I'm A Twit Once Again

For any of you Twittererers out there, I'm back on it after leaving about a year ago. Stupid social media stuff makes you think you need it again sooner or later.

Although I feel a bit of a chump for going back, the only thing worse is having 2 followers, neither of whom I know, which is my current situation. If you're so inclined, please hit twitter and follow me.

My name is no longer rantwick (on twitter) it is Patrick Cormier, but my twitter handle or whatever you call it is @rantwick.

Yours in Abject Servitude to the Online Powers That Be,

R A N T W I C K

100 Good Mornings

I've been kind of stuck on the topic of the individual human element of cycling as opposed to the planning or traffic or advocacy angles for some time now, as evidenced by most of my more recent posts, as sparse as they have been.

I have not become unstuck, it would seem. There are few human interactions as commonplace and universal as saying good morning. I've been collecting bicycle good mornings for a long time... I think I started a couple of years ago. For me, THIS is a big part of what is so great about riding a bike:

It took me many hours to trim and string all those clips together and do the counter and all that stuff. I suppose I could have made things much easier for myself by doing a nice bunch of the best ones instead of 100, but once that notion was in my head anything else just seemed like an unacceptable compromise. I hope you enjoyed it... I still enjoy watching it even after working with it for so long, so if you didn't, that's OK too. Birdsong and repeated pleasantness isn't for everyone. Have a great week and I'll try to write something caustic or at least snarky in the next little while.

Yer Pal,

R A N T W I C K

News Flash: Stuff Is Gonna Happen

I had an interesting morning on my way to work. A kind of "perfect storm" of road sharing (or lack thereof) in which a truck with a trailer gave me a wide berth (thank you, btw), pushing an oncoming white pickup close to a runner going the same direction as me facing traffic on the other side of the road, as runners commonly do. Thing is, it resulted in the runner and the motorist coming to blows. I have video. Here's the "perfect storm" part:

After that is when things went all sideways. The runner told me he may have made a gesture at the pickup's driver when he came so close. Just after that the driver of the white pickup did a u-turn, drove up to the runner and the driver got out. Yelling and a pretty serious scuffle ensued. I dismounted my bike and approached, but not too close. The white pickup left soon after. I spoke to the runner who gave me his version of what happened. I offered my video. He didn't want it. 30 seconds after we parted ways, the runner was yelling after me asking if I could get a plate number off my video. The truck had swung around again and the driver had thrown hot water or tea or something on him! Crazy. Just crazy.

Now for the surprising (at least to me) part: I am not going to post the video of any of that. I am making it available to the runner in case he wants to press charges, but I am not going to post it anywhere online. When I first got it, I was mentally rubbing my hands at the thought of tons of views (and maybe a little ad revenue) on youtube. Now though, I have decided that would just feel sort of wrong.

As much as they are fun to watch, nobody learns anything from videos of negativity and violence on the roads; they entertain by appealing to the worst in us and just leave the viewer more convinced than ever that everybody else out there is a dangerous idiot. Hate 'em all, whoever they are!

Here's what I wish people would learn instead: so long as there are roads and people using them, Stuff Is Gonna Happen. I sometimes make mistakes when I drive my car and when I ride my bike. So do you. Sometimes complex scenarios result in people making poor decisions. It isn't malice or carelessness; it's just a mistake. I heard somewhere that people learn from those. In addition, there are careless unsafe idiots using every possible mode of transportation. Contrary to how it feels sometimes, these are a small minority; if they weren't it would be non-stop carnage and bedlam out there. Last but not least, there are road users who want to strongly assert their rights, real or perceived, 100% of the time.

For those who assert their legal rights at all times, go for it. You (ahem) have every right. I would remind you that a little well-timed and considered courtesy that is not required by law can really help others out sometimes and make you an awesome person in the process. For those who are always asserting perceived rights, you wouldn't know they weren't real, would you? Ask yourself if you often find yourself in conflict with other road users. If so, you may want to look into what your rights and obligations really are under the law.

My point, however, is that no amount of legal correctness or common courtesy can protect any of us in all scenarios. Stuff Is Gonna Happen. My hope is that by remembering this fact I (and others) will maintain enough road zen to be peaceful and civil, even when we feel we've been wronged. Stuff Is Gonna Happen. It's OK, we're all only human. Let's be kind. Stuff Is Gonna Happen. Ohmmm.

Yer Pal,

R A N T W I C K

PS - For the curious, I was unable to pull a plate number from my video. Even in HD, plates can be hard to get good video of unless they're right in front of you. The runner has my number if he wants the video anyway.

Why I Wear A Helmet Cam On My Bike

Wearing a cam or taking video while riding your bicycle is becoming increasingly popular. I subscribe to all kinds of bike cam types on youtube. Most of these are from the UK, where it looks to me like the crowded streets of London and the narrow 2 lane roads of the suburbs and countryside provide for all kinds of interesting traffic video. I greatly enjoy watching the footage and it may actually do some good. One of the best in my opinion is CycleGaz:

Gaz also has a youtube channel called Silly Cyclists which in my opinion kind of balances things out a bit and marks him as somebody who isn't mindlessly biased.

As many of you know, I occasionally use the cam for the same kind of thing. The natural assumption most people make is that my cam is about "catching" people in cars behaving badly. This is not so. I know this post is kind of a repeat of a recent one I titled The Human Element a little while ago, but it is truer today than ever.

I know now why I have spent years riding around looking like a weirdo geek cam head. It was so I could capture this moment:

Oh yeah, that's what I've been after. Really!

Yer Pal,

R A N T W I C K

If Snakes Got Tattoos

I have suffered a WTF (Word To Form) Syndrome double-whammy! If you don't know what I'm talking about, click here. 

Anyway, long time reader of Rantwick and awesome thoughtful blogger Cafiend, aka Citizen Rider, wrote something that struck my WTF bone pretty hard. Go here for full context, but in short he has suffered some sort of bite or sting that is requiring loads of antibiotics and stuff. In reference to said bite, likely that of a spider or insect, he wrote, "This would be a lot easier to take from a nice macho rattlesnake". Of course I knew exactly how he meant it. But WTF caused me to wonder what a "macho rattlesnake" would look like. Damn.

WTF syndrome is not to be trifled with, so I got to work right away when I got home from work. So: What does a macho rattlesnake look like?

Tom Selleck's Moustache (literally), Steak House kinda guy, tattoo. Done.

When I was working on the stupidness above, I drifted into a second wave of stupid: If snakes got tattoos, what would they get? I figured a deadly human preparing to strike, y'know? So, if you're a snake, what does that look like?

Angry dude with a shovel. I was channeling a snake spirit I think. I ended up spending more time on macho snake's tattoo than macho snake himself. And so, another episode of WTF has occurred and been dealt with. I won't bother with the usual apologies and stuff; it changes nothing. Let us all just move on. 

Yer Pal,

R A N T W I C K

I AM. Sorry

In 2006, there was a very popular ad campaign by Molson breweries with the tag line "I AM. CANADIAN"

As a result, the title of this post will mean a little more to Canadians than others. There's another stereotype about Canadians, the one saying that we are extremely polite, to the point of being ready to apologize at the drop of a hat. Being characterized as an extraordinarily civil and conciliatory people sits fine with me, and in this sense it would seem that I am a true Canadian:

I hope you enjoyed my video. If not, please accept my deepest apologies. I will endeavour to do better next time!

Was that too much? Sorry, eh.

R A N T W I C K

2 Fender Benders

It is a testament to how little I have been on the blog that you are about to see video from last winter. Better late than never, I guess!

I have no observations to make on this. People hate reading stuff anyway, so we should be all good.

Yer Pal,

R A N T W I C K

Encounters with Rantwick, episode Twenty Three: Bugs!

In this episode, I literally encounter bugs:

What the youtubers watching that video without visiting this fine site will never know is that I have a secret. I am almost afraid to share it with you, but I am going to do so in the hope that I might reach and help others with my affliction.

I HAVE HAIRY ARMS. It's true. The thing is, hairy arms are quite good at catching small bugs. MY HAIRY ARMS CATCH SMALL BUGS. THEN I BRUSH THEM OFF.

There, I said it. Whew, I can't believe I was so stressed about it. I mean, I'm FREE now, man! No longer will I hide in the shadows concealing my bug ridden hairy arms! I will walk in the sun brushing flies out of my arm hair for all to see! Do you get it, brother? IT HAS HAPPENED and I can finally LIVE for real. For real, do you get me! BWAAAHHAHAHA! Phoosh! I feel so much better. Wow.

Yours in Freakish Catharsis,

R A N T W I C K

The Human Element

I thoroughly enjoy watching the youtube videos of other cyclists with helmet cams. Like, really enjoy it. Recently my available time to get all bikey online has dropped dramatically, but what I still find time for are those videos. Most often they come from commuting cyclists in Britain, and most are about how they've been maligned by one motorist or another. I can't get enough of that stuff!

I have a collection of idiot driver moves saved that one day I'll string together, but it would seem I'm a little lacking in the indignation department (or is it the public shaming department?) and as many of my readers know would rather publish stupid videos about animals and people and my interactions with them instead.

Some of my youtube subscribers have suggested that I post more videos just about my commute and road conditions and traffic/planning considerations and all that stuff. I do that sometimes, but in my opinion that stuff is boring as shit. Just because some people eat, breathe and sleep cycling issues doesn't mean I have to as well. I mean, c'mon, why should I add to the ever-growing mountain of that stuff when I have this:

Now that's interesting, I think. If I had been in my car, I would have locked my doors, raised my windows, and turned up the radio. Instead, I talked to that dude and got a good laugh, thanking my lucky stars I didn't get spit upon too. THAT is living! In addition, the unique opportunity provided by my bike to talk to that lady was cool. The human element is what gets me going. If I'm going to advocate for cycling, I will do so on this basis: It feels awesome, plus you get to engage with your world (like, people) instead of listening to annoying radio commercials in your car. Sweet, right? Right. If you disagree, watch it, brother, Watch It!

Yer Pal,

R A N T W I C K

A Bump in the Road

I have been trying to lose some weight, having gained quite a lot over the last 10 years or so. I'm not really into specific diets, but I have been eating more healthy food and carefully logging what I eat along with my exercise on myfitnesspal.com, looking to run at a caloric deficit most days.

 

I have been successful in losing a few pounds over the last few weeks. My progress is slow, but that is OK since I'm trying to learn new habits that will serve me over time rather than achieve some quick weight loss that won't last.

 

Lots of people have tried myfitnesspal at one time or another, so I'm guessing this food diary screen may be familiar to few of you:

 

 

 

 

 

The Rantwick clan has a serious problem. The other three members in it don't really care for apple pie. They are insane. Anyway, there were apple pies ON SALE just when I had a yen for some yesterday.

 

That's what was censored from the list above:

 

 

 

Hey, at least I didn't consume the whole pie. Only 75% of it. Nobody else wanted any, damn them! Plus I diligently logged it. Then I confessed here. Perhaps it is not the other members of the Rantwick clan who are insane. Perhaps.

 

Yer Pal,

R A N T W I C K

Just One Day Ago - Snow!

I had been debating with myself whether or not to put away the bike with studded tires and start riding Summer (the awesome (as in best in the world) fixed gear) again, until two days ago when it cooled back off and we got a few inches of snow. It was great though! The paths had melted clear before it came and so were totally ride-able after, making for some of the most pleasant cycling I've done in a long time.

I felt sorry for the robins. I swear those little harbingers of Spring don't like standing in the snow, because there were abnormal numbers of them hanging out on the bare patches of the path. They seemed to be asking me for some explanation...

Sorry, gotta zoom in. Robins don't speak human very loudly, because they're, like, small and, like, birds:

I don't know why the little jerks were blaming me. All I could say was, "I know, right? Snow? This suuucks!" I was being insincere with the robins, however, because in actuality I was enjoying the snowscape a great deal.

The snow liked me a lot too, sticking to whatever it could. The bike ran surprisingly well considering all the crud that was frozen to it:

That snow is mostly gone now. Hope you're happy, robins*.

Yer Pal,

R A N T W I C K

* italics in this case are meant to denote a sarcastic, sneering tone. Is that how you took it?

Curses!

I have a video I would like to share, but be warned that I take JC's name in vain and drop an F bomb in it. At the time I'm cursing at a flatbed driver that startled me by driving very dangerously. When watching the video, however, I curse myself for my bad lane position instead. Riding where I was riding doesn't make dangerous passes OK, but it does leave the door open for them to happen in the first place.

 

 

 

 

 

My guess is that this guy was hauling ass (there I go, cursing again!) at the end of the work day and had no hope of slowing down to anywhere near a safe speed, which meant he had to thread the needle between that oncoming car and me.

 

I was riding into the wind and was moving pretty slowly and I'm always tempted to get right rather than slow the cars down. I KNOW I shouldn't give in to this feeling: here's a quote from something I wrote about controlling the lane just last September:

 

"The point I'm trying to make is that ticking people off for a short time is often better than keeping them happy, despite the basic and strong human desire to be liked. It took a shift in thinking that was a little difficult, but now that I've experienced the reduction in risk (and therefore fear and stress) it creates, I'll never go back".

 

Turns out I'm full of shit. Curses!

 

 

Yer Pal,

R A N T W I C K

Smorgasborg

borg image source -- background image source -- plate of food image source

Yep. Somebody in my house, I forget who, accidentally said "smorgasborg" the other day. Might have been me. Anyway, Word To Form (WTF) syndrome kicked in hard. And here we are.

Are you disappointed that there is nothing about cycling in this post? I would hate for that to happen... I don't want to be a poor host, given that you've come all this way...

image source - a review of tire pictured above - that be cycling content right there, uh huh!



Yer Pal,

R A N T W I C K

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!

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