A little mid-day gravel grinder

I got an early start this morning, with much computer work accomplished, and this afternoon was 19C (66F) so that meant one thing. Gravel!

I road a few access roads out of town, and then hit up the canal path. Over the winter the county has been installing a new liner in the canal. It'll make it more efficient with less water loss, but it also means that a lot of the path has been closed while the heavy equipment is doing their thing.
As I approached the canal I didn't see any dust in the distance, or hear the machines working, so I figured it'd be a safe bet to ride down for a few miles and see what was going on.
They are really tearing it up, and the path along the canal is incredibly rough in places. Almost unridable. No work was being done today, so I ignored the road closed signs and kept the cranks spinning.

While they're installing the new liner, they're also upgrading the pedestrian bridges over the canal. This will be nice when they're done, but in the mean time, it means that my route was cut off half way, and I ended up just doubling back and retracing my path.
This was the first decent gravel ride I've had this year in shorts and a t-shirt, and man was it nice. Birds are back singing, gofers running all over and we're even starting to get bugs back! It's weird to be excited about the bugs, but after riding today, I'm so glad for the changing of seasons. It's more than welcome after the winter that we've had.

Manpris

With the temps creeping up around 30C + (90F) these days, riding in pants or jeans would be torturous. I’m lucky enough to have an office job where I don’t ever really have to entertain clients. Being as I work strictly with airports and airlines, my clients are at least a flight away. Our office is quite laid back and I’ve even worked this week in flip-flops.

But, when I do feel like not being such a slouch, I opt for some manpris. Capri’s for men. I’ve got several pairs of them, and man are they great. Not pant legs to worry about getting greasy, keep your legs cool, and…..they look good. You can even dress them up. These are a great option for the bike commuter!

even dispite what the Urban dictionary says about them.

Hard Falls, Warmer Days

Well, on the way to work today (done with the MS Project course!!) I had the worst crash I've ever had. I was probably doing about 25km/h, starting into a corner and all of a sudden I was sliding on the ground with my bike still between my legs. I knew better than to be going that fast around that corner. What's more is that I deliberately blew a stop sign while making the turn. Nothing hurt or broken (the bike) I got up, re-installed my chain and came off the rear cassette, and carried on my way.

As I was on the phone at work, my screen saver was flashing up my collection of fixie pics and this one of my bike came up. Instantly I thought of warmer days when I could ride this bike and when I didn't crash on the way to work. I love the winter, but I am getting anxious for summer. Oh those lovely days of riding any bike in the line up (I've now got 7) including my brakeless fixie, always having plenty of light, green grass and a warm breeze to move me along.

Soon enough. Until then, I should stop torturing myself.

Jerome.