Gone Campin'

The Rantwick clan is going camping next week, for the first time in quite a while. I will not be writing blog posts during that time, but if you're just addicted to the small details of my life I will likely be tweeting pictures of anything cool we come across. There's a Twitter "follow" button in the sidebar if you're so inclined.

We're going to Bruce Peninsula National Park near Tobermory Ontario, so not too far from home. We've been there before but the kids were too little to enjoy the excellent hiking and stuff that's available. Should be awesome.  

Yer Pal,

R A N T W I C K

The Link Not Taken

Before we begin, can we agree that despite terrible over and dare I say ill-use of it, the poem "The Road Not Taken" by Robert Frost is still really great? Having ill-used it once more in a glancing way with my title, I re-read it for the first time in a long while. You hear it all over the place (i.e. graduation ceremonies), but reading it in print is, for me, so much better. So easily bent to the private emotional purposes of the reader! Ugh. Good stuff. Now, on to your scheduled programming: My stuff, which is of a consistency and quality that most definitely belongs in some other category, preferably a category of its own since it could potentially harm the other words...


I can't believe I missed this post from my friend Steve at dfwptp.blogspot.com . It was posted back in February of 2014. It is a good post about our mutual friend kermit, who rides on Steve's handlebars and was on that occasion lost, run over, and found. I had previously written about (and mutated) kermit in a post in 2010, taking


this: to this:  

Turns out, if you visit Steve's post from 2014 you'll find a link to an image I had no idea existed until just yesterday. It is fantastic, depicting kermit when he is, in Steve's words, Rantwick Mad:

Oh man, he just looks so wrong... He features not only my squinty eye and mouth, but dinosaur head, dripping blood, and claws! It is a fr***kin' masterpiece, yet it was not displayed in the post; it was just hiding under a link! Bravo, Steve, I love it!

That got me to thinking about stuff on this blog that I had assumed just hadn't been of interest or worth comment. Had some things suffered the same fate, hiding under links not taken?

So, I now beg you to follow these links:

Mordecai McBumpanoggin's website. Mordecai was first referenced and his site created for this post, which was written March 2012. Mordecai's site was not directly linked to (other than in the comment sections) until October 2013.

The indie band website for Evil Peace created and linked to in this post from June of 2012.


Now, if you had already seen these and just thought, "meh" to yourself, don't tell me that. Instead pretend you didn't see them until now. If it's still a "meh", don't tell me that either. Praise me for how great they are. I mean it. I don't care at all if your praise is sincere; just try to make it seem that way.

Yours In an Ongoing and Inane Quest for Validation,

R A N T W I C K

Huff N' Puff Cycling Groups

This Wednesday morning I once again ran across a local cycling group comprised mainly of seniors. The first time was in 2011...

I posted on that encounter here , and explained that I was unable to locate any info on their group after we met, having only been told they were the "Silver Spokes". This time however, the leader told me they were a Huff N' Puff Cycling group, which when I looked into it yielded lots of good info.

The Huff N' Puff Seniors Fitness Association in London Ontario has a large membership and they do all kinds of stuff, not just cycling. I had never heard of them before; these people (at least the cyclists I met) are so nice it makes me almost wish I were old enough to join. I've been an old man at heart for, like, a decade at least anyway. Seriously though, their motto is "Because for us, life is not a spectator sport!" I think that is awesome and I sincerely hope to be that kind of senior when I get there.

I'm not going to post video from this morning, because the 2011 one is better. Today I was overtaking the group, so the video is just the back of a lot of heads and people yelling "bike on the left!"

When it comes to Huff N' Puff & cycling, the best info I could find was in their Spring newsletter, from which I snipped the following:

This seniors group appears to have THREE cycling groups, some of which have a WAITING LIST! I think that is just outstanding, since I think cycling is a great fit for seniors and I hope to do it forever myself.

Also, like I've already said, they do a ton of other stuff 

too, so go to

www.huffnpuffsfa.com

If you're interested.

Yer Pal,

R A N T W I C K

Knowing Wave

Hey everybody! Did you all have a decent weekend? I did, because I attended a wedding on Saturday and had such a good time (hic!) that I slept most of Sunday. But enough about me. This post is (I think) about one of you.

A cyclist going the opposite way on the TVP (Thames Valley Parkway, or in more common parlance "The Bike Path") gave me a wave that looked like they knew me. I came this closeto signalling them to pull over for a quick hello. What if it wasn't somebody I "knew", but rather just somebody who's waves are inadvertently familiar and encouraging? Even getting somebody I sort of know to pull over and say hello would feel kind of awkward to me. I ended up just saying "good morning" on my way by.

So, tell me, is this you, and god help me, should I have known who you were? Is the mighty Richard Sleegers just sporting a beard now? I may never get an answer, but you can't say I didn't try.

Yer Pal,

R A N T W I C K

Things People Say Fridays #16: GoPro Kids

I sometimes wonder if there is some ad campaign I am unaware of, or an Internet meme, or something that explains why people (usually young people, but not always) feel compelled to yell "GoPro!" when they see my helmet cam.

If not, why does this happen with such regularity and in such a similar way? I hope somebody can solve this mystery for me, because otherwise I think it's a little freaky. I'm trying to think of some other consumer item that prompts people to yell out its name on sight, but I'm coming up empty. Here's a just a sampling of what I'm on about:

Mrs. Rantwick, the best (and perhaps most intelligent) woman on the planet, theorizes that it is just the combination of realizing you're being recorded, wanting to stand out and the fact that the ubiquitous GoPro brand name has achieved something like the common usage enjoyed by Kleenex. By that I (or more accurately, she) means people yell "GoPro" rather than "helmet cam" because they have no built-in fear of the willy-nilly use of trademarked names the way online or print writers do. Or, um, should^*.

Problem is, despite how cool and smart she is, I don't always take Mrs. Rantwick's opinions as gospel truth, because, well, we're married and if I did, that would be sort of wrong. There is great interest and entertainment to be had in arbitrarily disagreeing with the one you love most. I'm sure many of you do it all the time and know exactly what I mean.

So, I ask you, dear reader, do you know what's going on? Theories are OK, but I'm still kind of hoping for some meme or ad or whatever like I said at the start. Help me. Like, really, please help me. Hey, maybe the good people at GoPro know... I'll tweet them a link to this post just in case. 

Yer Pal,

R A N T W I C K

^* Dear Trademark™ owners: Please know that I thought that this blog post constituted normal and reasonable use of your brand names. Please don't sue me, because, well, I'm a good guy who just wanted to talk about your products for what I think are decent reasons that don't really convey any message for or against the stuff you sell. If you disagree, please let me know via email at which time I look forward to entering into a lengthy and confusing period of correspondence culminating in my doing whatever saves my ass. Be warned, however, that if you think this little blurb is running long, this ain't nuthin', and you or your lawyers will be in for a veritable shitstorm of me trying to be funny about something that is potentially very serious.

I Know I Shouldn't Give A ****

I took a nice ride yesterday after work, lengthening my afternoon commute by about 15k just for kicks. It was rainy, which was nice because 1) I like riding in the rain and 2) it reduces the number of people out on the paths and 3) I was nice and cool. Anyway, I was in a pretty good mood and getting fairly close to home when this happened:

I didn't have to touch my brakes. I did have to let up on pedaling a little. In the grand scheme of things, it is not a big deal. It shouldn't even be a small deal, but it is to me. Would the officer have done that to a slow car? Maybe, I don't know. I do know that if it is OK for cops to do it, surely it is OK for everybody else, right?

I wonder a little if I'm just being opportunistic, because cops make great video fodder. There may be an element of that in my posting of this video when I let so many other drivers off without a mention here or on youtube. That said, shouldn't I be able to hold police to a higher standard? I know when I'm in a marked work vehicle I drive like anybody might report me for just about anything, which is probably true.

So, having seen the video, what do you think? Cheap shot or legitimate beef? I'm starting to think a little of both.

Yer Pal,

R A N T W I C K

Review: Doritos Intense Pickle

My last post was about how I wished  for a return to the days when I wrote more and better stuff for this blog.

Today does not mark such a return, but something rather far from it. Nonetheless, this is IMPORTANT STUFF. There was a 2-fer kind of sale on Doritos at the grocery store today, plus there was a flavour on offer that I had never seen before: Intense Pickle!

hmmm. Bag opened, but not empty. A clue to the reviewer's opinion, a symptom of his level of satiety or merely the state of the bag at the time of the photo? We shall see, dear reader. Oh yes, we shall see. That much is certain...

Speaking of junk food, I am always rather amazed at the wider variety found in American grocery stores as opposed to Canadian. I mean, in Canada you might find like 3 flavours of Mountain Dew on any given store shelf, where in the US it is more like 6 or 8. Same goes for chips, candy, etc.

Given the fact that our national diets are very similar, I'm guessing it is simply a function of how much larger the US market is; there are enough consumers to make more variety financially viable. Or maybe, Canadians are simple folk who would just stand in the aisle undecided until the store had to close if presented with so many choices. Hell, I don't know why, really. Why are we talking about this anyway? Can we just talk about the chips I tried today, please? Sheesh! You and your rambling tangents! Don't get me wrong, it's kind of endearing and one of the many things I quite like about you. You da best, dear reader.

Where was I? Oh yeah, Intense Pickle Doritos. I think pickle flavoured chips are one of those black-and-white, love 'em or hate 'em kind of things. People who like pickle chips really like them, and people who don't really don't. Obviously, I'm in the pro-pickle chip crowd. Even so, I couldn't quite get my head around corn-tortilla-chip-pickle-flavour fusion, let alone an intense version of said synthesis.

Sorry I'm so damn wordy. This was supposed to be a review, not a never-ending run-on continuous stream of ceaseless meandering without final destination of a textual journey that fails to come to any conclusion within a reasonable time frame! So here it is:

Intense Pickle Doritos are frikkin' awesome. Also, not too intense.

That is all.

R A N T W I C K

PS - In case you're new here or whatever, please know that I have no relationship, financial or otherwise, with the makers of these pickle chips, and as such have not and could not receive any kind of consideration monetary or otherwise for my frikkin' awesome review.

My Personal Faves

I've added a new item under "Post Series and Emerging Themes" on my sidebar called "My Personal Faves". I've gone through the 605 posts on this blog and applied that label to 49 of them. That means while I am almost always OK with what I'm putting out, I am really really pleased with myself about 8% of the time. The distribution of Faves, however, is heavily weighted toward the first few years, which makes sense because I used to spend untold hours thinking about and writing for this blog. Although I of course would love for everybody to read them again or for the first time, this particular label is really more for myself.

Reading some of the old posts reminds me of when I've enjoyed writing and goofing around here the most, which fires me up to do more and better stuff than I have of late. I wanna get back to the sort of writing I used to do all the time. I may or may not succeed in this regard, but I want to try.

I love writing for this blog and the conversations that ensue afterward. I find it amazing that there are still a few of you hanging around after all this time and after lengthy absences.

Thank you so much.

Yer Pal,

R A N T W I C K

Well Go and Figure: I Like Strava!

I really like reading bikesnobnyc, and bikesnobnyc really likes poking fun at roadies who obsess over all the latest tech and bikes and training stuff. One way in which some people do this is something called Strava. Snob pokes fun at it too, which made me somewhat reluctant to try it, I must admit. Sad as some (including the bikesnob) may find it, I hold the bike snob in pretty high regard. 

Strava allows cyclists and runners and swimmers (tri-geeks or mono-geeks) to track their workouts' paths, speeds and distances via gps and also uses any extra info the person's electronics may offer, like heart rate and power meter readings. Caring about that stuff or buying all the latest tech is not really my deal, but way back when I had a basic cycling computer that measured distance and speed, I really liked it. Too much. That little device on my handlebars became quite a distraction and I started to spend too much time watching it and trying to beat previous top speeds, best times and so on. I was getting all OCD about the little screen readings and missing out on the best parts of cycling: fresh air, sunshine, trees, people... you know, the outdoor world in all its fine variety; the whir of the drivetrain, the thrill of speeding along with the wind rushing in your ears.

I wasn't cool with that situation and ditched the computer and have been pleased with that decision ever since. I missed having a tally of my miles because it helps me stay on top of maintenance tasks like chain replacements, knowing how many miles a set of tires had lasted, etc. Other than that, it was good riddance to the computer, especially since I had mastered manual cadence computation.

I forget what made me curious about Strava. In any case, I decided to try it.

I don't spend money on high-end cycling stuff, tech included. However, I do own a smartphone and there's a free Strava app to track my rides with. Knowing the pitfalls of handlebar mounted tech, I just start the app, stick the phone in my fanny pack and enjoy my ride. When I'm finished, I just stop recording and upload the activity and I'm done. Activity tracked, ride enjoyed unimpeded by OCD statistics watching. It's the best of both worlds!

Strava is also a platform for people to compete, trying to go fastest on "segments" identified by riders. Common cycling routes usually have lots of segments on them that have been defined by Strava users. Climbs are very popular segments. The person with the fastest time is referred to as "King of the Mountain" and their achievement is thus called a KOM.

My dog Snow Face is about as close as I'll ever get to a KOM, since we're talking about some of the most fit riders in town riding racing bikes vs. a middle aged overweight man on a heavy commuter bike. That said, Strava allows me to compete with myself, letting me know when I've put in a good effort or a personal best (PB) on a segment. After a brief spate of segment-chasing and over-exertion (a common problem among Strava users because it is kind of addictive) I have chilled out. It's nice to see segment info from a ride, but I no longer seek it actively. On routes I ride often, I know where the segments are and attack them hard some days and ignore them completely on others.

It should be noted that Strava has been criticized for inducing some unsafe riding by idiots chasing KOMs... I believe it. If you're gonna try it, please don't be one of those. Being a cycling nerd is completely forgivable, but putting others at risk so you can play speed racer is not. 

I am finding Strava fun and encouraging and best of all my cycling stats OCD is relegated to times that I'm OFF the bike rather than ruining my time ON it. I think the lesson here is that you don't have to be Kaptain KOM to enjoy using Strava, nor do you have to geek out watching tech strapped to your handlebars. Go and figure, I like Strava! Being a devoted follower of BSNYC, I would ask you to keep this under your hat, OK?

Yer Pal,

R A N T W I C K

Another Damn "Not Dead" Post

Hey, it looks like my posts are just gonna be more infrequent. From here on out, even if there's a lengthy pause in activity here on the blog, please assume that nothing bad has happened. Indeed, you can safely assume that much good has happened, since I'm still riding my bike lots and I'm still blessed with a family who still loves me. Still.

I've got a couple of pictures that aren't very interesting, but what the hell.

Here's the CUBE bike I got a while ago in its normal daily configuration:

Which is to say, here's a picture a dirty bike with panniers and a mirror! I ended up removing the chain guard because as nice as it looked, it was, um, guarding my chain. I like being able to see and get at my chain easily. That guard kept me from fully appreciating how the winter chain was dissolving into a rusty paste of metal and grease. Yesterday I addressed that issue, which it why the drivetrain is the only clean part in the picture:

I could look at that pristine bike chain all day, and I don't have to tell you how nice and smooth and quiet a brand new chain can be. If only there was some way to protect it, like some kind of guard...

Yer Pal,

R A N T W I C K

Bike. Yup. Also, Am I a Bad Parent?

Yay! I've been riding again since Monday. As expected, it has left me wondering why I stopped. Endorphin based joyjoys and cycling zen thought clearing activity have me feeling better than I have in some time.

Or is it texting my teenage daughter and being a little mean for fun? Could be that too, because I enjoyed this immensely:

A good parent sets a good example. I paid up.

Yer Pal,

R A N T W I C K

Helmet Cam And Other Weenies

As you may be aware, I am a pretty big fan of cycling POV cam videos. Today, however, I am just fed up with the ever-increasing number of helmet cam cyclists who post about every little infraction. I'm unsubscribing from this guy for sure: obscured license on parked truck? Really? Maybe the truck pissed him off previously or something, I don't know. There just seems to be an upswing in cam cyclists who need to get a life and get off the Airzound.

For myself, I just need to get back on the bike... soon after my most recent snowy video I suffered a muscle pull that I decided required a couple days off the bike. That couple of days has turned into a couple of months! I don't really know what is wrong with me... I love to ride, even in winter. Is it possible I just don't anymore? I don't think so. I'm just being a weenie, giving in to my lazy bone, both here on the blog and in my bike commuting. Both things are a source of joy for me, yet here I am, bummed out and driving or taking the bus to work.

Maybe I need to start meditating or have my ears candled or get a tattoo or get to bed earlier or stop watching so much crappy TV. "Storage Wars"? "Border Security"? What the hell is wrong with me? All opinions welcome, since my usual source of personal insight through skull irregularities, Mordecai McBumpanoggin, is no longer returning my calls. Perhaps he has returned to Vienna; it's anybody's guess with that guy.

Anyway, thanks for reading and wish me luck as I try to get back on track!

Yer Pal,

R A N T W I C K

Hey! Hey! Over here!

Hello! I've been distracted, lazy, busy, confused and generally unable or unwilling to write anything here for a while. Has everyone been well? I haven't been doing much blog reading either.

I deleted my Facebook account! Couldn't be happier, really. I mean I have this blog thing and Twitter if people want to check in on how I'm doing. There's something about facebook that is just tiresome (at least for me) compared to these other platforms. Perhaps it is the constant reminders of the ways in which I'm letting others down by forgetting birthdays, etc, because I don't go on it enough. Anyway, I'm gone from facebook and it feels good.

I hadn't been using Twitter much at all and thought I would give it a try. I'm kind of digging it. There is such a crazy stream of stuff (if you follow many people) that trying to keep up with everything isn't even an option. Going on twitter feels more like popping into a bar and chatting with or eavesdropping on some people you sort of know.

I've done a couple of things on Twitter that simply must be stored forever here on the blog. They are way too awesome to just get lost in the fast-flowing river of tweetiness.

First, there was a hashtag thing called #ReplaceALetterRuinATvShow that triggered my WTF Syndrome (see sidebar) pretty bad:

And today after work I did an animated gif thing that was kind of cool, I thought. It has since morphed into a video:





That pretty well sums up where I've been lately!Yer Pal,

R A N T W I C K

Things People Say Fridays #15: Yeah, Buddy!

Wednesday of this week was a pretty snowy day in London Ontario, pushing the limits of my relatively skinny tires in the morning and exceeding them sometimes on the way home. I tweeted something after my ride/walk home on Wednesday evening:

At the time I had just arrived home having seen many smirks and even overhearing some mildly derisive comments, so you can understand. However, now that a little time has passed I have remembered someone who was much more positive about my winter cycling efforts:

I am a firm believer that somewhat wild looking dudes with snow and ice in their beards are more likely to speak deep truths than the rest of us. I mean, if you're not going to listen to this guy, who are you going to listen to?

Not actual "yeah, buddy" guy. I was unable to get a usable image from the video. I thought this might do instead. pic source

Thanks, bearded cycling brother. You get it, and that's enough for me.

Yer Pal,

R A N T W I C K

Weather Widget / Gadget / Doodad Thing

Most reasonably small and simple weather things you can post on your web page don't have wind direction or speed on them, and that has always bugged me. You don't have to cycle very much before you start to really notice and want to know what the wind is doing.

That is why I'm pleased to now offer such a widget / gadget / doodad on my sidebar. I'm extra pleased that it is an Environment Canada doodad, free of strings or sneaky links to ads or anything like that.

If you don't live in London, but live in Canada, here's a link to the page that will generate your city-specific code:

https://weather.gc.ca/business/index_e.html#weatherlink

I have re-sized mine a little to fit my page better... if you live in London, ON and want one just like mine (and really, who wouldn't) just copy n' paste the code below:

<!-- Begin WeatherLink Fragment -->
<iframe title="Environment Canada Weather" width="260px" height="230px" src="//weather.gc.ca/wxlink/wxlink.html?cityCode=on-137&amp;lang=e" allowtransparency="true" frameborder="0"></iframe>
<!-- End WeatherLink Fragment -->

If you don't live in Canada, well, sorry. This is just one of the many things about my country that is better than yours. Don't get me wrong, I love and admire and even envy the < insert desirable quality here > of < your country name >. < Your country name > ain't Canada though. Not by a long shot. Canada so totally rocks it is almost embarrassing. Almost.

Yer Pal,

R A N T W I C K