that a "honk" from my disc brakes (they are rather honky) will make a whole gaggle of geese look up at the same moment like a bunch of meerkats.

With a bunch of fuzzy goslings around in the last couple months it has been fun and adorable.

I've been working this whole time and commuting on bike path and street as usual. When I come across another person on the path, I give them a wide berth by hugging the extreme edge of the asphalt or go out on the grass when necessary or if it might help them feel more at ease with my presence, especially if they're old. As these two approached, I kept waiting for them to go single file:

As you can see, they did not and I did not like it, particularly because like it or not, I'm pretty old looking with my extra weight and mostly grey beard. I even sigh like an old man at the end, sounding just like my dear departed dad.This is just one example of close passing by cyclists that has happened several times at time of writing. So, short version, I think cars are giving me enough space while some cyclists are not. It is most definitely an upside-down kind of time.

Be Safe and Stay Well,

R A N T W I C K

Cropped

Earlier I posted a lovely picture using Instagram, mostly because Insta lets me easily shoot it to Twitter and Facebook at the same time. Trouble is, Insta crops the image into a near square.

Here's the wide version:

Ah, much better.

Yer Pal,

R A N T W I C K

The King, 2019

It would seem I'm quite willing to let the blog slide these days. However, it would feel wrong not to post a picture of this Autumn's King; I have been doing it for 10 years!

Here he is, lookin' great as always, although the picture is from a couple of weeks ago and he's probably nearly naked now.

I've moved back onto the Fat bike with the big pogies and everything.

Outspokin Cycles assisted in rebuilding the wheels that were misbehaving in colder temps; the rear got a lovely new Hope Fatsno hub that I'm confident won't act like a jerk. It has a nice loud ratchety sound (the pawls, I guess) that I really like. I'm finding that my advancing age combined with a loss of dexterity due to silly brain stuff is resulting in a newfound willingness to pay others to wrench on my bike. I suppose that's not a bad thing, since local bike shops seem to be in jeopardy all the time. I must confess, though, that I bought that fatsno hub online for way less than the LBS price, once again from across the ocean. As much as a good LBS will always be of value to me, my own cash is also of value to me. As such I happily pay the LBS for the things I can stand to pay a little more for and buy the other stuff online. We got Mrs. Rantwick a nice bike at an LBS a couple of years ago, so we're not all bad. Note: You can't buy a good bike mechanic online. A relationship with a good LBS (or three) is always a good thing.

If you're considering riding right through the winter this year, do it! You won't be sorry. Or maybe you will. How the hell would I know? How about this instead: Try it, you might like it as much as I do!

Yer Pal,

R A N T W I C K

God Bless the USA

Hey, just touching base. Everything is going great, riding weather is beautiful. I've been riding to work and back most days, but not much else. For the one or two people who are friends on Strava, I haven't quit riding, I've just stopped with the app.

Yes, life is pretty good. So good I have very little to say it would seem. I've got some video of animals and friendly people I mean to stitch together, but evening laziness has kept me from it.

Sitting in front of CNN watching the slow-motion car crash of American politics remains one of my favourite yet depressing activities. Sometimes I pause the TV as household distractions arise. I am often entertained by the images I get with these random stills^*, like this one:

This poor fellow looks like I feel sometimes when I hear what is (and is not) happening in the USA. Canadians and Americans have always been good friends as far as I'm concerned, and it both confuses and pains me when I see friends hurting each other or losing their way or both. I wish there was something I could do. Instead I just watch and wonder and hope. In short, Thoughts and Prayers, USA, Thoughts and Prayers.

Yer Canadian Pal, 

R A N T W I C K

^*As fond as I am of doctoring photos and stuff, it would kind of defeat the purpose of funny pause images if I made them funny via artificial means. As such, I have not messed with this image, which is just a picture of my TV taken with my phone.