Bixi Birthday

We got a Bixi membership for our family for recent birthdays.

Now we don't have to:

1. wear special shoes
2. carry a lock
   
3. worry about secure parking

And now there will be no whining about how far it is between home and supper.

Heated winter bike parking

Steam heat!

Frozen Assets

2010's first bike ride: to musée Pointe a Calieres and the skating rink of the Old Port (Vieux Port)


We climbed the tower in the photo above for this pic of the iconic old montreal waterfront.


Resurrection 2010 for Rusty, our rain and winter bike




Skating at Bonsecour Basin in old Montreal.


They call it Bonsecour basin because it's in front of Bonsecour Market.

The rink has its own name, "The Quays Skating Rink." It has a bar.

your winter reading

What part of “bicycle path” don’t you understand?

Maybe, just maybe, someone will learn something by reading this.

Montreal's Salon du Velo 2010 Feb 19-21

Forget the car show this weekend, we're waiting for the upcoming Salon du Velo in February.

We most enjoy visiting the cyclotourism-destination booths, and there are lots to choose from since quebec is a big place with lots of really great cycling destinations.

In the annoyance-resolution department, we are looking forward to interrogating Velo Quebec about why their on-line Montreal-region bike map dates from 2008 (i.e. produced in 2007) and therefore is way out of date. The velo-quebec staffer said last year that we'd see a new map online in May 2009, but we have been waiting, and waiting, and waiting. We've waited long enough and it is time for Velo Quebec to remember that they exist to serve the public, not to just milk us for guberment subsidy coinage. (End of rant)

See you there!

Winteractive!

Winter is the season when not-so-smart people just hibernate inside. This leaves the outdoors empty for us active sort of people to go out and have fun playing in the snow.

We've been enjoying snowshoe and cross-country-ski on Mont Royal, both highly excellent active activities. The ski from the Monument on Parc avenue to the summit of the mountain is perhaps the most amazing urban ski trail east of the Rockies.

But we are waiting, and waiting, and waiting some more for a skating rink to open on the Lachine Canal. Maybe in our lifetime? Hmmm? Hello? We will probably see snowsnake become an olympic sport before Montrealers get to skate on the Lachine Canal.

Winter? It's all about the underwear

Another good Jill Barker Fitness column in the Gazette today. This is a top-rate feature of the gazette.

Today's topic is the correct clothing (and underclothing) to be warm in the cold, and most important, how to be warm AND active in the cold.

Basically it means avoid ALL cotton clothing, and go and spend the big bucks on good underwear, because it's all about the layering of synthetic undergarments. Start with the thin next to your skin, ad some medium to thick layers next, and finally keep the winter outside with a good outer-shell garment top and bottom. This will keep you warm and protected outside. Remember to subtract layers as you heat up, tres important.

Now go outside and enjoy the wonderful spectacle of winter.

Fitness: Dress properly for winter workouts

Managing heat and sweat in cold weather has become a science, with new fabrics, treatments and design features added to traditional outdoor clothing

Read article here

January - still biking to work?

No, our bike takes a vacation in the winter.

But we discovered that two people are still biking to our workplace. And one other person decided to "store" his bike outside at the workplace bike stands - not so good for the bike!

Our winter commute is a mix of BMW (bus, metro, walk) and the car, the cursed, destroy the world, most-wonderful-invention-ever car.

And for after work fun, we are going for snowshoe adventures up Mont Royal, leaving... NOW!

... We're back, and it was excellent. Totally and completely excellent. The east and northeast topography of Mount Royal are perfect for the pursuit of happiness via snowshoes.

snow bikin'

Snow biking

One change from summer bikin' is the plastic bag seat cover, which keeps the bike seat ice and snow free. The part of your body that interfaces with the seat appreciates this.

Montreal by bike