X+1

My biggest fear is not the cold or falling in a snowbank, it's possibly getting another bike to drool over. I have a couple of days of holidays remaining from last year and am cashing them in for a 4 day weekend. I arranged a loaner fat bike, a Salsa Mukluk 3 for tomorrow and will head to Centennial Park for a long ride around the groomed trails.

The BMC GF2 that I had my heart set on and have been saving for is a far cry from the Mukluk, in more ways than one. The GF is sleek and fast and weighs less than 20 pounds. The Mukluk is slow, bulky and tips the scale at 35 pounds. The end use of each could not be more different, smooth pavement and warm summer days or the mud and snow of winter. Bouncing around at a top speed of maybe 15kmph or flying at 50 plus. 100 psi in the tires or 10. Decisions decisions.

I don't have enough saved yet for either but...I guess time will tell. Never forget the formula for how many bikes one needs, X+1 (where X=how many you currently own).

What To Do With A Piece of History

I love the first week of a diet. The weight melts off and skipping food doesn't seem that hard when the results are so positive. It won't last but losing just over 8 lbs. in the last seven days was easy.

The cold we've been having is finally going to break so I'm looking forward to some outdoor riding. Even a few days with warmer temps and no snow would be nice.

Tonight I was invited to a meeting at the FW Gardens about its future use because Northwood is a main tenant. I think it's going to end up as a parking lot for the court house but that's just a guess. Turning it into retail space just doesn't seem realistic when so much of Victoriaville is vacant. Maybe the court house will help revitalize the south core but parking is going to be an issue. Where will Northwood end up if the Gardens is no longer available? I really don't believe we need another venue when we can't fill those that we already have. The Gardens is old but it's home.