We’ve done a couple of initial training rides.  She quite easily did 30k last Sunday, so I’m sure she’ll have no trouble working up to the full distance.  It’ll be fun training & completing the ride together this year!

I’ve told Alissa she can canvas the friends & family & I’ll focus on co-workers for my fundraising efforts.

Last year was a big success with 335 riders rasing a total of $245,375 for Multiple Sclerosis research and support efforts. 

Summer gets pretty busy, so we’re kicking off the fundraising efforts early.
If you’d like to support the MS Society by pledging Alissa, you can visit her fundraising web page to make a donation on-line.

If you want to learn more about MS or the MS Society, check out the canadian MS Society web site.

Though the weather forecast was marginal, I decided to take the fast bike (a.k.a the Pretty Bike, a.k.a. the Italian Bike) to work in hopes of extending the ride home one more time before the vacation.  By the end of the work day, everything was perfect for a fast ride home.

The sun was out, there was a strong tail-wind, memories of the previous day’s Tour de France coverage were fresh in mind… a perfect time to pretend to be a pro racer!
________

Meanwhile, somewhere in the quiet city of Saskatoon, a woman (we’ll call her Stella) decides to go for a drive with her best friend Charlie…
________

After navigating rough roads, bad traffic & detours, I finally got to a quite residential street where I could crank up the effort a bit.  Thanks to a strengthening wind at my back I was able to pick up the pace to about 35-40km/h, settling into a beautiful rhythm…  //////scritch (sound of needle scratching across an LP)

Some days, for reasons unknown, middle-aged men are not meant to dream of racing glory for more than a moment or two.

My focus was suddenly broken by a shout from over my left shoulder….  “something something something  DOG!”
I immediately looked over my shoulder to see who was yelling.  Nobody was in sight so I returned my attention to the road ahead.

Charlie had jumped out of the window & somehow managed to maneuver his short legs to propel himself directly under my front wheel!  There was NO time to react.

What followed looked something like this:

…only without the water to ease the sliding down the pavement & the removal of skin.  (& without the pony tail & with harrier legs & generally less elegant looking)

Charlie who looked something like this:

… did a little scuttle & took off down the road, running faster than I would have ever imagined a weiner-dog could run, first to one side of the road, then the other, then back again.  He finally hid somewhere in one of the yards nearby.

Man those dogs are solid!

I quickly got up & checked the bike over.  The only damage was some scratches on the brake lever & torn bar tape… phew!

Stella came running, repeating “are you OK, are you OK… I can’t believe it!  He never tries to jump out the window!”

After assuring Stella that I was OK & asking about her dog, I rode off finally scanning myself for damage after a few blocks.  The new Horizon 100 jersey Char & the kids gave me for my birthday was shredded at the sholder , pretty impressive road rash on my knee & shin, hip, arm & shoulder.   Thankfully no broken bones & just minor brusing… scrubbing out the dirt & grit & dealing with bandages taped to hairy legs was the worst part (mental note: shave before taping).  (no, I’m still not ready to shave my legs like “real cyclists” to avoid this).

I still twitch & get shivers up my spine when I see dogs off-leash within a kilometer or so of cyclists.

So please, please, please…. if you’re out driving with your dachshund, keep the windows closed!

Well on the way to my $500 goal! At this rate I’ll have to bump it up a bit.

I have extra motivation this time. My wife Charlene was diagnosed with Multiple Sclerosis (MS) in January.

MS is unpredictable, affecting vision, hearing, memory, balance and mobility. Its effects are physical, emotional, financial, and last a lifetime. There is no cure.

Charlene has had just a couple of “episodes” over a period of two years and we are thankful for that. We are also thankful that the very costly medication is completely covered with a combination of drug plans. It’s a daily injection that burns for up to an hour & often creates large welts. For now the treatment is worse than the disease, but necessary for long-term benefit.

The Multiple Sclerosis Society of Canada volunteers and staff provide information, support, educational events and other resources for people with MS and their families. Researchers funded by the MS Society are working to develop new and better treatments. Their ultimate goal is the cure for MS.

If you would like to support the MS Society of Canada by pledging me in the ride, please visit my MS Pledge page .  There are links there to pledge on-line or print a sheet to mail or fax in.  My goal is to raise $500 before the ride in September.

Depending on how you slice it, riding to work has saved me anywhere from $3000 to $10,000.  I’m also much more fit than I was five years ago.

I’ll have to give the bike the full detailing cleanup to celebrate… once the snow clears.

Shimano SLX Shifters

Shimano SLX Shifters
Wanted to upgrade the shifters a bit & read good things about the SLX groupset.  The shifters can be mounted inboard or outboard of the brake lever mounting points.  They also feature two-way release and the gear display can be removed… lots of things to fiddle with.

Shimano SLX Rear Derailleur
This seamed like a good option to upgrade from Deore.  It’s a “shadow” style, so it’s tucked away a bit more.  Also has a more direct cable routing.  It’s supposed to have a more direct, solid shifting action.

Shimano SLX Front Derailleur

Shimano SLX Top-Swing Derailleur

CrankBrothers Eggbeater SL pedals
My current pedals are Eggbeater C’s.  They’ve taken a lot of abuse.  I’ve replaced the guts a couple of times.  They’re starting to rust due to winter riding & the salt on the road.  I’ve also really messed up the wrench surfaces, making one of the pedals impossible to remove from the cross-threaded crank arm… I know… expensive lesson.

The SL’s are completely stainless steel, so they should last a very long time.

Race Face Ride XC Crankset
Decided to go with a standard MTB set of rings (44/32/22).  It’ll give me lower gears for slugging through snow in the winter. If I change from a 12 to 11 small gear in the back, the top-end shouldn’t be affected much.

Race Face Ride XC Cranks

And they do… sort of…

For what it will cost me to replace the parts I want to replace, you could buy a pretty reasonable starter commuter bike.  Turns out, it’s still a long way from the price of a very good new commuter bike.  I’ve come to realize that it would take a fair bit to replace the Novato with something of equal quality.

So I’ve begun collecting the parts to rebuild the Novato.  With a slight upgrade of course.

Here’s the Plan:

Shimano SLX Shifters
Shimano SLX Medium Cage Rear Derailleur
Shimano SLX Top-Swing Front Derailleur
Race Face Ride XC 175mm Crankset, (44/32/22)
FSA ISIS Bottom Bracket
Crank Brothers Eggbeater SL pedals

The Cranks are the first to arrive…
I think I’ll hold off on the installation ’til the roads are less messy.

Race Face XC Cranks

Total Distance:     
22,000km
Total Time:               
1,000hrs (hey, I ride through the winter… it slows me down )
Total Calories:    
600,000 (or there-abouts… that’s about 3000 donuts worth!)
Max Speed:                
64.8km/h
Flat Tires:             
14 (no data for ’04, several on the Bianchi ’til I replaced the rim tape)
Parts:
- Several inner tubes
- 5 or so sets of brake pads
- 2 or 3 sets of tires
- 5 chains
- 3 or 4 cassettes (rear gears)
- 2 chain rings (front gears)
- 2 sets of cables
- 1 saddle (broken rail)
- 1 set of pedals (due to be replaced, but still using)
- 2 bike computers (one stolen, one broken)
- 2 LED blinker lights (fell off, smashed)
- 1 pair of cycling shoes
- 1 set of handlebar grips

Injuries:
Thankfully, the worst injury to-date has been minimal road rash on my left knee & elbow after taking a corner to fast on a wet road.  There’ve been a few other minor scrapes, but nothing that ever stopped or slowed down my riding & certainly nothing worthy of medical aid.

Highlights:
An early morning winter commute when the Northern Lights were absolutely amazing… stopped in the park to take it in.

Stopping & helping a kid put the back wheel back on his very beat up old bike that was way too big for him & didn’t have a chain.

Putting air in the tires of the commuter bike & having a group of ~10yr old boys say “wow, cool bike… do you race that thing!?”

The day I realized that I can now keep a 30km/hr pace for extended periods of time (an “out there” goal I set shortly after starting commuting when it was a struggle to stay over 24)

The first 100km, then 100mile rides

The day a group of us (in which I was the youngest at 42) from the club “ripped the legs off” a couple of young riders who met up with us, hung on at the back for a while then blasted past saying “seeya”.  We reeled them it after letting them get out a couple of km, then kept a fast pace with them struggling to hang on.

OK, by “everything” I mean all the free credits that I got when I checked into the hotel… had you worried, didn’t I?

Before I left, I decided to set aside $1 for my big Vegas Casino adventure.

I didn’t even have to spend that.  The hotel gave me a coupon for a $15 credit (of course it’s no good anywhere except the casino, so I couldn’t just cash it in).  That credit lasted about 15 min. at the slot machine… I can think of a lot better ways to spend $15 if it was my own money

Well, better head off to breakfast.  I’ve got an intensive lab session this morning & will need some energy…