Orleans parade of lights (aka Christmas parade)

Well it looks like now I have learned how to do a few things like add a link to my photos I am at it again. Post number two for 2009, will do more but order is well past when it happened. Tonight was the night for lights in a Christmas parade in the bedroom community of Ottawa called Orleans. It is a mid to large suburb of nearly 125,000 people. The parade follows the route called the heart of Orleans aka main street. Here is the parade route. A few of us met at my house to setup our recumbents for the parade, us being HPVOoO. Human Powered Operators of Ottawa is our mostly parade riding group. The recumbents in attendance, a Catrike, Trice and Sun EZ-3 for the three wheelers. A BikeE, Action Bent and Sun EZ-1 for the two wheeler recumbents. And lastly the coup de grace, a tall bike. More photos will be added when the other get their photos linked to me.

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Wow, sure did let a lot of time pass between blogs

Hey it sure has been a long time since the last post. I think I will go back to my photos and see where I would like to start from. Off the top of my head, I see that I went to Indy to see the North American Hand Made Bicycles show. The photos in my link show most of the bicycle makers in North America in the customizing bicycle business.

Here is link to the downtown parts of Indy, Monument circle I really enjoyed walking around the center of town, it was nice to see the buildings curve around monument circle. Map of downtown Indy

And then the bicycle show in the best convention center I have laid eyes on. The show had a lot of bicycles and builders to photograph. Beginning with, things that make you go hmmm . And some of the world's fastest human powering a vehicle. Sam Whittingham with his hand made frames called, naked bicycles And some nice looking Bilenky frames.


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Owww, Ride bent for 30km and ouch.

I have been utilizing our cities great rack and roll system to get to and sometimes from work. I have found that it takes me the same time to ride home as it does to rack and roll with two commute bus trips. I am using my converted winter bicycle converted back to commuter with skinny high pressure tires. Well this AM being Canada Day thoughts about riding to work came to fullfillment. I work for a US company and get July 4th off with my Amurcin bros. :-). Any ways on the way to work (uphill all the way), both of my calves cramped on me. At work it was perfectly fine. On the way home about the same distance as the cramps starting in the AM I started cramping. Acutally I could see the calves jumping about. I pulled off the road and massaged the calves to make it the 4 miles home. Now at home legs/calves are good again. Does anyone have any ideas. I tend to drink over 10 glasses of water a day, not sure if I should use some eletrolyte for such a short distance. I also do not add salt to any foods, and have no intake of soft drinks. Anyone answers.

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Best answer: Thanks SloJoeRecumbo

Your muscles frequently cramp during and after exertion or at rest.

* You have cramps that "lock" and don't release for minutes at a time.

* A cramp recurs several times in a single day.

What Your Symptom Is Telling You

Muscle cramps are an "equal opportunity" pain: They don't discriminate between the star athlete and someone who barely moves. You may be competing in a long-distance bike race, taking leisurely laps in the pool or sleeping soundly in bed. Suddenly, a muscle seizes up and grips you in pain.

A cramp is caused by anything that interferes with the muscle's natural ability to contract and relax. Take a foot spasm, for example. When feet are flexed for propulsion while swimming or when tight bedsheets force your toes downward, the muscle tendons become overstretched and the nerves extending through your foot and into your calf can become hyperexcitable. When this happens, the nerve signals become confused, according to Robert Nirschl, M.D., assistant professor of orthopedic surgery at Georgetown University School of Medicine in Washington, D.C. The result: a painful cramp. "Your muscles may get the message to contract, but not to relax," he explains.

Profuse perspiration can also cause a muscle cramp. Heavy sweating drains your body of important minerals: potassium, sodium, magnesium and calcium. These minerals, called electrolytes, carry electrical charges to the nerves that control a muscle's impulse to contract and relax. Lack of fluids can upset the delicate balance of electrolytes, causing nerve signals to misfire.

If you've actually injured a muscle from overuse, a cramp may go into a continuous contraction, or spasm. While "cramp" and "spasm" are often used interchangeably, a spasm generally means the muscle fibers have "locked up" to protect the injured muscle.

People who have conditions that interfere with blood circulation or muscle metabolism can experience repeated cramps. These conditions include diabetes, rheumatoid arthritis and thyroid disease.

Symptom Relief

Here's how to ease out of the grip of a muscle cramp, no matter what the cause.

Stretch and squeeze. Stretch a cramped leg muscle with one hand and alternately squeeze and release the muscle with the other hand. "This mechanical kneading restores blood flow and generally helps relax the spasm and tightness in seconds," says Dr. Nirschl.

Point your toes back toward your chin. This is a quick way to halt a leg cramp while swimming, according to Harry Daniell, M.D., clinical professor in the Department of Medicine at the University of California, Davis, School of Medicine.

Cool it. If stretching doesn't release a cramp and the muscle's in painful spasm, an ice massage will numb the area, according to Irene von Estorff, M.D., assistant professor of rehabilitation medicine at the New York Hospital­Cornell Medical College in New York City. Rub the ice over the cramped muscle for three to five minutes. Make sure to keep the ice moving so you don't harm skin tissue.

Pinch your upper lip. Oddly enough, pinching the area above the upper lip with your finger and thumb can make a leg cramp vanish, according to Dr. Nirschl. He's not sure why this works, but there are two possible reasons: The upper lip may be a pressure point that helps relax the muscle. Or, he says, it simply may be that the pain of the pinch distracts you from the pain of the cramp until it releases on its own.

Quench your thirst pronto. "If you're exerting yourself, dripping with sweat and suddenly feel a cramp in your thigh, take a few swigs of water or whatever fluid is handy," says Robert Wortmann, M.D., chairman of the Department of Medicine at East Carolina University School of Medicine in Greenville, North Carolina. If you follow swigging with stretching, the cramp should vanish quickly.

Keep on sipping. "To prevent cramping during a sweaty workout, take three or four normal swallows of water every ten minutes," says Owen Anderson, Ph.D., editor of Running Research News.

Pass up the salt. Whatever you do, avoid taking salt tablets or very salty liquids such as soft drinks when you're perspiring. "Salt actually draws fluid out of muscles and into the stomach," says Dr. Nirschl.

Pack a sports drink on a hot day. If you're going to be sweating profusely during a long hike, you may need to replace potassium and other electrolytes that plain water can't provide. "Sipping electrolyte sports drinks such as Gatorade at regular intervals may be a good idea," says Dr. Nirschl. These replacement drinks also contain glucose, which helps electrolytes get absorbed quicker than plain water.

Do wall push-ups before bedtime. "In a study with 44 people, we found that calf-stretching exercises, performed three times per day for a week, helped cure nocturnal leg cramps," says Dr. Daniell. To perform the calf stretch, he says, stand facing a wall about two feet away. Place your hands on the wall and slowly lean forward, keeping your heels in contact with the floor. Hold the position for ten seconds and relax for five seconds. Do this two more times.

Serve yourself a quinine nightcap. "This age-old remedy seems to work for nocturnal leg cramps," says Dr. Daniell. Possibly, quinine make nerves less excitable. In any case, taking quinine and vitamin E tablets (like Q-vel) or 12 ounces of plain tonic water each night probably won't hurt, and it may help. But talk to your doctor first.

Are painted cycling lanes really "safe"?

After a few close calls riding on the cycling lane side of the painted line I have come to a conclusion that cycling lanes are not the safe areas that folk tend to think that they are. When in the lane you are invisible to the people driving their vehicles and they tend to drift to the line or over it. When you ride a tick on the car lane side of the line most vehicles cross over the centre line. I have noticed that the large truck drivers do not get upset and actually respect my choice. I have no opinion on the segregated bicycle lanes except that in most cases they are actually "MURPS" (multi use RECREATIONAL paths). And as such have dogs chase you, kids running across path make them more dangerous than driving in traffic as traffic. As for the people who use Montreal as an example of safe bicycle lanes, well I was totally suprised that I found my self avoiding the streets that had the segregated cycling lanes. The segregated lanes mean that you have other cyclists/skaters coming at you in a 1.5m wide lane separated from motor vehicle traffic. Most times the separation is a cement curb or plastic poles in the pavement. BTW neither stop the effect of a smaller lane when the car driver opens his door without checking (as there is little chance his door will get hit by a motorized vehicle) and cuts small lane down even more. In conclusion to have a safe ride, BE VISIBLE, BE PREDICTABLE and BEHAVE LIKE TRAFFIC. For an extra measure of comfort add a mirror to the bicycle of choice and make eye contact before doing any manoeuvre.


Bikeboy999

Well I am finally done.

Well I spent the latter part of the summer working with my friend Doug doing a little landscaping around the house. We put in a small patio, and re-leveled the back yard to facilitate better water dispersion. We dug a hold 5 feet cubed, and loaded it with large rocks and smashed up bricks. It is called a dry well, it is supposed to fill with water and disperse it slowly. Down the sides of the yard we put in weeping tiles to guide water into the dry well as well as seep out as it goes towards hole. After finishing the back yard we re-did the walkway to the front door. Not enough work done, so we raised the walkway garden and enclosed it with bricks/stones. Lastly we re-sealed the house and re-grassed the area between the houses. The following link shows the work done all the way to the family gathering done in backyard after job completed. Some of the photos show the new shed, and patio swing. http://picasaweb.google.ca/bikeboy999/WhatIDidSummerOf2007

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Pre-BROL ride Thursday August 23.

We had a near collison near the start of the ride where all of us pulled off the side of the road as a crazed woman passed a slower (doing speed limit of course) pickup truck and almost took out the whole group. After we all regrouped and were fine to continue we communicated "car back" a lot more. A little rain fell after the ride started. It occured just as the group was getting near the falls. By the time we got to the falls the sky had darkened and a few thunders were heard. However while we waited underneath some weather protection, the skies lightened up and we were off again. But I digress, Tom Barone had fell here and broke his stem and seat strut. The handle bars were splinted and deemed well enough to shift for rest of ride. The seat strut was not found out until very late in the ride. Half way through the ride we picked up another 10 or so riders, we met at the whirlpools parking lot. The rest of the ride was under sunny skies and was a very nice ride. After lunch at the Epicurean (http://www.restaurantica.com/restaurants/5791/) food stop. As someone with food allergy/senseitivity they were very, very good to me and helped me select a great lunch. The ride back was as fun as the ride to NOTL, at a specific point we split to either go into Queenston and ride the escarpment from there or ride on the road. I chose the road and continued on road to top of Escarpment. A bunch of us regrouped at steps to monuement and waited until co-leader Joe told us we could go on as groups tend to separate here. After the mid point I went on ahead with Keith and flew into Niagara Falls. After Niagara Falls most of the riders went back on the trails, I chose the road. I noticed shortly after the bridge work over the inlet that I was off the track, and I asked the person in the car beside me how to get back to parkway. She got off the cell phone and told me the direction I had to go. I recognized the road and road back half on roadway and half on bicycle path. The reason to ride on bicycle path here is when your mouth drops from seeing the size of the mansions, that I would not swerve into traffic.



http://picasaweb.google.com/bikeboy999/PreBROL

Pre-pre-Brol ride. Wednesday August 22.

Well this ride was not advertised as flat, but riders were told that there was only one hill of significance. It is called the Escarpment, and it is basically a 300 foot rise in around a 1/2 mile distance. On this ride at the very bottom of said Escarpment there was an incident because the lead riders waffled on the direction at bottom. Which in itself would have been fine, except that no one warned the riders on the hill that all the riders at bottom were stopped. What happened was one of those situations where a rider runs into a rider and someone hits the same rider. No one was injured, but an upright rider (who only had that day off out of the near week of riding) had some spokes break. His ride was finished, and he had to walk the 1/2 mile back up the escarpment. That situation pared our group down to 12 once again. The photos are of the group at various stops along the route. The direction of this ride was the opposite end of the canal, in this ride we picked up two new riders and up'd our size to 14. However at the end of the ride we lost them as they were local and the lunch was in their backyard. Notice the photo of the fish, it was caught by the gentleman holding it with the big smile on his face. That picture was on the end of the fishing peer, at the end of where we had our lunch.

http://picasaweb.google.com/bikeboy999/PrePreBROL



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