Trop chère l'essence!

   
I apologise to my anglo readers, but this time, this post will be in French.
 Sur son blog, Les jours et l'ennui de Seb Musset, ce dernier signe un post qui déchire. Amen, Seb tu es un Dieu!

Extrait: 

Peuple des jantes, j'entends ta colère. Tu en as marre d'être l'automobile dindon plumé par l'état maquereau à la solde du lobby des trottinettes ? Je te comprends. Cette hausse doit cesser! Comme le disait déjà en 1979 Michel Galabru dans ce brûlot sociologique "Flic ou Voyou" signé Lautner:  "Aujourd'hui tu as déjà le croissant beurre à 1 franc 30, tu ne trouves pas que c'est un maximum ?". 

Voilà donc 10 conseils testés et approuvés pour faire de substantielles économies à la pompe:

Conseil 1 (le plus important) / Arrête de vivre dans la croyance que le prix de l'essence puisse durablement baisser un jour. Ça fait juste 30 ans que ça ne fait que monter, et au moins dix que l'on te répète que les stocks sont limités et le pic dépassé.

La suite sur son blog.

 

Summer in Winter

    
As all of you East coasters have probably noticed by now, we have somehow skipped Spring to jump straight into Summer. Crazy!
Of course, this is not gonna last, next week we'll be down into the 10 degrees again. Yet, we've hit the 23 degrees, top record for a day in March!

So this weekend, we went out and as expected, all the fair weather cyclists were out and about, along with anyone fed up with winter coats, gloves, hats, scarves etc.

Some images.

Once past McGill University campus, onto Parc Avenue up to the Tam-Tams where a community of Montreal's drumming folks gather every Sunday morning.

On the East side of the road, the bike path, crowded with everything except cyclists.

My bicycle, getting some sun, enjoying the weather (Yeah, that's Po Campo bag right there along with a sucky Nantucket basket that I do not recommend).

Hubby's old love transportation bike.

 Drummers at it.

Then back to serious business...

Which means rounding off the day with nice sandwiches (forgot to take pictures) and lovely mango-lychee smoothies.

Who said you can't ride AND eat all at the same time?
With a basket, yes you can!

First "ride" of the year

  
Sunday was the first weekend with both sunshine and nice temperature. We we fortunate enough to have a beautiful bright day with up to 11 degrees.
We hopped onto our bikes and pedaled off to our first brunch of the season.

The so called "Réseau Blanc" or White Network was totally disgusting, full of litter, junk as well as all kinds of poo. On some sections, blocks of unmelted (and disgusting) snow blocked the way.

Solution? Well, on residential areas we took the street, and on busy roads, we rode shamelessly on the sidewalk. End of story.

Finally we got to L'Avenue around 9h30 which allowed us to beat the crazy 1h lineup that starts around 10h.
Once seated, tradition being what it is, we ordered the same old routine we've been having since forever.

Delicious oeufs bénédictines of course!

Freshly squeezed orange juice.

An entrée of fruits.

My oeufs bénédictines à la Bretonne.

My husband's oeufs bénédictines chorizo II. As you can see, this is how a roadie prepares for a hard upcoming season.

And then, after a two hours respite walking around to digest a bit, we finished off the orgy with some cupcakes and expresso.

What's not to love about cycling?

Gearing up!

  
While I just got my modest wheels back from the shop, somebody around here is getting ready for some action!
Indeed, we've started to get temperature in the 10 degrees, enough for the rats to come out of their holes. Now of course, spring is not here yet, let alone summer but hey! If the temperature is right... Off we go!!

- Cycling tops

- Cycling bib

 

- The diaper inside the bib (a.k.a. le chamois)

It REALLY looks like some female menstrual protection... And the fact that no underwear goes inside said bib REALLY reinforces the comparison. Ewww... Anyways!

- Big-ass derrière

- More gear: odometer and cardiac monitor.

- The man inside the bib. Meaty boy isn't he?

 

- Actually the big ass, diaper effect is not so bad...

- The man, fully dressed.

We are supposed to get around 17 degrees later this week. I'll try to document the first outing of the man.
Tomorrow is brunch time, the first since the winter settled. Let's see what pictures I can bring back.

Ride on

   
Here we go again!
Lululemon in action, once more with yet more items on their "commuter" line called Ride on.
You can view the whole spring collection here.

I have a lot of negative comments about most of these items so I will abstain... Or almost!

- I see no point in riding pants/shorts/crops of any kind, with the specific exception of protective rain pants, which they do not offer (and even these I don't wear, even under the heaviest of rains).
Regular pants do very fine.

- Same with the vest and blazer.

 

 

 - Somebody needs to explain to me the difference between this cycle yoga bag and a regular yoga bag.

- I could not stop laughing at this bag below, marketed to ladies, yet for which a top tube is required for it not to slide down and sit on the front wheel... Well yeah cause they seem to see no use for fenders. Let's hope this girl never rides in the rain.

Somehow, the Lululemon "designer" do not seem to think this bag should attach to the handle bar. See the "attachment system" below, i.e. more than basic.

- I'll skip the mitts, because, man, who does not already have some...

More interesting and useful are the rain jacket and the Henley top.

When it rains, you need to wear something on top to avoid getting drenched. Just like when you're walking around with that umbrella and that trench coat on.

Now, why couldn't you wear said trench coat on your bike? Good question. All I can think of is the lack of stretching ability in the coat fabric making it uncomfortable and tacky. Plus, the lack of venting means you end up soaked in your own sweat. That's my experience.

What is Lululemon offering?

A fancily designed but very expensive two-way stretch, breathable, water-resistant rain jacket. 

The price? 298 $ CA. Yeah right...

And I like the old design better.

As for the Henley

As a person who sweats *a lot* in the armpits, the moisture wicking, breathable fabric is welcome.

Plus the special armpit venting system looks interesting.

 But 88$ CA? Jeez.

I'll wait until it goes on sale.

Bottom line, the only item I whole heartedly support is the bike bell. There are still people biking around with no bell (as well as no lights, no fenders, no brakes etc.).

So cute and so useful! People, get a bell, any brand but get it!!