AAR: The trip that almost was

Hello all. Didn't think I would be posting the report from my trip this soon but yeah, I had no choice but to turn back after one day and one unbelievably wet night. I was in very high spirits when I left my house; my bike even this heavily loaded was well balanced and very easy to ride, and my padded short meant I could ride almost forever. Here's the timeline of events that lead me to say "fuck this, I am defeated":

On Tuesday morning around 8AM I did the final packing and check-up of the bike, informed my landlord that I'd be away for a while and if he could pick up my mail, and finally headed out. I had printed out a path from Google Maps because I was riding to unfamiliar places, but I will readily admit that the more I looked at the path Google gave me, the more I was questioning it. And I turned out to be right; at one point in Laval the map was telling me to ride 2 km west on Samson blv., then cross a street and ride 1 km east, overpassing a highway twice. That's when I said screw this it's map only from now on.

For a first day of riding the weather was simply perfect. No heat, not too much sun, very light winds, and as I approached the west end of Laval very little traffic. After I left Laval I saw a bit more traffic, but not for long because the long bike path called the Green Route was starting, crossing the towns of Ste-Marthe-sur-le-Lac and Pointe-Calumet. Crossing the towns the path was relatively flat, but as I entered Oka National Park things got "interesting". In the woods the path was a lot more bumpy with the forest doing its best to destroy the pavement, but I was noticing that the path was taking me towards my first real hill challenge.

The road is called Chemin des Collines, which translates to "road of the hills". Believe me, it's aptly named. One hill in particular I had to walk my bike up. At least the reward of those hills was fun downhill rides, and a short time after crossing the park I was in the little town of Oka and stopped for a well deserved break. And a good thing too because just west of Oka is a hill called "The Pinehead", which is the doorway to the native reservation of Kahnesatake. This place is infamous for the 1990 roadblock that lasted the entire summer. Crossing the reservation was interesting; I mean, how many cigarette shacks does a piece of land really need?! Anyway, I kept going until I saw camping grounds somewhere past St-Placide. At this point I was about 90 km into the ride so I told myself that this was a good place to stop for the night. But Mother nature decided otherwise.

About an hour after I had setup my tent at around 5PM the rain started. And it didn't stop until 3AM. All this time in between naps I was pushing away puddles that were threatening to crush me, and at the same time I was listening in on the drama happening around the elections were a looney gunman and shot two people, killing one, in an attempt to get at newly-elected prime minister Pauline Maurois. But back in my tiny universe, the tent was getting so wet that I had to make sure nothing of importance touched the sides. I pretty much didn't sleep all night, except maybe a few hours just before dawn after the rain had stopped. At the break of dawn I immediately did a check of everything. Thank fully nothing got too wet, except the tent which was now soaked through (still is, haven't had the time to find a place to hang it to dry) and there was now no way I could use it again because it would remain wet. But that wasn't the worst part.

I thought I had gotten a good deal on my panniers and I found out just how wrong I was. I can just say I was lucky to get as far as I got because the hooks on one of the panniers had completely been ripped out, probably because of the weight pulling at the bag on the various bumps along the way. I had no choice but to rearrange my inventory to make sure nothing heavy was in the bag and attached it with velcro straps and prayers. So after the crazy night, the rain, the wet tent, and now a broken bag, I took the tough decision and admitted defeat. The ride back home was pretty much uneventful; I had to check the velcro strap on the broken bag quite often but nothing happened, and at around 3PM yesterday afternoon I was back home.

I'm still happy about the 180 km ride and my first overnight, even though it was in the worst conditions one could possibly imagine. Yes I had heard about the possibility of rain but until Tuesday afternoon the weather was really nice. I heard about the bad stuff about to hit Montreal just as I was setting up the tent, and this bad stuff was going to hit me before it hit Montreal.

I also learned a few important things if I'm to do another big trip:

- Do not skimp on your equipment. Ask more questions when you buy it. Check how far you have to go. What kind of terrain you'll be riding. Above all make sure your equipment is tough as nails!

- Along the same lines, do not skimp on the quality of your camping mattress. I paid a huge 27$ for mine. OK, trying to sleep on the worst night ever was hard, but I was telling myself I should have gotten a fancier model. Go see "wallet tanking" further down.

- Be a good Minmatar... CARRY DUCT TAPE !!! I'm still kicking myself for not having thought of this.

- Waterproof your tent. I don't care how good your tent is, do this. Mine is apparently very good, won awards and stuff, but remember this: Mother Nature ALWAYS win. I'm not gonna bash the Topeak Bikamper because its design is very good, and it's super easy to set up. but heavy rains kill it.

- Wallet tanking. I knew I was going to rough it for the first couple days because i was coming out of a weekend with my boys which in english means I was almost broke. But when so much shit happens on Day One and you're low on cash a trip can back-fire. Mine did.

- Buy the best gloves and/or grips you can. I have skimped on those this summer and it was a mistake. I'm getting new gloves today because mine are dead. They may be OK to go to work or for a short ride, but after 100 km I just want to burn 'em. It didn't keep me from riding but for long rides comfort is everything. Remember, you do this for fun, no to suffer!

And that's pretty much it. Not the trip I thought it was going to be but a lot of experience came out of it. Now, I still have 2 and a half weeks to go on my vacation. I do intend to keep a promise to a friend, to go meet up with him at his cabin in Val-David. I just hope Mother nature doesn't become a royal bitch on the day I decide to head out. At least I know I won't have to rough it in a tent !!!

Ride hard and far

o7

Align Ottawa !!!

Freedom!

This is it. The moment I was waiting for has finally arrived. Tomorrow morning after dropping off my boys at my ex's place I get on my bike and head WSW towards the Canadian capital. Nothing to think about but me, my bike and the road/path. I will clear my head like I have never done before. Well, the weather forecast for the coming days is on the iffy side but at this point I simply don't care. Just get me out of fucking Montreal already! Needless to say my blogging activities will come to a complete stop until I get back, and you can expect a decently sized pictorial post as I will be photo-documenting the trip as much as I can (read as much as my phone's charge will allow).

Of course who says "I'm going away for a while" also has to say "Oh shit I gotta set a long skill to train!", and I've got the prefect skill in mind: Cloaking V. One of the ships I'm planning on buying is the ChaosStorm-approved Ganky-Cloaky-Proby-Unbubblable Loki. I already have 3 out of 5 subsystems, and a good collection of mods so when the time comes I'll fit this monstrosity. I'll practice doing some cloaky flying with my "cheaper" Rapier first, but then again more when I actually have time to fly, which means after October 20th.

There you have it, my last post before I go on the bike tour. You have no idea how excited I am right now!

Fly hardcore

o7

Last minute preps & The Great Return

Never before has a summer seemed so long. Traditionally I have taken my vacation starting on the weekend just following my birthday; I like when things start with a bang! But this year I made a small adjustment because of the bike tour, and with the stupid hot/humid summer we've been having it seems that the decision was the correct one. So this year my vacation starts on Labor Day weekend and ends with the fall equinox. No wonder I've been feeling like this summer has been stretching on and on, but now with only two and a half weeks to go I'm starting to see the light at the end of the tunnel and wanderlust is beginning to work its magic.

The last big piece of the puzzle has been ordered and I will be receiving it next week: the Topeak Bikamper bike tent, an award-winning tent that will allow me to set up a camp literally anywhere. I intend this to be a spartan trip so I will be travelling light, and I expect any excess fat I may have to be completely gone by the time I return! But even though I love the feeling of adventure and riding off into the unknown, I still have just a little planning to do. I'm in the process of fine-tuning the path I'll be taking; the first part isn't too hard, just follow the Ottawa river upstream. Chances of getting lost are impossible. The last part is also very easy: follow the "P'tit Train du Nord" path downhill, stopping only at Val-David to see Brutopia manager Bill Thornley. The second part though, from Thurso to St-Jovite, by way of Lochaber, Ripon, Cheneville, Ste-Emilie-de-Suffolk and Amherst... entering the Laurentians from the side and into sparsely populated woodlands, this is where getting lost would suck. But still, looking at the maps the way North is pretty straight-forward, but I still need to know exactly what I'm riding into, what kind of facilities are available and where, that sort of stuff.

Also on the horizon is the final check-up on my bike and my hardware, making sure everything is tight and well lubricated and all that jazz. The final little things I need to get are a box of PowerBars, a second water bottle and cage, a compass (I have one on my phone but it won't work where I may need it), and brace yourselves... baby wipes! Why, you may ask? I got this from Brad Pitt, of all people! I've heard this in an interview he gave: when actors go to a crazy location to shoot a movie, where there are no star trailers with running water, you gotta keep yourself clean somehow. Baby wipes do this perfectly. Plus they make you smell all cute and stuff XD

The Great Return

And it is now official, having first announced it to the Montreal EVE crew, and then to #Tweetfleet and #EVEonline on Twitter: on August 23rd, Cozmik R5 will awakened from the deep cryosleep he's been into for the past 9 months, given a strong dose of espresso, and resuming training of Large Autocannon Specialization V. I've made my peace with how I'll be earning ISK and I will concentrate on the only things of interest to me, which are blowing shit up and getting myself blown up. I'll take a bit of time to get re-acquainted to the "beautiful" Neocom, the new inventory system and the new ship fits for frigates and destroyers (which will be my main ships). I won't be able to get very active right away because I will be concentrating on finalizing the trip preparations, and when I'll come back from that it'll be crunchtime for the Wishmaster drumline project. The big show is on October 20th. But I will be taking the following Monday and Tuesday off so October 21-22-23 will be THE big return to activity, corp search and all that. Red vs Blue interests me a lot, but I've also been thrown a line by Ushra'Khan pilot Thorvik; U'K is now into the new revamped Faction Warfare and I've been told "no alliance bullshit, so far" At any rate I will get into some serious interviews when the time comes, and I will find a bunch of like-minded players and together we shall rape, pillage, and hopefully extract a few tears... isn't that how EVE is meant to be played? :)

Fly (or ride) adventurously !!!

o7

Summer activities are go!

A text update? Sure, why not! I feel like writing about my summer stuff because as always in Montreal, the F1 Grand Prix weekend marks the true beginning of summer; I mean who needs a solstice when you have cold weather for over half the year? Once again the race was utterly spectacular, and for once weather did not play a part in the outcome, and neither was the presence of the safety car, which stayed parked for the entire length of the race. No, the action was on the track and in the pits in equal parts. Of course there was the matter of some student protests that have been tainting Montreal since early March; what started as a student strike is slowly turning into a political crisis, but I won't take a side here. Both sides have their faults. But I don't run a political blog so I'll shut the fuck up about this. So beautiful weekend, beautiful race, and a fresh podium with a seventh winner in seven races (an all-time F1 record), and two newcomers to the podium. Congratulations respectively to Lewis Hamilton, Romain Grosjean and Sergio Perez!

Now that the F1 GP is done, the Montreal festival season is at full throttle. We are currently in the middle of the Francofolies, a music festival dedicated to francophone music which is basically a practice run of the installations before the real thing, the Montreal International Jazz Festival. It will start strong this year as my crazy music buddy André has invited me to an evening with Japanese piano goddess Hiromi, in an acoustical setting with some n00b bassist called Stanley Clarke (!). All kidding aside I can't think of a better way to start off the festivities. Dédé told me that there may be one or two other invitations, and I also have to check out the outdoor schedule, plus all the JazzFest related activities. This is usually a time when I try a ton of new instruments, mostly percussion and guitars. Quality Gibsons and Fenders are nice, but finely hand-crafted works of art that you can wail away on... pure awesomeness!

Speaking of musical instruments, the main part of my musical summer is about to get real interesting as the 2011 Blue Knights drums are set to arrive next week. Note to self: for the next rehearsal, bring ear plugs! I have already ordered my bass drum mallets; as I've told some people in the drumline, I haven't held bass mallets in over 30 years! So even though the drums may come with their mallets, I want my own pair so I can get a better feel for them faster. And by "faster" I mean I have to have four tunes memorized and on the dot ("sur la coche" as we say up here) by Saturday July 14th. Wishmaster and the Rockline drumline (yes, we have a name now ^_^) will be performing four tunes in Sherbrooke at a drum corps event as a teaser for the main October 20th event. If you're a Nightwish fan, the tunes we will be playing are (in the order we practiced 'em, not necessarily in order of the set list): Dark Chest of Wonders, Romanticide, Ghost Love Score and Scaretale. With only two official rehearsals left before that show, I have a lot of work to do!

On the cycling front, the better weather has finally allowed me to ride more and more, and it was about damn time. I'm still on track for my September tour, though I will probably tone down on the equipment I'll bring. I may even skip the trailer for this year because I have too many things on too many fronts. But I don't mind, it'll make the trip that much more hardcore and to me that much more enjoyable. But instead of the trailer, one thing I will be getting is the Topeak Bikamper tent; seriously, how fucking cool is this?! :))

And finally, I will announce it right away because I have to go through this entire summer before I do it. Sometimes I actually miss EVE Online, but with everything I have on my plate right now this is not the time to resub and start playing. I know my tiny patience level for ISK making and between the music, cycling, socializing, etc., I have no time to either grind ISK or get in fleets that can eat up hours of precious time. But I do have a vague semblance of a possible plan as Letrange would say: after the cycling trip will be a good time to re-activate the account and kick-start the training queue. I won't really have time for more than skill flipping at first because it will be crunch time for the October 20th Wishmaster event, but at least Cozmik will be awake for maybe a Rifter/Taranis run. After the show we will most likely take a break before we practice something else (though there may be gigs; Jacques does want to help pay up that sweet drumline!), so at that time I'll buy a GTC or two, turn 'em into PLEX's, and find a likely candidate who will shower me with ISK. After this I see only one perfect place for me: Red vs Blue. It will take some time to brush off the rust, as well as getting used to a completely new inventory system (I hear I will hate it... awesome!), but it will be great to fly around Empire as if the entire place was Null-sec. I do need to meet some new players because a lot of the older guard isn't playing anymore, or is into the sides of EVE that I can't stand.

And there you go. A busy summer ahead of me, but whatever happens it will never bore me :)

Fly dangerous

o7

The Little Things

Should look a little something like this (no, this ain't me and/or my bike!)

The weird spring I was describing not too long ago is starting to go back to normal, which means I can once again get my mind in a bike touring gear. Let's see just how weird: on March 20th I was riding my bike to the first drumline practice in shorts and T-shirt, and and the next day I was having a beer on a patio not only in shorts and T-shirt, but at 10PM. Seasonal norms: 4 degrees Celsius! Two days later we were below the freezing point with heavy wind chill. After that it rained a lot, winds blew a lot, a bit of nice weather mixed in, but nothing ressembling a pattern. And then again a really short hot spell of 29C, and last weekend just around the freezing point and crazy winds. Oh and I managed to catch a flu last week. Kinda hard to plan riding days! But now May is here and despite a slow start things are slowly looking up, with weather temps around the seasonal norms (10-15C) and slowly climbing on the forecast. I'm crossing my fingers for light winds this weekend!

With the big bike ride plans I also need to start thinking about the little things that will not only be useful on a multiple day journey which will not always be in or close to a big city but which could also save my ass. If you look at the map I posted a while back, you see that my 550 kilometer ride forms a triangle, so I can easily split my trip in parts 1, 2 and 3 for planning purposes. Each part has it perks; for example, part 1 will be relatively flat (if slightly uphill) as I will follow the Ottawa river, but going almost due West can mean some pretty stiff head winds at times. And if I want to make big mileage in single days, this is where I have to do it. Part 3 should be fun; apart from a slight uphill between Mont-Tremblant and Ste-Agathe, the ride will be all downhill with the wind mostly at my back all the way to Montreal. What will make the last part even easier is that almost all of it will be on bike paths with zero traffic. And yes I plan the few days after the ride to be absolutely blissful!

The part that's got me not really worried but where I know I have to plan a bit more carefully is part 2. From Gatineau to Mont-Tremblant there aren't many roads so getting lost shouldn't the problem. But on the one road that links Thurso to St-Jovite there aren't that many villages and/or camping grounds. So even though I kinda want to go out on an adventure I do need to plan on some possible hard living, which is the whole point actually. Here is a small overview of what I will want to have with me on the trip:

- 2-person tent. Not that I plan on having any company, it's fun to have the extra room and anyway the package isn't too big and will easily fit in the BOB trailer.

- Heavy-duty plastic tarp. No, not the one that comes with the tent, an extra one. It can be very useful to protect the tent against winds or sideways rain, and if you have to camp out in the open it can also provide some shade. But yeah, the main purpose is wind and rain protection for either the tent or the bike/trailer, whichever needs it most.

- Better/extra tent stakes. The ones that come with tents do the job, but it's never a bad idea to have better ones and more of them.

- Multi-purpose emergency crank radio. I usually use my smartphone for various things like listening to radio, checking the news and weather, playing some games, and oh, making phone calls. But out in B.-F.-Nowhere my phone will 1- lose connection, and 2- lose power. The crank radio will be able to keep me informed in order to keep my phone's battery for actual phone calls, but the good radios even have USB plugs to keep a small charge in the phone if I absolutely need it.

- Multi-tool and/or Swiss Army knife. Made by Victorinox. Accept NO substitutes!

- As much dried fruit and imperishable snacks as I have room for. This trip will never be super far from civilization but if I'm stuck in the middle of Part 2 and a coming storm bogs me for a day and a half 30 km from the nearest village I will want to replenish my calories to actually make it there.

- Most important, a decent First Aid kit. Bike spills suck, and happen when you least want them to. Ask the guys who got pushed into a barbed wire fence at the last Tour de France! So going on a 550 km tour I do have to be ready to clean any wounds I may get, and bandage myself up if need be.

I've actually found a few models of radios I want to buy so over this weekend I will test 'em and one will become the winner. This will allow me to go to this store on the South Shore of Montreal called Mountain Co-op. The prices are awesome, and over the next couple months these guys will know me by my first name :) I also have a date to shoot for now: September 4th, the Tuesday after Labor Day. I just have to not abuse too much in the beer department because that weekend is also an awesome beer festival (remember that fort I went to last summer?). One thing is for sure, with the spring finally blooming I'm extremely anxious to get some mileage under me and finish acquiring the gear that will make big bike trips not only a possibility, but a way of life!

Ride far

o7

The weird spring

As abruptly as it started, spring sure is on the weird side up here in Montreal. While on the 21st of March I was chillin' on a patio having a beer in shorts and T-shirt at 10PM, a few days later Mother Nature was back to freezing our barren and snowless landscape on a few occasions. It was wasn't until this week that we finally got some weather ressembling spring (summer even) but even then it didn't last long and after some blasting 40mph winds we're back to the freezing point. Well, at least it's better than last year where spring brought us rain, flooding, more rain, more flooding, more rain... you get the picture. So while my bike may be ready for some good rides, riding weather is iffy at best. I will have to literally harden the fuck up soon, bite the bullet and start using my bike more in the very near future. If I'm to travel hundreds of clicks I'm sure the weather will not be perfect all the time!

In the meantime what have I been up to lately? Well, with the drumline project well under way I've been getting my rudimental chops to levels I hadn't thought of attaining this quick. I guess practice does make perfect and now that I have more tools to practice with I spend much of my free time banging away on one of my practice pads, studying video tutorials and music scores, and listening to the seven Nightwish tunes that the drumline will play on at the October 20th show. One of my latest achievements in drumming is finally nailing down a classic snare exercise that's been around since the American civil war called "Three Camps", when drums and fifes were used as communication methods. It is a reveille, a wake-up call if you will, that's basically a triplet roll exercise which isn't too hard but I had never gotten around to actually playing it, even though I have heard it hundreds of times because of the drum corps background. I nailed it at slow speeds first to make sure I understood correctly what the sticks are supposed to do, and now I'm working on getting the speed up while staying as clean as possible. And of course to give myself a bit more challenge I play it both in matched grip and traditional grip. It fits on a single jpeg image so here's how it looks:

Accented notes are singles, the rest are doubles.

Also, my drumline instructor is giving me tips before the practices start and he's encouraged me to keep playing along the rudimental excercises he throws at the rest of the drumline. For now this is easy to do as we don't have instruments yet, but when we get 'em I'll have to keep to my practice pad and feel more than hear what my sticks are doing, unless someone doesn't show up and I can borrow a snare for the warm-up. Man would this make my day or what! :)

Now with all the drum stuff that's going on my gaming time has pretty much hit rock bottom, but I still keep an interest in a few games. The most prominent for me these days is Fallout 3. I love it so much that I'm really getting into the whole post-apocalyptic fiction genre, survivalism, Cold War history and all that jazz. I guess it puts me in the mood to get into survival mode as I prepare to travel the vast expanses of my province by bike. I've taken a big break from Skyrim not because I don't like it anymore, but because my computer doesn't like it anymore. I may have modded it a bit too much for my weakening box. I know it's getting short on memory and the video card is showing it's 4 years of age. I really need to think about upgrading if I want to play any newer games, like say Mechwarrior Online when it comes out! I do play a bit of Quake Live and Mech4Mercs once in a while but pretty much all my attention is on Fallout these days.

And this blog being this blog, how can I not mention this cybernetic drug called EVE Online. Before you ask, no I'm not resubbing just yet. Even though fun things are on the horizon like the Burn Jita event, Hulkageddon V, the Inferno expansion and DUST514 (I'm still wondering what the Montreal area code is doing in a game title XD), and even after I watched my own buddies and corpmates having a ball in Low-sec, I do not yet hear the call to undock Rifters, Thrashers, Taranii, Vagabonds or Absolutions. The busy summer I have ahead of me doesn't help, and there's still the slight problem of me hating the most important part of EVE with a passion, ISK making. I was watching Dr EyjoG's economic presentation at FanFest and somewhere in it he even pointed it out: in order to lose ships in PvP, you have to do your chores and make ISK to buy ships. "You have to do your chores..." I was screaming at my screen at this point; THIS IS WHY I UNSUBBED DOC !!! I don't play video games to do chores. Period. But on the flip side having a space dogfight in New Eden is a truly unique experience. *sigh* Well, if I want to help my real life buddies in a better way than just watching and giving the odd advice I will just have to bite the bullet and make ISK. I guess I can become a cheap ship specialist because losing T2 and Faction goodies is hard for a non-economically enclined player like me. Bah... we'll see what the future holds. One thing is absolutely certain, nothing will happen before the October show. By then we should also start hearing about the 2012-2013 winter expansion and see what that brings. And to anyone who would really want me to tackle, scout, or even FC, you can activate my account and I'll gladly do it for you :))

Fly, flam, ride... all that good shit!

o7

PS: To famous/infamous PvPer Garmon who is even now asking for real-world money for The PvP classes... just what the flying fuck dude?! I've already thanked you for giving me my first PvP death and teaching me this important lesson in a n00b's career. But with this sort of shenanigans I will just have to issue you a challenge if/when I come back. No worries, I will mail you. How about 1v1 Ruptures? You did kill me with a Ruppy that first time :)

Spring time !!!

After a few long months of being cooped up inside - well not really because I walk 5 to 10 km every day - spring is finally here and this time around it feels more like spring took a year off and summer is already here as we're already getting temps in the low 20's (Celsius obviously XD) and the little snow we had this year is pretty much all gone. To those who think global warming is just a hoax, you clearly don't go outside a lot!

So what does the arrival of spring mean? Bike preps! I've already pumped up my tires and went on a short ride last week but this week will be time to bring my bike to the shop and have it pampered, greased up and fine tuned from A to Z. A new chain might be in order because not only did I put a lot of clicks on it last year, I should be doubling my mileage this summer. I also need to get some spare parts and stuff I will need on the lengthy rides I intend to take; whether or not I do the 2-week 550 km ride is a bit up in the air with the drumline project arriving at crunch time at about the same moment, but in any case there is no way I would attempt such a ride without having tested my gear. So all over the summer there will be a few weekend outings to various destinations around Montreal. Here are a few ideas of where I want to ride:

St-Charles-sur-le-Richelieu: Located about 50 km from downtown Montreal (65 km from my place), this town actually offers two destinations for me. The first and most important is the camping grounds where my dad lives during the summer; it's pretty hard to go wrong when you get free camping and free beer at the end of a good ride! I may actually go a few times as this will be the perfect spot to test the travel gear. The other destination would be another camping ground located on the shore of the Richelieu river along a road called "Le Chemin des Patriotes". This would be the "Hello, I'm a stranger" test. The little towns on the river are really nice and should I want to come back from the other shore there are a few ferries with frequent crossings.

Val-David: Located about two thirds of the way between Montreal and Mont-Tremblant, Val-David is another sports meccha with 3 ski hills, a national park for both hiking and mountain climbing (one of my buddies is starting his Everest training here; yes, I said Everest), and a good place for canoeing/kayaking on the Rivière du Nord. I've known this place for a long time because this is where I learned to ski, and throughout my youth I've been there countless times. And it's beautiful! Nestled in the middle of the Laurentians, this destination is clearly for mountain road training. Sure getting there is fairly easy with the relatively flat "P'tit Train du Nord" bike path, but perfect trails like that are few and far between. And the farther I want to go, the more I'll have to use whatever roads I can find.

Montreal's North Shore: The small towns and places to visit along Route 138, also known as Le Chemin du Roy, are too numerous to mention. But one place is much more special than any other. In the town of Berthierville is a museum dedicated to the memory of one of my heroes, F1 legend Gilles Villeneuve. For some obscure reason I have never been there but a weekend camping trip could fix that fairly easily. Of course one could get really crazy with Route 138 as it is over 1200 kilometers long, with some of the most awesome scenery to be seen in Québec.

So yeah, before I attack a big bike expedition I have plenty of closer destinations to test my mettle. I'm praying really hard to my personal gods (Hendrix, Villeneuve, Burton, Zappa and Richard) to have some good weather on the weekend of Easter because I have both the Friday and Monday off, and my boys will be with their mom so I'll be free to do whatever I want and go wherever I want to. I may not quite have all the stuff I need to go really far - still lacking the BOB trailer - but I find that heading out "sort of" prepared is way more fun than when you put too much planning behind it. But if the weather is nice enough I'll throw a dart at a map and head in the general direction of where the dart landed. Should be a fun weekend :)

Ride long and far

o7

The first big bike tour

GOOGLE MAPS ITINERARY HERE

As we are approaching the end of January I'm already thinking about the mileage I want to do once the snow melts. The thing is that I'm preparing a special treat for my summer vacation which will be closer to a fall vacation actually. And a first big bike tour does not happen on a whim and now that the holidays are behind us it's time to get ready for what will be my first true bike adventure ride. I skipped a big one last year because of lack of funds but I admit I had zero preparations. But this one... oh man so many things to think about! The plan is to take four weeks of vacation starting at the end of August. The first week will be spent with my youngest son who will be starting school (finally, both guys in one location!) and I after this week is done I want to hit the road for about two weeks. The map says 555 km; I'd say tack on about a hundred because I do want to see stuff. Plus some days may be 100+km days, others 40-ish. At least the last leg of the tour is mostly downhill so it should work. So far I'm doing this solo but who knows, someone may be crazy enough to accompany me! One thing is sure, I don't want this tour to be a race so it shouldn't be too hard on the body. I'll make sure the body is ready beforehand though.

Stay tuned for more tour prep updates!

o7

Edit: I've refined the path for a more pleasant ride visually as well as physically. The bit between Thurso and Tremblant will still be killer I bet! 

Rough schedule

I am starting to realize that I may have resubbed a tiny bit too fast. No, I'm not suffering from burn-out after only one month. The reason is simple: when you have two boys with an ex-girlfriend and one of them has started school and the other one is still at daycare, expect to be called in to help. While this does nothing to help with the already strained relations with the ex (let's say we've set each other "red"), my boys have to come first. And so it is that I have to get up at stupidly early hours and either ride or walk to my boys' place so the ex can leave early enough not to be late for work - in case you don't know, morning traffic in Montreal is an olympic sport; I'm actually happy I don't have a car anymore - and we each take a boy to his destination for 7AM. Remember when I said EVE and kids don't mix? Well apparently it wasn't just when the kids are present with me *sigh*

And as before I still have my other distractions in which I have just as much interest as I have in EVE, and in some cases much more. The end of summer and fall is upon us and this is my favorite time to be outdoors; the fresher air, the colors, the smells... I need to find a planet that has late-September weather year 'round! With every month that passes my bike is getting better equipped to go farther and farther, and with my fall vacation coming I'm praying for some good riding weather. Next on my bike related shopping list: cycling shorts, pants and boxers (with shammy cushion "where it counts"), handlebar bag, front and rear lights, travel panniers (I do have a trunk bag), fenders, new grips and bar ends. Over the winter I'll start looking into the more serious stuff like the BOB trailer and camping gear. My objective: in summer 2012 I want to take a month long vacation, probably late August to early September, maybe even all of September because it just rocks, and out of that month I want to take two weeks to ride wherever the roads and paths may lead me. I will have to plan out a vague itinerary that will eventually lead back to my house. This should be pretty awesome :)

When I took my EVE break in May it turned out to be not just an EVE break, but a complete gaming break, apart from a few games here and there, mostly when my boys were with me and on crappy rainy days. The break was just long enough that now I really feel like fragging/flying/racing and there are a few games that have either come out or are on the way that I'm interested in. Good examples are: WH40K Space Marines, Hellgate (Tokyo expansion soon!), Rage, Diablo III, Elder Scrolls Skyrim, rFactor2 and Microsoft Flight (aka FS11). But playing rFactor1 this past weekend, not to mention the whole Incarna/CQ debacle, made me notice something: my computer is now 3.5 years old and it's showing its age. At the very least I will need a newer nVidia video card. Yes, I am sold to nVidia ever since the Riva TNT came out. And when you read that a lot of people who have video card issues with games have ATI cards, and with most gaming companies working hand-in-hand (I was think of other body parts) with nVidia when developping their games, take a wild guess what video card is better for gaming! I should also get a memory and OS upgrade though, but I only have so much money to throw around. Real Life being greater than Pixels, I'll have to make some choices because in the midst of all the cycling, camping, and now computer gear I'd like to buy, I have put aside an electronic drum kit that I plan to get around Christmas, maybe a bit after. When the drum kit gets to my place I have the feeling that I'll be turning a big page on my gaming career.

So there you go, a slight update about why there are no sweet kills to post or funny/awesome in-game stories to tell. I will be posting the "Wednesday of Fail" later when I get home not only because of my work's firewall, but also because posting from this old and decrepit version of Internet Explorer is a complete bitch. Trust the Montreal municipal services to be 5 to 10 years behind on technology... jeez !!!

Fly with your heart, not with your head

o7

Edit: [rant] A little rant about something that's bugging the fuck out of me lately in EVE. Lately I keep seeing "FiS" everywhere. I want everyone to know that FiS stands for FÉDÉRATION INTERNATIONALE DE SKI. It has NOTHING to do with space, ships, or both used together. [/rant]

Friday's Electric Lunch Hour - 2011/08/19

OK so it's not Friday yet. Sue me. I have a crazy day ahead of me so I'm posting this in advance instead of skipping it. And while I'm at it, how about a crazy version of a well-known tune. I suspect that this is pre Machine Head because Ian Gillan is all over the place in his lyrics! It still has that groovy unmistakable Highway Star feel to it though.

On the EVE front: the cat is out of the bag now, yes I have resubbed, but no I'm not what one would call "active". I haven't even killed a single rat. And yes, Incarna sucks a massive pair of donkey balls. More on this on my first official active post.

On the bike front: I haven't purchased 'em yet but I have found the racks that will go with my disc brake equipped mountain bike, and even some for my suspension forks. The good news, the racks aren't too expensive and can haul tons. The bad news, waterproof panniers are NOT cheap, but they will be required if I want to head for parts unknown. Next year's vacation will be epic :)

Have a nice weekend !!!

o7

About damn time!

This week my bike suffered its first ever mishap. I was coming back from work last Tuesday and all was fine with the universe, until I hit one of Montreal's trademark potholes. God my city sucks for this! I slowed down and checked everything as I was riding, and all seemed cool, so more fear than hurt I thought... wrong. The next morning I'm all ready to head to work, and I notice my bike feels weird as I pick it up. Well of course it felt weird, my rear tire was flat. Boooo !!! Well, this was the trigger I needed to do what I should've done a very long time ago, which is to go from the stock Bontrager Jones ACX 2.125" knobbies of Uber Fatness, +20% to Dirt Raping, Rolling Resistance and Drag Coefficient, to this:

Kenda Kwest 1.5" slicks !!!

I was expecting this smaller and stiffer tire to be a bitch to put on the rims but apparently all my years of BMX have turned me into a tire-changing professional as I took about 15 minutes to get both wheels done. Yay me! I must thank the GT bike company and their near-impossible-to-install BMX tires. Those tires were very good and very tough, but they were tough in every way possible. But back to the Kenda's I got today, as soon as I was done I put on my cycling shoes and headed out. It's a good riding night tonight if a bit hot and humid, and hot and humid near the St.Lawrence means bugs by the crap-ton. But the feeling of these tires... damn! They turned my Trek from an earth-churning tractor to an asphalt-ripping dragster! Why I waited over 3 years to do this is beyond me. I could say it's because I've ridden far more this year than I've have in the couple years before, but as most of my riding is in the city and/or on hard packed trails I had no reason not to change the knobbies for slicks. Just FYI, knobbies are good in very soft terrain or mud. Point Final. But now I feel I've redeemed myself and finally saw the light. The next long ride will be far easier for sure!

Extra shot of my baby :)

Ride slick

o7

Le Tour de la Montérégie

Despite the french title, no, this is not a stage of the current Tour de France. It's the name I gave to my ride to Fort Chambly, which got quite extended. My goal was to ride a total of 100 kilometers during my day. Not only did I reach my goal, but I exceeded it by 15 to 20 clicks. ZOMG, what a ride! Let's do this in typical AAR fashion:

Pilot: Benoit "Cozmik R5" Gauthier
Ship: Trek 6000, 2008 model (black)
Kills: none (yay!)
Losses: an obscene amount of calories, a few brain cells, one unit of sunblock spray (more on that at the end)

Let's do this!

After taking things easy on a day off and going to bed extra early on Friday, I got up just before my alarm clock went off at 0330 Saturday morning. I wanted to have plenty of time to shower, prep up and have breakfast because I wasn't about to attack a full day of cycling on an empty stomach. So at 0445, about 45 minutes before sunrise, I hit LaSalle's deserted streets and headed towards the St.Lawrence river, or rather the bike path that follows it. The weather couldn't have been more perfect: cool, no wind, chirping birds and a full moon. There was an insane amount of mosquitoes on the river shore but I was in such a good mood that I didn't mind 'em. I did swallow a few of 'em so apologies to various mosquito families! My first destination was a bridge we call L'Estacade, a small bridge whose sole purpose in life is to break up the ice floes when the frozen St.Lawrence starts thawing in spring. There is a service road on it but unless they are public works vehicles, cars do not take this bridge. But this makes it the perfect place for bikes. And this is where I saw one of the most beautiful sunrises I've seen in a long time! At the end of this bridge is a bike path that follows the St.Lawrence Seaway from the town of Sainte-Catherine to Notre-Dame island, notably the Circuit Gilles-Villeneuve. The latter is the direction I had to take but I would exit this bike path just before reaching the race track, crossing the Victoria bridge and arriving in St-Lambert. I had just landed on the South Shore.

Sunrise on Champlain bridge

The next part of the trip was fun because it was through very familiar territory, but it was still very early so there was barely anyone on the streets. To get to the next bike path I had to pass right next to the place I used to own which was a funky feeling. I did stop just a bit to check what they had done in the 4 years since we sold the house and I was happy with the results. When I finally got to the bike path I aimed at the first park bench I saw and stopped for a quick snack; I was carrying some trail mix bars and some molasses cookies for some on-the-road calorie intake. Not perfect but this did the job. A few minutes later I was back on the bike, and my next stops were simple: refill my water bottle a second time (the first time was just before crossing the bridge) and physically touching Fort Chambly and the Richelieu bassin. But I had a very nice surprise on the way. I knew the bike path would pass next to a BMX track I used to visit in the late 80's/early 90's but what were the odds that it would still be there 20 years later? but Lo and Behold, it was still there !!! Some guys have kept working on a few jumps; sure it's not exactly ready for an olympic level race, but the fact that there still were jumps amazed me. I really missed having a BMX bike all of a sudden! But although I know I can jump my mountain bike, I didn't want to ruin my legs before a huge ride, so I said goodbye to the track and kept on going.

OMFG it's still here !!!

The bike path went through one of the really big parks on the south shore (think "Central Park" big) just before I hit the main road to Chambly, and finally after about 2.5 hours I arrived. Primary objective complete! I was feeling way pumped when I got there, but I knew that trail mix bars and cookies wouldn't be enough if I wanted to reach my 100km goal. So I stopped at this very nice restaurant right next to the fort for a big lumberjack style breakfast. I was early enough that I got a deal off the menu prices, and I had plenty of time to relax before hitting the road again. And the weather was still beyond extremely beautiful, but I knew that as time went by this was going to be a scorcher. So instead of doing a there-and-back bike trip, I decided to do a massive triangle of the Montérégie region. I first followed the Richelieu river for 5-10 clicks Northward and took a left turn towards the very bike-friendly town of St-Basile-Le-Grand. I say bike-friendly because in this small town there were bike paths everywhere. Other towns need to pay attention! But it wasn't long before I would take one humongous detour.

Made it. I'm awesome.

At some point I stopped in St-Basile to call my sister; I knew I would eventually be going back towards Montreal and I had planned to stop by her place for a bit. But she told me she was busy as she was about to go see our dad who was working at a drum & bugle corps practice in the town of St-Bruno. Awesome, that was on my way! So I rode the 15-ish clicks to St-Bruno before I phoned my dad to tell him I'll also be there because I'm a crazy psycho nutbar and rode my bike there. But not long into the conversion I noticed that my dad had gotten the city wrong; the place the drum corps was at was actually in St-Basile. Awesome. So yeah, I proved I was even more psycho nutbar than I thought by riding back there. But as much as I love my sister and dad, I shouldn't have done it. The break I took was too long, the ride there was almost all uphill, and by the time I had to get back on the road towards Montreal the scorcher I had predicted was in full effect, and the wind had started blowing. The wrong way. What followed was 30 kilometers of pure masochism. To make things worse, I almost ran out of water so I had go real easy on it for the first half. But I was going to pass by the St-Hubert skatepark and not only was I able to refill and refresh there, the guy who worked there gave me 2 extra bottles. This is also where I wolfed down the most cookies and bars in one sitting because of all the energy I had used up. I was over 3/4 of the way into my ride now and I was starting to feel it.

Ah, la Montérégie :)

But I had to leave the skatepark and get going because there was one massive obstacle I had to climb on my way to the Montreal meet: Jacques-Cartier bridge. Unlike the Estacade bridge which had no hills to speak of, JC bridge is one massive mofo even when your legs are fresh, and mine were anything but. But at least I knew I could cheat a bit and not do the full bridge; I could get off on St.Helen's island and ride to a smaller bridge that lead West and more towards my ultimate destination, Brutopia on Crescent street. And finally just before 1800 EDT I arrived, and though I was extremely hot and sweaty I didn't pass out! But thank God I thought of bringing a fresh T-shirt and that we were sitting on the terrasse! I know that beer is probably not the best way to rehydrate the body but Goddammit did that first sip of IPA feel good !!! The only bad thing to happen on my ride was when I left Brutopia; no it wasn't the slight drunkenness or the building fatigue, but somehow my can of sunblock spray had gotten squeezed while we were on the terrasse and its contents flooded the side pouch of my backpack where the can was located. Messy.

So there ya go, a short account of the biggest bike ride I've ever done in one day, and not the last one for sure! But I did notice a few things I have to change on my bike to make big rides easier. First my knobby MTB tires have to go; the back one is finished anyway because I've been riding so much this year. Second, a touring saddle. A race saddle is nice and comfy but after about 80km I didn't know how to sit on it anymore. And third, spongier grips. I had bought new gloves just before this ride and they helped, but at the end even these didn't help the fact that my grips are pretty much like a coat of paint on the handlebars. My ride to Mont-Tremblant may become a ride to Val-David because there's isn't enough time for me to make all these changes, and anyway I'm also a bit short on funds, but still I just may reach the big mountain as there will be no surprise drum corps detours! But yes, I can see myself riding a bike from here to here, the long way round.

Once again I must thank Letrange for that quick talk when I needed it the most. And in the same vein, thanks go to the nameless kid at the skatepark. You saved my ride !!!

Enjoy a few more pics from the early part of my ride !!!

o7

Le Parc de la Cité

Chambly canal rapids

Did I say I made it? I made it :)

Me, feeling awesome.

Friday's Electric Lunch Hour - 2011/07/15

Yes, I admit it, I'm a Steve Vai fanboi! But this video doesn't showcase just him but the entire band also. The tune as sure come a long way since it came out with the movie Encino Man!

I would also like to dedicate this FELH to all the EVE bloggers who have left the game for better pastures. After Mynxee, Teadaze, Spectre3353, Manasi, a few others and myself, Ga'len the Wandering Druid of Tranquility has announced that he will be leaving the game. I would have asked for his stuff but with me being out of game it's pretty pointless to ask. Besides, he already helped me out just before Christmas 2008 when I was in an extremely tight spot. It seems like the EVE Online we once knew and loved is a thing of the past, and this saddens me to no end. As I mentioned in the comment I left on his blog, we should start a #bittervetfleet group :))

And speaking of being the hell out of here, tomorrow is the ride to Fort Chambly and the South Shore. The weather forecast is absolutely beautiful but in the afternoon it might get a tad hot. That may slow me down a bit but it sure will not stop me. Departure time: 4:45 AM :))

Fly hard

o7

Multiversal update

Although these days I'm very centered around cycling, I'm still Cozmik and I still have an interest in computer gaming so before I get yet a bit deeper into pedal power let's go into what I've been playing, and not playing as the summer advances. Let's start with EVE because after all, this started as an EVE blog.

Just over 2 weeks have gone by since the Monoclegate Riots, and since the announcements following the emergency CCP/CSM summit things sound as if they are back to normal, ie: boring. I'm just waiting for the next melo-drama! I have yet to read the CSM Minutes but from what I hear there will be "disappointing" stuff for bitter vets like me. I guess I will find out when I read 'em for myself and make up my own mind about 'em. I know I don't want to come back to the game if I know I'll get sick of it again within a few months. I've got other places to put my money anyway.

Also in the space game department, I have uninstalled Black Prophecy a few weeks ago. The novelty of it was cool when I received my closed beta key, and doing the whole set of storyline missions at the start was kind of fun, but after you "graduate" not much happens, and though blowing shit up is fun and all, after a few weeks it got really repetitive really quick. As I told the guys at our last meet, I have more fun flying around in FS2004 than in BP, and I don't even fire a gun! I still wish Reakktor well but I guess there is a reason why the Space Sim genre isn't a big seller these days.

The last time I visited Letrange he showed me World of Tanks, and I liked what I saw enough that I downloaded it as soon as I got home, but its downside was that it showed my computer its age, and I had to tweak the thing down more than I thought I would. I've played a single battle so far and royally sucked mainly because the Y axis on my mouse wasn't inverted (pull=up, push=down - yes, I'm weird that way). I also didn't get the whole upgrading/purchasing mechanic, and because of fun stuff like the Jazz Fest and my bike I've just left WoT alone until I feel like actually playing games. But it's there; I just need to get more of a feel for it :)

I may not have logged in some Quake Live time in about a month, but it's because my FPS antics have been happening in another universe. On the 30th of June Hellgate Global went open beta and I've been tearing up post-apocalyptic London something fierce. The closed beta characters were wiped so I had to restart CozmikR5 the Hunter/Marksman but it's been going good. I'm now at Level 9 and already have some L11 Legendary gear stashed away. The next quest I have to do is the first tough one of the game, the British Museum Hellrift. I want to get past that and when I hit around Level 12 I will probably hook up with a group and go for some power-levelling. I just love the simplicity of Hellgate: go in, shoot whatever is moving, pick up loot, make Palladium, rinse, repeat. It may sound repetitive but the game presents it in a very fun way. It's also an awesome time-killer like the game it was descendant from via its original developers, Diablo II. So yeah, this is where my gaming has been happening the most lately. I know a lot of EVE players have migrated over to Perpetuum Online, but I don't know... I still prefer the Battletech universe for 'mech action.

But to quote myself as I posted with the monocle pictures, Real is greater than Pixels any day of the week. So these days my computer has been used more to search for information on bike touring, camping, gear, maps, etc. Hell I've even found my next bike! No worries, I'm not about to buy a new bike on a whim, and my Trek is working just fine thank you, even though it needs a few parts to make a long-distance trip easier. But the Fargo is something greater than my current bike is: it is my retirement plan. You see, I've already been working at the city of Montreal for 22 years, which means that I've only got 10 years to go. And when I've got all the time in the world I plan to ride. A lot. And if I'm to ride to the other side of nowhere, I need a bike that's built for the job. In a future post I will list what I'd like to have as a perfect expedition bike that can take me anywhere, and the gear I have to have with me to survive. Over the next few years there is a lot of stuff I have to acquire but some of the things will be vital to the success of any long-term journey I intend to undertake. It's one Hell of a plan I've set myself, I know!

As I wrote the last time I blogged, this weekend will be the first of my big rides, and the weather forecast is in: it should be nice but hot. Good thing I'm planning to leave my place about a half-hour before sunrise. I'm extremely psyched and the weekend just cannot arrive soon enough. Worst of all, my bike is right there, about 10 feet away from me in my office and it's yelling "RIDE ME !!!". No worries... I will :)

Go far

o7

The first big ride

A few days ago I mentioned something about doing my first official 100km cycling day but I hadn't thought of a destination. Spending entire days on my bike is nothing new to me but usually this is just riding aimlessly without a goal. But this time I have a destination worth riding to:

This is Fort Chambly, located on the Richelieu river on the South Shore of Montreal. Built in 1711 by the French, it was taken over by the British in 1760, and was reinforced in 1812 to make sure Quebec didn't suddenly become a US state. 'Aight enough history lessons, you can read all about the fort here. The place is nothing new to me because I spent my early youth about 20km from there, so I've been there on many school trips, ridden there when I was still living in my home town, and also went there a few times for the annual Beer & Flavor Festival; there simply cannot be a better place for that!

But to come back to my riding addiction, because I now live a bit farther away on the South-West part of the island of Montreal, the ride will now be a better challenge as according to Google Maps the fort is now 41.1 kilometer away via bike paths. I know a few places where I could cut corners but this is not the point. So there and back again I'm looking at 82.2 clicks, but don't forget, I'll be riding through my home town of Longueuil so I will take a few detours to places I haven't seen in a long long time, and will also pay visit to a few old friends. And on top of that, on the way back I will not be heading straight home because this will be one of the Montreal Meet nights at Brutopia. I don't think I will party like a madman but it will end the day rather beautifully. So with the detours and the final ride from Brutopia to my bed I will surely bust the 100km mark. To spice things up I will try to take streets I don't usually take and neighborhoods I don't usually go through. I will most likely photo-document my ride so around the 20th of July I should have a fun blog post :)

The ride will happen on July 16th 2011, and only the crappiest of crappy rain days will hold me back; if I do get some rain I may have to come back home before heading to Brutopia but even then, it will be worth the experience. If I want to go on bigger adventures I literally have to Harden The Fuck Up™. Just like my planned trip to Mont-Tremblant, I will leave just before the sun rises so when morning is in full swing I will have covered a lot of ground already thanks to mostly deserted roads. And if I hit 100km sooner than I think? Fuck it, I'll ride farther !!!

Ride it like you stole it

o7

The path from my place to Fort Chambly

The Month-long Lull

Hey all, Coz here!

My crazy Jazz Festival week, going to bed late and humid heat have decided to catch up with me today; it's about 12h30 PM now and I still feel like I just woke up! Part of it is because my brain is still on vacation. One single week just isn't enough, especially when you fill it with a crazy schedule of shows and parties. And when you know that not even a month from now I'll have another 2 weeks of vacation but at least this one will not have a week-and-a-half festival of musical awesomeness. It will have two special events though. The first one is my birthday right at the start on July 30th so any excesses (like THAT never happens... LMAO!) will be done with quickly. And the second one is my bike trip to Mont-Tremblant which I intend to do with minimal budget and preparation; yes, I actually WANT to have it rough because this trip is supposed to be my first of many longer and harder trips which will require better preps but will still be rather spartan. Yeah, I'm crazy like that.

I've been preparing the physical and mental side in a few ways. Riding 5km to and from work every day isn't quite enough, so any time I get a chance I hop on the thing and ride pointlessly in one direction. The boring part is that I have to come back home all the time so I average around 30km per rides, and 50 on weekends. This will change soon as the second vacation is approaching. Of course I can't really ride on the weekends I have my kids, but on the next weekend I'm on my own I will do my first 100km round trip. I haven't planned the route yet but what I want to do is basically leave my place just before sunrise and ride all day, and arrive at the Montreal Brutopia meet at 7PM. The fun part: I want to do this whatever the weather is. It could be a cool and calm day, or hot and humid with a storm or two. Could be way fun, or way painful. But I just have to do it :)

Another way to prepare I have is walking insane distances. When's the last time you walked 15-20km? For me it was last weekend. And a few days before that. By walking you may not get anywhere fast but it sure builds up your character. And you can even see stuff you've never ever seen that are literally in your own backyard.

So are I am, not quite a month from my next vacation and every fiber of me wants to leave Montreal behind and travel this amazing bike path, dip my feet in the Rivière du Nord, and then dip 'em in the Rivière La Diable. Of course I'll have to celebrate with an awesome beer from Micro-brasserie La Diable :) This is my first bike adventure, and I can barely wait !!!

Ride long and far

o7

Consider this blog renamed!

And voilà, it is done. I think the title shows that I still have some interest in space-related stuff but that I like a broader palette of subjects. And I'd like to thank the thousand or so crazies bashing the hell out of the Burn Eden monument; I wonder if the alliance that won this monument and placed it there ever imagined something like this could have happened... probably not :) I've used this header to signify that my EVE adventure is pretty much over. I will probably change it at some point, but for the time being this is it because I want to show my support to those of you who still like EVE as a concept, despite all the stuff that's been happening since Incarna arrived, and all the shenanigans CCP was up to. I will watch closely as the CSM flies to Reykjavik to ask CCP in person "Dudes, WHAT THE FUCK ?!?!". Interesting times, Hilmar said... yeah!

On other fronts, I'm happily doing the vacation dance right now! Yep, I took the week off for some bike riding, a bit of gaming, and most importantly the Montreal International Jazz Festival. The kick-off was last Saturday with Robert Plant and Band of Joy; I was supposed to see Paco De Lucia that evening but things got tight and I couldn't have a baby-sitter as I had my boys. But on Sunday night I opened my 2011 festival with Marc Ribot Y Los Cubanos Postizos (Marc Ribot and the False Cubans XD). The first thing we noticed just before my buddy and I entered the concert hall was a sign saying "There will be no intermission". Coolness! And we got treated to 2 hours of what I'd call Power Salsa, which was absolutely amazing. Three encores later, the sign we saw earlier was clear to me: intermissions are for pussies !!! And of course before and after this show we mingled with the crowd outdoors and drank in the festival atmosphere, complete with beer and the legendary MJF hot-dogs :)

Yesterday I had my first "I am a vegetable" day of my vacation so I didn't do much during the day but surf them interwebs, but the evening was beautiful and windless so I did a nice 30km round-trip on my bike. From my place in LaSalle I went to the St.Lawrence river, followed it to Lachine and then up to Dorval airport where I saw my first Airbus A380... goddamn this thing is huge !!! I'm more and more anxious to do my little trip later this summer. Yesterday's ride could be considered a night ride, so because I had gotten up pretty early in the morning I was tired when I got home, but at least it wasn't from physical exhaustion. So with better preparations, a good night's sleep and a healthy breakfast, I should have no trouble going up north.

And now, on to enjoy the rest of my vacation. In the plans today: a bit of Hellgate single-player (btw, Hellgate Global will go open beta on June 30th), probably a ride to the Jazz Fest, and paying Letrange a visit later tonight.

Life is good :))

o7

Preparing for the Big Trip

My baby

Not too long ago I posted about my desire to travel to the vast expanses of Nunavik, the Great North of the province of Quebec, which is only a short 1500km North of my hometown of Montreal. Totally doable by car, and even easier by plane. Too easy. By bicycle though... ah, this will make it more interesting! But as I was explaining, one does not simply ride North with a back-pack full of spare clothes and sleep in hotels along the way. I wouldn't be the first rider to go out into the wilderness, but rides like this one have to be methodically prepared from A to Z, and ride buddies and/or a support team has to be found, and these guys have to be as crazy as I am. But before I even think about heading out to a place where caribous outnumber humans I have to gradually get used to long rides and being exposed to the elements. And towards that goal, I have a plan.

During the first 2 weeks of August I'll be on vacation, and at the start of week #2 Part One of my plan will be put into gear. After thinking about it for an enormous amount of years I will finally do the trip I've been wanting to do: Mont-Tremblant, here I come! This is still a 150km ride so it's not exactly a milk run, but most of it is spent on the Laurentian Linear Park, a bike path located on what used to be a railway called Le P'tit Train du Nord. The advantage of this: slope grades are almost non existant because trains don't like steep climbs. The downside: ALMOST non existant means that when you go slightly up, you go slightly up for a long time. But still, having taken that train when it was still in operation in the early 80's I know that the scenery I will ride through is absolutely breath-taking, therefore well worth the effort.

Because the bike path goes through many Laurentian villages I will not have to haul a huge amount of gear. My back-pack with a bit of extra clothes, a few bike tools, and a few snacks to have along the way and I should be all good. In the case of a bike emergency I'll be within walking distance of civilization at all times, and anyway there will be traffic on the bike path. But even thought this isn't the full-on camping trip there are a few things I will not want to be without when I'll do my 300-ish kilometer round trip:

• Seat pouch with a bicycle multi-tool, tire repair kit, tire irons, pocket knife, and a mini first aid kit. I may upgrade my pocket knife to a camping multi-tool that has pliers.
• A simple bike computer; I don't need a GPS, my heart beat, and the weather forecast for 2 weeks. All I want is the current speed, the average speed, a trip meter and the time of day.
• A Presta valve travel bike pump. And I'll pray I don't have to use it. If it has a pressure gauge all the better.
• A flashlight with plenty of spare batteries. I don't intend to do any night traveling but I may do some evening hiking. Yes even after a big bike ride; I'm crazy like that. The full reflector/lighting set-up will be for the longer rides where I'll use actual roads.
• Walking shoes. My bike shoes are very comfortable to walk in... for bike shoes. They are still pretty stiff and I don't want to use up the cleats more than I have to.
• Food: trail mix, trail mix bars, Power Bars, dried fruits, and always a full bottle of water. I will be using up calories at an alarming rate so I need to stay on top of it. Getting water along the bike path is very easy, but eventually I will need a water treatment kit. I checked and those things are more expensive than I thought.
• Light rain gear. Because this is a "short" trip I may be able to bypass this if the weather forecast is good for the few days the trip will last, but who knows. I don't plan to look like Gilligan but if I can be slightly less wet when I get to a destination then all the better.

For this trip I can fit everything that can't fit into the seat pouch in my back-pack, and even then the weight shouldn't be too bad. The heaviest thing will be my lock. But yes, eventually I will have to gather up a lot more gear, the most important of which will be a one-wheeled cargo trailer. I've also seen the tents and sleeping bags that would be perfect for bike trips, as well as a ton of useful camping gear that I need to get for the bigger trips. At some point I will have to make myself an Excel sheet of everything I will need to go out on a solo camping trip. And when the set-up is not only obtained, but tried and tested in the field, then it'll be time to start thinking about the Big One. In the mean time, I'll do my best to enjoy what will essentially be 4 of my regular rides packed into one ride. At least I know one thing: rain or shine, this will be the cushy trip and on my two intended stops a warm bed will be waiting. Well, you gotta start somewhere :))

Between the Mont-Tremblant ride and the Nunavik ride I will plan others rides, gradually farther both in distance and from human civilization. Saguenay/Lac St-Jean is a good place to plan a trip. The Gaspésie region is another, plus I know the area a bit. Yep, I'm getting pretty psyched up about this :)

Live to ride, ride to live

o7

Proposed Montreal to Mont-Tremblant itinerary

Parc linéaire Le P'tit Train du Nord

Blame Ewan McGregor !!!

Because I spend a lot of my "at home" time in front of my computer, I don't watch a lot of TV. And when I do, whatever's playing better be awesome or else I'll just find something to do at the 'puter, or go outside if the weather is nice enough (which has been hard this year... watch a review of the Canadian Grand Prix and you'll have a good idea of the weather we've been having). But lately one of my friends gave me a chance to catch up on something I had missed, and it gave me a renewed sense of respect for the actor playing General Obi-Wan Kenobi. In the spring and summer of 2004, McGregor and his friend and fellow actor Charley Boorman decided to give their love of motorcycling a new meaning by taking quite a ride: from London to New York, the long way round, by way of France, Germany, Tchekoslovakia, Ukraine, Russia, Kazakhstan, Russia again, Mongolia, more Russia to the city of Magadan. From there they flew to Alaska and resumed riding to Yukon, Alberta, Montana, North and South Dakota, Minnesota, Wisconsin, Illinois, Ohio, Pennsylvania, New York, to finally arrive at the Big Apple. 19000 odd miles. Holy shit, watching TV does NOT get any better !!!

But what watching Long Way Round has given me is a serious case of the Wanderlust. No, I don't own an adventure-fit motorcycle, or even a motorcyle license for that matter. And no, I don't plan on visiting Siberia and the Road of Bones any time soon, though this would be awesome in every sense of the word. But I am known to ride my mountain bike for some nice distances, but those are usually on a beautiful Sunday afternoon. Still, a 50-75km round trip does not faze me too much. But in my long-distance riding there was always something that's been missing in my Curriculum: riding North. Starting from Montreal, I've always wanted to ride a good distance, say to Mont Tremblant, roughly 150km away. Of course life is cushy there and it really is no huge challenge. You'd be surprised how many people do it every year. But after watching LWR my view of a long ride has changed. And today it dawned on me what would be the mountain biking equivalent: riding North, but ever so slightly farther. To Fort-George on the shores of James Bay, at the mouth of La Grande Rivière. A 1500km ride. Now we're talkin' !!!

Google Maps says 3 days 10 hours. I don't believe this one iota. Well, maybe if you ride non-stop without even a lunch or bio break... yeah, right! The road may be paved, but only just. And it's so remote you can bet yer ass that road work doesn't get done there very often. It's possible to tour Quebec by car via the Chibougamau road (Letrange would know, having lived way up there), but my intended trip would take me from Abitibi straight up for 1000km; with only a single gas station at kilometer 381 of Route 1055, this is one of the most remote places one can get to in North America. There is a road there only because the majority of Quebec's electricity comes from the dams at La Grande. So 3 days? PFFFFT! More like 2-3 weeks if one crazy enough to try it would like to enjoy it. And you know what? I think I'm crazy enough! Not without a whole lot of preparations of course. As we say here, this is not a beer run to the dep. But I'd say with a couple years' planning, and the fact that I have a lot of vacation time from work, it's totally doable. Not quite sure I'd do it solo though, and I have yet to find riding mates... any volunteers? :)

The first part of the preps would be to gather up the necessary bike and camping gear required to pull off such a crazy stunt. Then a decision has to be made: round trip or one-way? This would be after the most important part of the preps: find some hardcore nutcases who have done crazy shit like this, have a couple of beers together and take in all the advice they can give.

Hey I'm not saying I'll be doing this next month, this year, or even next year. But the seed has been planted and Wanderlust smells damn good. I'm 40 years old now and not in too bad a shape, and even though I'll probably die an adrenalin junkie, if I want to do some crazy trips now is the time to think about it. So thank you Ewan and Charley for waking me up to the fact that I haven't travelled enough, and if I am to travel it's better to do it the hardcore way; it beats waiting hours in line at the airport, getting crammed with 300+ people into a pressurized tin can, and catching La Tourista in the middle of a humongous tourist trap.

To hell with flying... ride like there's no tomorrow

o7

The proposed ittinerary o_O

James Bay Road website