Posted by db on Sep 3, 2009 in
100% Irrelevance “Hey! Let’s go downtown and grab a bite to eat.
I have my awesome two-month old lock so I’ll just lock both of our bikes up with it.
Oh! Great… my key is stuck (first disappointment).. Hm.. there’s absolutely no way to get it out. It is 100% officially stuck.
Well… should we cut the lock? Are we going to be able to even cut it? We don’t have a hacksaw.. or a Rotozip or something of the sort.
Let’s go see what the make-shift Zeller’s on Sparks St has. Well… it’s confirmed that they have the worst hardware section ever (not surprising).
Lo and behold, though, they have a shady $1.00 hacksaw! Huge.
Let’s go and see if we can at least cut through the vinyl wrap around the actual metal coil.
4 minutes later…
Wow we just hacked through a $40 bicycle lock in less than 5 minutes with a $1 hacksaw. That makes me feel great.
Screw you OnGuardLock. Not only will they be getting a strong-worded letter expressing disappointing that a two month old lock seized up, I want a new lock.
Punks.
Word. Life.
db
Tags: Bike, Bike Lock, Dylan Blanchard, Life, Life of db, Ottawa
Posted by db on May 7, 2009 in
A Year in Photos,
Life 
1,173 km.
Ontario, Quebec, Maine, New Brunswick, PEI
Cutting pavement for 6-8 hours a day.
Tracing 150 kms of road lines….
7 days
Yeah, 6-8 hours is a long time per day, but not when you train for it.
And train I shall.
What to pack? Not much.
A back tire rack, with a blanket, tarp, pair of splash pants, sweater/jacket, towel, extra tire tubes and a pump. Basics.
Water, Water, Water…. energy bars, energy bars, energy bars…. Boost? Boost? Boost?
Necessities.
I think that I’ll put twitter to good use. As of right now, I’m thoroughly opposed (maybe not opposed), but I see no good in using it. It does not replace any feature that facebook can not already do for me.
Anyway, at this one point in time, I will use Twitter to send text updates to the ‘masses’, about my situation, location and hows-abouts.
I think it’ll be the easiest way to do it. “Your phone will die”… OK…I’ll buy a portable charger for my iPhone… charge it on the road with AA batteries.
2 and a half months.
72 days.
I added a countdown timer to the right side of the web page, it’ll remind me how many days I have left of training.
72 days.
I want to hit my peak shape by the 5th of July, leaving me that week to really put on some serious kilometers.
I’ll let the week of the 12th be a recoup week, shorter and more relaxed rides.
Let the journey begin on the 19th.
72 days!
Let the training commence.
Monday, Tuesday… 30kms each day.
Wednesday – cardio
Thursday – rain. Eek. First dilemma.
While I’m not opposed to riding in the rain, by any means, I do not want to sacrifice a new chain and new cogs and have the risk of rust. They’re so smooth that it’d be a shame.
Edit: I did my 30km loop through Gatineau and Hull! The sun came out after lunch and dried up the streets! Yay!
Word. Life.
db
Tags: Bike, Biking, Training
Posted by db on May 4, 2009 in
A Year in Photos,
Life
Holy Mokes that looks fast!
Well, well… Life has begun.
On multiple levels, actually.
First off, the boys of summer have arrived. Ottawa has vastly turned into a city of Islanders as two more have joined the masses. So with that comes the first day of summer work, officially kicking off the four months of money and good times.
To boot the ball a bit further – I picked up the rocking ronnie depicted in the picture to the above. I’ve been researching and looking high and low for some sort of road bike to make my mcDaunting trip home to PEI with (fyi for the un-knowledged: I’m planning to bike home to the Isle in July), and finally while the boys were purchasing their bikes yesterday, I spotted this fancy riggin! It was a relief that it didn’t carry the $1400 price tag that the rest of the road bikes in Ottawa seem to bear. Without a doubt, this’ll be the beast that suits my fancy and with all good intentions, bringing me to the end of the odd 1200km trek. I put my first miles on it today with a 30-ish km ride up and around, down and through Gatineau Park (which was sick and has unbelievably cool trails). So with that, let it mark the beginning of a 2 and a half month training extravaganza.
Lastly (!!!!!) – Life of db is officially a registered business as I attained my Master Business License today, allowing me to rock out with whatever Life of db wishes to do. Firstly, of course, is to get the TEEs section of Life ready to rock and roll. I have to get to getting on digitizing the designs and start pumping out some TEEs. It’s gonna be sick.
Rest assured, Life is here, and Life is going to kick some ass.
Word. Life.
db
Tags: Bike, Life, Life of db, Master Business License, Ottawa
