Recovery weeks always have me digging for something to yap about. This time it was really easy. This was posted on a MTBR forum a couple days ago after another rider came up to our weekly series which is using the Ontario Cup course. A few club members have seen this and end up having huge smiles on their faces.
Here is the description of Mountainview and the MCC as described from a first timer.
I went up to pre-ride last Thursday. Here are my impressions from my initial visit to MountainView.
No, it's not on "the escarpment." It's on a small ski hill about 70km across the bay from "the escarpment."
Yes, there is a ton of climbing. The kind that hurts so good.
No, don't leave the granny gear at home.
Yes, the climbing is tough.
No, it does not resemble any of the other O-Cup courses. It's much tougher. It's actually a mountain bike course.
No, it's not a ROADIE course. Roadies will be crying, and asking for Albion. This is for mountain bikers that race.
Yes, it's rooty.
Yes, the locals are fast. They wear bright blue jerseys. Find them. Make friends with them. Ask them where the good lines are.
Yes, I raced the course on Thursday night.
No, I didn't see any of the locals after the first climb. They were gone.
Yes, there are some faster lines that will make big time differences. Study the course and figure them out, or follow a local on the pre-ride.
Yes, I need to get up there again and pre-ride.
Yes, there are switchback climbs.
No, I do not envy the singlespeeders.
Yes, there is a guy in the bush yelling "GIV'ER!!!"
No, we don't see that type of thing at Albion.
Yes, you will be breathing hard.
No, it's not "somewhat technical." It's very technical. Roots, turny, off-camber...good stuff.
Yes, it's got flow - if you ride it fast. Brake gently, and carry speed through the turns and up the climbs.
Yes, you will actually need technical skills. Remember what those are?
No, I don't mean technical repair skills.
Yes, it's got some big rocks in the way. Learn to ride over them.
No, you don't want to just "wing it."
Yes, it's also got a kick ass rock garden. Ride it. Love it. Find the fast line.
No, I don't feel sympathy for the singlespeeders. They choose that way of life, and they will face adversity on this course
.
Yes, the majority of riders will be in for a shock.
No, it's not a bad shock. It's more of a reality check.
Yes, you will figure out quickly whether you are a good "technical" rider or not.
Yes, it is mostly singletrack, so you had better know the course so you know where to pass.
No, there is not a lot of passing opportunity in the singletrack. It's constantly up, down, left, right, rooty, etc. Know the passing zones. Be one with the passing zones. Because like Cadboury mini eggs, they are there for a limited time only.
Yes, it starts with a lungbusting climb straight up the ski hill.
No, the climb is not a big ring climb, but you can try it and see what happens.
Yes, the course is a welcome change from the "roadie" courses that seem to be taking over.
Yes, the course kicks ass. It will most likely kick your ass!!!
Yes, it's worth the drive up for a pre-ride or two.
Yes, MountainView should remain on the circuit as a standard stop.
And yes, I hope the guy in the bush yelling "GIV'ER" is there on race day. He's freakin awesome.
I'll be up there again tonight listening for comments from more newbie's.
Thursday, August 6, 2009
Wednesday, August 5, 2009
just pedalling around
Ok now back to bike stuff. Spent the evening up at Mountainview again last night. The club is very determined to dominate this weekend. In most division we hopefully will. Me I'm looking for a top 10 on my home course.
My ride itself was pretty low key. It's a recovery week so I think Heather has Gremlins hiding around both my Anthem's. Mondays attempt of a ride which I was not supposed to do at all ended up with me having a flat 15 minutes in. Last night was drama free but I also didn't push my luck. I wonder if Karma and Heather are working together to keep me from over doing things?
Spent the first lap working with a couple club members, showing a few new lines and different tactics. The girls are going ti kill it this weekend. Spent the next lap reassessing the way I'm planning on racing. I'm very programed into endurance strategy and pace. Where to attack and where to be reserved. It works well in most cases but there are places I need to push when normally I wouldn't. Should be interesting and I hope I get the results I'm looking for.
The course it self is awesome . If you are interested in a few highlights check this out from club member/club mechanic Nick. Hopefully he will be in the course doing the same thing again.
My ride itself was pretty low key. It's a recovery week so I think Heather has Gremlins hiding around both my Anthem's. Mondays attempt of a ride which I was not supposed to do at all ended up with me having a flat 15 minutes in. Last night was drama free but I also didn't push my luck. I wonder if Karma and Heather are working together to keep me from over doing things?
Spent the first lap working with a couple club members, showing a few new lines and different tactics. The girls are going ti kill it this weekend. Spent the next lap reassessing the way I'm planning on racing. I'm very programed into endurance strategy and pace. Where to attack and where to be reserved. It works well in most cases but there are places I need to push when normally I wouldn't. Should be interesting and I hope I get the results I'm looking for.
The course it self is awesome . If you are interested in a few highlights check this out from club member/club mechanic Nick. Hopefully he will be in the course doing the same thing again.
Monday, August 3, 2009
The Great Refrigerator Round Up Scam
The great refrigerator round up, don’t believe the hype. I’m going to do my very best to keep things in order to make it easy to follow. Alright where to start. How about a mean way. This program is not backed by any environmental agency what so ever. This is completely run by the power authority. This is about as good an idea as those compact florescent that they have just proved are causing more problems (this is just one of the problems) than saving them.
So lets start with the ad first. If you listen closely they will only pick up fridges that are in working order. Awww you mean you want me to throw out something that is fine?? Yes they do!!! SO where is the environmental benefits to that??? This is the first sign showing that this is not a good idea. If it ain’t broke don’t fix it and if it's not broke don't throw it out for no good reason. Pretty simple right???
Here is the run down on the pre 90’s fridges. The two biggest differences to a new unit are the refrigerant change and insulation. The older units used r12, this is the famed gas that apparently killed the ozone layer. I’ve also heard that the manufacturer of it lost the patent and it was billions to resign. Hmmm makes you think. The other big factor is the insulation. The older units were hand stuffed insulation like what is used in your house walls, sound dead for sure but usually there are some voids in there which means a little energy loss.
Jump forward to the 90’s . The new units are now expandable foam cabinets. This is like the foam that you use to seal in a window. This stuff is very dense and fantastic at keeping the cool where it should be and the heat away from where it shouldn’t be. So as of the early 90’s fridges are already efficient. The next major change is the refrigerant. Now a134. I’ve seen the graphs and comparisons. It’s still bad but not as bad as r12 for breaking down in the atmosphere. Regardless it’s not supposed to be released in the air. If you see a tech blasting of refrigerant from a fridge or air conditioner it’s very illegal and has a nasty fine for both him and the company he/she works for.
Ok so there is the basic timeline of the products that are out there. So here is where my problem with this program starts. Obviously throwing out something that is still working is a very bad idea but here is where the short sighted kicks in and the sneaky influence to make you consume more things.
Lets start with the disposal side of things. First how much power would it take to recycle that old fridge? Well the factory that is running all those lights and all the machines are a strain on the power grid. Then there is the recovery of all that refrigerant. If done properly it must be stored. Awww stored since it will take about 140 years for it to break down. Wasn’t it being stored a little more efficiently having it still in that working fridge??? Next up is they say that everything will be recycled except about a hardhat sized piece of garbage that will end up in the landfill. Excuse me??? Haven’t we put enough in the earth?? Now the funny thing is a fridge is pretty much a frame with a lot of dead space. One of those big ass garbage compactors would probably squash a full size fridge into that hardhat size so are things really being recycled and which parts are??? So where is the environmental and the power savings so far?
\
Next up. That wonderful new fridge. How much power will it take for the factory to manufacture the frame, then the factory that makes the inner cabinet mold, along with the compressor etc etc etc. Wow that’s a lot of juice. I didn’t even start into the refrigerant. The other problem is the metal needed to build the fridge. Does that magically appear or do we rip it out of the earth?? Well we do need a place to stick that old fridge so keep digging boys.
So far we have an excessive amount of factories running 24 hours a day 7 days a week that are sucking up huge amounts of power while stripping out non renewable resources out of the ground while putting the leftovers of another product back into it. Woo hoo I feel very green now. Al Gore eat your heart out. Check out this video, I like it Yep I'm sold. They neglect to include all the other parts of it.
So here is the common sense side of saving the world with your fridge. Keep it full. Refrigeration works on the principal of removing heat. Every time you open and close the door warm air is introduced to the cabinet space which now needs to be removed. The more air space removed by product the less dramatic the change. Think of a frozen chunk of meat. It takes hours to thaw. If you open the door to your house in the winter for 1 minute you see a huge temperature change.
So that beer fridge in the basement, keep it full of beer. If you don’t have that much beer will the freezer with bags of ice to remove dead space. This will cause the thermostat to cycle less. A new fridge will suck up just as much power as an old fridge if it’s running a lot.
As for the energy star rating . It’s just a new flashy word to stick on a product. Appliances are used different by every consumer. How can they predict the power draw by each unit? It’s kinda like car manufactures giving crazy mpg predictions. Sure if you drive downhill with a tail wind. Trust me on this one, nobody does laundry the same way, nobody loads the dishwasher the same way, no one keeps the exact same temperature or product in their fridge identical to someone else, etc etc. There are a bunch of other appliance myths that I’ll get into another time. Things like hot water on demand systems which don’t work with most dishwashers and washing machines. That’s on another day.
The end result involving the great refrigerator roundup. Don’t do it. If you care about the environment it is better to keep your old fridge running. Keep the back clean and keep it full. Remind the kids not to stare blankly into the fridge trying to figure out what to eat, we have all done that. It’s pretty simple math showing that the 20-30 factories will suck up way more hydro than any single family home.
Let's not forget about the excavating machinery for raw ore to make the new steel frame and the ones in the garbage dumps burying the old parts. Aww then comes the transport trucks used to deliver both the raw materials and the finished product. Don't they use a non renewable resource??? and pump out wonderful emissions that we are all so concerned about.
On a side note, warranties have changed on compressors also. What used to be 5-10 years are now as low as 1 year. Average compressor replacement cost is between $450-$600 and with the cost of a low end fridge at the $600 mark what do you think is going to happen??? Now not to discourage you on the cost of service. Comparing the amount of compressor changes now to how many Dad did back in the 70-80's the numbers have dropped. There is more product out there now also. They do work much better.
Most repairs in fridges now a days are based around defrost issues and I hate to say it but all those toys that we love to add. You know what I'm talking about, ice makers and water dispensers. Yes toys!! and of course toys break. Either way repairs are not crazy expensive and it is always much cheaper to fix an existing unit than it is to replace it.
Ok that's enough appliance babble. So not that you are going to do the right thing go have fun with that money you were about to use on that new fridge, buy another bike instead. I’ll do another soap box spiel in the near future. Maybe on where you can really save power when it comes to appliances. For now enjoy.
So lets start with the ad first. If you listen closely they will only pick up fridges that are in working order. Awww you mean you want me to throw out something that is fine?? Yes they do!!! SO where is the environmental benefits to that??? This is the first sign showing that this is not a good idea. If it ain’t broke don’t fix it and if it's not broke don't throw it out for no good reason. Pretty simple right???
Here is the run down on the pre 90’s fridges. The two biggest differences to a new unit are the refrigerant change and insulation. The older units used r12, this is the famed gas that apparently killed the ozone layer. I’ve also heard that the manufacturer of it lost the patent and it was billions to resign. Hmmm makes you think. The other big factor is the insulation. The older units were hand stuffed insulation like what is used in your house walls, sound dead for sure but usually there are some voids in there which means a little energy loss.
Jump forward to the 90’s . The new units are now expandable foam cabinets. This is like the foam that you use to seal in a window. This stuff is very dense and fantastic at keeping the cool where it should be and the heat away from where it shouldn’t be. So as of the early 90’s fridges are already efficient. The next major change is the refrigerant. Now a134. I’ve seen the graphs and comparisons. It’s still bad but not as bad as r12 for breaking down in the atmosphere. Regardless it’s not supposed to be released in the air. If you see a tech blasting of refrigerant from a fridge or air conditioner it’s very illegal and has a nasty fine for both him and the company he/she works for.
Ok so there is the basic timeline of the products that are out there. So here is where my problem with this program starts. Obviously throwing out something that is still working is a very bad idea but here is where the short sighted kicks in and the sneaky influence to make you consume more things.
Lets start with the disposal side of things. First how much power would it take to recycle that old fridge? Well the factory that is running all those lights and all the machines are a strain on the power grid. Then there is the recovery of all that refrigerant. If done properly it must be stored. Awww stored since it will take about 140 years for it to break down. Wasn’t it being stored a little more efficiently having it still in that working fridge??? Next up is they say that everything will be recycled except about a hardhat sized piece of garbage that will end up in the landfill. Excuse me??? Haven’t we put enough in the earth?? Now the funny thing is a fridge is pretty much a frame with a lot of dead space. One of those big ass garbage compactors would probably squash a full size fridge into that hardhat size so are things really being recycled and which parts are??? So where is the environmental and the power savings so far?
\
Next up. That wonderful new fridge. How much power will it take for the factory to manufacture the frame, then the factory that makes the inner cabinet mold, along with the compressor etc etc etc. Wow that’s a lot of juice. I didn’t even start into the refrigerant. The other problem is the metal needed to build the fridge. Does that magically appear or do we rip it out of the earth?? Well we do need a place to stick that old fridge so keep digging boys.
So far we have an excessive amount of factories running 24 hours a day 7 days a week that are sucking up huge amounts of power while stripping out non renewable resources out of the ground while putting the leftovers of another product back into it. Woo hoo I feel very green now. Al Gore eat your heart out. Check out this video, I like it Yep I'm sold. They neglect to include all the other parts of it.
So here is the common sense side of saving the world with your fridge. Keep it full. Refrigeration works on the principal of removing heat. Every time you open and close the door warm air is introduced to the cabinet space which now needs to be removed. The more air space removed by product the less dramatic the change. Think of a frozen chunk of meat. It takes hours to thaw. If you open the door to your house in the winter for 1 minute you see a huge temperature change.
So that beer fridge in the basement, keep it full of beer. If you don’t have that much beer will the freezer with bags of ice to remove dead space. This will cause the thermostat to cycle less. A new fridge will suck up just as much power as an old fridge if it’s running a lot.
As for the energy star rating . It’s just a new flashy word to stick on a product. Appliances are used different by every consumer. How can they predict the power draw by each unit? It’s kinda like car manufactures giving crazy mpg predictions. Sure if you drive downhill with a tail wind. Trust me on this one, nobody does laundry the same way, nobody loads the dishwasher the same way, no one keeps the exact same temperature or product in their fridge identical to someone else, etc etc. There are a bunch of other appliance myths that I’ll get into another time. Things like hot water on demand systems which don’t work with most dishwashers and washing machines. That’s on another day.
The end result involving the great refrigerator roundup. Don’t do it. If you care about the environment it is better to keep your old fridge running. Keep the back clean and keep it full. Remind the kids not to stare blankly into the fridge trying to figure out what to eat, we have all done that. It’s pretty simple math showing that the 20-30 factories will suck up way more hydro than any single family home.
Let's not forget about the excavating machinery for raw ore to make the new steel frame and the ones in the garbage dumps burying the old parts. Aww then comes the transport trucks used to deliver both the raw materials and the finished product. Don't they use a non renewable resource??? and pump out wonderful emissions that we are all so concerned about.
On a side note, warranties have changed on compressors also. What used to be 5-10 years are now as low as 1 year. Average compressor replacement cost is between $450-$600 and with the cost of a low end fridge at the $600 mark what do you think is going to happen??? Now not to discourage you on the cost of service. Comparing the amount of compressor changes now to how many Dad did back in the 70-80's the numbers have dropped. There is more product out there now also. They do work much better.
Most repairs in fridges now a days are based around defrost issues and I hate to say it but all those toys that we love to add. You know what I'm talking about, ice makers and water dispensers. Yes toys!! and of course toys break. Either way repairs are not crazy expensive and it is always much cheaper to fix an existing unit than it is to replace it.
Ok that's enough appliance babble. So not that you are going to do the right thing go have fun with that money you were about to use on that new fridge, buy another bike instead. I’ll do another soap box spiel in the near future. Maybe on where you can really save power when it comes to appliances. For now enjoy.
Sunday, August 2, 2009
The bestest Sunday
Spent Sunday morning hanging with one of my bestest friends and one of my most favoristist bikes. Couldn't have had a more gooder morning.
Afternoon was spent shoveling dirt and watching the World Cup in Bromont. A big congratulations to Andrew finishing 25th. It had a typical Canadian race conditions. Rain. I'm kinda wishing I would have stuck to an original plan to head out there and cheer them on. Well stories will be told tomorrow night.
Refrigerator round up story is almost ready. Release date will be Tuesday morning. I know everyone will need something to do on that dreadful Tuesday after a long weekend so you might as well read my shit.
More tomorrow.
Saturday, August 1, 2009
Just another day
Well I ended up doing something I really hate to do. It’s just down right boring and blah. It’s probably going to sound pretty minor when I say it but some of you may understand. What is it?? I road my mountain bike on the road. Ya that’s it., I know pretty lame.
My original ride plans got altered because the new trailer hitch for the Element didn’t show up. The new ride plan. Ride from home to Mountainview for the group ride, put a few laps in, add some base miles somewhere else then ride home with a grand plan of hitting 5 hours.
Headed out the rail trail, the best warm up and cool down route around. I did learn something today. Triathletes do not like being passed by mountain bikers. Especially when they are on noisy knobby tires. I did try not to giggle to much.. He was very aero in those bars though.
Made my way through the one of the local parks along the Wye River. One big BBQ.
Rolled into Mountianview about an hour into the ride. Being a long weekend and a Saturday there were only a few members out. Between cottages and the group road ride. Did a lap of the easier course since the few that were there were sport level riders. It’s a great course for them. I kinda hope the 9 hour will be very close to the same.
Went of for a few laps by myself. Main focus, stay aerobic. That is a very hard thing at Mountainview.
Hey Andrew do you know where this sign sends us??? After a couple more laps. I decided to head back out for some road miles. I did what I could to avoid paved roads.
Ended up on some atv trails when everything just cleared and I saw this random big pile of dirt. I got a little nervous expecting to see the 5 foot high ants.
Stayed on the atv trails until I ran out of them. This put me back in Midland and I made a cruise along the water front to the town docks.
Someone has way to much money. I swear that thing is twice the size of my house.
I like these a little more. I must be getting old. What a great way to spend the summer.
Kept at the waterfront trails for the way home.
At the end of the ride things totaled up like this.
5 hours riding.
3 laps of the course
2.5 hours of dirt and singletrack
2.5 hours on the paved rail trail and roads
1 happy cyclist.
On the ride today I realized a couple things. My race season is flying by and will be done sooner than I realized. In 6 weeks from now I’ll be in Michigan with Jacob yelling and throwing bottles at me as I bitch about his poor tuning job on my bikes lap after lap.
It’s almost scary how fast the summer is going by. Of course the weather has been crap as you know. I still stick to it that cross season will be all rainbows and butterflies. With that said I have three main goals for this season. I’m not telling yet what they are or if I have accomplished it yet. Gotta give you reasons to keep coming back.
For now I’m going to relax in the sunroom and watch a movie as I start getting the things organized for the refrigerator smack down post ready.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
