Public enemy No 1 proof

This little guy is public enemy #1 here in TO.   Sometimes I wonder if the Waste management people are public enemy #1 re: our bins.  Since our garbage and recycle bins are damaged from the way they handle our bins.

We've had to bungee cord our compost/green bin to the chainlink fence because this cute little guy will knock over the bin to open the lid and have a feast.

I remember when this would happen almost weekly and I'd have to shovel everything back into the bin.  It was gross.
But then they replaced the latch on the little bin, but I still bungee corded it to the fence so they couldn't knock it over.

I think they've given up on ours because it hasn't happened for years.  So they go on to other neighbours bins instead.

We got this new bin last week.  And it's quite large.  The locking mechanism is different too.  Now all the seniors won't be able to open it.

They might think that you shove all the old food in the black part and end up breaking the unit.  There goes our tax dollars and CPP!

I'm wondering how long this unit will last with the abuse it takes from the garbage pick up workers?

I didn't put ours out since we have very little and just put the one bag into a neighbours bin.  This also saves me from picking up from critters knocking over bins since our bin isn't out there to knock over.  Clever eh?

Apparently it was designed to be taller because it would make it more difficult for the raccoons to knock it over.  But they travel in packs.  They'll figure something out.

It looks about the same size as our recycle and garbage bins.  Except when you open it, the bottom is actually just below that bar there in the middle.

I'm hoping that it survives the pick up.

Jack's Ride

I was a little worried about this ride.  We both were. Mainly cuz I hadn't done a ride this long all year.  I don't think I did one this long last year.  And we both knew the ride was going to be hilly.

I've been riding my mountain bike a lot. So I was hoping that was going to make the difference.  And to be honest it did.  More so than the road rides.

From what I understand it has a lot to do with the nature of mountain biking and the higher heart rate you will experience from all the climbing.  Where as on the road the heart rate can be a bit lower except when you are hitting a hill or sprinting.   Most times on a mountain bike trail you really have to spin your legs.  Maintaining a high cadence.  It's the only way to get up the technical climbs or else you are walking or falling over.

My strategy was to pace myself and get into a group that I can draft off of, because it's always easier in a group than on your own.  Way easier.

900 riders.  That's the cap.
I also ran into a couple of friends from the DH Flyers cycling club I belong to.  J-M just before the ride start and Elysse that I ran into at the end while I was waiting to get a burger to eat.

They always have student youth speakers talk of their experiences before the ride start.  It's such a great cause.
How often are youth pushed and prepared to do well in school, sport and life?  But what happens if you don't do well?
Are the youth prepared for those situations?
Were we?  Probably not.  But it's so competitive today.
Everything is about being in the best schools, best leagues, best neighbourhoods.  What happens if you aren't?  Can you cope?  Can you manage?  Do you have the tools to do so?
Maybe, maybe not.  It can seem overwhelming.  And sometimes it can overwhelm.

But that's what this cause is about.  Having some place for youth to turn to for help coping with what life throws at them, before it's too late.  The youth may not have been taught these coping tools, but together we can learn from one another and be able to move forward.  It's pretty terrific.

This is a well organized event.  Everything runs like clockwork.
There are 3 stops for the 100km ride and 2 for the 50km.  Tresa told me last year she ran into the 100+km riders at the 1st pit stop,  I wasn't sure how that could be, but this years ride guess who i ran into!  As i was getting some fuel at my second pit stop (at the 56km point) I turn around and we were so surprised we ran into each other.  I was wondering how she was doing.  And she looked to be riding well.  Last year was pretty hot and it was tough.  This year she seemed stronger and more prepared.

This was the group I was riding with for most of the way.  After 75km other riders were joining and riding to the front and the original group I was with was splintered, and I found myself riding the last 1/4 on my own.  The 125km peloton had caught me with about 10+km to go, and I stayed with them for about 5km, when I just couldn't maintain their pace any longer.  I didn't even stop at the last pit stop, just cuz I wanted to be done.  But if I had, I would have ran into Tresa again.  I saw that she had stopped there on the Strava Flybys.

I was tired and hungry for some real food instead of nut bars.  Although these One of a Kind bars are pretty tasty.
I could no longer stand Cliff, Lara and whatever else there was in the health section of Loblaws.

They raised quite a bit this year.
The goal was $440K, but they hit that target pretty quickly.

It was then raised to $550K.  Blew by that.

They raised almost $700K.
I was told that this ride pretty much raises much of the money the organization needs to operate for the year.

Well done.

Glad i got a chance to ride it this year.
Happy the weather was pretty much ideal.
Overcast, little wind and much cooler temperatures compared to last year.

Thanks to everyone that sponsored us!
100% of it goes to the helping of the youth mental health cause.

Jack.org/Ride 

LV day

It's on the wish list.  Like the Christian Louboutin shoes.
There's more to life than just shoes and bags you know.

Happy Mother's Day!

Finally the Squeaky Wheel gets the grease

We got this dryer for free from Tresa's parents after they got a new set. It works perfectly! But from day 1 it squeaked.  Usually it'll last a few mins then go away.

But lately it's been squealing for the entire time it's running.  Even with the laundry room door it was getting to be like Medieval Interrogation Torture. It's pretty loud.  I wished I had recorded it, but I didn't really want to record something that I could not bare hear any more!

So I did google it and from what parts/service places say it's the drum rollers.  And so I got new drum rollers and a belt.  I thought I might as well replace the belt while i have it opened.

Kieran helped me figure out how to take it apart and service the belt and drum rollers.
We also vacuumed the inside of the dryer and basically gave it a 100km tuneup.

We brought down a laptop and watched the videos on how to do it.
It took a little bit of searching to find how to open OUR model of Maytag dryer but we found it.  And it was good for him to see how you can do anything if you set your mind to it and do some research.
It's amazingly simple.  At least for the dryer.


So those 2 wheels are what I'm replacing with new ones.  Make sure you get the right part #'s for your appliance.  The person I was talking to on the phone gave me a different part# and it was a good thing the guy at the desk double checked against the model of the dryer.

And you won't be able to remove these rollers without this snap ring remover tool.  I bought it last year because when I working on my mtb fork to change the travel, i didn't have one of these.  I still got it done but this is what you need.  And it was still tricky.
But it would have been impossible not to damage the ring without it.

The belt looked ok maybe a little dried out, but i had a new one so i may as well replace it too.

Anyways. I put everything back. And the squealing still happens.  So I google to see if there should be lubricant on the drum roller shafts.  They don't do it in the video.  And it's because lint can get attracted to it.  But when I took the wheels off. They did have a bit of lubricant.

So I took it all apart and used a bit of grease.  And i also forgot to check the pulley wheel, and so I took that apart too and greased it and removed any excess to minimize lint.

I put everything back together again.

And voila.  Quiet as a mouse.
It sounded like it was brand new.

I was so happy.
That squealing was driving me bananas.

Epic 8 - Mansfield

I wasn't planning on participating in this event.

I was there to watch some friend participate in the Epic 8 Hour mountain bike race over at Mansfield.

I thought it was at the ski place, but nothing happening there.

This is across the street and north about 300m.

I had gone to visit my sister to drop off some stuff and for Kieran to hang out.  And I then went to ride Mono Cliffs.

And afterwards planned to go to Mansfield.

And saw a bunch of my cycling friends set up and talking about why they do this.  And it sounding like they were ready to pack it in.  They were lucky the weather held off.  It was perfect.  They had some rain but really it's nothing when it's in the trees.

I've done a MTB 36K condo in rain and it was fine.  Riding road in the rain.  Well that's different.  Disc brakes are weather resistant.  Roads get slick, dirt drains, also the canopy of trees takes up a lot of the water.

I'm standing at the finish and I see my neighbour roaring in to finish his lap.
That last downhill section of switchbacks to the finish looks like a lot of fun.

Raoul and his other tag team Daffyd still had time to ride at least 1 or maybe 2 laps.  But they were cooked and fried.  Having done 6 laps.  So they asked if I wanted to do a lap.  I was lucky i had my bike and gear and ready to go!  Unexpectedly, so I went.

I didn't have my gloves and i was wearing my glasses, i had no water.  So i went out to have fun and get back to the finish before the cutoff for last lap. This park is pretty fun!
Lots of single track, double track, technical down hills and uphills.  One really sandy uphill that i just didn't have enough speed to get up.

And that finish is at the end of a 1km up hill.
And it's a set of tight switchbacks with deep ruts from all the riders trying hard not to fall down the side of the hill.  But it was interesting for sure.

And I made it with 4mins to go before the cutoff.  I probably coulda squeezed in another lap, but i needed water and i wiped out in the middle of the course on a tight sandy speedy turn so i could feel the crunch of sandy dirt grit in my mouth.

It looked like fun.
Lucky the weather was great.
I had hail at Mono Cliffs.
But it was only for a short while.

Looking forward to the 24Hrs of Summer Solstice!

After the rain I saved a life

Well I saved a snails life.
I stepped on 2 of them by accident.
And after the rains usually it's the worms that are out on the sidewalks and roads going where I don't know.

But it isn't the best life choice to make.

So after my ride, I looked down and saw a snail on the road by our house.

Sometimes it's just an empty shell, but I saw this guy making his way back to the land of the lawns.  So I gave him the express deal.
He hid in his shell when i picked him up.  But he's in there nice and safe.
for now.