Gwen 🧶🚲🌟

The fact that they don't have a calendar on their website with the upcoming dates where bike days ISN'T happening is really annoying.

Want a plan a ride with friends for two weeks away? Who knows if it'll be parkway or MUP!

I'm still used to just standing and cranking the pedals for short hills, which you really can't do on soft gravel. Tires just spin.

We were out late morning/early afternoon. It was decently busy but pretty much everyone was respectable out there.

A map showing a portion of the route of a cycling trip.

Correct! We got on at P7. I'm still getting used to the new bike so I walked up most of 30. It was quite loose in a lot of places.

Two people sit on a rock. Just their legs are visible. Between them is a bit of a picnic. Cheese, bread, crackers, a bag of M&M's. There is also a backpacking camp stove and they have two mugs of coffee.

Gwen is sitting on a rock with the aforementioned picnic in front of her. She is giving g the peace sign. She's wearing a orange shirt with a stylized bike icon on it. The wheels are made to look like boobs. Shirt designed by Tegan Phillips.

New bike's first (mini) real gravel excursion. To Gats from downtown, up Pink, Mackenzie King, then trail 30 to Wattsford Lookout for some Coffee Outside.

(I had brought my mini raclette grill, but there's an open fire ban on, so we went with cold cheese.)

Do you use just one or both most often? I don't need to carry too much, but I do get groceries on my lunch and bring them home quite often. I've got a folding basket on one side of my rack, so I couldn't run two panniers without getting rid of the basket.

I should note that I do have a pair of Arkel Dolphins (24L each) that I use for bikepacking. I'll use one for commuting until I get a new commute bag, but they don't affix as well to my commuter bike vs my adventure bike.

After nearly 10 years of almost daily use, my day to day Pannier (Timbuk2 Alemany 26L pannier) has a broken back plastic reinforcement panel. It's sitting real weird on my rack rails, I clip my heel, and I don't trust it anymore.

What do folks like about your panniers? What do you not like?

I love the Nuun for portability, but I prefer the taste of Organika powder.

I bring Nuun with me, but put Organika into one of my bottles at home, keep the other plain. (I struggle to drink enough water when it's not swealtering, so use flavour to make myself want it more.)

Ehnnnn.... The closure starts (when going east) at Canal Woods, but the detour doesn't start until the Bank street on ramp.

And the only way to get across Bank there is to go down to Aylmer and wait for the lights.

Single-lane closure of Colonel By Drive and multi-use pathway from… Every day, we work to build an inspiring capital that is a source of pride for all Canadians.

It was terrible! And the detour for when the MUP is closed looks like it's going to be even worse!

ncc-ccn.gc.ca/closures/sin...

Even when a stop line is further back, drivers pull up to where they think they should stop. Which is usually in the cross walk.

A poster from the City of Ottawa which supposedly shows a large vehicle's blind spots. It is inaccurate.

Follow the first link (Blind Spots) on that page and you get to this BS.

Based on this, a driver can see you directly on their grill (they can not), AND directly on their bumper (they can not).

My folks left town today (visiting from Halifax), and now I'm back at work. I'd much rather be out riding my new bike.

Please? Can I just go ride my bike?

I couldn't find ANY 32s this year. Even in all black. And I couldn't get tan sidewalls or the 30s!

35s are juuuuust too tight on George (my road bike) for comfort, so I had been riding one blue and one purple 32s. But this year I had to replace them and couldn't find 32s in the fun colours. So I'm all black 30s.

And Amara (gravel bike) came with Max is Ramblers 45s. They feel huge!

Ohhhhh. I wonder how they'd look on my new beauty Amara. (Thinking of pulling off the 45 Max is Ramblers and putting on 40s. Also sad that George currently has all black 30s.)

Hey #ottbike, what are your bike's names? And why?

I will sit on Amara for a bit, but she's played by Emily Swallow in Supernatural and I adore her. (She plays God's sister.)

Ouroboros was a SPN episode, but damned if I don't just love the name Amara. (it's pretty, and so is she, and she's a tough bitch.)

I like knowing /why/ people name them what they are.

Tangerine Dream (my commuter): the colour is Tangerine and Dream just fit.

George (my road bike): brand is Marin, and George Lucas is from Marin County.

Mister Miracle (my winter bike): Brand is Scott, and Scott Free is Mister Miracle.

These are both good options! I wasn't into Wrestling, but I think I recognize the names.

Ooooo! I've never seen this before. Any hints on the tasting?

Amara she shall be!

Thanks friends!

I was also floating Amara...

Baby to me is the car.

Ive been calling her Baby so far..
And honestly, it might work?

Hey @jessrawk.bsky.social and @greenrocks.bsky.social , the model is Ouroboros. So I think she deserves a Supernatural name. Thoughts?

(FWIW, my other bikes are Tangerine Dream, George, and Mister Miracle.)

Looking down from the riders position onto a new beautiful gravel bike. It is a Robin's Egg Blue Kona Ouroboros.

Happy N+1 to all (me) who celebrate (buy a new bike).

Sell the tickets for the Ticketmaster Beat Down on Ticketmaster.

They're so clueless they won't know what's going on.

What the fuck? Seriously? Then why put in the cycle lane?

They're sure as shit not going to tell folks to stop driving past Lansdowne on event days.

Emergency vehicles have had to increase the volume of their sirens because vehicles are being made with such noise isolation that people can't hear them.

Our earbuds are not the problem. Just a scapegoat.

(There are people out there who ignore their surroundings. Earbuds are not the issue.)