Finished Touches

About a month ago I posted an entry with a shot of the first Bamboo Bike Studio Toronto Frame being built. Since then, the video I put together has gone live (link below) and three custom 'boo frames were displayed and put up for sale today. All very exciting stuff. I'm very proud of Steff's (Zef) accomplishments as I know this has been a real labour of love.

In that earlier post, I said I was looking for permission to use some music to enhance the documentary. We heard back from Johan Hultqvist from Mr. Something Something with a green light... so here's the video! (watch it in HD).

And as for the latest frames, they are stunning. I've begun working on a short video highlighting them however here's a shot of one... as much as I love the clean look of the black carbon and natural 'boo I think the added beauty takes it up 3 levels. If you can get to the Bike Geek Boutique show you can see the two Chiale frames plus "#3" which has a brass inlay head-badge. Look for more creativity from the 'boo studio yet to come! If you do make it, take a peek at the photos on the wall @ the Boutique... my first public showing in a while :-)

A BBST and Jimmy Chiale collaboration

A Confluence

Confluence: a coming together of people or things; concourse. A number of unrelated events have conspired to make this all happen and I'm delighted with the way things have worked out.

I retired from IBM and started into this next chapter. And now that the local cycling scene is in winter mode I have downtime.

Andrea... well more on that later.

Knowing that this might be a once in a lifetime opportunity I suggested she take a break and take an extended vacation. "What would we do with all that time in January" she thought... and then said "what about going to New Zealand?". Great idea!

About the same time I discovered the youngest of the Canadian Kraiker clan (my nephew Brendan) and his partner Jenna were on a major trip that had them spending the better part of a year in New Zealand. The wonders of Facebook. Here are a couple of shots they have online...

Jenna

Brendan

Then I found out that they work at Lucky Rental, one of the many companies that rent campers in NZ!

Well... all of this came together to have me book a New Zealand Air flight to Auckland on January 1st 2012 with a "Cruiza" hightop camper booked for 27 days and a return flight on February 1st. That was my day yesterday...

The Cruiza was originally one that Jucy rented out, here's a video they put on YouTube showing the setup. Still figuring out the logistics of bringing bikes, swim gear, and all the other things that might make that month more enjoyable. Very exciting!

Oddly Enough

This just in:

Paris cleans lipstick off Oscar Wilde grave

Andrea came across this piece and it reminded me of the time we rode there on Velibs (the Paris city bikes) in 2010. Another great excuse to highlight a few photos I took there including the lipstick-covered Wilde monument. That was our "volcano" trip and April 14th (the day these photos were taken) was the day Eyjafjallajökull erupted in Iceland. We were "stuck" in Europe for an extra week and ended up cycling in the Ardennes, seeing some more great Spring Classic bike races, and having a great extended vacation.

I have an assortment of photos online in a Picasa gallery from that day.

A walk in the woods

Andrea and I met up with our friend Liz for a hike along the Bruce Trail on the weekend; a perfect opportunity for some late autumn photos. The new background is one of them... Tiffany Falls in the Dundas Valley Conservation Area. I took along my 5D MkII with the 16-35 lens and played with light and textures. I put up a handful of shots I like on my website however here are a couple you're welcome to download for free. They are 1600 pixels wide so they should be fine as desktop backgrounds... hope you like them.

 

From First Race to Last Race

What an amazing experience this first part of my next chapter has been... from the first race in April that still had snow on the ground to a final race at Albion Hills that was a muddy cyclo-cross shortly before December began. The 2011 cycling season is now a wrap and I had a blast covering it. And now that I'm done it's like taking a little vacation.

Lots of races in different parts of Ontario, a long trip to Arkansas, Quebec twice, Illinois for a stage race and even Le Tour de France for two weeks... not bad for this wanderer. About fifty days of actual photography, around twenty days of travel to and from the various locations, something like twenty thousand miles (thirty-two thousand kilometers) of driving (not counting the flight to Europe) and probably just as many photographs taken. A couple of additional trips for fun that included Belgium, North Carolina, Vermont, and upstate New York. I did more writing that I've done in years (journalism as well as blogging), expanded my services to include videos, re-learned the art of interviewing, and a little auto mechanics too. All in all I'd say it was good. There were some challenges and disappointments and things that didn't work out along the way. While I am still digesting it all I'll stick with commenting on the positive stuff.

Now that it's done though... it's time for me to take care of all the things I didn't get around to doing since April. To get around to doing things like uploading all my photos to my website, updating this blog, taking care of finances, checking in with doctors and dentists, and such. I also need to sort out what I'll do with myself between now and when the cycling season starts up again... stay tuned. I have a few blog entries I need to finish up as well as my first documentary short.

I'll wrap this up with a video I took during the summer, I think I've linked to enough photos that I'll mix it up a little...

From 30 to 57 to 93

I've written before about how young my father was when he died, now I can only hope that I have the longevity from my mother... she celebrated her 93rd birthday yesterday.

It's been interesting seeing her going through the many changes in life that have been the past 30 years. From being a work-at-home mother who cooked meals for some of the single factory workers to being a factory worker herself and then marrying again and ultimately burying another husband. And living on her own, in her own house, doing things her way.

"So... happy birthday mom! I think the next milestone will be "95".

Oma's 90th birthday party

Getting ready to head to Ottawa for the Provincial CX championships

The Nationals were a blast to cover and having them local meant it was a snap to get to them. The awesome weather made for a great day too... here are a couple of photos from the day that I like. There are galleries on both PedalMag.com and VeloNews.com if you want to see more (and on KraikerPhoto.com of course).

Pepper Harlton

Emily Batty

The new champions (Batty and Sheppard)

This weekend it's the Ontario Provincial cyclocross championships. Not local (Ottawa is about a 5 hour drive, 6 in the camper), not warm and toasty (it snowed in much of Ontario yesterday), still going to be a blast. I've reserved a spot in Jackie's driveway for the weekend, sure hope I have lots of propane in the tank to keep the heater running!  The cycling season is almost done here... it's been a great year, I wonder what's in store for the next chapter.

Finishing Touches

The first bamboo bike built in Toronto is almost finished... and the doc-vid is being worked on. Care to suggest the audio track to use? It's a no budget video and so I haven't heard back from Peter Gabriel on getting permission to use his wonderful music. I'm thinking Mr. Something Something would be a good choice...

Up Next: 2011 National Cyclocross Championships

November... time for the CX scene to get serious and at the national level it doesn't get more serious than contesting who will get the honour of wearing a red and white jersey for the next year. This Saturday will be that day and it will mark the second time Toronto has hosted this event in as many years.

Last year it was Wendy Simms and Chris Sheppard who came out on top in the elite races with Evan McNeely capturing the under 23 title. The line-up for this year looks good and so does the weather... it will be interesting to see who's got their training right and can bring the hardware home. A recap of last year is online at the 2010 National CX Gallery where there are a few photos to look through.

For this year, expect local stars like Emily Batty, Andrew Watson, Peter Mogg and more to be contesting the front of the race. I'm looking forward to being there! Here's a sample from the 2010 CX action, hope you can make it to the races (key in this to get your GPS pointed the right way: "*PINE POINT PARK, ETOBICOKE" )

Getting more from each experience

I've never re-blogged anyone else's material so this is a first. Kevin's entry gave me pause for thought; it struck me as worthwhile, insightful and deeply personal so I thought I'd share it here. Thanks Kevin.

The Pancreatic Times: Last Time...: This is a positive thought. I am not the first and I will not be the last person to espouse this philosophy, ...

Tagging, Legitimately

Breakout Studio

There are a few places in Toronto that have had custom and expressive artwork done by graffiti artists. A few have even been done with permission. One of the most significant bits of news about this artform recently was when the city removed a piece it had commissioned (it will be replaced, at their expense I hope).

In the part of TO that I live in though... there are only a few tags around and not many actual works of art. There was a brilliant pair of sumo wrestlers nearby however that's been removed after being there for years. Now though; a shop on Bayview has commissioned their business sign. I couldn't resist taking a shot.

Biketoberfest 2011

The Lapdogs cycling club has been holding a social event for the past three Octobers in the Centennial Park trails. There is a weekly series held on these King trails and they're a blast to ride, fun for all levels. You can find out a little more at the King Weekly Series site.

The weather didn't turn out as promised, the turnout was a little smaller than previous years, everyone still enjoyed themselves. A few folks went out for a road ride, the rest took part in the team MTB race. The race got a little confusing as someone walking their dogs through the trails tore down tape and generally did disruptive things, wonder what his problem was...

The other challenge was a lost GPS... imagine trying to find that in all the leaves! Fortunately Bill had sharp eyes and did bring it back (well done!). Well, I suppose the Pie Primi was a challenge too. Check out the video Larry put together.

Lots of good food at the potluck, great coffee from the Cranwell bodum, and prizes for the winners. All good. I've put up a gallery on Picasa, just for fun.
https://picasaweb.google.com/111629044094976146147/LapdogsBiketoberfest2011

Bikes and Bread

This past weekend was the Toronto Cross cyclo-cross race, a two-day event that's had some big names race it in the past. While as of this year it's no longer an International event it was still held on both Saturday and Sunday. A major change in the format saw the saturday Citizen race become the first Toronto cyclocross race to be held under lights. Since it was a late event and unique Andrea decided to come along... she's only come to a couple of cross races.

The first race started at 5:30, still light out, the second start time was just as the light was fading and the final race started in full darkness at about 8:30. The event is held on a small ski hill in Centennial Park and the organizers had arranged to get the lights turned on for the hill. They supplemented those with some very bright lights on other parts of the course so most of it was lit well enough for the riders. Many also brought their night lights so it was quite the show. It was a challenge for the photographers though... and I quite enjoyed the challenge. Here are a few of the shots I like, the full gallery is on my website.

200mm lens,ISO 2500, f 2.8, 1/50 of a second, no flash

200mm lens,ISO 2500, f 2.8, 1/30 of a second, no flash

24mm lens,ISO 2500, f 4, 1/5 of a second, someone else's flash

28mm lens,ISO 400, f 5.6, 1 second, flash

60mm, ISO 400, f 5.6, 1/160 of a second, flash

 
One of the reasons we went to Vermont earlier in the month was to get to King Arthur Flour and stock up for a winter's worth of bread baking. Andrea wasn't going to the Sunday race, opting instead to do some canning, make some soup, and bake bread while I spent the day taking photos. Dinner last night was delicious :-)

Compared to the photos from the night race, the ones from yesterday aren't all that exciting. No mud, no really tricky conditions, dull lighting and no fall colours of note (if you want to look at some I have a gallery up on my website). So instead, here's a shot of the first loaf of the season (semolina) and a hint of what's in store.

50 pounds of their finest, waiting to be baked

Fresh out of the oven

Loaf # 1... mmmm

I finally gave in and upgraded

I've been struggling with my old iPhone for some time now and I've resisted going to a "4" for the better part of a year as it was clear a new model was coming. It's not a "5" since Apple went the same route as they did with the 3G (adding an "S" edition) but I just couldn't wait any longer... the time I was wasting waiting for the old phone to respond wasn't worth it.

So yes... this geek now has a 4S, in white. I'm looking forward to getting a few years of good service from it.

Next up... learning how to jailbreak my old one so I can use it when traveling.

An October Weekend in Vermont

With the Canadian Thanksgiving making it a long weekend, only one local cyclocross race on, a weather forecast that was exceptional, Andrea and I took the weekend off.

We had talked about doing a trip to Vermont when we were at Watkins Glen a few weeks ago and the sun, moon and stars all lined up to make it happen. We packed Babe up on Thursday with the plan to get to around Prescott near the border and then spend the next four days exploring. Part of the plan included MTB riding in the Kingdom Trails around East Burke which had been described to us by some other riders as incredible. I can now say: Incredible! Part of the plan included a stop in at King Arthur Flour in Norwich. And part of the plan included taking photos of the fall colours... all the plans worked out great.

The weather this past weekend was as good as it gets; a classic Indian Summer. When I think back, Andrea and I have had a one other that was as nice (in a different way). That was 6 years ago and was a canoe trip to Herb Lake and Gun Lake. Beautiful, fun, relaxing and photogenic. Here's a shot from that trip...

Canadian Thanksgiving, Gun Lake 2005

With all the stops along the way it took us all of Friday to make our way through New York and Vermont before reaching the campsite we had reserved on Burke Mountain... the last site available as it turned out and I include that in the good karma thinking.

The first night was the only one we didn't camp as the place I'd hoped to use was closed by the time we got there. All the state parks in NY were closed for the season and while we were tempted to stay at one anyhow we pressed on. Ultimately we spent the night in a motel along the way, it cost more for that one night than all the rest combined. It was worth it though, the travel on Friday was a little more relaxed because of it (plus the waffle breakfast was plain and simple fun!).

Driving on Friday was great as we had all day to get to our destination and the scenery was spectacular. The fall colours are slow in arriving this year (I'll let others speculate on why) however as we drove along we were headed a little north so they kept getting better. When we got to Vermont it really was nice, even though the locals thought they were muted.

Our first planned stop was in Montpelier to check out a few shops and have some lunch. On top of all the other things going on I happened to park in front of a display of Tim Burton "stuff". A little playful composition and I was able to get the camper and the photographer reflected in the image... all a little weird and totally in keeping with the display.

A self portrait

More driving got us down to Lebanon NH for some shopping and then back to Norwich VT so Andrea could stock up on their great flour (there will be much bread baking this winter!!! Place your orders now!!!). Then finally up to Burke Mountain... I think it was around 8pm when we rolled in (in the dark). The GPS had directed us to the main ski lodge rather than the campground so Andrea went in to ask. The bar/restaurant was open and busy so once we knew where we would be camping we headed back for dinner there. I can highly recommend the local Long Trail Ale.

On the road in northern Vermont

Being on the side of a mountain made getting the camper level a bit of a challenge and since it was late we didn't try too hard that first night. Still slept well though and got up to a cool and clear morning. Breakfast, lots of coffee, and then it was time to ride. Looking around the campsite it was clear that everyone was here for the same reason. I've only experienced that at major race events (like the 24 hour events, etc), never "just because". Every campsite had cars with bikes... some were here for the downhill while others were looking to ride the single track. Everyone walking around was talking about the trails, the riding they were going to do or had done. Very cool feeling.

We drove out of the campground and pointed Babe downhill... put her in neutral and rolled all the way to town. Then we parked at the local bike shop at the trail head, went to the Kingdom Trails visitor centre to get our passes, and then began to admire the beautiful day we were having. It was barely 9AM and we were surrounded by smiling people basking in sunshine dressed in cycling clothes. Wow. The folks at the visitor centre had highlighted trails they like and thought we'd enjoy... less than 1/2 of the trails available in that part and well over 3 hours of riding. Most of it was single track, all of it was fabulous. Here are a few photos from the day, I only took the Lumix and the quality isn't very good. Such is life... sometimes a snapshot is better than a missed great shot.

Secret Training... I loved this one!

Time to Roll! This was the first bit of single track.

At the bottom of Sidewinder... for the local folks, think Woodnewton times an order of magnitude.

Heaven's bench, with Burke Mountain in the background

Awesome day... and 3 1/2 hours was all I could handle so we had the afternoon and evening to enjoy. Back at the campsite the challenge of the day was getting into the shower (one each for women & men, lineup got 6 deep at times, 75 cents got you 7 minutes so you can do the math). It was cool so we got a fire going early and enjoyed it all evening, as did most of the campground. And sleep came early... a campground filled with cyclists who spent as much energy on the trails as they had usually leads to a good sleep.

Babe bathed in moonlight

Sunday started much like Saturday except a little warmer. Beautiful, inviting, perfect for whatever you might like to do including riding! We spent a little less time in camp and got on the trails a little earlier with a plan to ride only trails we hadn't ridden the previous day. It didn't take long to feel the effort from Saturday and we both said it would be a shorter ride today (NOT). The plan of riding new (to us) trails worked great with one exception... the climb (Cat's box?) up from the river is one to avoid. The trails we rode after that were awesome, and both days ended with the swooping romp down to town. Here are a couple of shots...

I definitely recommend these trails... I'm not a skilled technical rider and I was comfortable with them. I saw lots of folks out riding even more casually than me, smiling. And I saw hard core folks rocking it... these trails have it all. Go, try, let me know what you think!

Part of Sunday's plan was taking photos and so when we ran out of steam we hopped into Babe and went for a drive. It reminded me of tripping around in 2008 taking photos (you'll find some of those shots on my website) and it was also completely different. Only a few spots struck a chord and so I didn't take a lot of photos. Still... I got a few good images.

A last night, a good dinner, a cozy campfire. And of course a shower lineup...

I think Andrea and I would have enjoyed a day or two more, wasn't going to be though. So we packed up (there's an ouch in there... I will figure out how to fix the top bed after my mistake (sigh)) and then we took a back road drive across the top of Vermont so I could get the photos I was hoping to find. I think I got a few, you can decide for yourself if you think they're good... I have a gallery up on my website. Here are a couple of samples (there are ones up on FaceBook as well).

Through all of this... we saw one Vanagon along the way and there was one Eurovan camper from Quebec in the campground with us. Otherwise it was all bikes, no buses.

And it was a great trip, I'd do it again without a second thought!

Photo inspired by Andrea

Sun Dog; photo by Andrea

The Tale of The Escutcheon

A while ago there was a discussion of the handle on the big slider doors in one of the lists I subscribe to and the piece that fits around the handle and into the door opening. A member (Alistair) had made some for himself and so I thought I'd ask if he had made any extras (people had suggested to him that might be a good thing). Al hadn't however he offered to make me one and send it my way.

Proof that it does exist and did arrive

The tale of this escutcheon is a long one; it includes a mail strike, a hook in a workshop, insufficient postage, a burned out Y key, and a few other things. However the tale is now complete as I just finished installing it. Here are a few iphone pics so Al can see his handiwork in place.
Thanks, I really appreciate this Al.

The slider handle with the new escutcheon (yes, that's a big, bad crack :(

Escutcheon installed on the handle

The handle now sits properly, nice and snug

However there is another tale that this exercise revealed... the handle itself is cracked and will need to be replaced. (Anyone have a handle for an '82 slider?).