geekery, cycling, printing, design

I’m happy to announce that Graphic Arts Magazine is offering discounted advertising in exchange for sponsorship of my ride in the Friends For Life Bike Rally.

For a tax-deductible donation of $75, you can get $75 off a full-colour eighth-page ad in the September 2009 issue of Graphic Arts Magazine. For $100 you can get $100 off a half-page ad, and $200 will be applied to a full-page ad. [Read more →]

After hearing about the TBN TNT Hairshirt three years ago, I thought it was probably the craziest idea for an event ever. 200 miles (322 km) in one day, from Toronto to Niagara Falls and back. Naturally I couldn’t wait to be a strong enough cyclist to be able to enter it.

This year everything seemed to fall into place. I started training much earlier than usual. The only potential snag was the impending thundershowers. But as Owen the organizer said, “more good rides are ruined by bad forecasts than bad weather!” [Read more →]

Here’s how you can stalk me follow my progress for today’s 322 km TBN Hairshirt.

What I’m thinking on twitter.

What I see on flickr.

Where I am on Instamapper.

I’ll be pulling them all together on one map (hopefully) when I (hopefully) finish.

It’s not as easy as you’d think. Out of the whole three-page article it was the most difficult thing I had to write. There isn’t really a set format in Graphic Arts Magazine, which would have made it much easier.

Article bios range from the full-featured and descriptive:

Barry Siskind is North America’s foremost trade and consumer show expert. He is author of Powerful Exhibit Marketing. Visit www.siskindtraining.com and learn how you can dramatically improve the bottom line at your next show.

To my favourite, the minimalist: [Read more →]

Gorgeous blue roast beef and brie sandwich from the Fox and Obin Market in Chicago.

It’s good to know I’m not the only person who’s guilty of this.

First, don’t take multiple shots from multiple angles, kneel on the banquette, or rearrange the table. Jeffrey Porter, cowriter of the blog Drink Eat Love, says he limits himself to “four or five shots.” Besides creating an unnecessary disturbance, your dinner might get cold. At Alinea, one dish, called Hot Potato Cold Potato, has contrasting temperatures. By the time a diner has snapped the dish from every angle, it might as well be called “lukewarm potato.”

How to politely photograph restaurant food [via Lifehacker]

Canada and Mexico vs. the US
Mint.com has some seriously cool infographics comparing the three countries.

It took him a long time to find images he liked
I wish all my correspondences were this misguided.

GPS shoes for Alzheimer’s patients
What are the odds a patient might remember to put them on before wandering?

For an unplanned training ride a lot of thought has actually been put into it. Since I started thinking about biking long distances there have been three major rides that I’ve considered. One was Toronto to Montreal. Another was riding 250k to my grandmother’s. The latest has been to ride around Lake Simcoe. Technically I suppose I’ve done it by going to Ben’s cottage and back, but there was a day of rest between. I wanted to do it either in one shot, or over two consecutive days.

Since then I’ve spent weekend afternoons when I’m not riding, trying to figure out the best way around it. There are some gorgeous parts between Barrie and Orillia, and along the south shore, but connecting them can be a little messy.

[Read more →]

Flying over the handlebars can be fun in the right circumstances—crashing into a snowbank, or landing in a bush with a water-filled backpack to break your fall. It’s not so fun when you catch a root down a hill and tumble shoulder first on top of a rock. It’s like getting hit in the chest with a hammer. Luckily I was able to ride away with only a slightly bloody shoulder and knee and a sore chest—maybe a bruised rib.

It wasn’t the best way to prepare for Sunday’s 166k road ride with the TBN, and it from the outside it wouldn’t seem to get much better after that.

[Read more →]

Each weekend when I started cycling I would try to visit as many trails reviewed in my copy of a guide to Ontario’s trails. I completely dismissed the Don Valley set of trails. Never even bothered to visit. Too short, too busy, and too many people. Now that I live within 15 minutes, it makes the perfect good morning ride.

Here’s my daily hour-long loop. Check out the Google Earth option, it looks awesome!

don loop