A Few Small Degrees

Eselin came equipped with a Sella Royale saddle. I'm not sure if it was supposed to make her look more comfortable or more friendly but I found that saddle put my legs to sleep if I rode for more than 40 minutes. Wretched thing.
Last fall, when we were in Toronto, I bought a Brooks saddle. I have never been one to follow trends, but I am glad I made an exception here. Well, that and the Harry Potter books.
A number of people have written posts on how comfortable leather saddles are, so I will not continue on that theme, but it is true that it is a much more comfortable ride.
The Geek installed the new saddle last fall, but I used that bike only a couple of times after that, so it needed a bit of adjustment this spring. Since the Brooks isn't as 'puffy' as the Royale, the seat was raised about 3/4 of an inch and because I always felt as if I was always sliding off the nose, the Geek adjusted it by one 'tick'. I am now sitting even further behind the pedals and have noticed a huge increase in speed.
Who would have thought such small adjustments would make such a difference?

I'm Not Keen on Horizontal Hills

The wind was in my face the whole ride home and made it seem as tho' I was standing still when it was gusting at its strongest. Riding Rabbit today didn't help. Eselin has the authority of weight to stand up to the wind-at least 20 pounds more authority than Rabbit does. (Rabbit, for that same reason, is easier to lift in and out of the truck when the truck needs to go to the garage for repairs; but I digress.)
It's like those stories you heard as a kid, 'I walked 10 miles to school and it was up hill both ways."

I don't know what I looked like, but I felt like this....

(Thank you to The Camilleon for the great picture).

Active Transportation

The city of Winnipeg held an open house to discuss the Jubilee/Hay section of the Active Transportation initiative.
I found it peculiar that there would be no bicycle parking at a session for Active Transportation, but found the racks inside, of all places. I guess they take secure parking seriously. What a refreshing change!

Despite my pictures showing almost empty rooms, there was a very good turn out.

Perhaps everyone, at this moment, is over looking at the Rapid Transit displays rather than those for bicycle routes.

The committee is always receptive to comments and suggestions from the neighbouring communities.
The Jubilee/Hay section is of particular interest to me as it is part of my work commute. I hope the Jubilee Underpass choke-point problem can be solved; it is due to be studied next year. Until then, I will continue to ride that stretch on the sidewalk.

Riding to the Lumber Yard

I admire anyone who would ride to Rona, in the seriously traffic congested area around Polo Park.And they are such cheerful, spring-like bikes that compliment the colour of the bike rack. Cute, cute, cute.

A Whole Lot Better Than Cancer Sticks

I was reading a post written by Anna in her blog. I have not yet succeeded in borrowing the picture from her site but it is an inner tube dispenser is made from an old cigarette machine. Isn't that cool?

The site is in German, but the Geek tells me there are 520 of these machines world wide with the highest concentration in Germany, Austria and Switzerland. I am so impressed! And inner tubes are a whole lot better than what used to come out of those machines!

Should She Stay or Should She Go?

I took the Tempest mixte out for a longer test ride today. She needed very little to make her ready to go; just some air in the tires. Everything else is in pretty good shape.

It is interesting to ride with gears as Eselin is just a one speed donkey. The Geek didn't have to spend so much time coasting as we cruised down the Crescent.

The mixte is fast (relatively speaking) but it is a bit too small; the seat could stand to be raised by another inch, but there is no more post for that. A new post can be obtained.
The hand grips, ridged as they are, are also very hard on the hands and will also have to be changed if I keep her.

If I give her away, I want to keep the seat, perhaps for Rabbit. Is that selfish?
Either way, she is going to need a bath.

Contradictions

A warmish day meant my trip home involved no boots, no coat, no mitts.....

.....but a winter helmet.
At least I am colour coordinated.