For welding newbies

It's one of those frequently asked questions on the forum. No matter what type of welding you plan to do, there's always an initial investment in money and time. Sure, some people might pick up new skills really fast. For others, it's trial and error, over and over again. Nothing comes easy to every person. Frustration is part of the learning process.

There's no magical formula to learning how to weld. Some prefer to take courses, others prefer to learn as they go. What type of learner are you? Maybe buy some books or borrow them from a library. Maybe an in-person course is what you need. Maybe someone can give you some hands-on lessons. How you learn is really up to you. How much the equipment will cost is again up to you and the type of welding you will be doing.

When Brad started welding, he took a diploma course at our local college and bought a cheap welder for under $200. To this day, he prefers stick welding and using minimal tools. That's his preference. Sure, you can spend alot of money on tools and equipment. But, if you're on a really limited budget, you can easily spend under $300 to get started.

We have a step-by-step welding tutorial for beginners on the Atomic Zombie and ChopZone web sites. Take a few minutes to read through it, then shop around for the equipment and tools you will need.

When in doubt, stop by our helpful community of bike builders for advice. We have a welding equipment tips and advice section with tons of information that will probably answer your questions.

Christmas parade down under

Now, these people in Townsville, Australia, know how to have a good time. Atomic Zombie bike building guru, Savarin, his wife and other bike freaks Bikes, lights, tinsel and loads of fun on recumbents, trikes and choppers. Too bad we have over a foot of snow in our region. A Christmas parade on bikes would be so much fun. Cheers to all of you who dare to be different.

Season's Greetings from Canada and Scotland

Greetings and salutations from the Great White North where a winter storm is bearing down, just in time for Christmas celebrations, of course. Thanks to all Atomic Zombies for making 2009 a fun, successful year. Many new things will be coming up throughout 2010.

An email from Jorge in Scotland:

"Hello from Scotland. I hope you and Brad have a wonderful Christmas. I really enjoy the forum and the camaraderie there. It's a nice place to hang out with friends from all kinds of backgrounds and talents. I am very impressed to see so many people helping each other. To all my bike building friends out there, the best of the season and always.

Your friend, Jorge

Thanks, Jorge, and our very best to you and your family.
Cheers.

CBC News - World - Plane carrying 154 overshoots runway in Jamaica

This must have been a harrowing experience. I can't relate to the actual accident having never been in a plane crash, but I know how terrifying it is when you're in a speeding tube that makes such a hard landing on the runway that your teeth knock together, stuff flies out of the overhead bins, and the pilot has to literally slam on the brakes before running out of pavement.

Those poor people. Thankfully, no one was killed, a testament to the on board and ground crew.

CBC News - World - Plane carrying 154 overshoots runway in Jamaica

An Australian chopper makes its debut

One of our long-time forum members, savarin, has finished his chopper and joined other bike freaks for a Christmas parade in their hometown. Check out his awesome new creation! Excellent work, buddy.



The bottom bearing on the rear 1" fork leg is a short length of saddle post with a nut welded inside at each end, the bit welded to the bottom of the leg is a short length of the tube the saddle tube slides in.



One side bolted to the rocker, the other has a large washer of the same diameter as the outer tube bolted on to prevent the leg from sliding off the bearing. A bit of brass shim to take up the play.

The bottom of the suspension tube has a short length of the same diameter tube welded to it, filed to get the clearance of the un-threaded part of the bolt. This bolt of almost the correct diameter screwed into the rocker arm and again the slack taken up with brass shimming.

You can easily see how short the actuating arm really is and how I had to bend the reaction arm to give clearance for the inside nut holding the suspension bearing on.

A couple more views from the rear:

greetings from Norway

This email came to us from Tom in Norway:

"Hi to all my fellow Atomic Zombies! I'm Tom and I live in Norway. I build many bikes in my 30 years here like tall bikes and recumbents. I like the Atomic Zombie forum where I have made many friends who also build bikes. It is a great place to meet and learn from each other. Thank you to Brad and Kat for all their hard work and to my friends around the world.

I wish you all peace and happiness always. Your friend in Norway, Tom"

Thank you, Tom, for your nice email. We are glad you are part of our bike building family, and send our best wishes to you and your family, too.

New Atomic Zombie web site, December newsletter

Greetings fellow Atomic Zombie krew and bike hackers!

We are pleased to announce a brand new look for Atomiczombie.com .

The site has a completely new look with fully integrated store which means fewer clicks, faster checkout and discounts for multiple download orders.

We hope you like the new look. Season's Greetings, everybody.
________________________________________

** December 2009 newsletter **

The latest Atomic Zombie newsletter is now online in the News & Blog section at:
http://www.atomiczombie.com

This month's features include:
• DIY Night Vision Camera
• New Atomic Zombie Store: discounts, fast checkout, freebies, more stuff
• Garage News
• Bike Builders Tips
• Builders Gallery additions
• New AZ Krew members
• Bikes Belong study
• The Impaler project
• New OverKill and Pedal Truck projects
• Terminator Chopper build series
• Build the SpinScooter DIY project
________________________________________

** Builders Gallery updated **
There are more additions to the Atomic Zombie family. There are now more than 700 entries in the gallery. Keep up the great work, everybody!
http://www.atomiczombie.com
________________________________________

** T-shirts, Sigg water bottles, stickers, hats and more! ** Mouse pads, t-shirts, mugs, water bottles, bumper stickers, decals, BBQ aprons, and more. http://www.cafepress.ca/atomic_zombie .
________________________________________

*** Subscribe to Atomic Zombie DIY Homebuilt HPV and E-Bike Projects by Email:
http://feedburner.google.com/fb/a/mailverify?uri=blogspot/qcYA&loc=en_US

*** New Atomic Zombie store - shirts, mugs, Sigg water bottles, decals, hats and more:
http://www.cafepress.com/atomic_zombie

AZ bike building community pulls together

It all started with a post in the forum about a possible fraudster selling one of our plans, and using our pictures. Within hours of the original post, the bike building community converged on the seller and the service provider. I have no idea how many emails were sent by our bike building community telling both parties to stop the illegal activity.

I personally fielded dozens of messages from concerned members, some of whom are lawyers and law enforcement, offering to volunteer their time to pursue the matter in the country of the offender. This all happened in a couple of days of the ruse being exposed to the community.

WOW! Talk about taking action. It reminded me of a similar incident when someone set up a web site and took photos from various builders galleries and blogs, and posted them on his site as his own. His intention was to design and sell custom bikes, but tried to pass off the pictures he took from others as his own creations. His deception was exposed very quickly.

The post appeared on a bike forum and many concerned builders, especially those whose pictures the offender posted, sprung into action with emails to the web site host and the fraudster. He had to take everything off of his site because as it turns out, none of the images were his own, a direct violation of the web host's Terms of Service (TOS) and Terms of Use.

In both cases, the offenders were flooded with emails from the community demanding that they take the unauthorized content off of their sites. It took less than two weeks for each offender to comply. You can try to hide behind pseudonyms, but eventually, somebody will find you.

The Internet has many dark sides, but it's amazing how people will suddenly come together demanding action and responsibility by those who disrespect our online community and the things we share in common, the things that bring us together. We can be a very protective group when we feel threatened and disrespected. We truly are an international community. Based on our monthly web traffic stats, tens of thousands of Atomic Zombie builders are all over the world.

There is a fine line between sharing information to benefit the online community as a whole, and blatantly stealing others' work, trying to pass it off as one's own. The best practice is to give credit where credit is due, and don't assume that it's OK to rip off other people's stuff. Some people don't understand "netiquette" and misunderstandings do happen. Not everyone is malicious in their intent. However, it's best to err on the side of caution. Don't assume - ask first.

It was incredible to see the bike building community come together many times this year to help each other, get involved in various causes and thwart illegal activities. We truly are a family that sticks together and stands together.

Cheers, friends

CBC News - Ottawa - Ottawa boy ordered to shut down his radio station

The feds have nothing better to do with their time.

CBC News - Ottawa - Ottawa boy ordered to shut down his radio station

Builders Gallery updated - choppers, recumbents & more

There are new additions to the Atomic Zombie family this month - choppers, recumbents, crazy bike and tall bike.

Check out these and other awesome Atomic Zombie Krew members' creations at www.atomiczombie.com . Keep sending in pictures of your completed human powered and electric bike projects.

Please send send pictures of *your own* projects:

- one or two high resolution, sharp, clear .JPG pictures of your completed and painted projects
- ensure that each picture is no more than 2MB in size, please
- one picture will be for the thumbnail (about 150 dpi)
- one picture will be for the full size picture (684 dpi)
- the name(s) of your completed and painted projects
- your name
- your location (state/province and country)

Zombies are getting hitched!

Well, it's going to be official, folks!!!

2010 marks 10 years of Brad and I being together, so we've decided to celebrate by getting married next year.

We want to share this awesome news with our Atomic Zombie family here and abroad.

We haven't decided on a date yet, but will keep you posted.

Tonight we will tell our family here and do some celebrating!!

NEW - DIY Night Vision Camera

So, the winter is setting in, time to set our sights on our electronics projects for awhile. The garage is officially closed now to bike building.

We recently launched a new Do-It-Yourself instant download plan for all of you electronics hobbyists. We know you're out there! This is the first of many electronics plans that we will be releasing over the next year.

This easy-to-build Night Vision Viewer lets you see deep into the night without detection. This covert system can light up a room as if you were using a flashlight, yet only you will be able to see the light. The performance of this Night Vision Viewer is as good as some commercially available night vision systems that cost a lot more. Using invisible infrared light, the Night Vision Viewer can see in 100% darkness, indoors and outdoors, and will run from a battery pack for several hours.

The covert Night Vision Viewer can also be used to detect other night vision systems or as a jammer to hide your face to most security cameras. Another interesting effect of the Night Vision system is referred to as "X-Ray Vision", which allows the user to see through certain materials (including clothing) that may be opaque to infrared light. If covert surveillance or countermeasures is your game, then this is one piece of equipment you will definitely want in your spy gear arsenal.

For more information and how to order this project, visit http://www.atomiczombie.com.

NEW Product - Covert Night Vision Viewer Plan

Using invisible infrared light, the Night Vision Viewer can see in 100% darkness, indoors and outdoors, and will run from a battery pack for several hours.

If covert surveillance or countermeasures is your game, then this is one piece of equipment you will definitely want in your spy gear arsenal.

The Night Vision Viewer is built around commonly available parts, most of which can be found new at any electronics store, or be taken from dead video appliances. This project is well within the reach of anyone with a desire to do a little hardware hacking, and even includes a basic guide to getting started in electronics.

There is a lot of room to add your own modifications as well, so you can create your own unique spy gear in order to further your cause. The truth is out there, and now you will be able to see it, even in total darkness!

• 75 pages of detailed instructions
• 69 pictures and diagrams
• Introduction to electronics
• Instant download 16.5MB PDF file

More details and ordering information at http://www.atomiczombie.com .

Veterans honoured in video montage

I have watched this video by Veterans Affairs Canada so many times this past week. It really is well done.

Glad to see this ad popping up on many web sites to honour those who have served, and still serve.

"This November, make remembrance more than something you feel."

NEW - mousepads for all you bike building freaks!

Just added - mouse pads in a variety of styles. Specially designed for bike and garage freaks. Choppers, trikes, recumbents and tall bikes.

Makes a great Christmas gift for that hard-to-buy person in your life.

We welcome your design suggestions, too.

Atomic Zombies inform and inspire

First of all, I want to thank Brad and Kat for such an incredible site, ditto to all the builders who also share their building tips and different web sites to buy the this and thats. Everyone here is very friendly and open when it comes to sharing knowledge.

For me, it is more than just an informational site.

When I was 9 months old, I had contracted the polio virus, from the waist down was nearly all affected, all of my left leg and about 90% of my right. Most of my youth was spent in and out of hospitals, eventually, as I got older, I became strong enough to get around mostly unaided and live a pretty normal life. One of the positive side effects was all the use of crutches, using my arms to get around, had made my upper body very strong. I competed in arm wrestling tournaments for many years, winning several world and national titles.

After that, I discovered handcycling, I've done a few RAGBRAI's and several centuries and truly enjoy riding. Through handcycling, I discovered sledhockey and have a paralympic gold medal from the 2002 Paralympics in Salt Lake City.

About 4 years ago, things changed pretty dramatically. Over the years, I had used my arms quite a bit on a daily basis, and all the overuse had taken its toll. Fatigue and pain was becoming more and more prevalent, I had worked for many years and it was affecting my job. I was now dealing with Post Polio Syndrome and it was one of the toughest decisions I had ever made, so I had to quit my job.

I had worked for the same company for 25 years. The transition was not easy. I am a doer, not a sitter, but for the sake of preservation, a lifestyle change was needed. Up until about 4 months ago, I just kind of moped around, not sure what I was gonna do. I was 47 when I left my job, too young to sit around. Then, I found this site, quite an awakening.

All of a sudden, I was energized, saved my pennies, bought an angle grinder, a small welder and other tools when I could afford them. I had mentioned in another post that my neighbor and I are building 4 Warrior trikes, one of those is for my son-in-law who is an Iraqi vet in the infantry. He came home with a partial spinal cord injury, he has limited use of his legs, but still strong enough to ride, and hopefully gain some strength back.

With Brad's plans, this trike is gonna give my son-in-law some freedom back. He will now be able to ride with his sons. For me, I absolutely enjoy wheeling out to the garage, taking a piece of square tubing and creating something with it, figuring out angles, steering, chain lines, etc.

It feels good to use my brain and my hands again to do something productive. It is more than just trikes and bikes to me - it's an opportunity to build something at my own pace, to learn new things, maybe even start a trike rental business, but mostly, it has given me a new beginning.

Again, thanks to everyone

~ Jack

An Atomic Zombie fan from Finland

We get some pretty cool emails from folks all over the world. Recently, Fredrik, who lives near Helsinki, Finland, sent us a message about his bike projects and why he loves being an Atomic Zombie.

"Hi to all my Atomic Zombie friends around the world. My name is Fredrik and I live in Finland. I am 28 years old. I build bikes all my life. Some choppers, some recumbents and some tandems. I ride a bike every day to work. I use my bikes all the time because it's too expensive here to drive cars.

I found your site over three years ago when I saw a picture of Brad on that tall bike from years ago (the World Record SkyCycle). I am on the forum many times almost every day learning more about the bikes you build and what other people are making. It is very inspiring to someone like me who doesn't have much money, but likes to make stuff himself.

My favorites are the choppers and trikes that Atomic Zombie makes. I like the Overkill chopper, and Warrior and Deltawolf bikes the best. Mine aren't that good yet, but I am learning more thanks to you and the great people on the forum.

I just wanted to say thanks for all the things you do for guys like me who like bikes. My next bike will be like the Warrior trike, so I will send you some pictures when it's done. I like how you make the plans and all the pictures, so anyone like me can build them. I love being an Atomic Zombie! You are the best."

Your friend, Fredrik"

Thanks, Fredrik!

November 2009 issue is now online

This month's features include:

• Zombies protest chopper
• Garage News
• DIY camera mount
• DIY handle bars
• Builders Gallery
• DeltaWolf Trike Build - Part 2
• Ride Report - Warrior Racing Trike
• Graucho's DIY stencil painting
• We remember

Enjoy everybody.

http://www.atomiczombie.com/newsletter/nov-2009.pdf

Atomic Zombie's Choppers Rule! CD now available

This is the ultimate guide to chopping practically any bike into a defiant,
twisted creation. There are 12 complete, detailed chopper projects, one for
every month of the year.

1. OverKill
2. Carnage
3. Granny's Nightmare
4. Vigilante
5. ChopWork Orange
6. The Stinger
7. FireCracker
8. AfterBurner
9. Gladiator
10. MountainLion
11. Tour de Hell
12. The Wizard

In no time, you will become a chopper building guru. There are hundreds of high resolution photos and illustrations on this CD. Descriptions of each project can be found at: www.atomiczombie.com .

There's no guesswork, or confusing explanations, and no special tools or skills required.

Bonus Features: Bicycle Autopsy and Welding Basics

We'll show you how to take a bike apart to recycle the parts, and some welding
basics to help you get started on your bike building journey. Create your own sick chopper on a budget by learning how to hack and weld old junk bikes, as well as basic welding. There is a radical assortment of bikes on this disc, ranging from kids' chops to full-size street worthy machines.

Builders Gallery

The gallery has been updated recently, with 7 new additions to the Atomic Zombie Extreme Machines family. This month's submission are:

• choppers
• trikes
• swing bike
  
• grocery bikes

Check out the very first Warrior Trike built just two months after we released the project plan!

NEW - Choppers Rule CD - 12 projects

Coming soon in a few days!

Cool 12 do-it-yourself chopper projects - that's one project for every month!

Stay tuned for ordering information and get ready to let your imagination loose.

Vote on Terminator Chopper project - Atomic Zombie™ Extreme Machines Builder's Forum

The votes are still coming in, but the outcome is pretty clear:

What should Brad do about Terminator Chopper?
This poll will close on 11-01-2009 at 10:31 AM
Cheat and git 'er done - use the round tubing on the bottom		19	20.88%
No cheating - do it without round tubing even it means waiting for six months		72	79.12%

Poll results so far - Zombies decide on Terminator Chopper

What should Brad do about Terminator Chopper?
This poll will close on 11-01-2009 at 10:31 AM
Cheat and git 'er done - use the round tubing on the bottom		17	20.73%
No cheating - do it without round tubing even it means waiting for six months		65	79.27%

Terminator Chopper - Zombies decide

The cold weather is setting in fast, and time is running out on this year's bike building season here.

Have your say, Zombies.

We're leaving it up to you about what to do concerning this last project of the year.

Vote on what's next for this project. Each registered member has one vote, so let your voice be heard.

Round tubing or not?
Cheat and git 'er done?
Don't cheat?
What say you Zombies?

Majority rules!

Cast your vote here: http://forum.atomiczombie.com/showthread.php?t=3331

Free Chopper Projects - ChopZone.com

Want to build your own cool, custom choppers? How about a tall bike?

ChopZone.com has 10 free plans online to show you step-by-step how to build your own custom creations. The site also includes Bike Hacking 101 and Welding Basics.

All of the projects require only basic tools and skills, so anyone can build their own bikes. No experience is necessary.

The politics of crime and violence

To the editor:

Well over a year ago, the newspaper published a letter I wrote about the escalating crime in this city, particularly in Westfort. I called upon the chief of police to disclose crime statistics through the media on a regular basis.

Years ago, the police released weekly and/or monthly crime stats published in The Chronicle-Journal and The Post (now The Source). No one can explain to me why this suddenly stopped. No one, except for one city councillor who contacted me concerning my letter and suggestions to improve public safety and policing, including the beat style of policing in neighbourhoods and business districts throughout the city.

When I think of the chief of police’s name, the one that quickly comes to mind is Chris Adams. I, like many others, really have to think hard to recall the chief’s name. Finally, many in this community have been speaking publicly for weeks and standing up for our police officers who put themselves at risk on the front lines every day.

The chief typically gets press coverage when appointed to a board or attending a conference. Yet, Mr. Herman rarely addresses the public directly about our safety concerns and the high incidence of violence and crime. His recent remarks to the media that increasing crime and violence in this city are based on individual perceptions is deplorable.

Avoid certain areas, especially at night, he said. Good luck convincing everyone who lives and works in those areas to pack up and move away so the scumbags can completely take over. I’m sure that businesses trying to make an honest living in those areas he tells us to avoid aren’t impressed with such idiotic solutions.

A very small percentage of crime and violent incidents are actually reported in the media.

Why are you trying to hide the truth, Mr. Herman? We all have the right to know about what’s really going on in our neighbourhoods, yet you and the police services board continue to make excuses for keeping us in the dark.

You all must think that the public is collectively stupid and unaware of what’s really going on in our neighbourhoods. We talk to officers off the record. We talk to our neighbours. We talk to business owners. We talk to emergency services staff.

We know a lot more than you think we do, so stop treating us like we’re imbeciles. Our elected city councillors and mayor seem to have collective laryngitis. To my knowledge, as of this date none have publicly addressed our concerns and demands for solutions.

In my opinion, it’s time for Mr. Herman to resign. We need strong leadership in this community, people who are committed to increasing public safety and allocating police resources when and where they are needed. Leaders with the necessary fortitude and vision to empower this community.

I have a solution for Mr. Herman and the police services board – do the honourable thing and resign. You are all a big part of the problems plaguing this community.

Kathy McGowan,
Thunder Bay

Multi Plan Custom CDs are in the mail

After a technical issue today (my CD burner decided to take a holiday for some unknown reason), the CDs were burned, packaged and mailed today. Hope they won't take too long to reach you anxious bike hackers.

We expect to have the chopper CD available some time next week containing:

• OverKill
• Vigilante
• Terminator
• Gladiator
• Granny's Nightmare
• ChopWork Orange
• After Burner
• Firecracker
• Carnage
• Tour de Hell
• The Stinger
• The Wizard, and
  
• Mountain Lion
  

Also, will be updating the Builders Gallery next week and the November newsletter. If you want to contribute something to the newsletter, contact KoolKat in the forum.

Cheers, friends.

Multi Plan Custom Made CDs - first ones ship tomorrow!

Thanks to all of you who are taking advantage of the multi-plans on CD. Your support is greatly appreciated. Orders from Saturday until today will be mailed late tomorrow afternoon. Tonight, you'll get an email confirming your order and tomorrow your CD will be in the mail.

• If you're in the US, expect it will take at least a week or two to reach you (Florida and California seem to have the longest delivery ETA).
• Within Canada, normally 5 business days (many of us don't have weekend postal delivery)
• In the UK, 2-3 weeks.
• Everywhere else, well, the postal gods say anywhere between 3-6 weeks.

Next week, we expect to have the Chopper CD ready, including the anticipated Terminator Chopper, which I'm told will be done this upcoming weekend. The garage is getting damp and cold, so that will probably be the last build of this season for us. We have another surprise coming soon, though. Actually, a few surprises, but will keep you in suspense!

Thanks again for your continued support. Helps us keep this community going and growing.

Atomic Zombie Projects Now on CD!

We are now offering custom made CDs.

You pick the projects you want, submit your order and within three business
days (Monday to Friday), your CD will be shipped to you.

Choose from three, five or 10 projects on a CD.

Shipping is available to USA, Canada, and many international countries.

Log on to AtomicZombie.com for more information and to make your selections.

A chopper CD will be available in a couple of weeks!

Public isn't stupid about crime and violence problems

Letter to the Editor:

People know crime‘s reality Thursday, October 15, 2009

Well over a year ago, this newspaper (The Chronicle-Journal) published a letter I wrote about escalating crime, particularly in Westfort. I called upon the Chief of Police to disclose crime statistics through the media on a regular basis.

Years ago, police released weekly and/or monthly crime stats published in The Chronicle-Journal and other media. No one can explain to me why this suddenly stopped. No one, except for one city councillor, contacted me concerning my letter and my suggestions to improve public safety and policing, including getting back to the “beat” style of policing in neighbourhoods and business districts throughout the city.

When I think of the police the name that quickly comes to mind is spokesman Chris Adams. Chief Herman rarely addresses the public directly about our safety concerns and the high incidence of violence and crime. A very small percentage of the crime and violent incidents are actually reported in the media.

We all have the right to know about what‘s really going on in our neighbourhoods, yet the chief and the Police Services Board continue to keep us in the dark. They must think that the public is collectively stupid and unaware of what‘s really going on in our neighbourhoods. We talk to officers. We talk to our neighbours. We talk to business owners. We talk to emergency services staff. We know a lot more than they think we do, so they should stop treating us like we‘re imbeciles.

In my opinion, it‘s time for Chief Herman and the Police Services Board to resign. We need strong leadership in this community, people who are committed to increasing public safety and allocating police resources when and where they are needed, leaders with the necessary fortitude and vision to empower this community.

Kathy McGowan
Thunder Bay

Amphibious Human and Electric Powered Bicycle

Czech inventor unveils cool bike that traverses on land and in water!

http://www.earth-stream.com/outpage.php?s=18&id=210056

Watch the video: http://vimeo.com/6625952

Crap Cycle Lanes - true tales of strange bicycle signage

I want to get this book!

Dozens of pictures of ridiculous bicycle-related signs, bike lanes that go nowhere, or around in circles. It's real stuff!

Just can't figure out what some of those architects and engineers were thinking when designing some of this stuff. Wacky!

Crap Cycle Lanes: Astragal's book of the month

Cargo and fun bikes

Someone sent me these pictures lately. I have no idea where they are from.

I'm guessing that the bottle bike picture was taken somewhere in Asia, although I haven't been able to find the source yet.

I think it's a very creative use of a bicycle, but I wonder where do all of those bottles end up? A recycling facility? Bottling factory? It would be a strange sight in our city, probably get ticketed by police.

Nevertheless, it proves how necessity is truly the mother of invention.






This photo looks like something you'd find at Burning Man. A beach-style cruiser that looks homemade. Comfortable enough for the dude to drink a beer while riding. Ah, life on the playa.

Geez, I'd like to know where these people live! Looks like a pretty relaxing ride. If only we could by-pass the cold and snow here!

A snowy Thanksgiving weekend

OK, it's officially winter here. Got some snow Friday and yesterday. Pretty cold outside.

We're taking the weekend off to finally do some much needed relaxing at a cabin, not too far from home. Pretty quiet here. Nice little cabin. Smaller than our livingroom, but heated and very cozy. Not many people here at all. Can't blame them. It's been pretty cold past two days. Not so bad today, though.

If you've never camped in late fall, you don't know what you're missing. The fall colors are amazing, despite the snow and wind chill. As long as you're prepared for the weather, it's actually very nice and peaceful.

Happy Thanksgiving (tomorrow) to all of our Canadian friends and family at home and abroad.