Living For The City

One of the things you figure out pretty quickly riding in the city is that you need to be visible if you want to avoid getting bruck up while riding at night but if you’re at all like me you like your bike to have as little clutter as possible which means that bulky lights mounted on your handlebars are a big no-no.

For the last couple of years I’ve ridden with the little BLT or MEC led blinkies but in the last year there has been a huge influx of Knog Frogs on the street and I began to take notice – they’re a little chunky for my liking (at least for a bar mounted light) but as Knog has started to introduce new products I’ve started to really warm up to them.

I picked up a Gekko rear and I like it’s nice and bright, easy to attach / detach thanks to it’s silicone casing and runs 5 different flash sequences. My single complaint is that the button doesn’t have any sort of “click” mechanism so it doesn’t take much to get it flashing which means when you throw it in your bag during the day it’s almost certainly going to be flashing when you open up your bag to throw it on your bike.

To combat this; I removed the button entirely. It’s still easy enough to turn the light on and change modes but now I’m not going to be chewing through batteries as quickly as a result of accidental turn ons*. I’m a little concerned that I’ve made it a little less water resistant but I’m willing to take my chances in the name of science. That’s right, science. I’m a scientist.

If Knog lights aren’t really your speed, another great option is the Powell & Hammer “Winner” as shown below.

The P&H Winner features a hinged glass lens and reflector, a fully removable and easily cleaned chimney, an “easy load” oil reservoir which is vented to permit the intake of combustion air and a revolutionary multi-spring stabilization system for handling those cobblestone roads with ease.

*Not to be confused with the accidental turn ons associated with getting a boner in math class whilst wearing jogging pants and being called up to the board to solve a problem – creating a problem of an entirely different nature. Woah momma!

I’ve gone and done it now.

…and thanks for all the beer.

In what world is leaving a package, without knowing how important the contents may or may not be, on the doorstep of a 400+ townhouse unit ok? I hate those “we missed you, come pick up your package at the end of the earth” notices as much as the next guy but come on now!

Fortunately for me (and perhaps even more so for Purolator), this box only had the fundraising “prizes” from the Ride For Heart. I could have sworn that I checked off the “donate my prizes to the Heart & Stroke Foundation” checkbox but they sent me the prizes anyway.

Now, I do often wrap my lower extremities in lycra / chamois shorts but I’ve never owned a proper cycling jersey before. Unfortunately I look like a human tampon / walking Becel advertisement when I’ve got this thing on so I doubt that it’ll get much use but the 5 minutes I spent with it have really got me a hankerin’ for a nice piece of cycling garb – namely anything by Rapha but until I strike it rich and can justify spending $400 on cycling jerseys for me and all my servants – I think I’ll be going jerseyless… and shirtless from now on. Parents, lock up your daughters!*

If anyone needs a brand new lock at a heavy discount holla at ya boy!

*and sons, if they’re into that sort of thing.**

**not there there is anything wrong with that…

Say what you will about our postal service but when I sent some shoes that I sold on eBay to a fella in the UK and the package got returned because the British Postal system sucks balls, they sent me a cheque for every last penny so I could send it again.

“These people are taking over the streets and impeding the flow of traffic.
Then you gotta do what you gotta do”

I had a chance to whip by the police garage at 30 Ordnance Street today to have a look at the bikes they have out for the Igor Bust public viewing. I wasn’t allowed to take photos inside but words can’t really describe just how many bikes there are in there, of varying degrees of quality and in varying states of repair. There were also a whole lot of wheels (including a couple of fixed wheelsets and some serious bladed Easton jobbies) but the police doubt that they’ll do any sort of componentry viewing as it would be too difficult to prove ownership on most of it.

The bicycles are being stored at 35 Strachen Ave. and 30 Ordinance St. Public viewings started today (Friday) at noon. The warehouse will be open from noon until 8 p.m. on weekdays, and from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. on Saturday and Sunday.

Based on the sheer volume (3000 and counting) alone, I’d say that if you’ve had a bike stolen in the last couple of years it would be well worth swinging by and checking it out. Serial numbers, receipts or photos of you with the bike will get you your bike back.

Get ‘er done, Toronto!

It was a busy weekend for a lot of folks in Toronto and as such my boys The Regulators were short a couple of players. Now, I haven’t played a full game of baseball in probably 10 years so I was pretty apprehensive about donning a jersey and swinging the old bat around but I went out, played two solid games of baseball in the rain and had a whale of a good time doing it. I’m normally pretty hard on myself but I feel like I played pretty well overall and am looking forward to playing some more and hopefully uppin’ my baseball game!

The politics of skin
I’ve been vegan for close to half my life at this point and I’ve had plenty of time to weigh different options and make my decisions based on what I think is right vs. what I think will make me a “better vegan”.

Plastics / synthetic materials (like those found in POS baseball gloves) are often extremely environmentally unfriendly and often don’t last the way that leather does – with that said I don’t feel comfortable walking into a store and buying leather as if it weren’t the skin off an animal’s back so used leather is a good option for those of us that see the usefulness of the material but don’t want to contribute directly to the cycle.

If I’m going to start playing baseball regularly, or even if I just wanna chuck around the ball with my girl I figured I might as own a decent glove. It’s the type of thing that a guy like me only needs to buy once in a lifetime so I figured what the hell? Fortunately for me, I was able to find this Rawlings, barely used but worked in enough to already be comfortable for a good price – ethics in check, wallet in good shape.

I mean, if I really wanted to avoid buying a leather glove I supposed I could have gotten a custom made Carpenter but $50 for a good quality, lightly used leather glove vs. $250 for a Carpenter? To quote Dr. Italiano aka Robbie Blyth: Not gonna happen, not today.

After the games we hit up the Rogers Picnic at Fort York (Thanks Hammie / Debbie) and got there just in time to catch the second half of Cat Power’s set. She sounded great but was maybe a little boring / disengaged so we went and stole some chairs from the Nokia booth and found a nice place to sit down before posting up in the VI; undetected like a stealth.

C & C Music Factory, who headlined the fest, were incredible and have a really soulful, almost bluesy sound when playing live that I really enjoy. During the set, these two giant (10’ +) glowing globes made their way out into the crowd and my lady took off like a bat out of hell to get her hands on one of them and bash it into the section we were standing in. The festival staff, who were trying desperately to maintain control of the balls, were hopelessly outgunned. We win!

On a somewhat unrelated note: one of the things that my lady noticed about the festival, which I wholeheartedly agree with, is what a good job they did “branding” the event – every little sign; from the Food, to the Beer Gardens, to the Hand Sanitization Station was written in the festival font – these are the types of details that are often overlooked and I think that if you’re going to try to create a unique feeling at an event like this, a cohesive brand strategy is a great way to do it. Well done, Adam.

On a completely unrelated note: the last time I was at Fort York was probably 20 years ago as a cub scout – we spent the night in the barracks and Bernie Attard stole Charles Kenwright’s teddy bear and spent the better part of the night farting on it in his bunk. The next trip we took as cubs was to Rattlesnake Point – Charles made the mistake of bringing his teddy and it was unanimously voted that it would be thrown off the Escarpment. We were terrible kids. RIP Teddy.

I really do value my summer weekends in the city but it’s nice to get out from time to time so on Saturday Taylor, Chris and I headed up to the Hammell’s cottage to put in some time on the bikes and at the beach.

Taylor… Oh my… I had no idea…

I think around 50k – 60k is the perfect (fixed) ride for me – just long enough to feel like you’ve done something and short enough that you can still walk / sit down the next day.

I love how hard Chuck reps that SIOA Alleyway Dragon T-shirt!

Just a little creepy…

Not creepy at all… a truely lovely family.

I got back into the city just in time to whip over to the Horsehoe to catch Quest For Fire at their much anticipated CD Release Show. I’ll admit, I’m really disappointed that “Lights From Paradise” didn’t make the cut as it’s my favorite QFF jam but the record is a real gem regardless. Simple, (100% recycled) cardboard packaging and cover art from Andre Ethier rounds out the record nicely – I highly recommend picking it up if you’re into altered states and 9 minute epics.

Oh, and for those if you that like pretty things hung on walls, be sure to check out Ottawa transplant Hayden Menzies at the Whippersnapper Gallery until the end of the month.

I made mention yesterday of Igor, owner the infamous Toronto bicycle chop shop, finally getting arrested in connection with a bike theft. Well, when we got home from Evil Dead I got a phone call from Killen saying that he’d heard that the content’s of Igor’s “shop” were being loaded into police trucks.

We got up there a few minutes later and sure enough, there were the police, firemen and an increasing number of onlookers in front of the shop. There was one fully loaded truck pulling away when we got there, another that got filled while we stood there and 2 more waiting in the wings… Who knows how many more were filled before we got there and after we left.

The story, as I got it at the scene, was that Igor didn’t make bail and they were clearing out his shop (and 4 other storage spaces) as they were considered a fire hazard. I don’t know what the official plan for the confiscated bicycles is at this point but I was told that there would be a press release issued in the near future inviting people to claim their bicycles with the police – with some sort of proof of ownership of course.

I don’t think this will be the “end” of Igor by any stretch but needless to say, there are a lot of happy bikesters in the city right now.

UPDATE: If you’ve had your bike stolen in the last while it might be worth going down to the Central Garage, 9 Hanna Street,
on Saturday, July 19, 2008, and Sunday, July 20, 2008, from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. to see if it ended up there.

Check out the police press release here

I couple of weeks ago I won a draw for free Evil Dead (the musical) tickets at work. Now, I may not have always been the manliest of men but I’ve also never been much for the showtunes so I accepted the tickets thinking that in all likelihood I’d give them away in the end.

With neither my special lady friend nor I being the “musical” types I was a little apprehensive for the first part of the show because people were laughing and we weren’t. That’s either a sign that they are all getting something that we aren’t or vice versa – so either we’re in a room full of huge losers or we are the huge losers, neither scenario being particularly attractive. Sure enough, though, one by one the laughter came and as we loosened up the show got better and better until it erupted into a pretty hilarious bloodbath of song and dance. Hell, I want to break into song right now just thinking about it.

In any case – it’s no wonder that it keeps getting extended as it’s a pretty sweet show and I definitely recommend checking it out. If you’re a Gwar fan then you definitely want to sit in the front row and wear a white t-shirt… trust me.

As an interesting sidenote: things came full circle for me last night as Toronto comedian “Nug” took the stage as the character Jake. Years ago, my good friend Mike’s mom worked at the CBC and she’d get us extra work and odd jobs from time to time and one night we spent some time hangin’ out with the aforementioned Nugster. During this time, he said all kinds of hilarious shit but the thing that stuck with me the most was his impersonation of his drunk father sittin’ in the lazyboy, beer in one hand and the remote in the other, trying to get the tv to work saying “Whuddarwedoing? Wherarwegoing? Make ‘er go!” And so… the term had been officially coined and the rest is history.

Last night was a momentous night here in Toronto – Igor Kenk (yeah, that Igor) was arrested in connection with… you guessed it… a bike theft. Now, I’m sure that at least some of Igor’s reputation is a result of exaggeration and urban legend but there is no doubt that the guy actively and knowingly buys and sells stolen bikes. Funny; the Sun (of all papers!) was the first paper to give him a voice a couple of days ago and now are also the first ones reporting his arrest.

Shutting down the likes of Igor is a step in the right direction in reducing the amount of theft in the city but I don’t think that we can count on the city or the police to do much of anything about it in the grand scheme of things – although admittedly the bait bike / sting that busted Igor was obviously effective.

Let’s face it – it’s not that police officers don’t care personally but dealing with bike theft on an individual basis is an overwhelming task. It’s not like they can put out an APB on an all black fixed gear they way they would on a raised camo truck with Rampage Jackson painted on the side.

I’ve heard of the police checking in at La Carerra to look for $6000 road bikes but generally speaking if your average bicycle gets stolen then you’ll be told by the police that they’ll call you if it turns up. With few exceptions, if you don’t catch the person on the street with your bike soon after it went missing, it’s gonzo for good.

As for the city; a couple of years ago it was discovered that the city of Toronto’s locking posts were easily defeated with a simple 2×4 and a little bit of leverage. In response the city started doubling up the rings but I don’t know how far they got but very few (almost none) of the posts I see on a regular basis have the beefed up double ring. In fact, an embarrassingly large number of them don’t even have one!

One of the largest reasons that bicycles are so amazing is because you can get around the city extremely quickly and efficiently but that is also one of the things that makes them so desirable to steal – if you can get that bike away from it’s lock or out of it’s owner’s sight you can be gone in an instant and this city is so full of babies that are too afraid to do something when they seem someone obviously stealing a bike / components.

I’ve often wanted to set up a bait bike but I guess the question is; what do we do with the thieves once we’ve caught them? I’ve always wanted to beat the living tar out of a bike thief but it would seem a lot more justified as a spur of the moment reaction to some dickwad with his hands all over my stuff as opposed to something so premeditated; I would presume that the fuzz would see it in the same way. The idea of setting up a brakeless freewheeled bike to look like a fixed gear and then chasing the would-be thief into traffic is also pretty appealing but I don’t think I’d be able to shake the responsibility if the guy got seriously hurt or even killed.

The police estimate that somewhere in the neighborhood of 12,000 bikes go missing every year which doesn’t even take into account the amount of components (seats, posts, wheels, etc.) that go missing. So, where are all these bikes / parts going? It’s unlikely that Igors or Uncle Jacobs could realistically move that kind of volume with the sort of public scrutiny they are under and I don’t see all that many of the bikes that I’ve known of ending up on craigslist or ebay so where? Are people parting them out and riding them? Hiding them in their basements for a couple of years before selling? Taking vanloads to Montreal then loading up with MTL bikes to sell here? Where do they go?

More importantly, what are we supposed to do about it? I don’t leave my bike outside if I can control it, use multiple locks when locking up for any amount of time, glue ballbearings into my allen heads / have considered switching over to torx heads, etc. but what we all know that those are all just deterrents – a good thief can get through anything if they want your bike badly enough.

At the end of the day, the only thing you can do is lock your bike in visible areas with quality locks, make sure your components aren’t easily removed and for christ’s sake – if you see someone stealing someone else’s shit and are physically able to, DO something!

In a related note; here are just a few bikes that belong(ed) to folks I know that have gone missing in the last couple of weeks. If you see someone riding or selling them, kindly liberate their bikes for them.

Colin’s Langster (outdated)

Colin’s Langster (recent)

Colin’s Kokanee

On the plus side – Colin lost two bikes (and parts / a pump) in a garage break-in but at least it allowed him to get this;

Also be on the look out for my friend Lyndsey‘s wheels that went missing earlier this week while she was out skating.

Front: Mavic 6xp33 (650) laced to Formula Track hub
Rear: Mavic DA22 (700) laced to Formula Track hub

In another related note; if you’ve got a nice Brooks saddle, be sure to lock that shit down! Brooks theft in this city seems to be reaching epidemic proportions.

I was lucky enough to get out of town last Thursday & Friday to go to the 5th annual InViVo Cottage Wkd at Honey Harbor for some team building type stuff along with swimming, wakeboarding, kayaking, marathon drinking, etc.

My team (Nicole Kidman, Kylie & Dani Minogue, Mick Dundee and of course Steve Irwin RIP) won the amazing race / scavenger hunt and also took best in show! Sure, it’s super nerdy but for any of you reading that actually know me – have I ever been worried about being a bit of a nerdbomber?

Seriously, check out those NOS Boris Becker sunnies – ridiculous!!!

It was nice, as well, to get back into town before the weekend actually started so I was still able to enjoy my weekend biking around and hanging out with friends which is pretty much all I need to keep me happy.

I love my life. My knees are feelin’ a little better these days and my pink eye has cleared up so expect more bike related content in the coming weeks…

I joined the Missfits last night for softball practice with dark clouds looming overhead. We played through some rain but decided to call the practice once the lightning got too close and I think that was a solid decision given today’s headline in The Star.

Getting home early gave me a chance to roughly assemble the barnboard frames that I chopped up last week.

Some of the cuts were a little rough but didn’t take much cleaning up at all.

Some of the joints go together perfectly but due to the nature of hundred year old wood pulled off the side of a barn the widths aren’t totally even the whole way down which left me with a few monkey joints that I’ll cut / sand / distress once I’ve got the backing on and the frame structure is solidified.

They seem to be reasonably square and I think are going to look beautiful when hung on my wall.

While I was working on my frames I was thinking about how I would like to make some reclaimed timber shelving much like the ones my friend Rob Pilichowski makes except without the backplate so they have more of a floating shelf effect.

A couple minutes after I finished my frames for the night I was lurkin’ around and coincidently found a little write up on Rob’s shelves on Apartment Therapy. Wild, wacky stuff!

Check out Rob’s work as Cinder Design, Propeller Blade & All Out War. Yeah, he’s a busy dude.

Last night I was flipping around on YouTube and I came across the new TV On The Radio video which, to my surprise, was directed by my dear old friend and Caledon Wrestling Crew superstar Jeff Scheven. Good work, fella!

While I’m posting up TV On The Radio jams I might as well post up the song that turned me around on them. My boy Paul always used to try to get me to see the light but I was havin’ none of it – I just couldn’t stand this band but somehow hearing this song made me a believer and all of a sudden even the stuff I didn’t like previously became really digable.

Just like one of the Youtube comments says; I really hope that this is an official video. Somehow I doubt it but it’s sweet as all hell regardless.