Good Ride(s).

Today I had a rippin' good time on the new bike. Having taken it all around my property dozens of times, and on the road for some endurance testing (for my legs), I tore through the woods (had to do a bunch of carrying) and found some sites with really high trail potential. Heck, one place already had a bunch of trails precut. It was awesome. Unfortunately I did not bring my camera (too big). It was very pretty as the sun started sinking, but as I have no picts from today I will exhibit some from places I biked to in Yoho.

This is actually above Lake Louise, you can see it in the background, in Alberta. I apologize about the repeated marks in this shot, my lens had an internal mineral deposit from a previous damp experience. (For the most part, I tend to enjoy the imperfections in my panoramas.) Did you spot the ghost wheel?

At left is the view of Mount Stephen from the Upper Spiral Tunnel Lookout. You really begin to appreciate good brakes when you are riding in the mountains. They are life savers! The brakes on my CCM made some terrible noise but I thought of it as a bear defense device rather than an embarrassment infront of the ladies (which it was as well). Back to the photos, this very same road led to Takkakaw Falls (may be misspelled). The falls are one of the most visited sights in Yoho. I biked up to the Yoho Valley campground before cars were allowed in for the season and it was incredible. Me and a fine young lady were the only people for miles, save for a ranger (in a cabin). The falls are pictured below, you can see the trail going right up to them.


This one from one of my nearly-all-day-treks. I must admit looking back I think I was crazy to ride all alone but I know that at the time I had no one else to ride with and it was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. If I didn't ride alone that day I wouldn't have the following panorama to enjoy and share.

Come'on Spring.

Today I bought a bike. I'm not a really big cyclist but I can keep my own pretty well. In Yoho last year I rode a shitty CCM all over except for one day when I rented a full suspension downhill bike in Lake Louise, rode some serious trails all day and then made my way back over The Great Divide. My legs were huge! Anyhoo, I found a bike I wanted in a local sporting shop and purchased it in the middle of a freazing rain storm. No, I did not ride it home. I couldn't even drive over 30km/h in my little Toyota without fearing for my life. But I did find a pict of my new love on the net so here it is:

Its a 2005 Specialized Rockhopper comp. I like the bad ass "black punk" colour and I can't wait till slightly warmer weather, thought there is a chance I will be on it tomorrow even if I have to put chains on the tires.

...and one for Cedric.

Well I believe I will take up some space at good'old blogspot with this post. I take heaps of photos and there are many I want to share. So today I will. Unfortunately it takes me eons to decide on the worthy ones. Hold on..... alright, I'm ready.


I went to Yoho National Park in the summer 2004 and did much hiking. This is a panorama of Lake O'Hara.



This is a pict of my Dad working on one of the Volvos that we own.



Tom is one of my better animal subjects as he can be convinced to hold almost any pose. He held his beer for around 10 mins while I took numerous shots. Then he drank 4 more. Cheers.



This is the shot for Cedric. He owns the tank (and many others), I own the camera. There will most likely be many more fine fish shots in both of our futures.


That's it for now.

Tangrams!

I Love 'Em. I think I could play with them for days given the right situation.

I think I'm gonna bust them out right now!

Fresh snow+woods+camera=

A whole bunch of photos. Here is one of the better ones.