A Better Way to Mount Lights

Off The Beaten Path

Small parts often get overlooked, but they can make a big difference in your cycling experience. Take light mounts, for example. Adjusting the angle of your headlight beam is useful: In town, you want to angle the headlight low so it doesn’t blind oncoming traffic. Out in the mountains, you need a higher beam. Otherwise, you ride into the dark when you descend at speed and go into a dip in the road.

Yet trying to adjust the headlight by hand usually results in one of two outcomes: Either the mounting bolt is really tight and doesn’t move at all. Or light moves to the desired position, but the bolt turns and loosens in the process, and soon the light rotates on its own.

Of course, your headlight should never come loose. In the real world, even if it’s tight to start with, vibrations tend to loosen many headlight mounts, no matter how much Loctite you…

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Unboxing the IP-DUO60 V2 Instant Pot Pressure Cooker (Images Only)

I ordered the Instant Pot pressure cooker from http://www.amazon.ca and it arrive.

Here are the pictures.

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Tire Pressure Take-Home

Off The Beaten Path

What is the “correct” tire pressure for your bike? The simple answer is: Whatever feels right to you. Confused? Here is how it works:

In the past, many riders inflated their tires to the maximum pressure rating. Now most cyclists now recognize that the optimum pressure often is much lower.

But what is the right tire pressure? At Bicycle Quarterly, we’ve done a lot of research into the rolling resistance of tires at various pressures, and on various road surfaces.

Frank Berto’s tire pressure chart (above), first published in Bicycle Quarterly many years ago, has received much attention. (Note that the weights are per wheel, not for the entire bike.)

Berto made the chart in the 1990s, when tires were much narrower. Hardly anybody today still rides on 20 mm tires, and even 23 mm are on their way out! At the other end, 37 mm no longer is huge, as many of us…

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List of Ways that an Autistic Person “Passes”

I’ve been told that I don’t look autistic.

These are the possible ways that I “pass”:

• Read forums, comments, and articles about socializing.
• Memorize what should be worn
• Memorize expressions
• Learn facial expressions
• Learn other social cues
• Hide certain facial expressions
• Suppress other autism symptoms such as fidgeting that looks abnormal
• Avoid wearing hearing protection
• Avoid other accommodations
• Avoid discussing about sensory overload
• Attempt to ask questions only if necessary
• Avoid disclosing my autism

On Vancouver’s Bike Routes, How Much Time is Spent Waiting at Traffic Lights?

 

Here are the required wait times at the traffic lights when cycling from Kitsilano to Downtown before rush hour. I was on my road bike for the trip.

Trafalgar St and W 16th Ave: 15 seconds

Trafalgar St and 4th Ave: 20 seconds

Cornwall Ave and Burrard St: 40 seconds

Hornby St and Nelson St: 30 seconds

Hornby St and Georgia St: 30 seconds

Hornby St and Dunsmuir St: 15 seconds

Note that the times were rounded to the nearest 5 seconds. The data was from the video of the ride.

Road Bike vs Hybrid Bike Strava Results – Cycling on the 29th Ave Bike Route

I cycled on part of the 29th Ave bike route. Here’s the screen shots of the Strava results from Maple Cr. to Heather St. for both the road and hybrid bikes.

Nanton Ave and Oak St.

For the hybrid bike, the average speed was 17 km/h.

Hybrid bike ride on March 26, 2016.

For the road bike, the average speed was 19 km/h.

Road bike ride on June 1, 2017.

The road bike was about 10% faster for the selection.

Road Bike vs Hybrid Bike Strava Results – Kitsilano to UBC and Vice Versa

I now have my rides to and from Kitsilano recorded on Strava. You can see their screen shots.

For the bike rides, the streets W 8th Ave, Blanca St, and University Blvd were taken.

Kitsilano to UBC on a hybrid bike. Average speed: 16.4 km/h.

UBC to Kitsilano on a hybrid bike. Average speed: 22.1 km/h.

Kitsilano to UBC on a road bike. Average speed: 21.6 km/h.

UBC to Kitsilano on a road bike. Average speed: 22.7 km/h.