Tempus Fugit

Lunar Eclipse
Originally uploaded by Big Dadoo

Hey, isn’t that a Pink Floyd song on Dark Side of the Moon? No, the song I was thinking of was Bonnie Tyler’s Total Eclipse of the Heart.

Anyway, we rolled out of bed this morning at 3:45am to catch the event. Initially, it was a little cloudy but the skies cleared for a perfect view of the total lunar eclipse, the first in the 21st century. About half way through I went back to the cottage to pick up the camera and get a few shots. As the eclipse proceeded and the moon dimmed more and more, the stars really started to pop out in the night sky. Some more photos and a NASA explanation of the event

Echelon: a paceline of drafting cyclists grouped in two staggered lines, one moving forward into wind, the other moving backward sheltered downwind by the others. (source)

On yesterdays FOG ride I experienced my first taste of riding in an echelon. We’d just turned onto Hwy 206 and there was a fairly strong cross wind and the next thing I know I hear some yelling about “Up on the right and back on the left”. This was followed by lots of coaching comments which helped me a lot since I was a newbie at this maneuver. I found it quite a lot of fun, but it was very busy and you really had to pay attention. With only 12 riders you were looping up to the front quite rapidly. This went along well until the traditional breakaway as we approached a hill entering into Birds Hill Park. At 75km into the ride I don’t yet have the legs to keep up with some of the faster guys, which today was almost everybody.

Powered by ScribeFire.

On Thursday we’d been out to dinner with friends and were back at our house just chatting on the street before calling it a night when a young man starts walking up the street talking very loudly. At first we thought he was just talking on a cell phone to friends, but it turns out he was calling home for help and when he spotted us he came our way for assistance.

It turns out he had just been sprayed point blank in the face with bear or pepper spray by some kids around the corner and he was in agony. Well, what was a quite evening got quite exciting! We took him around the back and had him flushing his face and eyes with water. This provided some relief but not much. Shirley called 911 and help was on it’s way. It also turns out we know his parents through a mutual friend, so Shirley calls around and gets his home number. It turns out nobody’s home because his Mom is already driving around trying to find him from the previous cell phone call.

Soon there is the sound of sirens and the firemen arrive, followed by an ambulance followed by two police cars. The street is now blocked off and blinking like a Christmas tree on steroids. The firemen ask for milk, and proceed to flush his eyes, nose & face with it. This helps take the sting away much better that water as it turns out. Everything wraps up in a few minutes and they take him off to the hospital to get checked over just as him Mom arrives. Quite the night.

There are some sick kids out there. Who’s just hanging around looking for somebody to spray with pepper spray? We find out from the police, that this was the second incident in the neighborhood that night.

Powered by ScribeFire.

An unusual thing happened on the ride home from work today, a guy passed me.

Normally, I’m passing the other cyclists but this time a guy passed me. He was wearing an Olympia jersey, packing some gear and riding a mountain bike, obviously a serious cycling commuter such as myself. So, of course I stepped it up a bit and fell in behind him enjoying the draft. Then he pulled out into the middle of the lane for a short period and then back to the curb. At first, I didn’t know what to make of this but when he did it the second time I knew it was an invitation to take the lead an pull for a while. We worked it most of the way down St. Marys and we’re flying at a very respectable 36-37km/h. This doesn’t happen very often especially on the commute ride, and it was fun to silently fall into the pattern of helping each other speed up the ride.

It was a good thing to go a little faster than normal as a major downpour erupted as I pulled into the driveway. I hope he made it home before the storm as well. Good riding buddy!

I’m on Westjet 553 in 12F flying back from Toronto. 12F is the exit row and F doesn’t have a seat in front so there is lots of legroom. Another bonus is you get to pre-board.
It’s been a good trip for a sad occasion, the death of my Aunt Florence. She was a wonderful lady and so much like my mom in many ways. Lots of memories stirred.
It was good to re-connect with many of the cousins and uncles. My sister and I stayed at Aunt Floence’s house with family. So many memories in that place from over 54 years and our time when we lived in Toronto.
A hard transition for all.

Muddy Waters 100
Originally uploaded by Big Dadoo

No, I’m not that old!

However, on August 12th I cycled my first century – 100 miles! It was a great ride with around 200 participants riding 50km, 100km, or 100 miles (162km). The cycling computer photo below has the stats for the record.

Abandoned Monkeys #3
Originally uploaded by Big Dadoo

Today a grisly discovery was made by an outdoor enthusiast while hiking the popular Tunnel Island trails just outside Kenora, Ontario.

“I was just walking along side the tracks taking some photographs when something unusual caught my eye.” said the local summer resident. “At fist I thought it was just some sort of unusual fungi or something but when I looked closer I was horrified!”. “As I uncovered one then another and then another it was just too gruesome to believe.” The bodies of over fifteen monkey were exhumed from beside the CPR main line and there may be more discoveries in the days ahead as the investigation unfolds. More photographs of the crime scene have been posted here and here. The public is encouraged to call in with any information pertaining to this discovery.

Local officials are investigating and it’s not clear yet whether foul play was involved or this was some sort of a monkey cult mass suicide. Officials are warning everyone in the area to be on the look out for any signs of monkey business.

Dispro #1 – Putt Putt
Originally uploaded by Big Dadoo

This weekend it’s Harbourfest in Kenora, Ontario an there are lots of activities all weekend long. Today, I took in a couple of my favorites, the Wooden Boat Parade and the Car Show.

This little boat has to be one of my favorites. It’s a Dispro, short for Disappearing Propeller, a true Canadian masterpiece. You can read about the boat and the company here, and about a guy building a “new” Dispro from scratch as well as restoring the Lindsay Dispro and the Water-Ford Dispro. My photo essay this year is well, focused mainly on the stern of the boat an what people are naming their floating works of art. Take a look.

After getting back to the cottage and doing some miscellaneous cleanup stuff, I took the kayak out to experience some serious wave and wind action. Today there is a strong wing out of the west and once you paddle up past the tip of our point you get the full force of the breeze as there is a good 5km of open water for the waves to pick up some good size. I estimated that the typical wave was 1.5 – 2 feet with some in the 3-3.5 foot range. Paddling into the wind was not too hard but you didn’t make a lot of headway per stroke. For the first pass out beyond the protection of the point I kept the bow into the waves and wind. It was quite an experience to have the waves wash over the entire front deck and onto my lower chest. This is where the spray skirt was really earning it’s keep. A quick 180 between large waves and I ran with the wind back behind the shelter of the point. I was able to “surf” the boat on the waves. Wow, was it fast and exhilarating!  After another couple of forays into the waves I tried some sketchier moves like paddling perpendicular to the waves which worked out not too bad, but probably not recommended practice. You really need to keep an eye on what’s coming and  counter the rolling action of the waves. The  Looksha handled it all really well, so I’m very pleased with the boat.

Back at the dock I thought I’d get  familiar  with  just how far over I can lean the kayak and what a wet exit would be like and to find out if I could self rescue. It turns out that you can lean it over pretty far and in conjunction with high and low bracing maneuvers you can keep it upright most of the time. But the next thing I knew I was upside down. Good think I read a few articles on this. Number one, don’t panic you have lots of time. Grab for the sea skirt release handle, push on the cockpit edge and lift your hips out of the boat and voila, your free.

Now of course an important part of the safety & self rescue gear is in the boat house. Somebody decided that we didn’t need the paddle float nicely stowed on the back deck. OK, scramble up on the boat behind the cockpit and straddle the boat. Gee, that was easy. Opps, spoke too soon and I roll off back into the water. It turns out kayaks half full of water are even more tippier and unstable that you’d think. OK, try #2, I’m on the boat, and it’s tippy – where is my paddle? Aggg, out of reach at the back of the boat, back into the water. Try #3 is the charm and I’m in the cockpit, pumping out the water.

Note to self – always take all the safety gear. This was fun, but the water was warm and I was close to the dock in a calm area. You wouldn’t want to be making multiple attempts if the conditions were nasty!

Today was a little cloudy at the lake but still nice and warm. Most of the day was spent on the dock with Eric, Dez, Scott & Mandi and everybody hit the water toys big time. After some swimming and floating around Scott & Mandi took the kayaks out for a paddle, then Eric set up the wind surfer and wend out for a while. After he returned, Dez took a spin. Then we got the motor boat into the action and Eric went wake boarding. This is quite a feat of endurance behind a 25hp outboard on a 16′ Lund. Then we switched up to the Knee board which works a little better given the horsepower restrictions. Everybody took a turn, even me! As you can see from the pictures, I still have a trick or two up my sleeve. Hey! Wait a minute! I don’t have any sleeves!

Every kind of vehicle has cup holders these days, even our new Necky Looksha V kayak!

Cup Holder
Originally uploaded by Big Dadoo

Normally I’m up early at the lake and having a cup of coffee on the dock and doing a little reading and enjoying the early part of the day. But today, I took my coffee in the kayak and utilized the cup holder build into the seat as I went for the first paddle around our bay. Down at the bottom of the bay I spotted a turtle sunning on a log and had a close encounter with a mother duck and 5 ducklings. It was very nice and peaceful. The kayak is great, easy to paddle and it’s such a great colour.