2022 King of Autumn

As my interactions with this blog seem to dwindle despite my best intentions, I still circle back when I have something good to post. A tree in fully furious fall foliage remains one of my favourite things. The King has been tricky this year, displaying a wide variety of colours. As is often the case he chose bright yellow underpinnings and a fierce reddish orange overcoat, but also stayed a little green a little long in some spots. I took these pictures weeks ago, but here they are, better late than never I hope.

Winter is pretty much here in London Ontario Canada, first decent snow fall came yesterday. I hope it provides me with some great video or at least inspiration to make me post some more. In the meantime be kind to yourself and others and if that is difficult, maybe hug a tree.

Yer Pal,

R A N T W I C K

2021 King of Autumn

There are 3 blog posts between this post and the King of Autumn post from last year. All evidence points to my pretty much stopping with this blog. However, I still have a great deal of affection for it and the people I've met* through it.

I was late getting this year's photo because my commute hasn't taken me that way in a great while due to seemingly never ending road work.

Anyway here's the king:

While I in the park taking this photo, some guy walking his dog told me that I must see a red tree doing a fun colour change from the top down a couple of blocks away. Not one to ever turn down a good tree tip, here's that one:

I didn't want to let Autumn go by without keeping my tradition of posting the King, but I must admit I'm not pleased with this half-assed effort. No matter what I'm doing or not doing with the blog, I will endeavor to catch the King at his best next year.

One reason I'm not writing as much is that my creative outlets have shifted into more guitar playing and singing (which was difficult after my brain thing but is still getting better all the time) and making things out of old bikes. Remember that Trek 520 I painstakingly documented the building of? There was something up with the fork or frame that I was never able to properly correct, but made it ride funny. As a result I later converted it into wind chimes and a lamp, of course. I posted the chimes on etsy and they sold almost right away for a fairly high price, which has led to me trying more stuff. My efforts are sometimes clumsy or crude or misguided, but I'm just learning as I go, having fun and trying to sell the stuff anyway. If you're interested, take a look at my store on etsy here. 

Have a spooky good Halloween!

R A N T W I C K

*in a correspond or reply to on the Internet sense; I have never made the effort to actually meet people in person. I know some people use their online lives to strengthen or make more exciting their real existence. Not me. I kind of like keeping those things separate.

The King of Autumn, 2020

Yes, it is that time again. Strangely, the King has almost always been an orange colour when I post him, but the first time he was a glowing yellow. As I've mentioned in other years, he is orange on the outside but glowy green and yellow on the inside this time too... anyway here are 2020's photos, much like the other photos I've been posting for 12 years!

May Your Tallest Friends Flourish,

R A N T W I C K

The King, 2019

It would seem I'm quite willing to let the blog slide these days. However, it would feel wrong not to post a picture of this Autumn's King; I have been doing it for 10 years!

Here he is, lookin' great as always, although the picture is from a couple of weeks ago and he's probably nearly naked now.

I've moved back onto the Fat bike with the big pogies and everything.

Outspokin Cycles assisted in rebuilding the wheels that were misbehaving in colder temps; the rear got a lovely new Hope Fatsno hub that I'm confident won't act like a jerk. It has a nice loud ratchety sound (the pawls, I guess) that I really like. I'm finding that my advancing age combined with a loss of dexterity due to silly brain stuff is resulting in a newfound willingness to pay others to wrench on my bike. I suppose that's not a bad thing, since local bike shops seem to be in jeopardy all the time. I must confess, though, that I bought that fatsno hub online for way less than the LBS price, once again from across the ocean. As much as a good LBS will always be of value to me, my own cash is also of value to me. As such I happily pay the LBS for the things I can stand to pay a little more for and buy the other stuff online. We got Mrs. Rantwick a nice bike at an LBS a couple of years ago, so we're not all bad. Note: You can't buy a good bike mechanic online. A relationship with a good LBS (or three) is always a good thing.

If you're considering riding right through the winter this year, do it! You won't be sorry. Or maybe you will. How the hell would I know? How about this instead: Try it, you might like it as much as I do!

Yer Pal,

R A N T W I C K

Catch Up

I've been busy, so here's a little catch up post! How are you? Good? Good. The King says hi...

Now, since we're playing catch-up, those leaves have fallen and snow has begun here in London Ontario. There hasn't been enough snow and ice for me to really test my new winter machine, but so far it has been great!

I got those Jumbo Jims studded and pogies on! Wooo Hooo!

And last, a pointless anecdote: When I was little I and my friend Darren would walk to school together, most often trailing behind my big brothers and sisters, who would turn back and yell "catch up", to which Darren and I would reply "Ketchup"? and laugh our heads off at our total cleverness. In Canada, catsup is spelled and pronounced "ketchup". This leads me to a question: Is catsup catsup all over the USA, or do some yanks say "ketchup" too? Thankfully the three people who still visit my poorly tended blog are American, so I may get my answer.

Those of you who enjoy winter riding, congrats, I hope you enjoy it as much as I plan to! If you are from southern climes where you ride without much trouble all year long, up yours. I mean it, you lucky buggers.

Yer Pal,

R A N T W I C K

The King of Autumn - 2016

Well, I didn't get around to taking a picture of the King this year until he was starting to go bald, but for what's it's worth, here he is:

For those of you who aren't familiar, I dubbed this tree the King of Autumn years ago. He was the starting point of an annual foliage contest, the Rantwick Autumn Tree Smackdown! That contest is currently on hiatus lazicus (look it up in the rantwick-to-latin dictionary) and may well see a revival in 2017, but obviously I'm to late too do it this year.

Anyway, it was a weird year because many leaves were falling away while the lower boughs were still green. At least the King didn't look like these jokers in the same park...

I mean, what was going on with these weirdos I wonder? When I retrieved this photo from my phone, it reminded me that I had a something else I wanted to write up about that little photo stop. Since it is really just some trivial ramblings, I have just now decided that they MUST be included in this post! 

Just past the right edge of this picture sat the Rantwick family car containing Mrs. and Daughter Rantwick, who were patiently waiting for me. Just past the left edge of this picture were a couple of young girls doing cartwheels and saumersalts and stuff. Like this:

When I got back to the car my wife and daughter said they were glad I hadn't lingered around or taken too many pictures. You know why? They said a middle aged guy on his own taking pictures in a park anywhere near children was creepy. I don't know what made me more sad, the fact that anyone would think that about a simple tree nut like me or the fact that I saw their point. We live in a fearful and cynical time; I can't claim to know where reasonable caution ends and paranoia begins, but it seems to me that most of us are more afraid than we need to be. Then again, tell that to a victim of somebody awful. Urg. Have I got you completely bummed out yet? I've brought myself down pretty good, gotta say.

On the brighter side, I got to draw thisand this for this blog post, which was fun. As easy as it is to search up an image of whatever you want these days, I still take great pleasure in making things like this from scratch. Anyway, that's it for now and I hope to be posting again soon. Thanks so much for stopping and reading this!

Yer Pal,

R A N T W I C K

Catching Up

July 18? That can't be the last time I posted here! Holy crap, man! I mean, like, I stopped posting for a while and Donald Fucking Trump got elected President of the United States of America. W T F. PREVIOUSLY POSTED POLITICAL RANT REDACTED.

When I originally posted this I was a little more judgy and ranty than usual. There's plenty of bad vibe political stuff out there and I really don't need to be piling on like that, so sorry. More than ever, I think I need to revert to my usual cycle joy joy ways. Also, I will try to remember that a few beers go a lot further than they used to with me these days, if you catch my drift.

Speaking of things we don't speak of, however, I had a stroke about eight months ago that I swore I wouldn't mention again. I remain committed to not making this blog about stroke, but as many of my readers may have figured at the time, I won't be able to talk about myself (the single most important human ever) without talking about stroke. Mine was a hemorrhagic, not ischemic, which makes me a stroke weirdo, really. Anything I have to say doesn't apply to most stroke victims.

When I went into rehab, my singlemost important goal was riding again. I'm doing it on a regular basis now and have been since mid summer, but it drains me in a way it never did before. That said, I still love it and continue to ride as much as I can, usually to work and back on my new super duper bike of sick obsessive buildy love.

I've got some overdue pics of The King and some video I hope to post soon, but for now I hope it is enough that I've touched base. If you're reading this, I Love  You. If you're reading this and have read this blog before, I Love You Even More. 

Yer Pal,

R A N T W I C K

The One True Bike - Part 4 - Headset

As always with one of these installments, I must begin with a warning. The following is overly detailed bike crap of interest only to the mentally disturbed and me, not that those are mutually exclusive. Continue at your own risk.

I have a real thing for super-smooth and some would say over-priced headsets. My fixed gear had a Cane Creek "Solos" headset (how fitting, yes?) that was superb - the bars were almost too floppy, they turned so effortlessly, without a shred of play when doing the front-brake-on test*. Cane Creek doesn't make the Solos any more and appear to have replaced it with their 100 series.

Headset shopping is a terrible opportunity to up-sell yourself. I confess to falling victim to this again this time, but I take some solace in knowing that I didn't succumb to the "Chris King headset bling" effect. As with the Solos, I opted for something that was supposed to be competitive at a lower if still too high price point from Hope, a well respected UK brand. The thing that sealed the deal for me was that the Hope headsets were offered in what they called "Pick n' Mix" formats: You could buy the top and bottom headset parts separately, which allowed me to be confident I was getting the correct bits for fitting my straight 1-1/8" steer tube into the frame's tapered (different diameter top and bottom) head tube. Here's what I bought:

The star nut and top cap pictured were not included with the headset - had to buy it separately. The cost of all pictured was 101.97 CAD all-in, shipping included. Thus far I have eluded paying tax or duty on my purchases from the UK. I get free shipping for orders over $99 CAD, so I've been keeping the orders value as close to that as possible in the hopes that a lower $ value makes them of less interest to customs. In addition, Chain Reaction has a "regular mail" option which is less likely to get automatic attention at the border. These things combined have helped me so far, I think, though shipping is slower and I can't track the package. Anyway, my family members were mortified that these little things cost a hundred bucks. I guess they would have really freaked had I bought a $200 King!

First, I just took my new parts and dry-fit them to the fork and frame to make sure I hadn't messed up. I had not. Yay!!! Next, I decided to try to be more responsible and figure out how to press the cups rather than whack 'em into place with a piece of wood and a hammer like the last time I did this. I used a couple of videos by RJ The Bike Guy to guide me in making and using a headset tool.

Headset tool https://youtu.be/HGfvO-ztoT4 

Doing the install https://youtu.be/yAXFyfBJhKU 

I don't see much use in making videos of myself doing stuff I learned from other videos. Things went about the same as they did for RJ, and now I have a bike frame and fork that are attached to each other!

The stem in the picture is a flashy silver Race Face Deus XC that I bought years ago on Ebay for my fixed gear build. I ended up using the exact same stem, but shorter. At 130mm it may well be too long for this build, but I hope not because love how it looks and I don't see silver ones like this around as much now. We shall see, I suppose. As you can see, the fork is still uncut and will remain so until I can play around with bike fit, figure out how high the seat will be, etc. Only then will I make that fateful cut, insert the necessary spacers and install the star nut and cap.

I know I have mentioned brand names and retailers in this post. Please know I have received nothing from anyone for writing any of this.

That's it for this part, except the cost tally:

Used Frame                                            50.00
Headset cup removal tool                         fear (0.00)
Deda Cross Fork                                      171.00
Hope headset + star nut and cap              102.00
Home-made headset press                         20.00
Stem                                                      spare, so "Free"

TOTAL                                                    343.00

Yer Pal,

R A N T W I C K

* A properly installed/adjusted headset will allow the bars to turn smoothly and easily, and have no "play" when the front brake is applied while attempting to rock the rock the bike forward and backward.

The King of Autumn, 2015

Hello there! I'm in a rush but wanted to touch base with the old blog, you know, so I'm just gonna pay homage to the King of Autumn now that that the leaves are mostly gone.

Here's the best shot I was able to get this year:

The King - October 23

What was interesting to me was that the outer leaves were that bright orange, but the inner ones were an awesome glowy yellow green...

I wondered how that would play out, but I didn't make it back before he was TOTALLY NAKED!

The King Is Shed! Long Live The King! - November 9

I'm hoping to have the time and energy to revive the Autumn Tree Smackdown next year. I'm thinking a nice flexible name that I can use over and over without worrying about a new acronym or numbering system would be good, like the "Sort Of Annual Rantwick Autumn Tree Smackdown", or SOARATS. I think that has a nice ring, even though for me it also brings to mind high-flying rats.

Rather than leaving you with that mental image, SnowFace and Mrs. Rantwick wanted to say hi, so here they are instead:

Well Hello There!

I am SO PLEASED that Mrs. Rantwick is the one with the buggy eyes...

Yer Pal,

R A N T W I C K

Well Go and Figure: I Like Strava!

I really like reading bikesnobnyc, and bikesnobnyc really likes poking fun at roadies who obsess over all the latest tech and bikes and training stuff. One way in which some people do this is something called Strava. Snob pokes fun at it too, which made me somewhat reluctant to try it, I must admit. Sad as some (including the bikesnob) may find it, I hold the bike snob in pretty high regard. 

Strava allows cyclists and runners and swimmers (tri-geeks or mono-geeks) to track their workouts' paths, speeds and distances via gps and also uses any extra info the person's electronics may offer, like heart rate and power meter readings. Caring about that stuff or buying all the latest tech is not really my deal, but way back when I had a basic cycling computer that measured distance and speed, I really liked it. Too much. That little device on my handlebars became quite a distraction and I started to spend too much time watching it and trying to beat previous top speeds, best times and so on. I was getting all OCD about the little screen readings and missing out on the best parts of cycling: fresh air, sunshine, trees, people... you know, the outdoor world in all its fine variety; the whir of the drivetrain, the thrill of speeding along with the wind rushing in your ears.

I wasn't cool with that situation and ditched the computer and have been pleased with that decision ever since. I missed having a tally of my miles because it helps me stay on top of maintenance tasks like chain replacements, knowing how many miles a set of tires had lasted, etc. Other than that, it was good riddance to the computer, especially since I had mastered manual cadence computation.

I forget what made me curious about Strava. In any case, I decided to try it.

I don't spend money on high-end cycling stuff, tech included. However, I do own a smartphone and there's a free Strava app to track my rides with. Knowing the pitfalls of handlebar mounted tech, I just start the app, stick the phone in my fanny pack and enjoy my ride. When I'm finished, I just stop recording and upload the activity and I'm done. Activity tracked, ride enjoyed unimpeded by OCD statistics watching. It's the best of both worlds!

Strava is also a platform for people to compete, trying to go fastest on "segments" identified by riders. Common cycling routes usually have lots of segments on them that have been defined by Strava users. Climbs are very popular segments. The person with the fastest time is referred to as "King of the Mountain" and their achievement is thus called a KOM.

My dog Snow Face is about as close as I'll ever get to a KOM, since we're talking about some of the most fit riders in town riding racing bikes vs. a middle aged overweight man on a heavy commuter bike. That said, Strava allows me to compete with myself, letting me know when I've put in a good effort or a personal best (PB) on a segment. After a brief spate of segment-chasing and over-exertion (a common problem among Strava users because it is kind of addictive) I have chilled out. It's nice to see segment info from a ride, but I no longer seek it actively. On routes I ride often, I know where the segments are and attack them hard some days and ignore them completely on others.

It should be noted that Strava has been criticized for inducing some unsafe riding by idiots chasing KOMs... I believe it. If you're gonna try it, please don't be one of those. Being a cycling nerd is completely forgivable, but putting others at risk so you can play speed racer is not. 

I am finding Strava fun and encouraging and best of all my cycling stats OCD is relegated to times that I'm OFF the bike rather than ruining my time ON it. I think the lesson here is that you don't have to be Kaptain KOM to enjoy using Strava, nor do you have to geek out watching tech strapped to your handlebars. Go and figure, I like Strava! Being a devoted follower of BSNYC, I would ask you to keep this under your hat, OK?

Yer Pal,

R A N T W I C K

King Schming

Wow man. I thought the King would rule. I have taken many photos of my favourite tree this fall, hoping to dominate the foliage frenzy over at anniebikes.

 

No such luck. I must have known deep in my sappy bones that this would be a lackluster year and bailed on the smackdown as a result. Or it is just coincidence. One of those.

 

Anyway, if you want to see how the King looks this year, check out anniebikes. He will be posted there sooner or later, or so I have been led to believe.

 

 

Yer Pal,

R A N T W I C K

FFARATS? Feh! Fellow Freak Finds Fun Foisting Fall Foliage Fotos Featuring Fabulous Finds From Friends!

As you may be aware, I have decided not to run an Autumn Tree Smackdown this year. I was feeling a little bad about it. However, a Fellow Foliage Freak is coming to the rescue for all of those awesome foliage pics looking for a home. Less structured than my contest but every bit as appealing (at least to me) is anniebikes' 2013 Foliage Challenge.

 

 

If you were thinking of sending me any pics, don't. Send them to Annie, so all that leafy goodness can be found in one place. It is my sincere hope that The King will simply subjugate any and all other submissions, because when it comes to Autumnal splendour, it is all about domination, right? Right.

 

 

Thanks Annie!

 

Yer Pal,

R A N T W I C K

Smackdown Smacked Down

I have made an executive decision not to run the Autumn Tree Smackdown this year. Believe it or not, it actually took a lot of time to do and I have work and other obligations coming up that could really make it tough.

 

Plus, as somebody mentioned long ago, naming problems were about to rear their ugly heads...

 

First Annual Rantwick Autumn Tree Smackdown = FARATS

Second Annual Rantwick Autumn Tree Smackdown = SARATS

Third Annual Rantwick Autumn Tree Smackdown = TARATS

Fourth Annual Rantwick Autumn Tree Smackdown = 4ARATS? FFARATS?

 

Then what about Fifth? Ugh. Obviously I wasn't thinking ahead when I ran the first couple.

 

I feel kind of bad, but on the other hand, I know of marriages that didn't last three years. My marriage is fine, but when it comes to contests it would seem I have crippling commitment issues.

 

For those of you who can't stop spotting contestants (I have this problem too, despite the fact that I only ever posted the King), please feel free to send in your pics! I'll be happy to post them here; I'm just not going to run the contest, so it would just be for the fun of it rather than for the glamorous prizes. 

 

Yer Remorseful Pal,

R A N T W I C K

PS - If any of you fine former contestants feel like taking over and want to host the Smackdown instead of me, please do so! The King would win, I know it. 

Holy Snap I'm Slow. And a big LIAR!

Remember how I did this tree contest thing forever ago and some people won prizes and stuff? I finally put together the packages and they're ready to ship. The prizes are not as promised, however. I am a stinking liar. The best syrup I could come up with this year was good old Medium. The breadcrumbs I promised turned out to have expired and were thrown out. At least I made good on the crappy homemodified trophy...

 

 

 

 

Congrats again to Josh, with an honourable mention for RCT. On May 8, 2013, my 2012 Autumn Tree Smackdown is finally over. It took me so long it has given me pause about doing 4ARATS, the 4th Annual Rantwick Autumn Tree Smackdown. I know myself, however. Come Fall I will begin checking on the King of Autumn and begin wondering how your trees are looking, and God Help Me, I'll have to do it again.

 

Yer Procrastinational Pal,

R A N T W I C K

PS - Procrastinational is not a real word (I don't think). I have unilaterally decided to stop caring what words are real and use any I feel like. That may drive some of you crazy, but you'll just have to find your inner relaxitude.

More and More TARATS Awesomeness

I love my job. I mean, wonder in print where Canadian trees are, receive one next day. Plus another Aussie. Crazy. Crazy, I say!

Let's start with Michael from Ridgeville, Ontario, Canada. For those unfamiliar, Ridgeville is near Niagara Falls. If you are unfamiliar with Niagara Falls, well, look it up, 'cause the Falls are AWESOME. Literally.

Michael confused me with his email, which had the subject line A Cajun Tarats Entry... Michael appears to try to explain how Cajun = Canadian in a PS that I didn't quite grasp. Of course, the Cajuns in the USA are descendants of the Acadians found in our Maritime regions, so it's all good anyway. For a change I didn't have to look anything up on this one, since my last name is Cormier and I am part Acadian myself, which makes me a Canadian Cajun of sorts. You follow? Don't matter none, I gare-on-tee. Let's move onta the email:

Good Morning Mr. Rantwick,

Attached is a photo of a tree that I believe is worthy of consideration for the grand prize in the 2012 Autumn Tree Smackdown.

There is something particularly special about this tree. https://maps.google.com/maps?saddr=43.03808,-79.2934&hl=en&sll=43.038105,-79.292976&sspn=0.001055,0.002642&t=h&mra=mift&mrsp=0&sz=19&z=19

If you look closely, you will see (you WILL) that the tree has, in fact is covered with, leaves. Now, this might not seem special to the untrained photo viewer. And, well, I suppose it is not. But it seems rather special to me for several reasons.

1. It not longer has leaves. Not even one! As far as I know this is the only documentation of this tree ever having leaves on it. Or at least having leaves that are red, orange and yellow. At least from this year... in October... and... um... on a Saturday... afternoon... while it was sunny... and... at lunch hour... while I was watching... with my son.

Yes! It is absolutely one of a kind! There is not other photo like it. In fact, with the possible exception of the other entries that are better, this is the best autumn tree photo in your contest taken by me! What more reason could there be?

It might also be the entry that is closest to the place of residence of the submitter. I can see this tree from my front window (living around the corner). Well, sure, I would have to cut down several of the other not-so-smakdowniness trees that are in the way. I would also have to bulldose a few neighbors' houses. But I can see it!

Surely this makes it deserving of the Maple Syrup prize. mmm... Maple Syrup... and not the "crumby" kind either!

Cheers!

Michael

P.S. some of us cajuns have difficulty with words longer than two syllables, so we are cajun, but not Cajun.

 

Well, Michael has certainly put me on the spot. In a sticky situation, if you will. You see, I had determined that I was not going to give out a maple syrup prize this year. Michael's somewhat odd and enthusiastic email, however, has made me reconsider. The winner of my contest will receive:

 

1) The right to crown their tree King of Autumn 2012 (uncontested by me).

 

2) A used trophy modified to somehow illustrate that fact. The winner will undoubtedly display it with great pride in their home or workplace.

 

3) A tiny bottle (unlike last year, which was a bigger bottle) of the best maple syrup ever, Jakeman's Canada #1 Extra Light. This magic substance should not be wasted. Keep it cold in the fridge and savour it by the teaspoon. In my opinion, putting it on or in things is a waste. More here.

 

Since I'm going back to tiny bottles, I'm considering runner-up syrup prizes as well. Considering. It all depends how you people behave over the next month or so (hehe, take that, my little ones).

 

Hey, wait, I forgot to show Michael's tree!

Thanks, Michael! Powerful little tree you got there!

Hey, this post has kind of run on, so I'm going to bail now and do a separate post about Vicki's tree from Newcastle, NSW, Australia next! I love the Internet! People from about as far away from me as you can get on this planet are sending me tree pictures! It's just so cool!

Yer Pal,

R A N T W I C K

The King for 2012

Well, I have not received a single entry in my tree contest yet, and I becoming rather worried. I know many of you are still waiting for peak foliage joy-joys, or at least I really hope so.

Here's something to get us started: the official entry of my tree, the soon to be dethroned King of Autumn himself!

He can't win, so he's no threat, except for the fact that he might kick the butt of your puny "winning" entry in votes, sucking all the fun out of winning at all! HAhahahaha! Think I'm over confident? Show me. Send me that devastating tree picture of yours as soon as you have it.

Yer Pal,

R A N T W I C K

PS - For anyone new to my tree contest, I enter the same tree every year, no matter how good or bad. It is usually pretty good, but thus far has never been as good as the first time I noticed it.

Sadness and Filth

My new winter bike was ready! Ugly tub? Check. New front fender / splash guard kludge? Check. Awesome new studded tires? Check. Lights transferred from Summer bike? Check. Test ride. Uncheck awesome new studded tires... deep sadness.

 

I got about half a block from home before the tube squirted through this hole and popped in a nice loud way. I thought I must have mounted the tire poorly and suffered a pinch flat at first, but discovered the problem once I had the wheel off. On the up side, I will be able to report / review on chainreactioncycles.com's warranty handling and response time, I guess. I just emailed a warranty form and photo to them today.

Just in case you thought maybe you could blame me for this, you suspicious bastards, I opened the box this tire arrived in with my keys, not a sharp knife, so it weren't not me done this badness.

Now for the filth! I work with computers. I see (as I am sure many of you have seen) computers full of dust bunnies all the time. The following pictures, however, are of the filthiest computer I have ever opened up. Compressed air barely moved some of this stuff. It was gross. So, of course, I thought I would share!

I think the King will be revealed as TARATS first entry this evening... stay tuned for his glorious 2012 debut!

 

 

 

 

Yer Pal,

R A N T W I C K