Tuesday, April 1, 2014

SO CLOSE to open bike paths - Can't Wait.

Note: Fooling people is against my new found Spirit Guide's* teachings, so here's a straight-ahead normal post despite the date.

I am aching to get off the dirty crowded pot-holed streets of London Ontario and get onto the dirty uncrowded more peaceful MUPs that run along the Thames river.
 
I did a test run through a short section yesterday. SO CLOSE. Urgh. If I had fat tires, I might have even tried to stick it out. On my current winter bike, however, it was just a little too much hassle to do for longer than necessary:
 
 
 
 
 
Some say the City should plow the MUPs in winter. I go back and forth on that one. Right now I say the stupid Sun should finish its work on the paths and let me use 'em. Get crackin', ya damn life-giving local Star! I mean, I'm waiting here! Jeez! 

 
Yer Pal,
R A N T W I C K

* I don't have a new found (or any) spirit guide! Fooled ya, suckas! Hah!

Thursday, March 27, 2014

The Right Gear: Essentials for Winter Cycling

First off, hi! Long time! How have you been? Uhuh... yeah... how 'bout the kids/dog/fish? Some winter we're having, eh?
 
Speaking of the winter that refuses to end, I have been riding my bicycle in it. I had a spell where I kind of stopped, but thankfully I've been back on the saddle for a few weeks and loving it as always.
 
Anyone who has come across the right bit of gear can attest to the fact that it can make a big difference to your enjoyment of any physical activity. In my case, I got tired of being attached to my pedals in dicey icy snowy kooky road conditions, and I've gone back to a cleatless, "normal" shoe and pedal for winter riding. Finding just the right thing proved very easy. Like so many romantic comedies prove, sometimes your heart's desire is right in front of you the whole time... you just need to see it!
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
So what is "essential" about an old pair of shoes? Nothing, of course. Because nothing is essential other than a bike and some attention to what hurts. If it freezes, cover it up. Whether you cover it with the sweetest bit of expensive bike gear or a chunk of tape don't matter none. That is essential. If you get my drift.
 
Yer Pal,
R A N T W I C K