Roody

Is there still ice in the lake? On the news they showed people sunbathing at the beach in Marquette with huge ice floes in the water.

cooker

No, apparently it is all gone even though this was the first time in 35 years all the great lakes iced over almost completely. The Great Lakes Are Even More Beautiful When They're Frozen As I flew in I didn't see any ice floating in from Superior in the river. The limo driver told me that last week there was still some snow in the woods, but it was super warm all week so it's probably gone too.

cooker

Back in Toronto.

I had to got to the bank near my old office to sign some papers, but the bank didn't confirm the stuff was ready 'til today 9 am.

So I biked 11 km to the new office first thing for a short meeting, then backtracked 4 km to the bank and also took some stuff to drop off at the old office, then back to the new office. So an extra 8 km mid-morning ride.

Can't complain!

cooker

Walked up to the drugstore after sunset to get some stuff, then back through a dark schoolyard, hoping to get a glimpse of "earthshine". This is an occasional astronomical phenomenon often seen at this time of year. It's when a new moon is setting, just after the sun, and you see the usual bright crescent illuminated by the sun, but you can also faintly see the rest of the face, lit by reflection from the earth. It was supposed to be good tonight.

Well, I saw it, but it turned out it wasn't very spectacular.

Rowan

Say what???

cooker

What shocked you - the snow or the limo? Here a "limousine" can refer either to a luxury chauffeured vehicle, or to any hired vehicle on a flat rate instead of a meter, such as those servicing an airport. There's no bus service from the Sault Ste Marie airport into town, and I don't rent a car when I go up there, as try to walk at least part of the time to work, so I took a "limo" from the airport to my hotel (19 km). The only other choice is a cab on meter, which would cost more. The limo costs $35 each way. For comparison, bringing a bike on the plane costs $25. Or at least it has in the past.

Fargo Wolf

Yesterday and today, I pedaled over to Pioneer Park, just to get out of the house for a bit. On the way home, both times, I stopped and picked up the mandatory beer for an after ride drink.

wrigleycub

12.2 miles around my little town. Not very scenic, but, I guess it's good exercise!

cooker

It's Sunday, but I rode my usual 11 km route to my office with my Garmin GPS watch, just for fun to see where the km markers would be and the halfway point and so on. Then on to a larger loop along the waterfront and home partly via the Humber River trail.

I had an odd experience on the part going towards work. Usually I ride pretty slow going to work on warm days, trying to avoid sweating, and I don’t usually ride the same route on weekend fun rides. So even though it was the weekend, and I was in a mix of casual and sports clothes, I kept finding myself thinking “I’m getting sweaty, slow down”, and then remembering it wasn’t a work day and sweat didn’t matter.

Once I passed the office, I didn’t have that experience again.

View of downtown across Humber Bay.

cooker

Have you tried those "barefoot" running shoes that look like thick gloves for the feet? I wonder how they work on gravel.

Ridefreemc

Yes, I keep those in my back pocket sometimes so that i can go into stores, etc, but I still like the feel of the bare feet on the ground. Of course, you have to get your feet tough to begin with.

Another use for the barefoot shoes is when you are in areas with thorns. I don't care how tough my feet are, they cannot overcome those.

cooker

Ridefreemc, I'm having a computer glitch where I can't see the last page of the thread except in "print" mode. What kind of shoes do you keep in your back pocket?

Ridefreemc

Vibram Five-Fingers. They are great for protecting your feet from glass, thorns, sharp gravel, etc. and still allow your feet to feel the ground. They are very small overall and easy to stuff in my pocket. I keep them just in case I need to go in an establishment or go through areas with the above listed terrain.

Again, I really like going without shoes altogether. Once your feet get acclimated (toughened up) you can walk over a lot and it is so much more relaxing and good feeling for some reason.

EDIT: Yesterday I had the DW pull out a thorn from one week ago. Then went with a small patch of Gorilla Tape over the hole so that we (dog and I) could do a five mile walk yesterday without getting dirt in the sore spot/hole in my foot.

Machka 

A lot of people here in Australia walk around barefoot everywhere ... down the street, grocery shopping, to cafes. Even at work people will wear shoes to work, but a little later in the day you'll see them padding around the office barefoot.

Coming from Canada, it's a bit unusual to me, but then the weather there wasn't really conducive to that sort of thing much of the time. Nevertheless, I've gone from a shoe-wearing Canadian to someone who will walk around barefoot much more frequently. I just can't quite get used to the idea of walking barefoot on the sidewalks on the main street or downtown ... or to the public toilets.

Roody

Vibram settled class action lawsuits for making false advertising claims. You can get $94 back for every pair you bought--even f you don't have the receipts.

Vibram Settles Class Action Lawsuit | Runner's World & Running Times

Ridefreemc

I guess I didn't "get the memo." I like them and they have earned my $$ so they can keep it.

Roody

They already paid the settlement amount into an escrow account. So why don't you take the money and use it to buy shoes for poor kids or something? Vibram got off easy for outright lying that their shoes were good for people's health.

Machka 

Have you walked or cycled anywhere lately, @Roody?

Roody

Every day, Machka. Today was a generational ride--me, my son and his son. We rode to Walmart to get a lock for the grandson's bike. It was marked wrong, so we got it for $11 off. Lucky day! Made getting caught in a rain storm worthwhile.

Machka 

Well ... what about posting about some of your trips here then?

That is what this thread is all about ... our everyday trips, our unusual trips, our trips of any sort using human-powered transportation.

Roody

I did. Look back to the last post. I added on.

wipekitty

So true! I used to go without shoes for most of the summer. One time, I stepped on a thumbtack and didn't notice it was stuck in my foot for about ten minutes. After the Great Fire Ant Incident of 2011...no thanks, I'll stick to shoes from now on.

LCF Content: It's been an interesting mix of nice weather and nasty weather, and I've been doing the usual work commutes as well as a few recreational rides and errand runs. I was defeated by County Road K, a nice road with a rather large hill that I am trying to ascend on a fixed gear bike, but I'm determined to take it without any walking by the end of the month. (Fixed gear climbs are, in my opinion, as much a psychological battle as a physical one - that's why I find them fun.)

I also had a gnarly grocery run in a storm with heavy rain - car free people gotta eat! Somehow, magically, my 15 lbs. of flour made it home without any damage. My need for all the flour is largely due to this forum, which inspired me to start baking my own bread.

Roody

Homemade bread is great, and it's also easier to transport flour than store bought loaves.

no1mad 

I managed to walk up to the corner store. I did so to get a celebratory Mello Yello after getting 3/4 of the yard mowed (hopefully my knee doesn't regret it in the morning).

Ridefreemc

I didn't buy the shoes based on their statements that they were "good or my health," and I do not feel damaged or taken advantage of in any way. Therefore, I would not be comfortable asking for a refund (besides, they are kinda helping me stay healthy ). That sort of reminds me of the lawsuit against Pontiac after the Smokey and the Bear movie...ut oh, I digress, I better get back to our regular programming (thanks Machka)- I rode in 7.5 miles to work today in great 75 degree weather, starting out at 5 a.m. (2 hours before I needed to arrive at work). It's a 30 minute ride, so that gives me a lovely 1.5 hours at the local coffee shop to read and contemplate nothingness.