Dogs, Polar Bears, Tundra Buggys and Snow

It's winter up north. In the north part of our province of Manitoba winter has arrived. Down south where I live there is no snow yet. Some friends just returned from a visit to the northern community of Churchill. To get to Churchill from where we live in Winnipeg, you either have to fly or spend a couple of days on a slow moving train. Churchill is Manitoba's only port and a lot of grain is shipped out of there. The season is short because of ice conditions.
             Being sled dog owners they had to check out the local sled dogs. 

Sled dogs in action.

 Polar bears congregate every year along the shores of the bay, waiting for the freeze up and to feed on ringed seals. The safest way to see these large bears is from a  Tundra Buggy . Our friends went on a tour and got to see these bears up close from a Tundra Buggy. The average Polar Bear is about 8 to 10 feet tall standing on it's hind legs. For that reason the Tunda Buggy  has very large tires and is built very tall. Most Tundra Buggies are 4, 6 or even 8 wheel drive. The latest Tundra Buggy was built is Winnipeg and shipped by train to Churchill. Check out the link for more Tundra Buggy information..

The bears in the pictures don't look very big or dangerous but they are. They are not something I would want to meet riding my Velomobile. Fortunately they don't migrate down south where we live. In the town of Churchill they have an alert system and armed conservation officers to handle any bears that might stray into town.  
           It's getting cooler out and in a weird way I am kind of looking forward to some winter fun in my Quest and with the dog sled.  It makes the winter go by faster if you are having FUN....

Winter is Coming

Winter is coming!

We had some snow this morning on my commute into work. It melted as soon as it hit the road, but at -3C it looked white in the lights. Snow warning of 25 cm for an area north of our city for tomorrow. If stays to the north by the lakes all is good. If it changes direction, I will have to get the snow tires and the dog sled out of the shop attic.
. I have to say its too early for the snow to stay. The ground is not cold enough yet.
         With "Da Hood"  I can still commute to work is a pair of shorts and a cycling Jersey at -3C. The Durano tires are doing great so far with no flats yet. I have over 4000 km so far on this second set and they wearing better than the first set. I already have 4 new front tires and 2 new rear tires for next year in my shop. Now I wonder if they will last until Winter gets here...

Freedom Trike

Maurice and his Freedom Trike

Freedom Trike.

This blog is about someone else today. This blog is about a recumbent Trike instead of a Velomobile.  Most of us reading this blog take our personal freedom for granted. When we want to do something, we just go out and do it. When we want to go somewhere we just get up and go. This is not the case for people in wheel chairs. They must have someone else take them places or travel by bus. This limits them as to what time they go or where they go.

        I met Maurice this summer on my way home, one nice sunny afternoon. He had his trike loaded with bags, lights and a bright flag. He explained he lives in the same area as I did and was on his way back from the Fort Whyte center. Up until this spring when he got his trike, he was wheel chair bound. Now he is building up his legs and going further and to places he could not go before. And going when he wants to go. But taking off his front fenders he can take his Trike right into his apartment. He stores it in his living room. He has been on two of the rides with the recumbent group that I have been on. Both times he traveled the furthest to get there. Maurice  has shot a couple of videos showing how he goes from wheelchair to his trike, and on to the great outdoors.

Getting Out 

 

The second video is his trip to the store to buy food. He rides right into the store with his trike where the store gives him an electric scooter to shop with. This is all stuff we do without thinking. I have to admire him for his new independence. He is a great example to all of us.

 On the trail

The Power of Social Media!

The Power of Social Media!
       Not much to blog about, and even less time to do it! Two events in social media to write about. The first was news on facebook about the police sending a bylaw amendment to city council. The amendment was to require groups of 10 of more cyclists to take out a parade permit. This was to allow cyclists to have parades as they were left out of past parades because of the wording of the old bylaw. This wording was worse as it would effect club or group rides as well as parades. The protest spread like wildfire over social media. By the next morning city council had taken to social media to say they were rejecting the amendment and sending it to review for proper wording. It was a quick victory for cyclists.
          The second was strange. I had several emails and facebook messages that the CBC radio was looking for me. It was mentioned on live radio and on their Facebook page. It almost reads like a UFO sighting.

CBC Radio Facebook page  

CBC Manitoba Information Radio

Options for this story

Bright yellow, looks like a bobsled, driver wears goggles, spotted on Winnipeg streets. Does anyone know what the story behind this vehicle is? Our traffic guy is enamoured...

 

I left a comment, so I will follow this up in my next blog.

I Finally Did It !!!!

I Finally Did It !!!!
When I got my Quest XS I was told it takes about 1000 miles to get your Velomobile legs. And I soon discovered I was using different muscles than I did on my recumbents. But I slowly got faster as time went on. Now I am so much faster than the other groups I ride with. I just go along to enjoy the company. It's when I ride by myself that I get to push myself.  Every day I do some Special High Intensity Training. (S.H.I.T.).  On one stretch of flat road I do it and my maximum speed get faster. My goal was to hit 60 kph on that   (S.H.I.T.).  This week I hit 67 kph. Now after hitting that speed my legs felt like butter the rest of the way home. The conditions were no wind and 32C. and no tour cap. I am now going to push for 70 kph but that might require more (S.H.I.T.) and the tour cap. Most people that see me think I have an electric motor because of the speed I am now going. They are quite surprised to find out I am the motor. My afternoon/evening route has lots of stops so the average speed is not as good as my morning commute. But Now I can say my commute is lots of FUN! 

        My Garmin link to my new personal record.

Relaxing 200 Km for FUN!

Relaxing 200 Km for FUN!
On Saturday our club had our last Brevet of the year. It's a 200 km and we typically have some new people come out and try it. This year that was the case. We also had some people who used to ride Brevets come out this year too. It was a large group this time. My plan was to stay with the group until we ate lunch and then go at my regular cruising speed  (40 to 45 kph) until I finished. I noticed  a small group of riders falling back after about 50 km. I turned around to check things out. It turned out some of them were just doing a 100 km ride and heading back. Two ladies were going on to do their first 200 km. They brought food with them and their plan was to ride steady, eat on the bikes and finish. At this point I decided to play tour guide and help them finish. Neither one had ridden more than a100 km ride this year. They couldn't draft off me of course so I just rode along side them to make sure they went the right way. They rode at a steady pace and we arrived at the lunch stop just as the group was heading out after their lunches. The ladies carried on determined to finish. The pace was easy but he temperature was hot. It was a strong wind from the south which was not good for some of the ride for these ladies. For me I was having trouble keeping my heart rate over 100 and staying awake. My Mp3 player quit so I had no Music either.

 

They carried on and I made sure they didn't get lost or miss any turns. We got into a rain shower before we finished but it felt good to them so they just kept on ridding. They finished and I turned in my slowest time ever. It was worth it to see how happy they were to complete their first Brevet.

Two happy finishers!

Next spring they will be back because they had FUN....

Century Ride

Please note I wrote this last week but have been working long shifts since and have had no time to post it.

I had one of THOSE days!

           Every year I ride the Muddy Waters Century Ride. It’s a charity fund raiser. And every year it turns into a 160 km race. In the past I would finish in the middle group and it’s fun.  This year I set might sights a little higher. I would finish first. I pre-rode part of the course. I did 99 km in 2 hours and 37minutes with a strong head wind. I’m sure I could do the 160 under 4.5 hours.

          For the ride I installed a second video camera facing backwards. That way I could get great shots of these racers as I passed them. I took out everything out of the Quest except a patch kit  pump and blanket. I did the 99 km using less than 2 liters of fluid so I took 4 liters so I would have to stop at the rest stops like the other riders. I also packed some food and gels.  I also changed the tires the week before to Durando’s on all 3 wheels instead of the Marathon racer on the back.  I was ready!

          The night before it rained all evening. The forecast  for the ride was  clear and sunny. Sunday morning came and I was up before the alarm could go off.  I showered, fed the Huskies, and ate a good breakfast.  Out the door I went to the shop to take out the Quest. I opened the door and it was foggy. Very foggy. No problem as I was early and I had planned to take it easy to ride the 28 km to the start.  Well I guess I don’t judge speed too well in the fog, because I made really good time. I only hit one red light the whole way there. By arriving there early the ladies doing the setup put me to work. I helped putout the donuts and coffee. For my help I was rewarded with the number one for the side of the Quest.

          For the start I went to the back of the line. I figured passing a couple hundred riders would make great video. I placed the new camera facing backwards and my old one facing forward. The fog was getting thick now. We started slowly traveling east and then north to get out of the city. I started slowly working my way to the front .  One of the racers in a club I ride with said to me, lets go! We cruised to the front and brought the pace up to 40 kph. After a while the pack behind me started to fall back a bit. At that point I picked up speed and started cruising about 45 KPH.. They disappeared in the fog behind me.. About 75 km. into the ride I hit a pothole and had a pinch flat. I pulled out my stuff and put the Quest on it’s side and fixed the tire. Now I’m not fast at fixing tires but I got back on the road and still no sign of the riders behind me. I felt cold after that stop but I picked up speed again. I went a few km and my right Quad started to cramp up. I had to stop and stretch it out. I got going again but I kept my speed around 40 KPH. I went a little ways and then my left calf muscle started to cramp. Again I pulled over to stretch it. This time I popped a magnesium pill and stretched it out..

          After that the best I could do was about 35 KPH or my legs started to cramp. The first group of fast guys passed me soon after. Last time I had cramps was over a year ago on a really hot day.  i was 300 km into a 400 km Brevet. This time I was cold and damp. I finished about 12 minutes behind the fast group at a time of 5 hours and 9 minutes. It was a painful finish as all my leg muscles seemed to take turns cramping up. At least to fog cleared up before the finish. Of course I feel disappointed in myself. This was the shortest ride I have done in while, and I am in good shape. If anyone has any insight about cramps please comment.

          After the finish I stuck around for more coffee and food .  I met up with some of the other recumbent people and we drew quite a crowd.

        

  I rode home at a real easy pace. Of all the group rides I have done this one was the shortest but it hurt the most.. What hurts the most today the day after the ride is my new camera did not record anything and the front camera was covered in moisture so you can’t see much in the fog. It was just one of those days where everything went wrong. But next year I will have more FUN…