Tuesday, January 29, 2008

Helmet law in Vancouver

Here in Vancouver they are working on making the helmet law for bicycle mandatory for all ages.

On that note I present someone else's hard work.

Friday, January 25, 2008

Wooden BIke


This came across the wire today. Check it out. Click on the title above to go to the link.

I shall note that he wisely decided at one point to steer away from a Direct Drive system (fixed), and constructed a ratchet for the rear wheel.

I doubt the wood chain would hold up to the forces of stopping the direct drive. He states it was so he wouldn't have to pedal down hills.....So funny, why would you want to coast down a hill when you can go faster still?




Tuesday, January 22, 2008

Tougher in Alaska

It came across the messenger wire today that Kirk, a bike messenger from Alaska, is going to be on a TV show called "Tougher in Alaska". I have seen the ads for it, looks good.

Here is the nice, self humbling note from him about it:


Along with getting married I spent a good chunk of
last month dealing with an outfit called "Moore
Huntley Productions" they do stuff for the History
Channel. I'm not sure if I'll be on the show it's self
or just a web feature. The show is called "Tougher in
Alaska" here's the description I got from the producer
I dealt with.
"Everything is tougher in Alaska. From the way people
earn a living, to how they bury their dead, making a
go in the far north requires the ability to adapt to
extreme conditions. The series focuses on the way in
which life in Alaska is harder than anywhere else and
explores what it takes to survive there. In a land
where severe weather, vast distances and rugged
terrain shape everything about life, man has a long
history of trying to overcome adversity, conquer the
land, and adapt to or simply survive the extreme
environment."
It should air sometime in March. Just for the record I
can think of a bunch of places where being a bike
messenger is tougher then Anchorage.
Kirk in AK.

Saturday, January 19, 2008

Pictures

The picture quality isn't so good on these first couple of shots, but the content is priceless.

I was preparing to leave the house to ride on Thursday around noon, and part way through dressing the snow started. By the time I was ready to go it was really coming down, and I had to add layers.

I headed out down the country road, big white flakes falling in front of me, "Mates of State" playing on my IPOD. There is not much I like more than riding through the country in the snow, no matter how cold it is.

After a few short miles, the snow tapered off, leaving me rolling through the crisp air.

As I passed along NE 99th St., I looked for a familiar site. There is a great blue heron that for years has appeared to live in one big field, so I tend to look for him.

Instead of just seeing the heron, I saw the scene below. I willl relay the content as the pic quality is bad (sorry)

The one pic shows a Snowy Egret (which I have never seen in that field before) with a coyote hunting about 20 feet away. To boot, my old friend the Heron was about 50 yards away, watching with interest it seemed.




This next one is of my niece Lilly Grace, and my nephew Jaxon at Christmas.


These were taken on a hike in Vancouver on the Tarbell Trail. This section is the logged out piece that is actually the finest riding on the whole trail. Due to the logging, it is not so accessible. And due to ignorance, people were riding their four wheeler's on the closed trail, ruining it for years to come. I did have the opportunity that day to run into the four wheelers and give them a piece of my mind though.