Merry Christmas and Season's Greetings

From all of us to all of you, the very best in the New Year!

We Remember

Effective Use of TIme

I got some wine for Thanksgiving supper Sunday, pork chops for supper tonight, needles for my sewing machines and goat's milk yogurt at the only place in town that sells it. All in 45 minutes. I'd of been hard pressed to do that with a car since there was no parking at the last three places.

Yes, I'm smug.

Going to a New Home

We no loner use the cargo bike and the bike trailer so The Geek put them on the curb with a big "free" sign.

About an hour late, we heard a knock at the door and a find fellow asking about their providence.

After some chatting, the trailer was swiftly attached to the gentleman's bicycle and he was on his way. And since he lives less than 0.5 kilometer away, he was going to walk back for the cargo bike. He thinks they will be very handy for one of his friends to use at the Folk Fest.

 

And in the the quirky manner of Winnipeg relationships (where seven degrees of separation is unheard of -you are lucky if there are two), I was not surprised to discover this fellow's sister went to university with my sister.

Following Blogs

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Surprising Bike Store

Maple Creek Saskatchewan. Cow Town.

And home to a cute little bike shop whose owner, formerly from the west coast, is, not surprisingly, crazy about cycling. He has a good selection of quality bicycles, and a second store in Swift Current. 

It is good to see prairie town adopting the wire donkey.

Park and Ride

Bike lockers outside the new Osborne Station. 

Maybe one day you'll be able to take them with you on the bus. 

Reduced Capacity

Hopefully no bikes were attached to this rack when it was almost pulverized. 

Moulded Seat Covers

**Note: I've been trying to get blogger to let me rearrange the photos in order for months and it just won't let me. Grrrrrr. So I am just going to number them so I can finally publish this post.

The only real drawback to leather bicycle seats is their intolerance to prelonged exposure to water. I've been using the ultra-classy plastic bag cover, and the Geek frequently forgets to cover hers at all.

In October we decided to change that by going to AssentWorks and using the VacuuFormer (I think that it was called) to make moulded seat covers. The Geek has a membership at AW and has made all sorts of clever things, but this was the first time I've spent any length of time there.

The covers are made of styrene which heats and moulds well.

1. Measure

2.

3. Frame.

4. place seat in vacuu-former

7. removed from frame.

6. Seat after plastic has been heated

8. Styrene roughly trimmed.

10. marking the trimming line.

12. sanding the rough edges.

9. using the heatgun for a tighter fit.

11. trimming off the excess.

14. finished covers

13. the fit.

more fit

Frame with Styrene

Frame

Frame with styrene.

5. Seat inside the vacuuformer

Simple Things

Bicycles as Advertising Props

I'm sure you've seen them, advertisments with models, usually female, astride or leaning against bicycles. In the ones I've seen (and I don't watch TV or read magazines), the advertisers are promoting clothes, and sewing patterns.

Yesterday, while at the Children's Hospital Booksale, I saw this one in an adjacent shoe store.

I wonder if all this bicycle porn increase ridership, sell more bicycles, or do people simply not see them because the bikes they are simply very pretty props?

Pretty Bicycles

 I sropped off my bike at the shop yesterday for a recall; the front fork has some kind of flaw. I found out about it in November, but ...
 Anywhoo, pretty bicycles...

 ...and lovely bicycles.

I was planning on gettting Eselin back on the road now that things seem to be drying up and the salt isn't flying around, but the forecast is for more snow tomorrow. (~Sigh~)

For The Crafty Cyclist

A crocheted seat cover!




Get the pattern here.

One Million Kilometers

photo Winnipeg Free Press

 Lindsay Gault is a Winnipeg Cycling icon. Before he owned Olympia Cycle and Ski he was a highly competitive athlete. After he sold Olympia and became a bike courier, he remained a highly competitive athlete. He almost killed himself in one race but he is still planning to do the same race again.

I used to take my bike to Olympia for repairs before I aquired the tools to do fix it myself, or started hanging out with the Geek, who loves to fix things. Lindsay is a lovely man with a great deal of unobtrusive advice.

He is completing is one millionth kilometer in the Arrowhead 135 bike race. A celebration will  occur on February 2 (when he returns home?) at 1130 at the Forks in Winnipeg. If I am in town, I plan to be part of the throng, but on foot; Eselin will be staying home-she doesn't go out in the salt, and my winter bike has a front-fork recall that has not been repaired.

And for anyone who is planning to visit Winnipeg, Lindsay and his wife Lynne run a Bed-and-Breakfast, Galbriath House, in a beautiful, central part of town. I am sure you will have the skinny on all things Winnipeg should you stay there.

Wow!

I'm Preaching to the Choir

This article is from the Montreal Gazette.

Want to get rid of that spare tire? Ditch the car.

January 27, 2013. 11:06 am • Section: Move It and Lose It

Commuting by car adds unwanted weight, even if you’re no stranger to the gym, says a study published in this month’s issue of the American Journal of Preventative Medicine.
The study out of Adelaide, Australia, categorized 822 commuters as either non-car commuters, occasional car commuters or daily car commuters. Their weight as well as physical activity was monitored over four years.
All three sets of commuters gained weight over the course of the four year study (1.26-2.8 kg). Not surprisingly, the non-car commuting group gained 1.5 kg less than the daily car commuters. What was surprising is that car commuters who exercised regularly weren’t able to totally attenuate the weight gain associated with sitting in the car everyday. Active non-car commuters however managed to keep the weight off.
The results of this study mirrors other research findings suggesting that moderate levels of exercise aren’t enough to ward off the negative health effects of too much sedentary time.
“In order to achieve the level of physical activity needed to prevent weight gain, it may be more realistic to accumulate physical activity in other domains such as transport, rather than focusing on the single domain of recreation,” said the study authors.

A Marvelous Sign

A great sign to remind people they have a choice. A good sign that times are changing.