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I passed the 3100km mark on the ride home this afternoon. 3100km ridden on my bike so far in 2008. Seems like a strange milestone - but I’ve now ridden more as of August 12 2008 than I did in all of 2007.

I thought I pretty much maxed out riding last year. But I started riding earlier this year, and have taken a slightly longer route along the Bowmont Natural Pathway to avoid some street riding. And I have ridden almost every single day since mid-January (except for maybe a couple of sick days and miscellaneous days missed due to travel etc…). If I can keep up the pace, I should be able to hit 4-5000km by the end of the year. That’s a LOT of carbon saved…

I’m definitely not the most prolific photographer, but it only took me 4 years to publish 5,000 photos to Flickr. Not all are publicly viewable, but they are all available under a simple Creative Commons Attribution license.

Here’s #5,000 - my 2008/366photos from today, of my son Evan being a typical pyromaniac kid at the campground this morning

That’s like riding from Calgary to Vancouver and back. Or Calgary to Thunder Bay. Heck, I could have ridden from Calgary to San Francisco, with over 400km to spare. hmmm….

I’ve been riding my bike as primary transportation on my commute for a couple of years now (started really doing it again in 2006, after a few years of not riding very much). I ride just over 28km per day, every weekday, so have managed to rack up the kilometers pretty quickly. I had set a target for myself to ride 3,500km in 2008, trying to beat my 3,100km ridden in 2007. Looks like I’m on track to blow that away, and might hit 4,000km if I’m able to keep going. That’d be like riding from Calgary to Quebec City. Or to New York…

I’ve ridden through blizzards, monsoons, hail, lightning, and the regular traffic filled with aggressive and psychotic drivers.

But I wouldn’t give it up. I’m so much happier riding. The smells of spring. The sounds of the birds. That would all be missed if I was trapped in a bus or car. It’s just so much better to be riding. And, I’m in the best physical shape of my adult life - I’ve lost almost 30 pounds from my all-time fatass peak. Feeling great! Here’s hoping I can do another 2,000km in 2008

I did it. I managed to ride my bike 3000km (so far) in 2007. Last year, I rode about 1500km. I estimated I might ride 2000-2500km this year. But this morning, after dropping Evan off at school, I pulled the bike out and rode along the Bow River Pathway. I’ve now ridden over 3000km this year, and hope to do even more in 2008.

The year’s riding started while on Maui, when I rode about 60 miles down Haleakala - starting at over 10,000′ and descending to near sea level. As I rode through the year, it’s like a switch got thrown - I wasn’t making myself ride my bike to work, it was just how I got around. I didn’t have to give it much thought. And, because I was riding on my commute, I was making far more time for exercise than I could have otherwise (with a family at home that needs attention as well) - but because I have to spend time getting to and from work, it was really simple to just convert that into some great exercise. I wound up losing almost 20 pounds of flab without really trying, and without paying any attention to what I was eating.

The season’s almost over for the year (never thought I’d be thinking the season wasn’t officially over at the end of November!) and I know I’m going to miss it during the deep winter months. I’ll try to ride earlier in the season - maybe starting in March 2008? All I need is a pair of waterproof riding pants, and I’m good to ride through the spring rainy season…

I passed the 1500km mark on the way home today. At 26km/day, I’m hoping to add at least another 1000km before the riding season ends. Following Dave King’s lead, I’m taking a photo at every 100km rollover. Here’s what 1500km looked like:

I just passed the halfway point for my 2007 “365 photos” challenge, where I try to take at least one photo every day for the entire year 2007. I’ve actually been successful in taking a photo per day. Most days, I take many, so the hardest part is picking the “best” photo to represent the day. Other days, I don’t feel like taking a photo, or nothing interesting happens. Those are the hard days. I’ve still managed to take photos on those days, but it’s definitely a challenge.

I’m now up to 183 photos (many of which are only visible online to “friends and family” on Flickr). I’m trying to vary the types of photos I take, both in content and style, to try to stretch a bit. Not sure I’m succeeding in that, but here’s the last few weeks worth of photos:

Why do this? It’s just a bunch of boring photos of daily banality. Well, yeah. And so what? The point is to force myself to shoot more photos, whether I feel like it or not. There are a few reasons to do this, mostly related to practicing the technical stuff involved with taking photographs, so that it just becomes automatic and unthinking. I can now select aperture, exposure, ISO, focal length, etc… without having to actually think about it. I’ve also come to realize that it doesn’t really matter what camera you use - the key is to have a camera ready at hand at all times. I’ve been biking to and from work, and don’t want to lug my big LowePro AW200 backback. I’ve been bringing my little Fujifilm point-and-shoot because it’s small, and I wouldn’t lose too much sleep if it got wrecked. And as a result, it’s always been with me on my bike, and I’ve gotten several great shots I’d have missed otherwise.

I still love the hell out of my XT, and make a point of lugging it around wherever possible. The more I shoot with it, the more I appreciate just how well it works. I occasionally lust after a newer/faster camera, but it would be much more effective to invest in some better lenses (I have about half a dozen on my wish list, ranging from überwide 10-22mm, to überlong 300mm IS, to standard plastic-fantastic…)

Anyway, I’m still having a total blast with the 365photos challenge. I may not be a better photographer, artisitically speaking, but at least I’m getting more proficient, and forcing myself to delve into a bit more creativity.

I passed the 1000 km mark half way into my ride home today. Since I started riding in July, I’ve now ridden over 1000 km just commuting to and from work, broken into 80 equal 12.54 km trips. That’s roughly equivalent to riding from Calgary to Vancouver, even when accounting for vertical climb (92m per ride). I’m feeling better than I have in years, and am probably in the best physical shape I’ve been in since high school (although you couldn’t tell by looking).

I’ve realized just how BAD Calgary drivers are. Aggressive. Mean. Rude. Dangerous. And occasionally nice/courteous/cool. But mostly evil. They act like they’re entitled to the entire road. They don’t have to be aware of their surroundings. They don’t have to put down the cell phone long enough to pass through a busy intersection. They can cut off anyone they feel like, at any time, without warning. They have the “Baby on Board” sign on the minivan/SUV, so it’s all good.

I’m not planning on being a religious psycho bike rider. When the weather gets really crappy, I’ll start taking the bus again. But my definition of “crappy weather” keeps adjusting…

I just realized that it’s been approximately 5 years since I started “blogging” - shortly after the untimely demise of The Company Who Shall Not Be Named (March, 2001), I started dabbling with weblog software. First, I played with a copy of a blog app that was included on my Dad’s MacAddict CD-ROM, then I played with Blosxom. The first year’s worth of posts were either intensely personal, or intensely boring (or both) and have long since evaporated into the ether. The oldest surviving post on this blog is just shy of 4 years old.

There must be some kind of pin or something. Or maybe a support group or 12-step program…

We were able to record that Intro to Podcasting presentation I gave on Wednesday, and the video has been processed and compressed. The audio is a bit wonky because the microphones were fixed and all turned on - and I wasn’t wearing a lapel mic so I get hard to hear as I wander around the front of the room. Next time, I’ll wear a lapel mic, and warn everyone that all of the microphones are on all the time to avoid the paper rustling and desk drumming that got picked up.

Thanks to King for working his video compression ninja skillz on the rough VHS source. He pumped out a small (iPod) and larger (computer playable) version.

Intro to Podcasting

(more formats available here)

My bike has been collecting dust in the garage for almost 2 years. I used to ride all the time - even commuting to the University back when I worked in the Faculty of Nursing. But, I’ve been succesfully avoiding riding it (or doing any other real physical activity, really) for far too long. 2 days of Easter-related binge eating pushed me over the edge, so I pumped up the tires and went for a ride around the community.

I took a somewhat leisurely ride - likely because my bike computer had stopped working in the 2 year stasis hanging in the garage - so I could just enjoy the ride rather than obsessing about metrics. Max. speed this trip? Average speed? Current speed dropping below 20 km/h? I also left the iPod at home so I could enjoy the sounds. That was a great idea for the first half of the ride, following the pathway system to the northwest of my house with birds chirping and creeks/ponds splashing. The latter half of the ride was mostly along streets, so the iPod would have been a Bad Idea™ anyway.

Lacking my bike computer’s micromanagement, I fired up Google Earth after I cooled off to see how far I went. Turns out it’s only about 7.6 km, but not a bad ride. I wound up going for 7.5 km, and only dismounted to go through a fence at one point. That’s a huge accomplishment, given my physical condition and the very hilly nature of the community.

It was a bit odd, as most of the landmarks I used to use in my pre-hiatus Tuscany circumnavigation rides have been obliterated. Fields now full of houses. Dirt paths now paved roads or paths. That last house before the field? Yeah, it’s not a field anymore.

It’s got a pretty good vertical climb, since the community is built on the side of a hill. Going south/west is basically a free ride, north/east is a huff-puff heartbuster.

I’m going to try to do this quasi-regularly. I’d originally intended to take up jogging, but I think biking is better suited to me. For one, I can do it. Less wear and tear, and I enjoy it. If I enjoy it, I’m more likely to do it. I’ll see if that’s still the story in the morning. I bet saddle soreness beats shin splints, though…

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