Tempus Fugit

Latin (tem-pu̇s-ˈfü-git): Time Flies

Posts

  • It started off so innocently

    I invited the guys to the boat show. We saw some impressive water craft. Drooled over some ridiculously expensive fiberglass. Went out for wings and a beverage and talked about stuff.

     

    And then, the next day, it started.

    There were a few more discussions and then today we’re in a store looking around. Parker saw lots of cool stuff and had to get into, or on to most of them.

    But we really knew what we were looking for and after some discussions about the colour we close a deal on one of these bad boys.

    With a trailer and a few accessories. Now somebody is shopping for some more add on gear.

    Going to be some fun times at the lake this summer.

  • Family Time

    Between services at church today I got the privilege of spending a few special moments with Scott, Mandy, Easton  and Clark.

     

    So nice to touch base and connect even for a few moments. Shared a cookie with Easton and had a nice cuddle with Clark who was so relaxed and looking around checking out all the action.

    So great to have family at church together

  • Winner!

    It appears that I’m a winer in the Tour of Sufferlandria! My prize? Well, interesting that you should ask. The prize is Taylor Phinney signed pair of Giro Empire shoes (Collectible – size 45)

     

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    And sure enough he wears them!

    At first I was thinking what will I do with a pair of his shoes? I wonder if they are used or new? I might be able to fit into size 45 (11 1/2). Turns out these are north of $400 at the LBS.  I just might need to step up my gear to go along with these bad boys.

  • IceBike 2015

    I rode the IceBike today, probably my 10th or more, I’ve lost track, but I’ve got quite a few T-shirts from the events at home.

    Ready to go and it's only -20°C
    Ready to go and it’s only -20°C

    For me, this year was one of the worst. Within the first couple of minutes I had a mechanical issue with chain suck that had me stopped and off the bike for 2-3 minutes. After that I probably went out too hard trying to make up time. The bulk of the course was flat (well this is Winnipeg) and on well shovelled  paths of on the river trail. That made the bulk of the course quite fast, which was nice.

    IceBike 2015 Abominable
    IceBike 2015 Abominable

    However, at the far end of the loop there was a fairly big single track section which was very challenging to ride. A small center track was hard packed and on each side, deep loose snow. If you slipped off the straight and narrow, your were in the rough, and for that meant off the bike.  I’d say on the 1st lap I was able to ride 50% of this section, the 2nd lap 25%, and on the 3rd lap I walked or jogged the entire thing.  This was the first IceBike where I had not been able to ride the full course. Even the last downhill onto the river gave me trouble and I should have been able to handle that section.

    Passed quite a few phat bikes and after riding one a few weeks ago, I know why. Those thinks are a bear to ride fast with the fat tires and low pressure. The cross and road bikes ruled the day as the bulk of the course was built for speed. Not even very much ice!

    Crossing the finish line at IceBike 2015
    Crossing the finish line at IceBike 2015

    Having pre & post race activities at Muddy Waters Smokehouse was excellent! I really enjoyed siting at a table and having a cool one with Smothered Poutine covered in pulled pork and chili while they announced the race winners and gave our door prizes.

    Update: the results are in. 16 (72:08) out of 24. Achieved my goal, to have a good time, finish, and not be last. Winning time was 53:31, so I’ve got lots of room for improvement.

    Details on Strava:

  • Tour Completed

    By the numbers:

    All to get this: tos-badge  and perhaps a prize.

  • Make my day

    Brought a little tear of joy & love when I received this message today.

    [quicktime width=”800″ height=”600″]http://www.bigdadoo.com/blog/wp-content/MOV_0040.MOV.mov[/quicktime]

  • Tour of Sufferlandria – Stage 3

    I… am… so… out… of… my… league… at… 308.

    ToS2015-Banner-1600x628

    Today’s Fight Club just killed me. Had to stop multiple times in the last two intervals to recover. I’m going to have to dial down my FTP from 308 to something like 290 in order to survive the next 6 days. Last year I tested a 311FTP shortly before the Tour in 2014, and got about this far before I had to turn it down. With no rest days, the legs just can’t handle multiple days with this load.

    My standing: http://www.trainerroad.com/tour-of-sufferlandria-2015/garry

    What’s this all about?

     

  • New Years Eve at the Lake

    For the 1st time, we welcomed in the new year from the cottage. With the forecast for temperatures in the -10 to -20°C over night it seemed quite manageable from a heating and temperature perspective so we headed out around noon on the 31st for a nice sunny drive to the lake. Once at the cottage, the 1st priority was getting the heating systems turned on to the max. The fireplace was set and the kerosene heater was fuelled an in place so they were quick to start.  The electric furnace took a little bit more persuasion to get operational. When it was turned on you could hear the motor trying to spin the fan. Rrrr, Rrrr, Rrrr, “click” as the motor protector shut it down because it was too cold to get the motor spinning fast enough. No big deal, I’d experienced and solved this problem before. By running an interior car warmer inside the furnace for about 10-15 minutes, it warmed up the electric motor enough so it could get up to full speed. It took from about 3pm to 10:30 pm to bring the cottage from -12°C to +20°C.

    During the warm up time we unloaded the car,  chopped/drilled a hole in the 12″ lake ice to bring up some water, enjoyed some snacks, and had a wonderful rack of lamb dinner and a few movies. Across the bay someone even put on a very professional 15 minute fireworks display for our enjoyment as well.

    Winter Water
    From the main foot bridge at Rushing River Provincianl Park, Ontario, Canada

    On New Years Day, after a leisurely bacon and eggs breakfast and tidying up the dishes we headed over to Rushing River for another first, a winter hike along the lower river trail.

    It was a beautiful sunny day, and while there was a light wind, in the shelter of the trail it was fairly warm. I took quite a few photos, and enjoyed the outing, as did Shirley.

    Open Water
    Down the river trail, close to the bridge, the snow and ice flanks the faster moving water.

    Back at the cottage it was time for some late lunch and then cozying up in front of the fireplace with  good book for a lazy afternoon. Dinner and some movies, and another day is done.

    January 2nd is a bit colder outside and after a few cups of coffee, some reading and breakfast, we’re packing up and getting ready to head back to the city. With a stop at Ye Old Chip truck in Kenora, we’re on our way. It was a very nice, peaceful and quiet getaway before returning back to the normal routines after the holiday break.

  • Christmas Eve

    Best Christmas present ever was having our entire family, extended family and church family together in the Christmas Eve service. Having your children and grandchildren together at church, worshiping, keeping the young ones engaged, and just reflecting on the family  is the best gift ever. So proud of them all.

  • Going Old School

    My first stereo system component was a Harman Kardon Rabco ST-7. This is a very sweet linear tracking turntable and for several months it just sat on a shelf as I admired my 1st purchase. At that point I had nothing to hook it up to!

    Well after a couple of decades in retirement, it’s back in service. The main driver for this revival was a gift of Hillsongs Zion on vinyl from Scott and Mandy on my birthday. It hooked effortlessly into my current audio system, and even had a space waiting for it on the shelf.

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    However, halfway through the first song, things came to a screeching halt, quite literally. The tone arm mechanism was not tracking properly and trailed the arm is such a way that it pinned it down to the record. Not good.

    Well, after 20+ years of just sitting around, I guess a little maintenance work is to be expected. The ST-7 is notoriously finicky to get set up correctly, but once you’ve got it, its a thing of beauty. After removing the back cover plate it became clear that there was a lot of buildup and “gunk” on the tracking shaft which is instrumental in keeping the arm moving properly across the record. After cleaning that I my attention turned to the small tracking roller that rides on the tracking shaft roller tube. It had similar looking gunk on it. Armed with a Q-tip and alcohol (for cleaning purposes on the Q-tip) I started to clean the roller. A short time into that process and I started to wonder if this was normal, and what is this gunky stuff.

    Google to the rescue. It turns out this “gunk” is what’s left of the silicone ring that is fitted onto the roller. For the ST-7 this is a well known maintenance issue, and from all the descriptions I could locate on the web, very challenging to get the roller out. Once out you can replace the silicone ring with a fairly standard plumbing o-ring from Home Depot. The challenge is getting the roller out and back in without breaking anything or doing a full and complex disassembly. The roller is in a plastic U shaped holder, with very limited access. Apparently surgical tools and surgical skills are a asset in doing this repair.

    Perhaps some more disassembly will assist in getting this thing out. Next thing you know my ST-7 looks like this, stripped of all it’s aluminium finery.

     

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    The roller that I need to replace is in here, behind that metal plate with the screw sticking out (Tracking adjuster), cradled in that light grey plastic piece that you can hardly see.
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    After quite some time and some careful exploration, the roller is out!

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    Apparently, the roller is not symmetrical, some 0.20 mm wider on one end than the other so I get a measure to ensure it goes back in the right way. That brown stuff is like a gummy bear that has melted down and wrapped itself around the roller. Cleaning it up and putting the new o-ring on is easy. Another hour to get the roller back into it’s holder.

    After a few re-assembly goofs, it’s all back together and running. I probably spent another 1-2 hours adjusting the tracking while enjoying some resurrected albums from the storage areas that we’re saved from my collecting days.

    I’m sure there will be a little more vinyl in my listening future.