Solstice Video

Summer Solstice 2011 on Vimeo.

Got 18 minutes to spare?

Summer Solstice 2011 & B4H

Myself and some like minded folks who like to volunteer their time for a truly good cause put their legs, hearts and wallets in the right place this past weekend and rode for 24 hours to raise awareness for Bicycles For Humanity, raise some funds to help pay for the shipping container to cross the Atlantic and have some fun to boot.

When not riding we were manning/womanning the B4H booth - Mark (man) and Lily (woman).

Hot seller - little, cute, wire bikes that were handmade by some artisans in the villages who would be receiving bikes that we send over.

Working the booth, eating, prep'ing and cleaning bikes, trying to stay dry and riding .  .  .

Curvy Butt took lap one.  Check out Mark (Misfit Psycles) just behind him.

Luc

Bad ass stash and Go Pro on lap number two for me.  Stay tuned tomorrow or the next for the video I shot.

Vegan Vagabond

While some rode, others sat on their arses.

I did my share of sitting (and shitting) myself.  Upset belly and communal cooking/camping go hand-in-hand. 

The big guy did actually ride his bike . . . for most of the race.

Was nice to catch up with Mark and Kim at the race.  Kim, 5.5 months pregnant, did two laps on a ten person team - what a freak!  And she rode them in like an hour and nine minutes on a rigid single speed.  Kid is going to come out with legs spinning.

Most of the B4H team post race.  Special thanks to Gilles and Kari for pulling us together and Gilles for all the great photos.

Mr Sociable

90 % of the time I ride alone. I guess there are a number of reasons for this:

• I have a variable schedule and it's difficult to find folks to ride when I have time,
• people generally don't like me,
• riders don't like my slow pace and inability to keep up on the hills,
• my riding shorts have holes in the rear, which isn't a terribly pleasing sight to look at when riding behind me,
• body odour,
• personal hygiene issues,
• awkward to have conversations with me,
• I don't like people,
• I accept myself and and am happy enough to ride alone, cause gosh darn it . . .  I am good enough, smart enough and people like me (exception to point #2 above)

However, there are times when the stars and moons align and I am feeling a bit social.  Last week was one of those times with not one social ride, but two. 

First ride was the weekly OMBA ride.  I rode in Group B - which was rather large, but still fun to ride with folks for a change, see some old faces and meet some new.  On our return loop I ran into my good friend Fritz and his boy Riley.  I opted to stop and chat and finish the ride with these two.  In the end it turned out to be a faster ride than the B group.  Riley, just 11 years old is a freak'n ripper.  I'd bet that 90% of the folks who ride SMH couldn't keep up to his pace.  He's podium'ed twice now at the Ontario Cup races, winning his first. 

Social ride number two: hooked up with some of the old gang and some new folks to do a ride at Camp Fortune.  Flats, fats and losing each other made for a slow, stop and start ride, but it was still a fun ride.

Tuesday Ride Photo Dump

Ever had a song stuck in your head that you just couldn't shake?  This was in my head ALL DAY Tuesday. 

Wattsford Lookoff

The NCC - improving or ruining trails in Gatineau Park?

The bench on Wolf was too inviting not to take a rest on.  No bugs in the sun either.

Fire Tower

4 hr ride.  Mont Blue to the Fire Tower and a bunch of trails in between.

What sign?!?  (no biking)  Hypothetically speaking of course . . . if I were to have ridden this trail, what environmental impact would it have on it?  It's freak'n machine groomed, hard as rock - you could almost roller skate on it.  I don't get it.

A week's worth of stuff

We came across a trail gnome at work in the middle of the week.  There's some fantastic work being done out in SMH on the trails.  If you're interested in helping out, check out OMBA's trail day this coming Saturday.

My camera couldn't focus on all the bikes (nearly 400) at the Bicycles For Humanity bike prep last night.  In about two hours we were able to break down and prep nearly 120 bikes. 

As part of supporting and advertising what B4H is all about, this year ten of us will be racing at 24 Hrs of Summer Solstice on behalf of B4H to raise funds and awareness.  More info on that to come.

I've gained a few 'Followers' Down Under.  Robbie was supposed to get a photo of one of my Jebus stickers (which she'd agree to do if I sent her one) on a kangaroo but at the last minute chickened out.  Aussies . . . pffffft, I thought that they were supposed to be tough.  "Knife?  This is a knife!"  While out on a ride she snapped the above photo and reconsidered approaching.  I don't blame her.  Check out the size of the arms on that roo!

I worked some very long hours on the weekend and didn't have the motivation or energy to ride other than to and from work.  Each day I'd pretty much come home, crash on the couch and eat Bits & Bites (cause life is too short not to eat Bits & Bites) wearing only my boxer shorts.  I couldn't even muster up the energy to take a photo, hence the re-created drawing from memory.  Miss Pibbs (our illegitimate cat) looks at me in disgust.  Yes, even a cat can see that I am an overweight slugg-o. Apparently I've also turned Asian from all the long hours of work and laziness.  Me soooo huuuungry.

Sat & Sun Mtn Bike Driving

Saturday's long'ish mtn bike ride with a couple breaks thrown in.  My riding, as blogging of late, has taken a laissez-faire approach.  Life continues to be very busy and I don't need the hassle of 'training' and writing blog posts.  It'll get done if/when it gets done.  'Training' . . . pfffft.  Riding is where it's at.

Gatineau - Wakefield loop is not complete without a stop at the bakery.

Simon and Curvy Butt . . . so many choices.

It didn't take long for me to decide.  One maple butter-pecan tart please.  The others are Curvy's . . . honest.

Lac Phillipe

Kingsmere (P7) to Camp Fortune, tootled around there, to O'Brien, to Wakefield, stuff our faces, to Lac Phillipe, back to O'Brien, up Fortune parkway to Camp Fortune, climb up CBC (fugg me!) and roll back to P7.  Bugs were stupid bad.

I got out for another good ride on Sunday with Curvy and Disco Stu out in the South March Highlands - first time out on the very technical, 100% goodtimes happy trails in Kanata Lakes this year.  Got bounced around like a ping pong ball, but was ubber fun.  My camera shit the bed and didn't take any photos that I thought I took.  But if I did, one might have captured Curvy's big spectacular crash when he ended up breaking his helmet in four places.