Oh man it's total gridlock

Thought I would snap a photo of my grueling commute to work. Sometimes it can get pretty congested with squirrel crossings and chipmunk frolicking but I manage to persevere and push through day after day for the 6 minutes or so it takes to get to and from. Thought I'd share and let you all know it's not just fun and games in my neck of the woods.

Sick of the snow

Not exactly. More like sick and can't enjoy the snow (that's the view from my bedroom window). Last night started feeling pretty crappy and couldn't sleep. Bed was spinning, had the cold sweats, got the bucket ready. I got up and made camp on the recliner and started watching some strange late night CBC movie, I thought the movie was going to be good but it really wasn't. Actually started feeling better after an hour or so. Stomach settled and the temperature regulator started working again. Made some cheapo Campbell's vegetable soup and that hit the spot. Went back to bed around 3am and got a solid sleep. Now I have a bit of a sore throat and I'm a little dizzy but really I thought it was going to be much worse.

Anyways so now I am stuck indoors which I must admit as far as relaxing and time wasting, I'm one of the best. Kind of a bummer that I can't go out and enjoy the 30cm or so of new snow that fell overnight. Still snowing. Maybe Andrew will be able to get out the big groomer and we can open the rest of the trails at Hardwood for the weekend. Not that I'm ready to do anything but the easy loops yet.

Benno

Wintertime Blahs

Well despite the title there is no such thing going on here. Made myself productive today on one of my randomly scheduled days off. Was able to get my hands dirty again putting a new, er well different, throttle body in my Civic. Trying to figure out the stutter under load and crappy idle at start up in warm humid temps. Figured it was probably the throttle positioning sensor so rather then try to adjust that (which I hear is a pain in the ass) I just took the easy route and bolted on a whole different TB. Took five minutes and seems to be running fine but I haven't had the chance to drive it yet so we'll see. The real test will be when I drive it in warm temps again, ahem South Carolina.

Also got a chance to throw my Price Chopper turkey in the oven, turned out damn good for my first one. Now it's turkey soup, pasta, sandwiches, rice, chili, kebab, for the next week, delicious.

Other than that I shot over to Hardwood for a quick night ski. Another 15cm or so of snow fell throughout the day and I must say the skiing was phenomenal. I was having a great time out there in the powder and it should set up perfectly when it is groomed overnight. After my short ski I was off to my weekly Tuesday suffer fest over at the Hardwood inn. We are doing general strength training in all sorts of fun ways that my body has never experienced. Usually incapacitates me in one way or another for a couple of days after. Hope to get in a good 2 hour ski tomorrow, that should loosen up the stiffness in the body but also wear me out pretty good.

Anyways that is it for now. Hope you are enjoying your winter as much as I, impossible not to when you live 500m from Hardwood.

Benno

South Carolina Pricing Update

Hey folks,
thought I would add some incentive to those who like to leave everything to the last minute. Prices for the house in South Carolina will go up as of February 1st 2010. The cost will be $20 more per week/person and $30 more per week/couple. It is a big help for me to get the money from you earlier because it helps with organising the house and paying the massive rent. So if you are not "cheque in the mail" status by February 1st then the increased pricing will apply.
So in summary:
Now until January 31st, 2010
Price per person is $160 week/person
Price per couple is $200 week/couple

After February 1st, 2010
Price per person is $180/week/person
Price per couple is $230/week/couple


That is all.

South Carolina House Pics

Sorry I realise that I didn't have any pictures of the house posted. I've put some in the "House Info" post so you can find them here, and there.
Ben
p.s. a mountain bike tour makes an excellent Christmas present :-D

Top View
Master Bedroom

One of two lofts with their own full bathrooms

Dining/Kitchen area

Pool Room

I'm baaaaaack!!!!

And better than ever. New computer and now wireless high speed makes me much more efficient than trying to do everything on my cell phone. I am amazed at how strong of a signal I get, must be new tech in these rocket sticks, and I'm also impressed at the speed. Hopefully I can keep to my 5GB/month limit..........errrrr damn you 21MB/s !!

Testing - WTB Silverado Saddle

This shows the relief cutouts on the bottom.

WTB Silverado Team Saddle

Out of the box
Quite noticeable upon first encounter of this saddle is the low profile. Now it seems the trend of saddles has taken a minimalistic turn for the potentially worse. This is contributing to larger and thicker chamois to make up for the reduced padding at the saddle level. This is sort of the case with the WTB but in a subtle manor. It sort of sits in the middle between cushy and slab of wood. On the under side you can see some cut outs for pressure point relief which is helpful because this saddle is somewhat pointy in the hind quarters.

On the trail
Ok so this area is very subjective I know. What’s good for some is horrible for others, this saddle is no exception. It definitely brings out the love it or hate it opinions, there seems to be no middle ground for those just trying to get by on a universal saddle.
It seems to be tailored quite well to my bony ass. When I first used it I actually hated it. Rode it twice then took it off my bike and put on an Arionne which I was also using on my road bike at the time. Well for one reason or another I ended up coming back to the Silverado. I think it was because I needed to use it out of necessity having sold all of my other saddles at the time. I gave it a good two weeks and it really started to grow on me. Not only was I breaking it in, it seemed to be breaking me in too, lol. I must say out of all the saddles I’ve used, this one is the least prone to giving me saddle sores and never bothers me in the one area that I always seemed to get them before. I have put a lot of hours and miles on the Silverado, using it on a number of different bikes including my hardtail. Took me a while to warm up to it but I’m glad I did because it seems to fit me very well now.
The profile offers very little in the way of seating positions. At the same token it takes very little effort to slide forward into a climbing posture. It is fairly wide at the back and offers decent support but is still easy to pass through the legs for particularly harrowing descents. Probably more suited to a race saddle due to its singular position capacity and minimal padding. That said though I have done many a 4-6 hour ride with no complaints, but then again I am hardcore ;-)

Specs and features (actual)
Length: 28cm
Stack Height: 4.5cm
Rail Length: 7.5cm
Weight: 245grams
The saddle is pretty low profile, a nice characteristic for its intended use as a mountain bike saddle. Has a relatively low stack height, not too long, slender width but flares out fairly wide at the back.

Verdict
If you are looking for a cheap and light saddle this is about as good as it gets without getting too cheap. It comes in a couple different varieties with Ti rails and leather that are a bit more spendy. Still not too high in price though and they drop a couple grams. If you get a chance to ride one, make sure you get a couple good rides on it before you judge whether it is a good fit for you or not. I’d say it is on my short list of go-to saddles if I need something cheap and fairly light to throw on a bike. I would and have bought this saddle after market, which is a pretty good indicator if I like something or not. I give the Silverado two buns up.

Pros
-light weight
-cheap
-nice mountain biking profile

Cons
-love it or hate it fit
-no flash

Rating
Performance: 13.5 cm of snow out of a projected 16cm
Value: $3000.00 on your Christmas credit card out of $3150.00

An illustration of its tapered profile. Narrow at the front, wider at the back.

A bit of a hammock to the mid section. Just enough to be comfortable without making your butt gravitate right into it.

The adjustment on the rails.