YellowJersey

So no riding since I got home last Friday. I've got some bad saddle sores (You have failed me, "Spongy Wonder!!!") so I've been taking it easy. But, after doing around 400km and 4000m of vertical throughout Jasper, Banff, and Kootenay National Parks and doing seven mountain passes, I figured I'd earned it and decided to treat myself to a King of the Mountains jersey. My fiance said, "Ugh, that's ugly," when I showed her.

TBH, I don't think there's any way to ask a girl out that's universal. For example, I met my fiance at a Transformers toy convention. I was wearing Norwegian curling pants, had hair down to my shoulders, a massive beard, and I was walking by her at the bar after the show closed for the day and heard her say something like, "I just want to be friends with him." So I just walked right up next to her, looked her square in the eye and said, "So what you're saying is, you're available." Then I disappeared to Iceland for a month and then New Zealand for another three months. We've been together now for 9 years. It could easily have gone very differently with me ending up pepper sprayed and with a black eye. So I'd just be up front about it, ask away, and if she says "no" then you'll always have the rests of us forever-alone types here on the internet. Don't beat around the bush; be direct so there's no room for misunderstanding (made that mistake way too many times myself)

I shot with Canon for 10 years. My first interchangeable lens camera was a Canon 10D. My whole family shot with Canon, though I'm the only one who seems interested in photography these days. It's not that Canon makes bad products; I loved my Canon lenses. But Canon has a history of holding features for ransom, particularly video features (this was the case for a very long time). But I eventually got sick of Canon's bullshit and, for the first time ever, I don't feel limited by my gear and have no need nor desire to upgrade. I have four lenses and only one is first-party. I wouldn't have gone to Sony had it not been for the third-party lenses. I think Canon's going the Apple "walled garden" approach, which I hate to see becoming more commonplace among tech.

Think twice before you buy a Canon RF camera. It looks like Canon is locking out third-parties from making lenses for the RF mount on the grounds of patent infringement. My thoughts: It's this kind of anti-consumer bullshit that made me jump ship from Canon to Sony back in 2017. I have a range of third-party glass for my A7rIII and I love the options and affordability, which is one of the reasons I recommend Sony (at least for full frame, Fuji is my go-to for APS-C). Now, yes, Canon does have the legal right to do this if they want, but that doesn't make it any less slimy and distasteful. But, much like Apple, they're giving a big "fuck you" to the buying public in the process. So, if you're looking at a Canon RF camera, think about what lenses you want/need before you pull the trigger. https://petapixel.com/2022/09/06/canon-confirms-its-going-after-lens-makers-for-patent-infringement/

I picked Estonia, even though I'm from Canada. I just have some Estonian ancestry.

Because people love to be angry, they love to bitch, and I'm convinced they love to be miserable. Combine that with the fact that the degree of hate is always turned up to eleven regardless of what they take offence to and you end up with just noise. Whether Linus ran over a kitten and pissed on its corpse or didn't have a warranty on the backpack, the reaction is the same. It literally doesn't matter what Linus, or anyone else, does, people will find some way to take it as an egregious slap in the face. "I'm literally shaking right now."

I wouldn't take it personally, my dude. This is the internet. People will get angry over literally anything. It's all just noise to me now.

All of them?

Back home! Today I rode Radium to Canmore, 162km. The morning started off brutal with a 12.5km climb with 600m of vertical. This section took me nearly two hours as some parts were 10% grade. From there I worked my way up Highway 93. Things didn't really start getting difficult until the last 20km until the summit of Vermilion Pass. From there I bombed down the other side to Castle Mountain Junction and along the Bow Valley Parkway to Banff and then along the Legacy Trail to Canmore where I was picked up. It was a nearly 9 hour day during which time I went through 6 litres of water and 2 litres of gatorade. Total this year: 2,418km

Made it from Castle Mountain junction in Banff to Radium BC. 108km and 837m of vertical. Riding back to Banff tomorrow. Good ride, despite the headwind. Total this year: 2256km

*looks at that climb around 33km* O_O Jaysus!

[snark] Most people are idiots. [/snark]

I had to abandon the trip; took the bus back from Jasper yesterday. The weather turned for the worse and I decided it wasn't worth it, especially for the hardest and longest day of the trip. It was literally snowing in some parts. But I'm looking at doing a kind of make-up trip later this week. I'm thinking Banff to Radium and back. Accommodations in Radium are way cheaper than in Jasper, so it wouldn't cost as much, and I could lighten the panniers since I'd need less food.

So I'm in the market for a cloud service. I was going to use backblaze, but I don't want to backup my whole computer nor do I want to sync every month. This is only for backing up my photography (about 1TB) so I want something simple that I can just drag and drop it and just leave it as a kind of archive just in case one of my external HDDs dies. I just want to be able to store files and just park them there. I don't want any mandatory syncing or anything like that. Any suggestions?

This is the internet, where people love to be angry all the time and will look for any reason to be angry. The way people react to even the tiniest thing is ridiculous to the point of meaninglessness. Lots of mountains out of mole hills. People need to take a chill pill.

Made it to Jasper! I am exhausted. Over 1100m of vertical today. I also broke my top speed record. It was 76.6kmph achieved in 2008, which held until today. 79.5kmph is the new record. Tomorrow is going to be brutal; all the climbing. I honestly don't know if I can make it. I was in pretty rough shape as I rolled into the hotel. 144km today and 93km yesterday. Tomorrow will be about 157km and nearly 1500m of climbing. Total this year: 2147km Photo taken at the Columbia Icefields, about 100km south of Jasper.

93km today from Lake Louise to Rampart Creek wilderness hostel. No mobile reception, but they have starlink WiFi. Nearly 900m of vertical today. I hit 70kmph going down the north side of Bow Pass; it was fun. Tomorrow is about 140km to Jasper with over 1000m of vertical. Picture from earlier where I had dinner at a resort 13km before the hostel. Total this year: 2006km.

Aw sweet, you're a Kiwi! I've done a lot of traveling around NZ, but none of it by bike, I'm afraid. I love it there. The Arthurs Pass area is amazing.

Now that one takes me back.

From my starting point that day at Rampart Creek, it's 676m of vertical over 33km to the summit at 2080m. I've never had to push a bike up a climb, but my cycle tours have always been either supported (truck carrying camping gear from site to site) or to wilderness hostels. So, either way, not a lot to carry with me on the bike.

I don't know what my easiest gear is in terms is measurement. I've always called it "the granny gear." My cassette isn't really built for steep climbs; even an 8% grade is tough. I'm leaving tomorrow to do the Icefields Parkway and I know Sunwapta Pass gets up to about 19% grade in some spots since I've done it before. It's going to be tough. I wanted to get a new cassette with a wider gear range in the spring, but supply chain issues etc and they couldn't get it in until October. Here's a pic of "the big bend" switchback (you can see the steep part up the mountain. It bends left and then goes right) Edit: Hrm, this says it maxes out around 10%. Maybe the inclinometer on my bike computer is wrong? https://ridewithgps.com/routes/10289370

I'm not sure what an expert would say, but I generally try to keep a fairly consistent cadence (speed with your legs) and then shift up and down as necessary. It will vary, though. My cadence goes down significantly while climbing, for example.

102km today in 4 hours and 32 minutes. Nothing terribly exciting, though I was sweating a lot despite it not being particularly hot. It's probably my last ride before I leave on Thursday for my Icefields Parkway trip. I need to go to the bike shop and pick up a few things before I leave. Total this year: 1,913km

I never used those. When I got my first road bike, I just got some SPD pedals and shoes to match. It took a little getting used to. There were a number of times I'd come to a stop at a light or a stop sign, forget I was clipped in, and then fall over.

I recommend getting this style (SPD pedals) as they're far more durable than the plastic SPD-SL ones https://www.thebikeshop.com/product/shimano-pd-m540-pedals-13765.htm