Cape Coral Mold :-(.

[creative1986]

tp://i84.photobucket.com/albums/k11/sabres845/P1050675.jpg

Notice how the word architecture is used to describe just about everything these days except what it actually is?

[creative1986]

tp://i84.photobucket.com/albums/k11/sabres845/P1050675.jpg

Couple months ago I learned that bees take over abandoned cicada holes and expand the interior for their whole hive. And they are very aggressive. I approached the hole and instantly 4 stung me behind each knee and on each elbow at the same time. whoa. I left them alone, for now. Then I came back after dark when they were sleeping, plus, bees can't see in the dark. I jammed a tree branch in the hole and snapped it off. Let em starve.

There are trees on our land that have been killed by those parasitic vines. When I see them I cut them off and remove a piece so they can't rejoin but others appear pretty quick. Some get 2"-3" in diameter - Tarzan vines.....

[creative1986]

s:

When my brother and I were 9&10 our dad bought us brand new 26"

*english* racing bikes with 3 gears, you know, you twisted the grip to change gears, and they had real skinny tires, generator and lights, tire pump, chrome fenders, etc.. Up to that point we had 2nd hand 20 inchers all beat to hell. We was cool for about 2 years and then the Schwinn *Krate* bikes came out and everything else was instantly obsolete. Dad wouldn't buy us anymore bikes let alone the expensive Krates so we located the parts and made our own Stingrays. High handle bars, banana seats, sissy bars, 5 speeds, redline slicks, etc. and the english racers were never seen again. A friends older sister got her license and gave me her wore out 24" girls frame. I turned it upside down, with the peddles on the top of the frame, and used electrical conduit to make seat and handle bar extensions and rode around 6' in the air. Could do wheelies all day long on that thing. Had to push it to get it going then climb all the way up it to get on the seat before it fell over. I haven't been on anything with 2 wheels in over 20 years. Crying shame. In my teens there were always a dozen or so bikes, scooters (Cushman Eagle), minibikes, gokarts (McCulloch) and motorcycles all over the yard, driveway and garage - now, nothing. sniff

[Warm Worm]

Nice story... My first one I had was also free and offered as a sample in 2004 in Windsor, Ontario at a newly-opened KK store. It was plain that they had just fried off this windowed assembly-line. It's the place and time I had my bike stolen and took up rollerblading too.

Great if you travel and looks nice too.

Not bad. I stripped the paint completely off the frame of one of my previous aluminum mountain bikes and spruced it up a bit-- the one that got stolen in Windsor. I think it looked a little too attractive to the kids in the area.

I seem to recall the Klein frame paint-jobs being some of the best in the industry, along with the bikes/frames, but they were generally out of my budget-cap for a bike.

Very nice. What kind of course and/or programme did you take that had you do that (IAP?)?

Why is this paragraph in quotes and who is 'Sheldon' and 'I'? That a clip from the Klein case?

How was the trip? I actually spoke with someone just recently-- an adventurous young woman-- who mentioned wishing for a trail system to cross the US by bike.

(16 years old :)

...For when the world economy continues its further slide, runs out of cheap oil/other resources ('peak oil', etc.), mining slows down, things descends into chaos and civil war, and/or who knows whatever else.

And then there's...

"Bamboo Benefits: Our most crash tolerant frame..."

And one I was eyeing some years ago for the winter (Yes, Ken, you can actually bike in Ottawa all year 'round and in the rain :)

[RicodJour]

Thanks. It's a fun ride to boot.

Mine, too. I'm kind of glad that I didn't buy one back when. I ended up rolling my own and learned a lot more about bikes that way.

January was a winter break month, so some people scattered to the four corners, traveled, stayed home after the holidays, but the school offered literally hundreds of non-credit or low-credit Independent Activity Period courses. Everything from bong making (I kid you not) to making an aluminum bicycle frame.

Yep. That link above - FellOnFell - was written by Sheldon Brown's wife, Harriet Fell. Sheldon Brown was a larger than life "bike nut" character who was in many ways one of the grandfathers of modern cycling, and he wasn't even old. He passed away a few years back and there's been a noticeable hole in the void since then. Google him. The worst you'll find anyone says about him is that he was a good- natured smart and funny guy - and those are the mean-spirited people saying that!

Excellent. Lots of good memories, and the bad ones make good stories. ;) I'm toying with the idea of doing another extended tour in the not too distant future.

Calfee is one of the premier carbon fiber bike outfits. That's their response to carbon fiber's less than stellar crash survival rate. If a carbon fiber bike is in a crash it's usually wise to replace it, though Calfee is about the only outfit that will repair frames that are not their own. In a crash an aluminum frame is more forgiving, and steel even more so.

You can do anything year round if you dress for it (guess that leaves Ken out!) and have the right equipment. Human monkeys are very adaptable.

R

[Warm Worm]

s:

Cool. I like biking in part because it's not only good exercise and better for the environment than, say, a car, but, like a car, it's also a form of transportation. There are all kinds of aftermarket fenders that you can add, some which can be relatively quickly snapped on and off depending on the weather. I have yet to get some, but might be returning to Halifax, so I might stop in to the shop along the way and get some.

[Warm Worm]

Wormitecture composting systems.

[Warm Worm]

If you ride at a slower speed, there's insufficient friction and/or surface-tension to bring the water up onto your back or mud in your face. In the winter, depending on where you are, that's often less of a problem in part because things are frozen. Some time ago, when I was riding often in the bitter cold in Ottawa, I thought of a quick adaptation that I was thinking of calling, 'Cozybike': It consisted of a length of copper tubing, the downtube's water-bottle bolts, a see-through umbrella and a "cape" of plastic with button-snaps along one edge. It's been awhile since my last bike, but I've usually ridden all- weather and all-seasons, and have done so in cities and towns across the country. I might not be as "harder-core" as Rico's approach seems, but it might not be too far off. About a week and a half ago, I visited a beach and saw some sandpipers or piping plovers.

[Warm Worm]

What ideas for routes/places might you have?

When I was biking in the winter in Ottawa, I dressed warm enough that it felt like I was indoors. I'd even work up quite a sweat at minus

30degC.. and was often questioned by pedestrians, too-- sometimes apparently shivering waiting for the bus-- that, 'I/It must be cold.'. Now that I recall, to my bemusement, I used to sometimes catch this guy in the area on his bike in the dead of winter wearing only shorts and a t-shirt. I imagine his trips were short and/or very energetic... Actually, just after writing that sentence, I decided to see if, on the off chance, there might be an image of him, and lo and behold, there is! :D

"Introduction: Overweight, balding, don't own a car, and I'm available ladies!"

He's kinda cute. Some women may be missing a good bargain... but then we're talking 'Ottawa' women... Pop him in Montreal, Toronto or maybe Vancouver and I'd wager he'd be snapped up in no time.

[creative1986]

There's no feeling in the world like the one you get about 1-2 seconds before totally losing control of the handlebars on a fast downhill run. You know, when the bars start wobbling back and forth real fast, and you know peril is already all over your ass. At that point is where I prepare to land....and hopefully roll and spread the damage out over a larger area. I cringed while typing that......LOL

[Warm Worm]

As I may have wrote, mine was $600, plus tax etc.. There're some questions for me regarding both extremes-- your $90 and something maybe over $900. I've seen ~$9000-and-up mountain bikes.

I also got back from Halifax with one of these after your words about fenders:

rack and fender in one, matches the bike, plus I can take it off.

The bike still relies on layers of technology infrastructure, such as in depending on replacement-parts from abroad. An all-local-wood bike, less so. Just the tools, which also rely on mining/smelting. ;)

top of the hill and roll down. Then they drive back up to the top,

ain and repeat.

Did I read/you write that right? Are you suggesting the car is used as a kind of ski-lift?

I like the idea of someone dropping me off with a kayak, camping gear and some food at the start of a long river in the summer and getting picked up after a few days/weeks at the mouth. That too would take some infrastructure that we can often take for granted.

[Warm Worm]

I once ended up against a tree and sort of upside down with the wind knocked out with another mountain bike in a similar predicament in Stanley Park. A bit of an embarrassment so close to the North Shore (known for some hard core trails). :) I've had some far nastier accidents on my bikes than rollerblades.

[Warm Worm]

the top of the hill and roll down. Then they drive back up to the top,

p again and repeat.

Better than beans and weiners... Well... maybe it's a toss-up.

You'd have to pay me to buy and own one at this point, such as when oil is orbiting $100 per barrel..

=93 There is little man has made that approaches anything in nature, but a sailing ship does. There is not much man has made that calls to all the best in him, but a sailing ship does.=94 ~ Alan Villiers 'u'

[Warm Worm]

to the top of the hill and roll down. Then they drive back up to the top,

ck up again and repeat.

Both perhaps. I learned to sail on my own in a Sunfish as a kid on Lac Tremblant. At least enough to get back to land against the wind (tacking, etc.).

Popeye said that?

[creative1986]

up to the top of the hill and roll down. Then they drive back up to the top= ,

back up again and repeat.

I never go swimmin' wif bare legged wimminz'.......

[Warm Worm]

e up to the top of the hill and roll down. Then they drive back up to the t= op,

e back up again and repeat.

So much for skinny dipping, ay pops?