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Saturday, May 15, 2010

The Machine

The North West


Preface
Here I am again, scribbling on this virtual paper. I wonder now, how all this happens - The thoughts come to my palms from my thinking medium, my palms work on the keypad, the keystrokes are converted to some meaningful (some would read meaningless) signals, which then percolate down to the RAM (Random Access Memory), further to be packetized (makes me think of a dairy farm) down umpteen layers of protocols and then sent through the world of check-sums, only to be garbled up into some wireless medium which would reach my router at some point. Numerous conversions later it would be put up here in a readable rendition. As complex as it may sound, it nevertheless appeals to my heart, and engaging in it gives me a definitive delectation.


The Agenda
Let me straightaway get down to business, the agenda here is - The Machine. I am not referring to any precision labeled micro-sensitive diamond cutter, nor am I talking about a 162 Break Horse Power 132 Newton-Meter GSX1300R Suzuki Hayabusa. The last assertion, I bet must have disappointed some of my best motor-biking enthusiastic pals, some of whom I know have toured the likes of the Himalayas and the Karakoram ranges on their bikes, or should I say beasts. I am referring here to my bicycle - the Infinity Impact. It is an all terrain mountain bike, quite dashing in its looks; so do I think.


The Specifications
Color - Deep Green
Tires - 26 X 2.10
Front Shocker X 1
Rear Shocker – Gas X 1
Gear Set - 21 speed Shimano
Bike Computer X 1
Front head lamp X 1
Rear tail lamp X 1
Rear View X 1
Bottle X 1
and Toolkit X 1.
Now, I think not adding pictures of my new found love here, would do grave injustice to it. Here we go.
Front Pose

Rear Pose


What led me into it
I was myself never a bicycle (henceforth called BIKE) enthusiast. My good friend Monojit Dhara suggested that I buy a bike. This was a novel idea for me. He already had a mountain bike and was looking out for a partner to do some serious biking.

So on the 20th of March, 2010, I set out of home with my friend in search of a bike. Just to let you know, Monojit is well versed with the city and he knows the exact store for the exact thing. We took the C-Train from the 8th Street West Station, which is pretty near to our apartment. The train took us to the Marlborough Station in the North East. We disembarked from the train and went to the Canadian Tire store. This store deals in a number of sports items. There were plenty of bikes on display on the racks, so many so that the confusion in my thoughts to make a choice increased as many times as the number of bikes on display. And one point came where my thoughts were totally obliterated.

I quietly walked the aisles and read the literature on display which told about City bikes, Mountain bikes, Hybrids, Stunts makes, Racing et. al. My requirements were to do the city, the trails and sometimes some off-roading. So I decided that I would need shock absorbers, both at the front and the rear; I would also need some grip in my tires, and good gears to match. The bikes started from a paltry CAD 100 (100 Canadian Dollars) and went up to as much as 1600 Canadian (after this I have come across bikes that go as much as 6000 CAD and heard about ones that go past 10,000 CAD). I came across a very good bike, which suited all my requirements and it was close to CAD 250. The only problem with it was that the gear shifter on it was a rolling dial along the handle's circumference, which would defeat the purpose of quick shifts. It would also make it a lot tougher on the thumbs for long distance cruising.

Next we visited the Costco Store by hopping the train on to the next Station. This is not a sports store by any standards but Monojit has a membership card here and he knew that they also sell bikes. They had a few bikes on display, the number being about a third of what Canadian Tire had on their sales list. We took test rides and I decided I would go for the one which I own currently. It was for CAD 284 and with taxes it came out to CAD 304. There I was, grinning with my new bike in my hands, standing at the payment counter.
We then went to another store to purchase a helmet and a biking kit (puncture repair, lock, driver-spanner-set, water bottle and pump). We came back home, lading my new baby in the C-Train. The rest of the day was spent admiring my new love from all angles, and it did not give me a chance to complain.

Accessories versus stock
The accessories fitted on my bike are not standard except for the gear set and the front and rear gas shockers which came in as stock. I kept adding equipment as I felt the need for it.
The first major equipment I bought was the Bike Monitor. This is a 2.5" X 2" digital piece which slides into a slot on a compartment nutted on the handle bar. The one I have got has 6 lines and 10 built in functions, including top speed, average speed, speed patterns, total distance covered, trip distance and time among others. This is an average instrument considering the much higher ones that are available in the market. But it suits my purpose well and I am quite charmed by it. In addition to the actual device, there is a probe which has two pieces and has to be fitted on the spokes. I would not get into the details of doing this, but the probe is attached by wire to the compartment which is jutted on the bar. The device itself can be slid off the compartment so that I don't leave it for prying eyes when I stop in between for breaks on long trips. I spent about 20 minutes installing it on my bike. Here is how it looks like
The Bike Monitor

After having done a few rounds on my bike with the equipment on, I started to get hungrier for more stuff on it. Also all these days I had been riding with my jeans and other heavy clothing. This used to make biking uncomfortable and not so pleasurable. I then went on to purchase my cycling flannels. These are really good for cycling in that they are super light thereby removing the odd kilos. They are a combination of porous as well as heat retaining mechanisms which keeps the correct body temperature. And they are stretchable, to say the least.

I also got a head lamp and a tail lamp. If stretched continuously the front lamp, working on 3 AA sized batteries, is able to keep alive for 65 hours. The rear one is a bit different, in that it is powered by 2 AAA sized batteries and if stretched continuously will go on till 130 hours. The front light is quite powerful and is able to show you the way through in the thickest of the jungles and darkest of the trails. The front head lamp works in dual mode, one is the continuous, the other being flash. The rear one works in four modes, which can be toggled by a button press. Different modes can be used depending on environmental conditions.


Gear Usage

In the beginning, I used to see all cyclists swarm past me, which made me change gears in a nonchalant indefinite fashion and I still did not seem to pick it up with them. It took me about two days of time to learn to make proper use of gears. Well, just to make it easier for prospective bike enthusiasts, I shall make some notes here on usage.


All modern bikes generally come with two sets of gears. One, which is in close proximity of the pedal and the other one at the hind wheel. The front gear mechanism is managed by the shift switches on the left side of the handle bar and what is known as the Front Derailleur. The rear one is managed by the right side shift levers and the Rear Derailleur. Below are pictures of both mechanisms
The left shift levers and the left gear monitor

The front derailleur and cogs

The right shift levers and the right gear monitor

The rear derailleur and cogs
The front mechanism has 3 gears on most bikes and the rear one may have anywhere between 6 to 10 gears. Mine has 3 on the front and 7 one the rear, thereby making the effective gears 21 in number. Generally you shall keep the front gear on number 2 and the right one would have to be changed from 3 to 5 on a general course. The smaller gear is a SOFTER gear always and the higher one is a HARDER one.
The Gear Ratio is the ratio of the number of cogs on the front drive to the number of cogs on the rear. The higher the gear ratio, the harder it is. In layman terminology, this would mean that on a softer gear, the cyclist would feel lesser stress on his legs and the converse holds true for a harder gear. Also, for an X number of pedal strokes a harder gear would take your bike much further than the same number of strokes on a softer gear. To say it in simple words, a HARDER gear is a FASTER gear. So for all practical purposes, usage of the second gear on the left side and gears ranging 3 - 5 on the right is recommended.
While biking, if the conditions are a little short of normal, then the right side gear needs to be changed. So, if a slight uphill is encountered, then you would shift the right down, from 4 to 3, or from 3 to 2 or if still needed, from 2 to 1. Similarly if a better road comes on, where you feel the cogs are getting lighter and you could surge at a higher speed, then shift up from 4 to 5, or 5 to 6, or if still needed then from 6 to 7.
In case of extreme change in road conditions, would you ever need to change the gears on the front derailleur, which is controlled from the left side switches. An extreme uphill would warrant a shift down from 2 to 1 and likewise achieving extreme speeds would need a shift up to the 3rd.
I generally traverse at speeds ranging 16 to 22 KMPH and the highest speed I have done is 41.6 KMPH on a combination of 3 X 7 i.e. third on the left and 7th on the right. I also use the 1 X 1 on the most treacherous uphill climbs at Glenmore and the North West terrain where the speed typically is 4 KMPH.
A word of caution - never use a combination of 1 on the left and 4 to 7 on the right and in a similar but opposite fashion never use 3 on the left with 1 to 4 on the right. This is because in these circumstances, the chain is pulled to extreme angles which causes immense traction on the chaining assembly, thereby increasing all possible chances of chain slips or worse still, damage which may lead to fatal injuries if the biker is doing an extreme uphill or daredevil speeds.

The Jaunts
a. Daily Routine
My first bike trip was a meager one, in that I stepped out with Monojit on his bike and me on mine, and it was just about 3 kilometers around the Bow River Pathway. Calgary still had snow that time and the river banks were fully snow capped.


I feel i must dedicate some words for the city of Calgary, which would make you understand my biking patterns. Calgary is a good place for bikers - the whole of North America is, I believe, for that matter. The Bow River divides the city into the North and the South. The course of the river itself is somewhat indented but it makes for a fair partition line for the city. The river flows from the West to the East with Center Street dividing the city into the East and the West. The Avenues run from East to West and the Streets - North to South. This setup of quadrants combined with the naming of the streets makes navigation very simple. I live in Garden Towers, which is on the 7th Avenue, off the 8th Street. Just 3 blocks north of me is the Bow River. The sight of it is amazing from my 28th floor balcony. I am dedicating some space for the pictures taken from my balcony.


C-Train Bridge That Goes To Crowefoot, The Biking Trail is Underneath


Twin Towers Seen From My Balcony


The Canadian Rockies As Seen From My Balcony
The map below would give a fair understanding of the facts I provided in the above text.
Map of Calgary

There are biking trails all along the river path on both sides of the river. What I generally do each day is, take the Bow Trail to the west on the left bank of the river and go all the way to the bridge before Edworthy Park, which is about 3 kilometers from my place. I then cross the river onto its right bank and go all the way up to Edworthy Park. There is again a bridge over here, which, if taken would take you to Edworthy and also the left bank of the river. This spot is exactly 6.3 kilometers from my home. There is a cafe over here where you can get really good coffee and icecream, which I have never had. I usually chain up in the stretch that runs between the two bridges, as this is a fairly open area and the pathway is wider and flatter. For the bike enthusiasts, I use the combination of 2 X 6 and sometimes 2 X 7 on the gears.
Together both the trails (one on each side of the river) compose of what is called the Bow River Pathway. The trail continues past Edworthy, passing by a Golf Course. It passes through a humongous number of gardens and you can see different kinds of houses on the way. There are some professional playgrounds for baseball and rugby on the way, and on many days I can see teams playing. It is amazing to see so many people in different stages of their lives tinkering on the road, either jogging, skating, cycling or just walking, trying to keep their body engines tuned to the best. After these playgrounds comes Shouldice Park. The trail ends at Shouldice. Just at this juncture, where the trail ends, there is a bridge called John Hextall Bridge which carries the vehicular traffic westwards. There is yet another bridge adjacent to it, which is an old wooden bridge built in 1911 by James Shouldice for a sum of CAD 75,000. It is meant for walking. The trail goes underneath this and ends there. This point is about 9.5 kilometers from my place.
Usually I bike up to Shoulidice each day and then turn back home. I generally time about 55 minutes to one hour on this track both ways. This includes the 4 signals too, which I passby till I reach the Bow River Trail.
Occasionally, I also go past the Shouldice Bridge. The decision to do this was made one fine evening. I was curious to look for more bike trails and I took a right after the bridge. The way the orientation works, is that soon after crossing the bridge, you are thrown on the left bank of the river. Mind you, there is no bank now, as in no trail, but a tarred road for vehicular traffic. This is known as the Bow Crescent. It is a quiet road with a few vehicles to witness but it does boast of one of the finest houses in the North Western region of the city.

It is really beautiful out there, but as most of the times I am my own company other than my bike on that road, I tend to be cautious. And there are not too many souls out there. When I first ventured out past Shouldice, it took me two days to find out the continuation of the Bow Trail in the North West. It so happened that on the second fateful day, I kept cycling on the Bowness Crescent Road and took a few turns as per my hunch and found the Bowness Trail. This was victory day for me, in addition to giving me a tremendous amount of satisfaction, it gave me that tickling sensation of curiosity, that urge to discover what lay past.

b. The North Western Territory

The area past the Shouldice Bridge constitutes what is called the North West. I generally do this trip on weekends. As I wrote above, going past Shouldice to the West on Bowness Crescent about 3.5 kms, you reach the Bowness Trail. A little before the Bowness Trail starts, the Canadian Pacific Rail Line becomes visible. 500 meters past the starting point, the Bow River again become visible and then there is a bridge, which you have to pass from underneath and then make a full 360 degree turn to return to the level of the bridge. This bridge has the CPRL track on it. You then have a choice to continue on the left side of the river or cross over to the right. The left takes you into the Bowness Park and the right one takes you over a wooden bridge. The moment you cross the bridge you are welcomed by a little rough terrain and then in about a 100 metres the biking pathway begins again, full fledged. There is a choice here to make, you can turn left which takes you to Bowmont Environmental park and then to Baker Park, or you can turn right, which after going forward again splits up into 4 trails. All of these trails are complete uphill babies and I have tried one of them which goes all the way upto Bowmont Village.


The one which goes upto Bowmont has been traversed only once by me, and that too on a weekday. The terrain looks splendid, with the road curving all the way up in the hills, beautifully nestling like a river into the hamlet above. As beautiful as it looks, equally hard it is to be negotiated on a bike. I have gone up on this one and covered 1.3 kilometers non stop. I left the rest to discover on a weekend. This pathway reminds me of the routes on Tour d' France, as beautiful as heaven.


Taking left from the bridge, would take you still westwards. This trail again, like all others is mesmerizing in its own way. It takes you through the Bowmont Environmental Park and then Baker Park. While still on this trail if you care to look to the East (left from here), you would see the Bowness Park. Still further down, the trail takes a different appearance. It starts with this bridge, which crosses the river and throws you onto the east bank of the river. This makes for a really beautiful scene and you can see this in the picture below
The Bridge After Baker Park


The terrain after this bridge is something which demands a great deal of physical power to be expended, it is a fully uphill terrain, a little over 0.6 kilometers, and has got 6 hair pin bends. It looks dangerous if you see down; the path is very narrow and barely two bikes can pass through at a time. I am putting a picture of this below
The Uphill Section

You can feel the energy literally being sucked out of your heart, your chest, your thighs and your calves while doing this herculean mount. And then you feel so elated after having completed this piece of the trail. The complete journey till here from my apartment is 16.2 kilometers. The trail comes out at a place over the Freeway which leads to Banff. It is a totally exhilarating experience to have completed the uphill stretch and to be here. It gives you a feeling of joy, a feeling of escape and a feeling to still go further when you see the highway. We took some snaps here on our recent expedition, which you can see below -
Just After Completing The Herculean Climb

Banff Highway As Seen From The Trail


During my last visit here, I decided to pursue the trail further. My friends had some work back home and they decided to head back, and I continued. I took a brief stop to have myself treated with water and a few fruits. This made me resplendent and I pushed ahead. There is a lovely row of houses here, and I decided to take some snaps.
About 500 Meters From The Previous Stop


You can see the Olympic Plaza (COP) from here, the snow is almost gone but still there are thick patches at places. The trail continues, making its way through the splendid landscape, which never continues to fade in its charisma. Your eyes keep glued to the scenic green grass on the hills around and also to the lovely houses which have been built.


I managed to cover another 3.5 kilometers on this trail. It has got a few tributaries going forward, which as per my recce all meet at one common place. The trail merges into thoroughfare traffic zone shortly afterward and as I learnt later, goes all the way down to the sub division. There was a biking team making its way through, and I followed them for some distance, when I decided to call it for the day. Whilst coming back I took some more snaps.
One More Beautiful Spot


While coming down the uphill section, I maintained low speed by means of continuous and ample application of braking force. I stopped down at the river bank. There was a family there - a dad and his daughter with their innocent sweet little Golden Retriever. It reminded me of my Macho. I went up to them and had a chat. They were very pleased to know about my dogs back home in India. We chatted for a while and then bid Good Bye. Here again I did not fall short of taking snaps. This one is taken near the backwaters with wooden logged fences.
One More Of My Snaps

I then rode down the other side and went unto the river bank. Whilst taking snaps here, I was greeted by an old Canadian couple by the name of George and Elizabeth. We talked for quite some time and I learnt that he used to be in the high tech industry a few years ago when he retired, and that he used to make software for Army Tanks. He had been to Pakistan before and was curious to know about India.
On The River Bank


He also told me that they used to live in the area which leads uphill some years ago and that they had shifted to another place on the west bank of the river. I felt nice talking to them. I like such people, the tradition they carry, their way of life - the characteristic one from the olden days. I bid them Adieu and carried on back towards my home. On the way back, there was much fun and frolic in the river. This was on the banks of the Bowness Park.
People Canoeing In The River


Many times while coming back from here, I have been greeted by a train whistle, the whistle of the CPRL, a monstrous hunky engine pulling through tonnes and tonnes of cargo. Sometimes, I have tried to race it to the East, just for a couple of hundred meters, until I am slowed down by the curve below the bridge which I have to negotiate from underneath. And this time steaming back on high gear, I screeched to a halt to take yet another picture. This was of some houses which caught my attention; they were atop a hill and I could see them across the river. This is the picture which is at the very beginning of this article. I believe the trail which diversifies if taken from the right side of the bridge, leads you to this place. I am yet to visit this. More on this later when I manage to get there. All in all, I was able to knock of a chunky 39 kilometers on my bike on this trail during my last jaunt.


c. Glenmore Reservoir


The trips to Glenmore are a strict weekend business. The terrain is hilly and a good one for bikers. The total to and fro distance comes to about 35 kilometers. Glenmore reservoir is built on the Elbow River and supplies water to the city of Calgary. We generally bike eastwards upto 4th St SW and then go south. We keep going south traversing the Avenues of downtown Calgary, which keep increasing in number, until we reach the Elbow Drive. Here we take a right turn and continue until we hit Elbow River Pathway which is a biking trail. After a few kilometers we again hit thoroughfare traffic, which finally meets the Elbow River Pathway again. I had initially taken a map of the area, lest we got lost. The beginning of the trail looks very promising as seen in the picture below.
The Start of the Elbow River Pathway


After doing a few hundred meters on this trail you come across a lovely suspension bridge. Bikers are supposed to dismount and walk their bikes across as it is just wide enough to allow two people two cross freely. Suspension bridges have always caught my fascination, right from my childhood days. They give me a feeling, an essence of being in the good old times, which I cherish a lot, without having lived them actually.
The Suspension Bridge

In about 300 meters of doing this bridge, bikers are met by a calorie crunching, breath exhausting uphill. The climb is not very long but has a good amount of gradient to it which ensures that it catches the attention and stamina of the cyclists. The trail continues straight after this, but for hitting the reservoir one must take a left after the climb. The beautiful hill top, the river flowing in the valley below, together with the green grass on the other hill make up a really charming landscape. I took some snaps on my second trip here, which I did without my other partners
One of the many lovely sights en route Glenmore

The Machine

The Daredevil - Eh?


From this point onwards, you can start seeing the walls that hold the reservoir. There is a highway which passes through here and you have to skim over the giant semicircle to cross over to the other side. One more uphill and there you are - in front of the reservoir. The way your eyes are suddenly treated to this royal delicacy after making the climb is really a wonder. I took some snaps here with my DSC-H7.


The Reservoir As Seen Just After The Climb


The Trail Can Be Seen Along the Circumference


The path becomes fairly open after this with a few undulations and not so steeply graded climbs. There are portions where I chain up and reaching 29 KMPH here is not uncommon. There are a few bifurcations down the trail, and if care is not taken, you may chose the wrong one, leading you away from the reservoir. There is a small beautiful CPRL station on the trail.


The Canadian Pacific Railway Station of Calgary


I wonder what it might have felt like, in the days, when there was not much transport, and one would come from Europe to the East Coast of Canada, take the CPR ride all the way to the East stopping here at this lovely station at Calgary. Jeez, I get goose bumps thinking of that. The Canadian Rockies also become visible at a certain point and the sight of them standing tall across the reservoir is simple breath taking.


The Distant Canadian Rockies


Soon afterward, the trail becomes constricted, in that, you have to drive through a forest cap. The trail here is not as smooth as it was, a little distance ago. I took a snap just before the start of this patch.


Forest Patch


You then go across a variety of landscapes to be met again by an arduous climb. A few kilometers more and you land up in the village of Glenmore. You then drive along the highway. This is a long and purely flat stretch. I chain up from 2 X 5, gradually shifting up one at a time, and once past 2 X 7, I engage the left lever to 3, thereby attaining 3 X 7 in full swing. I have done a MAX of 41.6 on this stretch. My previous best was 40.2 on the same path. This path then merges with the one which you had started from, when the reservoir had begun to appear. One more climb here and you hit back the same path, having completed an entire tour of the reservoir.

Hallelujah, you then follow the same path to get back home. We guys are still gearing up to do a lot more biking. Current projections may include -


  1. Fish Creek - total distance may go well upto 40 KM
  2. A Night Trip to Glenmore
  3. Ghost Lake - one way trip 80 kms (total 160 km)
  4. Banff??

Glossary
  1. CPR - Canadian Pacific Railway
  2. KMPH - Kilometers Per Hour
  3. COP - Calgary Olympic Plaza
  4. a X b - Gear Usage Terminology, a and b being numbers. a is the left swicth and b is the right one

2 comments:

  1. The man ...The machine ...the nature ...everything is amazing !!!!!
    Keep it up !!!

    ReplyDelete
  2. Nicely written buddy I like the way you detail out things...really good !!! keep it up...

    Raghu

    ReplyDelete