If I have any hobbies at all besides blogging and busking, it would have to be biking. More than just biking, I love bicycle maintenance, restoration, and upgrading.

Several weeks ago, I blogged about my bike, and mentioned the upgrades I wished to make. Now that I’ve made a few, and discovered a few more that need to be done, I’ve decided to chronicle my work thus far.

• front and rear lights: $25
• batteries (so far): $7
• helmet (ride safe!): $28
• new tires: $30
• new gel grips: $6
• new dérailleur cables: $6
• replacement cable stop for front dérailleur (broke when replacing cables): $3
• replaced v-type front brakes with (used) cantilever system: Free!
• new saddle: $35
• replaced shock forks with (used) lightweight omni forks: $10
• new (used) goose-neck to fit forks: $5
• new cap and bearing set to fit forks: $10
• new chain (with chain tool): $18
• new Shimano Hyperglide freewheel: $13
• can of WD-40: $3

Some more numbers:

Total expense for bike related costs: $196.00
Total saved from not taking cabs: $286
Net savings (so far): $90

Total days biked to work: 22
Total distance: 184 km
Pre-biking weight: 194.5 Lbs
Weight today: 196.5 Lbs (muscle weighs more than fat!)

So, a net savings of $90 doesn’t seem like much, but that’s only over the course of a month, and many of these expenses won’t have to be repeated for a some years. Now that most of the major stuff is taken care of my bike/cab savings ratio should increase exponentially. Of course there will always be something else. Eventually I’ll need snow tires, and a new crank/chain-wheel, and a paint job, etc…. These are all things that can be done over time though, and shouldn’t be as bad as this first month of repairs.

As for the weight gain…. well, my waist size is decreasing, and that’s what really matters, right?

I’ve been biking to work daily for the past few weeks, and on my days off I like to keep up with the biking only I try to go somewhere more fun than work. I do Whitefish Island and Fort Creek quite a lot, as you could probably surmise from the frequency at which I write about them. Today I wanted something different… something fresh… Well, maybe not exactly fresh.

“Blast Furnace”

I decided to journey around Tenaris Algoma Steel, and other various industrial parts of town with my collection of cameras today. This was only the second time I was able to utilize my new Roots padded compartment pack (50% off at Blacks, for my Canadian friends). Mine is packed with the old Zenit B loaded with Ilford 125 ISO B&W, my Nikon ES loaded with Kodak 200 ISO colour, the HP R607 (featuring a Pentax lens), my trusty Panasonic Lumix, and plenty of other gadgets, tubes, tripods, and what-have-you, of course. I felt heading into the clouds of pollution and smog of industrialized Sault Ste. Marie warrented being prepared for just about anything.

“Ready for anything”

There’s a small block of residential snuggled up close to the plant known as Bayview (where these photos were taken). Some of the older families in that neighborhood have more garden than lawn in their yard. I think they’re nuts, personally. My wife lived in this end of town years ago and told me how she went through two couches just from the dogs tracking in coal dust and slag, giving the upholstery an apperance as though it had been carefully coated in pencil lead – slate grey and shiny.

“View from Bayview”

Unless I’m mistaken, the above area of the plant is the blast furnace and coke ovens. This is where raw ore is super heated and mixed with other metals to make different types of steel. Fascinating, to be sure, but also very, very dirty. I happened to be downwind from all of this while taking these pictures, and it started to rain shortly after I arrived. I left rather all of a sudden once it dawned on me that my clothing might begin to dissolve at any moment.

“Destination: 1.21 Gigawatts”

As I circumnavigated the plant on my return trip, I captured a few images on my various cameras of the power sub-station, contrasting some playground equipment I was passing by.

“Algoma Central Memories”

My next stop was at the Algoma Central rail yard. They handle much of the transportation in and out of the plant, and also store some of the cars of Algoma Central Railway’s history. The caboose shown above was occasionally hitched to the ACR train my family and I embarked on our way to camp more than 25 years ago.

I’m actually very proud of myself for this picture. Instead of slinking around in the shadows and sneaking (trespassing) onto private property, I actually went to the admin office and announced myself as an amateur historian and photographer. I actually got permission to take the pictures, which took away some of the thrill there might have been…. but perhaps also saved a lawsuit.

“Machine Shop – 2010″

The final stop of my industrial tour, once again took me beyond the security fences, this time at St. Mary’s Paper. They’ve been shut down since March, so I figured what better time to talk history with the security guard and get in for a photo or two. The building above was built in the late 1800’s as part of Francis H Clergue’s empire (railway, mining, steel production, paper mill, hotels, etc…) This specific building was (and still is?) a machine shop for the paper mill.

“Machine Shop – 1903″

In 1903, Clergue’s Empire came to an end when he overextended himself and was unable to make payroll. When unpaid (and well armed) employees laid waste to his admin building, militia was called in from Toronto to settle the dispute. By the time they got here, however, the dispute was all but settled and the plants, mines, and companies continued on under new ownership. The photo above shows the militia standing guard in front of the same machine shop I photographed today.

A more detailed account of the collapse of Clergue’s Empire can be found here.

Of course I captured many more photos than what I’ve shared here, only they’re on the 35 mm rolls. I’ll be sure to share them when they’re developed.

When I feel like blogging, but can’t come up with something to write about, it’s always nice to know that inspiration lies only a click away at Written Inc.  This weeks theme for Thematic Photographic is “summer“.  The picture I chose was from the beginning of summer.  It was my 3rd wedding anniversary AND the 33rd anniversary of the release of Star Wars – A New Hope (although at the time, 33 years ago, it was just called Star Wars).  But none of that’s here nor there.

“05-25-2010 – Ima conquer this beach myself”

It’s a rare thing that the weather is favorable enough on the May 24 weekend to warrant a trip to the beach, let alone getting into the waters of Lake Superior.  Perhaps global warming isn’t a myth after all.  Even I went in the water on this particular day.

It’s been a great summer so far, especially because the kids are at an age (or just reaching the age) where they can really engage with the world around them, explore, and share in the adventure of life.  Last summer, there was a lot of ‘go here and sit in a stroller… go there and sit in a car seat… etc…’  This summer, not so much the case.  The current theme most of the time is now ‘put me down I need to run – I have the energy!!!’.  It’s pretty great.

The kids are growing up fast, and it seems every week we’re discovering new fun ways to spend time together as a family.  We’re none of us babies anymore, and so let the little kid fun commence….

As soon as the park is in sight the kiddos release mine and my wife’s respective hands and bolt for their favored playground equipment of choice.  They often split in different directions, resulting in my wife watching one while I follow the others lead.  On this particular adventure I was in Sebastien’s shadow, hence most of the pictures I have to share are of the vibrating little bundle of energy.

C’mon Dad…. That seagull isn’t going to chase itself!

Peek!

Canadian Mark jr.

The evening ended with going down the “big” slide, which I must admit makes me just a little nervous. It’s not really the sort of concern you think.  I understand they’ll fall out of trees, bump their knees, and all that fun stuff.  It’s more of a worry that they’re growing up so fast, and while I’m making sure to live in the moment with it, recognize and appreciate these times; I’m also mindful of the fact that time is passing and they’re changing.  It makes me all the more grateful that there’s another one on the way.

Absolutely NOT afraid of hieghts

Yup, we get to go through all this all over again.  When I tell people that a third child is on the way, I often recieve looks of condolence and such, but to be quite honest, I’m quite looking forward to it.  Family rocks.

This post falls into Carmi’s family themed “Thematic Photographic” for the week.

the wonderful family I have.

my health.  It could be much, much worse.

bacon.

the new little one on the way.

my job.  It’s the one I’ve wanted since I was 5.

the foresight to not join the Navy.

thoughtful friends.

second chances.

gluten.

Well… All of it really.  And it’s been a good day.

I’m thirty-three now;  not the young pup I used to be, eating whatever I like, exercising  as often as I please and expecting to maintain a healthy weight.  It would be foolish to assume otherwise.  It is with this in mind that I’ve decided to start biking the 4.5 km to work every day.  Not only am I hoping to trim some inches from my daddy-belly, but I also plan to save a boatload of money to go toward buying diapers for the new baby. Seriously, it should amount to enough money that I’ll require a boat to store it all on.

She’ll make point five beyond the speed of light. She may not look like much, but she’s got it where it counts, kid. I’ve added some special modifications myself.

Actually the bike needs more than a bit of work.  It’s operational, but being a 12 year old bike, it could sure operate a lot better.  Tires, tubes, front forks, brake pads, handlebar grips, brake and gear-shift cables, not to mention that I’m currently riding with no helmet or bike light.  The helmet might not be law, but riding to work at 3:30 AM with no light could be a $140 fine.  The only other people on the roads at that time of day are cabs and cops so I’ll have to take care of that for sure ASAP.

Anyway, I missed biking.  I just made the run up to work and back and it only took 25 minutes, round trip.  That averages to be about 14 MPH.   Not bad.  Now… just waiting for the feeling to come back in my legs.

It’s me, Canadian Mark!

Bigfoot.  No, not the monster truck…. I’m talking about the real deal here.  Well, sort of.  There’s an area just on the outskirts of town where I used to camp as a teenager that I tend to keep my distance from these days.  Today my wife had some friends over for a mommy-and-me thing, so with nothing better to do, a fellow daddy and I went exploring there and got some pictures.

The fellow daddy

Let me share with you what happened all those years ago….

During the early to mid-nineties, my friends and I frequently camped at Thayer’s Acres, a mixed wetland and old growth forest area just outside of town.  At the time the area was heavily used by army cadets and boy scouts, and on the weekends when they weren’t there, it was a pretty safe bet that we were.

The Entrance

We’d usually stay for three or four days, being dropped off and picked up by somebody’s mother.  We were young and reckless in those days, setting off homemade black powder bombs, building watercraft from whatever nature provided, shooting squirrels with pellet guns, and then adding the meat from said squirrels into our non-organic Mr. Noodles.  Typical teenage boy stuff.  Good fun.

Debris from where the shelter once stood.

The “good fun” ended for me in the spring of 1996 though, shortly after I saw the face.  It was in the evening after supper when I saw it, at that time of night when the sun has set, but it’s still not quite dark out.  Gloaming.  I could feel it looking at me before I saw it, peering out of the woods from about 20 meters away, making eye contact.  It was pale, perhaps a very light grey or tan, in colour.  It had unmistakable human characteristics about it but was certainly not human.  It was maybe 5 feet off the ground and only the size of a child’s face – it almost looked like a sloth, only we have no such creatures in Northern Ontario.

It was behind this very tree….

As I began to speak to my companions about what I was staring at in the bushes, it vanished in near silence.  They passed it off as a weasel or owl.  I was convinced it was something not as common.  In the moment, I thought extra terrestrial – I jumped to that conclusion simply because I’m a sci-fi kind of guy and have always felt deep down that an encounter will be imminent at some point in my life.

Looking back on it though, now that I have a broader acceptance of the unexplained and the unseen, I’m thinking it may have been a young sasquatch – or perhaps an elderly sasquatch of smaller proportions, which may explain the exceptionally light colouring of it.  Or maybe an albino?  In any event, I feel strongly now that this was not an alien, nor was it something that can be found in a scientific journal.  It was something natural, however, and something ancient.

In any event, Thayer’s hasn’t felt right to me since that evening.  That night, I did not sleep until sunrise, and every visit to Thayer’s since is accompanied by a “being watched” feeling.  Even talking, writing, or thinking about the area gives me that feeling… It’s not necessarily bad, but I find it unusual and uncomfortable enough that I’ve learned to keep my distance.

Except, as you already know, we didn’t keep our distance today.  It was nice to get out of the house and explore some (old) new ground. Here are some pics of our adventure!

One of the many roads

My favorite wildflower (aside from devils paintbrushes)

A view from the bridge

Follow those tracks! (props to Kai Lan) This belongs to a beaver

Dammed river

No caption

Me and my crooked glasses

Frogs = Good Ecosystem

I wish I had a canoe

More frogs!

Ooky feelings and scary noises aside, it was really great to get into the wilderness away from the stench of steel plant and the sounds of transportation. Even because of the risk of bears, I’d hesitate to bring my kids there, but…. The ladies and the babies all had a good time destroying the living room today, which should allow for more expeditions like this in the future.

I think I could tackle a bear. Maybe even a bigfoot.

I think you’ve all been in suspense long enough.  Two months ago I set out to discover what ancient and mysterious things could be found on the harder to reach areas of St Mary’s and Whitefish Islands.

I was on my own for this walk, which afforded me the opportunity to explore where strollers and child carrying backpack devices would normally hamper accessibility.  The above path was found after precariously traversing one of the dozens of  beaver dams connecting the islands.

The eastern shore of Whitefish island is covered in broken and weathered red sandstone.  If you walk around just staring downward, and ignore the occasional smatterings of seagull poop, one can almost imagine they are on mars.

There were no dams to allow easy access on the next leg of my journey.  Carefully placed, yet incredibly wobbly/slippery rocks were the only path I could find to get me where I wanted to go.

If I hadn’t been really looking for it, I would have missed the path entrance pictured below.  This was indeed the path I was looking for.  At long last, after so many years….

Stepping out into the clearing from the path was incredible.  The ground felt old, if that makes any sense at all, and although I could see parts of the main trail from where I stood it felt like I was on a completely different island altogether.

It didn’t take long to start finding pieces of the past.  Remnants from a time when canal workers lived on the island, and perhaps even before that….

It’s mid-summer now, and most of this area is grown over with tall grass and weeds.  I’m glad to have had the opportunity to explore when I did.  It’s funny that a few shards of pottery, some broken china, and an old horseshoe can give me such a thrill, but it does.  I love exploring and local history, and perhaps in a strange way I even love getting my feet wet when slipping on tippy rocks, barely catching myself, and narrowly avoiding getting my camera soaked in swamp water.

It’s all part of the adventure.