Ypedal
100 TW
knoxie said:
HA !!... great idea.. i'm having T shirts made and this is pure gold !!!!
Cross-Canada by Ebike
- Thread starter justin_le
- Start date
- Status
HA !!... great idea.. i'm having T shirts made and this is pure gold !!!!
philf
1 kW
Oh where, or where could he be?
I look at the people online, and viewing this thread, every time I visit. I don't think I'm the only one visiting here a few times a day, looking for a "fix", so I thought I'd post something relevant.
It looks like Justin has wound up taking a bit of a detour (and I'm thinking it might be a result of the way the "grid" of roads works down here in Southern Ontario). He's wound up drifting a bit further west than I think he intended, and has wound up in Kitchener. I didn't speak to him for long (and my enthusiasm was probably getting the better of me anyway - I was slightly out of breath from cutting the grass the first time I spoke to him today - and the bitrate was a bit high the second time, but the plan (now) is to spend then night over in the Kitchener area and head down here to Lake Ontario tomorrow AM.
There's no question that a lot of people want a piece of him down here but, as he put it, he'd like to be home before it snows!
Anyways, I'm hoping he'll seize the opportunity of using the bandwidth, here , to answer some more questions and post a bit more about his trek thus far. I know I'm very much looking forward to his visit!
Cheers!
I look at the people online, and viewing this thread, every time I visit. I don't think I'm the only one visiting here a few times a day, looking for a "fix", so I thought I'd post something relevant.
It looks like Justin has wound up taking a bit of a detour (and I'm thinking it might be a result of the way the "grid" of roads works down here in Southern Ontario). He's wound up drifting a bit further west than I think he intended, and has wound up in Kitchener. I didn't speak to him for long (and my enthusiasm was probably getting the better of me anyway - I was slightly out of breath from cutting the grass the first time I spoke to him today - and the bitrate was a bit high the second time
, but the plan (now) is to spend then night over in the Kitchener area and head down here to Lake Ontario tomorrow AM.There's no question that a lot of people want a piece of him down here but, as he put it, he'd like to be home before it snows!
Anyways, I'm hoping he'll seize the opportunity of using the bandwidth, here , to answer some more questions and post a bit more about his trek thus far. I know I'm very much looking forward to his visit!
Cheers!
Joshua Goldberg
100 W
maybe he is taking the Elora Gorge 77 KM Bike Trail to Hamilton through Cambridge and Brantford. It is a wonderful bike trail but there are barriers designed to thwart snow mobiles and the damn things make a tandem or in Justin's case a long Diamond Frame bloody hard to get around the barricades.
His plan was to hit Hamilton and then follow the Lakeshore to Toronto and if he is in KW the 77 KM Rail Trail makes sense.
His plan was to hit Hamilton and then follow the Lakeshore to Toronto and if he is in KW the 77 KM Rail Trail makes sense.
Just got a call from Justin in Burlington. Looks like he'll be heading to Toronto tomorrow morning to look for some bike parts.
We are trying to arrange a get together with Justin for tomorrow late afternoon/evening (Tuesday, Sept 9) in High Park (Toronto). Please throw me a PM if you are interested in coming so that I can figure out how much food to pick up and/or make other plans. So far we're thinking about having a BBQ, but I'm open to other suggestions.
** Apologies to the moderators for posting this in the wrong section, but this was very short notice.. Thanks!
We are trying to arrange a get together with Justin for tomorrow late afternoon/evening (Tuesday, Sept 9) in High Park (Toronto). Please throw me a PM if you are interested in coming so that I can figure out how much food to pick up and/or make other plans. So far we're thinking about having a BBQ, but I'm open to other suggestions.
** Apologies to the moderators for posting this in the wrong section, but this was very short notice.. Thanks!
That is good news. there was Canadian press peice in the metro daily subway newspaper about ebikes
http://toronto.ctv.ca/servlet/an/local/CTVNews/20080801/ebikes_080801?hub=TorontoNewHome
sadly no mention of the the Cross Canada trek here in the big T dot press.
i would like to see something mtioned in the local press i think it deserves a big notice .
going thru east of Toronto I highly recommend Scarborough bluffs that has been called Ontarios second greatest natural wonder. I think they have recently organized the bike routes i think that one is bike route 4 through guildwood parkway to Grayabby park
good luck Justin
http://toronto.ctv.ca/servlet/an/local/CTVNews/20080801/ebikes_080801?hub=TorontoNewHome
sadly no mention of the the Cross Canada trek here in the big T dot press.
i would like to see something mtioned in the local press i think it deserves a big notice .
going thru east of Toronto I highly recommend Scarborough bluffs that has been called Ontarios second greatest natural wonder. I think they have recently organized the bike routes i think that one is bike route 4 through guildwood parkway to Grayabby park
good luck Justin
Joshua Goldberg
100 W
efreak said:
Doctorbass
100 GW
Hey Justin, My last Lithium battery pack is now finished!... I now have 2.160kWh before each cells goes to 3.0V.
I'm ready for 170km with you!.. i'll try only with one charge.. but even if my battery goes empty before to reach La Pocatiere http://maps.google.com/maps?f=q&hl=...7.368594,-70.032349&spn=2.474018,4.921875&z=8 i'll be ready for charging! i'll bring my 1.5kW charger.. I mean... This:
So if you need some xtra charging power.. that should do the job!
I'm ready for 170km with you!.. i'll try only with one charge.. but even if my battery goes empty before to reach La Pocatiere http://maps.google.com/maps?f=q&hl=...7.368594,-70.032349&spn=2.474018,4.921875&z=8 i'll be ready for charging! i'll bring my 1.5kW charger.. I mean... This:
So if you need some xtra charging power.. that should do the job!
Attachments
MitchJi
10 MW
justin_le said:
Hi,
If it runs just as well as a sensorless controller and sensored is less reliable why would you run ever it sensored?
Zoot Katz
100 kW
MitchJi said:
Starting uphill from a stop with a loaded cycle after you'd forgotten, or not had time, to shift into a lower gear before stopping.
The ability of an encapsulated controller to switch between pedal first or start immediately modes is nothing short of brilliant when you're regularly dealing with wetness.
OK, so I'm still back in the prairies as far as posting the trip highlights, and I think a lot of you will appreciate this one:
I took a Southern detour on the trip through Alberta to check out the wind farms in Taber. But that didn't become the highlight of Taber at all. Imagine what I thought riding into town in the evening and seeing a house like this, with a giant Bicycle on the roof?
I had to find out this was about. So the next morning rode back to get the scoop and lucky for me the inhabitants had just come home that morning from celebrating their 50th with a 2-week trip to the East Coast.
Meet Richard Pitre. I thought that Joshua Goldberg was going to be the only Santa-Clause looking bicycle character I'd be meeting, but not so. This guy was like Joshua's alter-ego, a genius in mechanical aptitude and completely illiterate.
The bicycle on his roof was not just a prop, it is the world's largest functioning and rideable bike, you can see where the rider sits and the pedal cranks and imagine a person sitting there to get a perspective on the size, the wheels are some 10-12 feet in diameter. This was built and successfully ridden around town in 1984. However, you won't see it in the Guinness record book because he didn't want to pay the fee!
Richard's story is this. When he was growing up in New Brunswick he was picked on a bit by other kids and he put out a challenge that he could beat any of them on a bicycle. In order to get the fastest bike, he made himself a giant 72 tooth front chainring entirely by hand, became unreachable on the roads, and has been building and modifying bikes ever since. He wasn't in school long enough to learn to read or write, and spent most of his adult life working for CP rail by day and welding up contraptions in his workshop by night. Also a legendary hockey coach, and quite a family man.
Out in the back was a rusting collection of pedal vehicle creations he had built throughout the 70's and 80's that would put our modern chopper creators to shame. This includes a 16 wheel tall bike (seen here on its side):
A front pedal lean to steer trike, which I've seen a few of recently but this was built decades ago:
There were numerous cargo trikes and rickshaws and Penny Farthings, and inside a shed were some of his more prized creations. The bike with a Tractor Wheel he said he made when his grandson challenged him after seeing the wheel in his yard with "I bet you can't make a bicycle out of that!" .The bike with the giant hoop around it, I have no idea on the story.
There were also some pieces of Antiquity, including this bicycle from the 1932 where the cogs on the sprockets go into every 2nd link on the chain, and he had the chain breaking tool for it as well.
Oh, and a bicycle he built entirely out of hockey sticks!
View attachment 3
He and his wife were both collectors; dolls, lanterns, bottles, but the most interesting to me was a skateboard collection, with this "Dominion Surf Skate" at the very top, I dunno when they stopped making skateboards with metal wheels but I suspect it was a very long time ago:
Unfortunately Richard is now in fairly ill health, with trouble walking even, and so he doesn't really build things any more. I thought that there would be at least some reference to the guy on the web though so far no luck, so I'm posting all this here because I think he's a local legend who deserves a bit of modern exposure. Justin
I took a Southern detour on the trip through Alberta to check out the wind farms in Taber. But that didn't become the highlight of Taber at all. Imagine what I thought riding into town in the evening and seeing a house like this, with a giant Bicycle on the roof?
I had to find out this was about. So the next morning rode back to get the scoop and lucky for me the inhabitants had just come home that morning from celebrating their 50th with a 2-week trip to the East Coast.
Meet Richard Pitre. I thought that Joshua Goldberg was going to be the only Santa-Clause looking bicycle character I'd be meeting, but not so. This guy was like Joshua's alter-ego, a genius in mechanical aptitude and completely illiterate.
The bicycle on his roof was not just a prop, it is the world's largest functioning and rideable bike, you can see where the rider sits and the pedal cranks and imagine a person sitting there to get a perspective on the size, the wheels are some 10-12 feet in diameter. This was built and successfully ridden around town in 1984. However, you won't see it in the Guinness record book because he didn't want to pay the fee!
Richard's story is this. When he was growing up in New Brunswick he was picked on a bit by other kids and he put out a challenge that he could beat any of them on a bicycle. In order to get the fastest bike, he made himself a giant 72 tooth front chainring entirely by hand, became unreachable on the roads, and has been building and modifying bikes ever since. He wasn't in school long enough to learn to read or write, and spent most of his adult life working for CP rail by day and welding up contraptions in his workshop by night. Also a legendary hockey coach, and quite a family man.
Out in the back was a rusting collection of pedal vehicle creations he had built throughout the 70's and 80's that would put our modern chopper creators to shame. This includes a 16 wheel tall bike (seen here on its side):
A front pedal lean to steer trike, which I've seen a few of recently but this was built decades ago:
There were numerous cargo trikes and rickshaws and Penny Farthings, and inside a shed were some of his more prized creations. The bike with a Tractor Wheel he said he made when his grandson challenged him after seeing the wheel in his yard with "I bet you can't make a bicycle out of that!" .The bike with the giant hoop around it, I have no idea on the story.
There were also some pieces of Antiquity, including this bicycle from the 1932 where the cogs on the sprockets go into every 2nd link on the chain, and he had the chain breaking tool for it as well.
Oh, and a bicycle he built entirely out of hockey sticks!
View attachment 3
He and his wife were both collectors; dolls, lanterns, bottles, but the most interesting to me was a skateboard collection, with this "Dominion Surf Skate" at the very top, I dunno when they stopped making skateboards with metal wheels but I suspect it was a very long time ago:
Unfortunately Richard is now in fairly ill health, with trouble walking even, and so he doesn't really build things any more. I thought that there would be at least some reference to the guy on the web though so far no luck, so I'm posting all this here because I think he's a local legend who deserves a bit of modern exposure. Justin
A
Anonymous
Guest
That is an awesome discovery. You really know how to travel. Opposite of chevy chase.
That's the sound of spokes breaking! My dumpster wheel held out really well for almost a week, but I heard the dreaded 'clink' sound of a spoke snapping on my way from Guelph to Burlington this morning. And then another. And then another. And fortunately the 4th spoke didn't break until I was about 2 blocks from the destination at Phil's place, at which point the wheel was basically unrideable.
We checked out all the bike stores in town here and no one has any decent quality wheels with more than 32 spokes, or with any spokes that are thicker than 14 gauge. I got a donor rear wheel for the time being that will certainly last a week or two, but hope to pick up something that will last forever along the way. Tomorrow I'll be in Toronto and have been told the Urbane Cyclist may have something suitable, and if not I would probably be wise to call a bike store in either Kingston or Ottawa and have them special order a touring/tandem wheel so that by the time I get there it will be on hand. If anyone on this list has an idea for a place in the route that is likely to actually have either high spoke count or heavy gauge wheels in stock, we'd be quite interested to hear about it.
Justin
We checked out all the bike stores in town here and no one has any decent quality wheels with more than 32 spokes, or with any spokes that are thicker than 14 gauge. I got a donor rear wheel for the time being that will certainly last a week or two, but hope to pick up something that will last forever along the way. Tomorrow I'll be in Toronto and have been told the Urbane Cyclist may have something suitable, and if not I would probably be wise to call a bike store in either Kingston or Ottawa and have them special order a touring/tandem wheel so that by the time I get there it will be on hand. If anyone on this list has an idea for a place in the route that is likely to actually have either high spoke count or heavy gauge wheels in stock, we'd be quite interested to hear about it.
Justin
A
Anonymous
Guest
Ottawa bike shops
http://www.ottawabicycleclub.ca/bikeshops
But if you can't find anything in TO, talk to phat moose, maybe they can order something for you
http://www.phatmoosecycles.com/location.htm
These guys are good.
I'm astonished how much wheel trouble you are having.
I wonder if something like yuba mundo would be better.
Everything is beefy, including wheels, 48 spokes, reinforced steel, can withstand 440 pounds of cargo.
Juergen Weichart has one available now in Ottawa.
http://www.ottawabicycleclub.ca/bikeshops
But if you can't find anything in TO, talk to phat moose, maybe they can order something for you
http://www.phatmoosecycles.com/location.htm
These guys are good.
I'm astonished how much wheel trouble you are having.
I wonder if something like yuba mundo would be better.
Everything is beefy, including wheels, 48 spokes, reinforced steel, can withstand 440 pounds of cargo.
Juergen Weichart has one available now in Ottawa.
Dee Jay
100 kW
- Joined
- Dec 11, 2007
- Messages
- 1,211
justin_le said:
No disrespect intended but it's pretty hard to believe. Starting must've took a long time, he'd have to balance the bike at 1 or 2 mph at that height? and took a lot of weight and effort to get up to speed. And what happens when you come to a dead stop, fall over and crack your skull?
Big Up though for being a builder, Woo Woo!
Great story, and a Tall Tale too. Please talk to others to confirm or deny his claims.
J
A
Anonymous
Guest
The man is an artist, the bike is art. It rocks.
Dee Jay
100 kW
- Joined
- Dec 11, 2007
- Messages
- 1,211
nutsandvolts said:
One of my fave movies! Chevy Chase was like the Jim Carey of the 70's.
This is my fave scene. Gets me rolling every time , aha ha! http://youtube.com/watch?v=BRJnEbt89w8&feature=related :lol:
Yeah, road films are fun.
J
And yeah, Richard Pitre does Rock! 8)
Lessss
1 MW
SLAPS HEAD! Justin. You visit a master bike builder and fail to mention to him the trouble you've been having with your back wheel??!!? SLAPS HEAD!
chuckles. The man prolly coulda made you a bulletproof wheel.
chuckles. The man prolly coulda made you a bulletproof wheel.
Ypedal
100 TW
Hmm.. chronic spoke failure = Are you sure nothing is dangling with all your gear, getting in the spokes ? :lol:
Hi,
I've been reading your trip blog with great interest. I should have thought of this earlier; if you can't get a wheel from urbane cyclist try MBS Tandems in Mississauga. Dave and Brenda can set you up with a strong wheel. Dave is renowned in this area for excellent wheels.
Meadowvale Bicycle Service
2964 Keynes Crescent
Mississauga, Ontario
L5N 3A1
Phone: 905-824-9364
BTW are you still going to be in High Park this evening?
I've been reading your trip blog with great interest. I should have thought of this earlier; if you can't get a wheel from urbane cyclist try MBS Tandems in Mississauga. Dave and Brenda can set you up with a strong wheel. Dave is renowned in this area for excellent wheels.
Meadowvale Bicycle Service
2964 Keynes Crescent
Mississauga, Ontario
L5N 3A1
Phone: 905-824-9364
BTW are you still going to be in High Park this evening?
Hi Justin
Thanks for the post! that was so intersting,..what a find! I love those freak show bikes they are brilliant!! he does look Like Joshua doesnt he!! ha ha, sorry to hear the wheel is giving you trouble.
How much dya wanna spend?
Knoxie
http://www.tagwheels.com
Thanks for the post! that was so intersting,..what a find! I love those freak show bikes they are brilliant!! he does look Like Joshua doesnt he!! ha ha, sorry to hear the wheel is giving you trouble.
How much dya wanna spend?
Knoxie
http://www.tagwheels.com
philf
1 kW
When Justin called yesterday, he wasn't too far away - and the route down here is nearly a straight line. He had said that he was down a few spokes, and I warned him that the last kilometre here was pretty chewed up. Ironically, they've torn up the road to add bike lanes, but are also doing water and sewer at the same time. It's a mess. Could have finished him off if some motorist forced him into the rough.
Anyways, my GF Alison was actually out and crossed paths with him - so she turned around to head back. As Justin pulled a U-Turn to come back to the driveway, that seemed to be it. Here he is WALKING the bike up the driveway...
We headed out to several local bike shops and saw a LOT of wheels. Everybody had the same story - most of the 26" wheels they have in stock, and that they move the most of, are built to be LIGHT. All of the shops offered to get whatever he wanted, though, "within a day or two". I was frankly surprised that nobody was carrying AT LEAST one wheel suitable for a tandem.
After seeing his rig "up-close-and-personal", visualizing where his weight is taken by the frame along with his baggage, and then having now LIFTED the thing while he did a wheel swap, I can tell you that he DEFINITELY needs a beefier wheel. So if someone can help arrange to get him fixed up with something decent before he leaves the Toronto area, he'd really appreciate the help.
In the meantime, he's riding on a 36 spoke wheel that came off of one of my Giant comfort bikes prior to their conversion. Will it last? Here he is checking it out...
A chunk of the day was shot yesterday, and he's over-nighted here. He's such a pleasure to be around (bright and very much ALIVE!), I feel almost guilty for having had him to myself for a few hours. Although he doesn't plan more than a day ahead, he makes a lot of effort to consider and contact all of the people who've tried or wish to catch up with him.
This is where I left him last night...
He was up until around 2:00 catching up, and hasn't risen yet. But at least it looks like the weather is going to give him a break today, which is great. We thought it was going to be cold and rainy until at least mid-day.
Cheers!
Anyways, my GF Alison was actually out and crossed paths with him - so she turned around to head back. As Justin pulled a U-Turn to come back to the driveway, that seemed to be it. Here he is WALKING the bike up the driveway...
We headed out to several local bike shops and saw a LOT of wheels. Everybody had the same story - most of the 26" wheels they have in stock, and that they move the most of, are built to be LIGHT. All of the shops offered to get whatever he wanted, though, "within a day or two". I was frankly surprised that nobody was carrying AT LEAST one wheel suitable for a tandem.
After seeing his rig "up-close-and-personal", visualizing where his weight is taken by the frame along with his baggage, and then having now LIFTED the thing while he did a wheel swap, I can tell you that he DEFINITELY needs a beefier wheel. So if someone can help arrange to get him fixed up with something decent before he leaves the Toronto area, he'd really appreciate the help.
In the meantime, he's riding on a 36 spoke wheel that came off of one of my Giant comfort bikes prior to their conversion. Will it last? Here he is checking it out...
A chunk of the day was shot yesterday, and he's over-nighted here. He's such a pleasure to be around (bright and very much ALIVE!), I feel almost guilty for having had him to myself for a few hours. Although he doesn't plan more than a day ahead, he makes a lot of effort to consider and contact all of the people who've tried or wish to catch up with him.
This is where I left him last night...
He was up until around 2:00 catching up, and hasn't risen yet. But at least it looks like the weather is going to give him a break today, which is great. We thought it was going to be cold and rainy until at least mid-day.
Cheers!
Lessss said:
Yup, if I wanted spokes made from 1/4" metal rod he would have done it!
But, remember that it wasn't until I got all the way to Northern Ontario that I had my first wheel problems. The first 4000km were all trouble free and that included a lot of rough roads speed bumps and all. And that was all with very generic wheels. If anything my setup is a bit lighter now than it was then, so either I was just really lucky the first time around, or I've been quite unlucky with the last 3.
OK, so there are now an embarassing number of photos of me uploaded this forum! Over the next couple days I really hope to turn the page a bit and start posting pictures and stories from all the other ebikers that I have met along the way, since that is a very big part of what this trip is about. But I'll start off with some of a couple commendable non-ebike (I suppose that's just 'bike') tourers who I've run into.
I was surprised for the first week actually that I barely met anyone on the roads who was doing a distance haul. Lots of recreational cyclists but from the number of people who had told me "oh yeah, I know so-and-so who biked across canada" I got the impression that every day I'd encounter at least somebody else doing the trek. Then in Sicamous BC I finally crossed paths with Menno, he's from the Netherlands and had dreamed of cycle touring the USA and this year finally made it happen. He had recently finished that and had come up from Bellingham into BC and was on the way to Jasper. A really great guy, touring on a tight food budget but with a damn nice recumbent setup using a Rohlhoff speedhub drive and a fascinating photo collection of the journey so far. I could talk all about it but he's got his own website here:
http://www.st82st8usa.nl/introduction.html
Through the banff/jasper area there were a lot of people and small groups on multi-day but rides but not really cross country expeditions. However, going through Saskatchwan I spotted an older fellow just trucking along with his high end touring bike and tidy saddle bags.
View attachment 1
This guy was a machine! He does about 120km a day. I asked where he was coming from and he shrugs, oh, he left Alaska a couple weeks ago. It turns out he was a full time restauranteur in Florida, but he likes to take summers off for solo bike trips to get away from it all, and this last spring finally sold his restaurant. This is his 5th time riding across the continent and he was running out of new routes to take so he decided to start off from Alaska and head diagonally back down to the east coast. I could see that something clicked when I explained the electric assist (he took a bunch of photos) and I suspect that when his tough body eventually does start to wear out that there will be a hub motor in his life.
I was surprised for the first week actually that I barely met anyone on the roads who was doing a distance haul. Lots of recreational cyclists but from the number of people who had told me "oh yeah, I know so-and-so who biked across canada" I got the impression that every day I'd encounter at least somebody else doing the trek. Then in Sicamous BC I finally crossed paths with Menno, he's from the Netherlands and had dreamed of cycle touring the USA and this year finally made it happen. He had recently finished that and had come up from Bellingham into BC and was on the way to Jasper. A really great guy, touring on a tight food budget but with a damn nice recumbent setup using a Rohlhoff speedhub drive and a fascinating photo collection of the journey so far. I could talk all about it but he's got his own website here:
http://www.st82st8usa.nl/introduction.html
Through the banff/jasper area there were a lot of people and small groups on multi-day but rides but not really cross country expeditions. However, going through Saskatchwan I spotted an older fellow just trucking along with his high end touring bike and tidy saddle bags.
View attachment 1
This guy was a machine! He does about 120km a day. I asked where he was coming from and he shrugs, oh, he left Alaska a couple weeks ago. It turns out he was a full time restauranteur in Florida, but he likes to take summers off for solo bike trips to get away from it all, and this last spring finally sold his restaurant. This is his 5th time riding across the continent and he was running out of new routes to take so he decided to start off from Alaska and head diagonally back down to the east coast. I could see that something clicked when I explained the electric assist (he took a bunch of photos) and I suspect that when his tough body eventually does start to wear out that there will be a hub motor in his life.
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