RR: Hydro Cut



C

Corvus Corvax

Guest
So regal and decadent here
Coffin cheaters dance on their graves
Music, all it's delicate fear
Is the only thing that don't change
2.50 for an eyeball
And a buck and a half for an ear
Happy hour, happy hour
Happy hour is here

Well nothing's dead down here, just a little tired
Nothing is dead down here, it's just a little tired
Oh nothings's dead down here, it's just a little tired
Nothing is dead down here, it's just a little tired
Oooh, "Baby eat this chicken slow
It's full of all them little bones."
"Baby eat this chicken slow
It's full of all them little bones."

-- Tragically Hip




Waterloo, Ontario.

All bikes are compromises, singlespeeds especially. I contemplate this
as I cruise up the gravel rail trail past the old Seagram's
distillery. I am living up here for the fall in a bleak-but-not-
uncomfortable furnished apartment in a bleak-but-not-too-depressing
concrete high-rise, full of immigrants and college students. Everyone
calls it "the ghetto". All I do is work. Of course, I need a bike.
After a little thought on the subject, I decided to get out the
wrenches and re-work the singlespeed back to the way it used to be
when I used it as a New York City street bike. Ritchey speedmax semi-
slicks and a 36x16 gearing, too small for the street now that I'm used
to the fix, and too big for the singletrack,. But it's serviceable on
both. I have no idea where to ride, so I cruise out on a nearby city
trail, which is marked as a section of the "Trans-Canada Trail". Cool.
Maybe I'll just bring my credit card and ride all the way to
Vancouver.

Maybe not. I soon discover that, like most projects of its kind, the
"Trans-Canada Trail" is more wishful thinking (and a small budget for
signs) than an actual trail. I ride short sections of gravel trail and
lots of street connectors up through the outlet stores and dinner
theatres of St. Jacob, then more trail through the picturesque
Mennonite farm country until the trail (and, evidently, the sign
budget) dry up at a closed-down flea market ringed with Winnebagos. I
circle around the quiet streets a few times, looking for the way.
Locals cruise by in horse-drawn buggies. I turn around and head back
home across the pretty farmland, quads burning slightly and my nose
full of the smell of manure.

Back downtown in Waterloo, I cruise the SS into the bike shop on King
Street and buy a ridiculously overpriced bottle of Tri-Flow. The
exchange rate is killing me. I went out the other night and had three
pints of beer and a hamburger and it was almost $30 with the tip. The
nice slacker bike shop guy asks, "Are you coming in or heading out?"

"Coming in."

"Where were you riding?"

"I was trying to find the Trans-Canada Trail."

The slacker bike shop guy gives me an extremely strange look. He is
beginning to sense that I am new here.

"Have you been out to the Hydro Cut?" he asks.

"The what?" I have no idea what he is talking about. He might as well
be speaking Farsi. After a bit of conversation I conclude that there
is some local urban singletrack to be had, perhaps on some Water
Company property. I get some vague directions.

It turns out the directions are good enough. A few miles from my
apartment is a stretch of power lines coming into a substation, with a
small parking lot full of cars obviously owned by mountain bikers.
"Hydro". Right. "Hydroelectric". Welcome to Canada, eh? The trail runs
alongside a huge construction site for a half mile or so, then plunges
into nice, twisty singletrack in the trees. The place is full of
trash, and there is a sick-sweet smell remarkably like that of a
large, dead animal. I hold my breath and carve the turns on the rigid
SS, hump the switchbacks up the little hill in too big a gear for the
purpose. As I crest the hill, I find the source of the smell, a large
landfill buzzing with gulls and bulldozers just across a chain-link
fence from the trail. The trail plunges back into the trees, and I am
treated to a lovely nest of loops, all beautifully designed with rocks
and roots and logpiles and narrow plank bridges. These trails are
obviously designed by, and for, mountain bikers. They're perfect for a
rigid single. I get totally lost. I gradually develop a large grin.
The clientele on the trails is very diverse, from Serious racer-boys
to frat dudes on really expensive bikes, wearing sneakers and
backwards baseball caps, calling each other on their cell phones. I
even see a couple of guys on cyclocross bikes.

I finally find my way back to the lot, largely at random, sweaty and
refreshed. I stop and chat with a guy loading his bike onto the rack
on his Honda Civic.

"Better go get something to eat," he says. "I'm coming back in three
hours for a night ride."

Right on.

CC

Can-Am singlspeeders kick ass.
 
On Oct 4, 10:43 pm, Corvus Corvax <[email protected]> wrote:
> So regal and decadent here
> Coffin cheaters dance on their graves
> Music, all it's delicate fear
> Is the only thing that don't change
> 2.50 for an eyeball
> And a buck and a half for an ear
> Happy hour, happy hour
> Happy hour is here
>
> Well nothing's dead down here, just a little tired
> Nothing is dead down here, it's just a little tired
> Oh nothings's dead down here, it's just a little tired
> Nothing is dead down here, it's just a little tired
> Oooh, "Baby eat this chicken slow
> It's full of all them little bones."
> "Baby eat this chicken slow
> It's full of all them little bones."
>
> -- Tragically Hip
>
> Waterloo, Ontario.
>
> All bikes are compromises, singlespeeds especially. I contemplate this
> as I cruise up the gravel rail trail past the old Seagram's
> distillery. I am living up here for the fall in a bleak-but-not-
> uncomfortable furnished apartment in a bleak-but-not-too-depressing
> concrete high-rise, full of immigrants and college students. Everyone
> calls it "the ghetto". All I do is work. Of course, I need a bike.
> After a little thought on the subject, I decided to get out the
> wrenches and re-work the singlespeed back to the way it used to be
> when I used it as a New York City street bike. Ritchey speedmax semi-
> slicks and a 36x16 gearing, too small for the street now that I'm used
> to the fix, and too big for the singletrack,. But it's serviceable on
> both. I have no idea where to ride, so I cruise out on a nearby city
> trail, which is marked as a section of the "Trans-Canada Trail". Cool.
> Maybe I'll just bring my credit card and ride all the way to
> Vancouver.
>
> Maybe not. I soon discover that, like most projects of its kind, the
> "Trans-Canada Trail" is more wishful thinking (and a small budget for
> signs) than an actual trail. I ride short sections of gravel trail and
> lots of street connectors up through the outlet stores and dinner
> theatres of St. Jacob, then more trail through the picturesque
> Mennonite farm country until the trail (and, evidently, the sign
> budget) dry up at a closed-down flea market ringed with Winnebagos. I
> circle around the quiet streets a few times, looking for the way.
> Locals cruise by in horse-drawn buggies. I turn around and head back
> home across the pretty farmland, quads burning slightly and my nose
> full of the smell of manure.
>
> Back downtown in Waterloo, I cruise the SS into the bike shop on King
> Street and buy a ridiculously overpriced bottle of Tri-Flow. The
> exchange rate is killing me. I went out the other night and had three
> pints of beer and a hamburger and it was almost $30 with the tip. The
> nice slacker bike shop guy asks, "Are you coming in or heading out?"
>
> "Coming in."
>
> "Where were you riding?"
>
> "I was trying to find the Trans-Canada Trail."
>
> The slacker bike shop guy gives me an extremely strange look. He is
> beginning to sense that I am new here.
>
> "Have you been out to the Hydro Cut?" he asks.
>
> "The what?" I have no idea what he is talking about. He might as well
> be speaking Farsi. After a bit of conversation I conclude that there
> is some local urban singletrack to be had, perhaps on some Water
> Company property. I get some vague directions.
>
> It turns out the directions are good enough. A few miles from my
> apartment is a stretch of power lines coming into a substation, with a
> small parking lot full of cars obviously owned by mountain bikers.
> "Hydro". Right. "Hydroelectric". Welcome to Canada, eh? The trail runs
> alongside a huge construction site for a half mile or so, then plunges
> into nice, twisty singletrack in the trees. The place is full of
> trash, and there is a sick-sweet smell remarkably like that of a
> large, dead animal. I hold my breath and carve the turns on the rigid
> SS, hump the switchbacks up the little hill in too big a gear for the
> purpose. As I crest the hill, I find the source of the smell, a large
> landfill buzzing with gulls and bulldozers just across a chain-link
> fence from the trail. The trail plunges back into the trees, and I am
> treated to a lovely nest of loops, all beautifully designed with rocks
> and roots and logpiles and narrow plank bridges. These trails are
> obviously designed by, and for, mountain bikers. They're perfect for a
> rigid single. I get totally lost. I gradually develop a large grin.
> The clientele on the trails is very diverse, from Serious racer-boys
> to frat dudes on really expensive bikes, wearing sneakers and
> backwards baseball caps, calling each other on their cell phones. I
> even see a couple of guys on cyclocross bikes.
>
> I finally find my way back to the lot, largely at random, sweaty and
> refreshed. I stop and chat with a guy loading his bike onto the rack
> on his Honda Civic.
>
> "Better go get something to eat," he says. "I'm coming back in three
> hours for a night ride."
>
> Right on.
>
> CC
>
> Can-Am singlspeeders kick ass.


Heh. You've moved from what JD called "The Sewer" to the garbage dump.
You've gotta check out the new NYC park up by Dykman. It's short,
treacherous, and occasionally lecherous (not in a good way).

You Canucks do like your Tragically Hip.

/s
 
Corvus Corvax wrote:
> So regal and decadent here


<snippage>

>
> Right on.
>
> CC
>
> Can-Am singlspeeders kick ass.
>


Nice one, cc. Good to see you're still out there, in all the various
meanings of the words. ;-)
Steve
 
Corvus Corvax wrote:
> So regal and decadent here


<snippage>

>
> Right on.
>
> CC
>
> Can-Am singlspeeders kick ass.
>


Nice one, cc. Good to see you're still out there, in all the various
meanings of the words. ;-)
Steve
 
On Oct 6, 5:46 am, Steve Baker <[email protected]> wrote:
> Corvus Corvax wrote:
> > So regal and decadent here

>
> <snippage>
>
>
>
> > Right on.

>
> > CC

>
> > Can-Am singlspeeders kick ass.

>
> Nice one, cc. Good to see you're still out there, in all the various
> meanings of the words. ;-)
> Steve



Yeah, follow your nose to the goods, CC.

But, wouldn't that be Am-Can singlespeeders?

JD
 
JD wrote:
> On Oct 6, 5:46 am, Steve Baker <[email protected]> wrote:
>> Corvus Corvax wrote:
>>> So regal and decadent here

>> <snippage>
>>
>>
>>
>>> Right on.
>>> CC
>>> Can-Am singlspeeders kick ass.

>> Nice one, cc. Good to see you're still out there, in all the various
>> meanings of the words. ;-)
>> Steve

>
>
> Yeah, follow your nose to the goods, CC.
>
> But, wouldn't that be Am-Can singlespeeders?
>
> JD
>

When it comes to mountain biking Canada always comes first
B
 
On Oct 6, 3:42 pm, JD <[email protected]> wrote:
>
> But, wouldn't that be Am-Can singlespeeders?


You have a point there.

>From now on, I will refer to myself as "Fred the jelly-livered plumpy

moosy An-Cam singlespeeder". ;-)

CC
 
On Oct 6, 11:10 pm, wizardB <[email protected]> wrote:
> JD wrote:
> > On Oct 6, 5:46 am, Steve Baker <[email protected]> wrote:
> >> Corvus Corvax wrote:
> >>> So regal and decadent here
> >> <snippage>

>
> >>> Right on.
> >>> CC
> >>> Can-Am singlspeeders kick ass.
> >> Nice one, cc. Good to see you're still out there, in all the various
> >> meanings of the words. ;-)
> >> Steve

>
> > Yeah, follow your nose to the goods, CC.

>
> > But, wouldn't that be Am-Can singlespeeders?

>
> > JD

>
> When it comes to mountain biking Canada always comes first
> B



Keep telling yourself that.

JD
 
On Oct 7, 9:18 am, Corvus Corvax <[email protected]> wrote:
> On Oct 6, 3:42 pm, JD <[email protected]> wrote:
>
>
>
> > But, wouldn't that be Am-Can singlespeeders?

>
> You have a point there.
>
> >From now on, I will refer to myself as "Fred the jelly-livered plumpy

>
> moosy An-Cam singlespeeder". ;-)
>
> CC


Nice RR there Jelly Liver.

Jim
 
Jimbo(san) wrote:
> On Oct 7, 9:18 am, Corvus Corvax <[email protected]> wrote:
>> On Oct 6, 3:42 pm, JD <[email protected]> wrote:
>>
>>
>>
>>> But, wouldn't that be Am-Can singlespeeders?

>> You have a point there.
>>
>> >From now on, I will refer to myself as "Fred the jelly-livered plumpy

>>
>> moosy An-Cam singlespeeder". ;-)
>>
>> CC

>
> Nice RR there Jelly Liver.
>
> Jim
>



Yeah, that was good. Thanks CC.

Platy
 
"JD" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
> On Oct 8, 5:20 pm, "Marty" <[email protected]> wrote:
>> "Corvus Corvax" <[email protected]> wrote a nice one.
>>
>> You put some mountain-bike back in this "alt".

>
>
> It's primed for that right now.
>
> JD
>


Amen Brother.

How's life? Haven't chatted in awhile.

Things on the right coast are busy and quiet all at the same time. Work is
another issue. Never ends.

See ya.

Marty
 
"Corvus Corvax" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
>
> Back downtown in Waterloo, I cruise the SS into the bike shop on King
> Street and buy a ridiculously overpriced bottle of Tri-Flow. The
> exchange rate is killing me. I went out the other night and had three
> pints of beer and a hamburger and it was almost $30 with the tip. The
> nice slacker bike shop guy asks, "Are you coming in or heading out?"
>

Actually the exchange rate right now is almost on par - for the first time
since the mid-70s. It's the taxes and relative buying power that'll get
you. The money sure is pretty tho.

>
> "Have you been out to the Hydro Cut?" he asks.
>


If you spend more time up there, travel up to HardWood Hills. If it's
anything like when I was last there, it'd be perfect SS territory. Not too
crazy on the hills, lots of pleasant singletrack and techie sections.
Although I fear you've missed the best time of year for capturing the karma
of the place. Autumn in the dense hardwood forests of Ontario is epic.