My Bicycles

These are the bicycles I've owned since 1998, as well as a couple others that I've had the pleasure of borrowing and riding.

Previous to 1998, I was, at best, a casual cyclist. Through the influence of friends, particularly Meaghan and Malcolm, I gingerly started bicycle commuting in Edmonton as an undergraduate. However, living on campus meant relativley little commuting, and I was hesitant to ride in the winter. I Moved to Taiwan in 2002, where winter didn't exist, making year round cycling easy. I also started doing longer rides in Taiwan, using the bike as a vehicle for tourism. This tendency increased in the Netherlands, where the bicycle infrastructure is simply amazing.

Returning to Canada in 2005, I was totally committed to a bicycle-based lifestyle. Since then, both my wife and I bicycle commute almost exclusively to get around town, including during the Edmonton winters. I've grown very fond of my bicycles, and this page exists to share that pleasure.

The first bike here is a Raleigh Tarantula and was my first commuting bike, which I bought in 1999 and used until 2002. Is was a basic mountain bike without suspension which I bought off a friend for a case of beer, since it was missing a wheel. A new wheel and chain later and it made a fine commuter.

The next bike is the Pegasus 10-speed which I rode in Taiwan during 2003. I bought it right after Christmas, 2002, since my first Taiwanese bike had been stolen (on Christmas even, no less!). I rode this for my first long rides, including several into the hills of central Taiwan. One of those rides brought me to Sun Moon lake, which is in the background of the photo.

The next bike is the classic Peugot 10-speed which I rode during 2004-2005 in the Netherlands. I was both my commuter to get to the University and my touring bike for many weekend pleasure rides into the Dutch countryside in search of apple pie.

I bought this next bike, a Giant ATX mountain bike with front suspension, in January of 2006, after returning to Edmonton. It became my regular commuter that year. In addition, I took it on my first tour, riding from Kelowna to Edmonton that summer. After 2007, it became exclusively my winter commuter, and I put a single-speed conversion on it. After suffering four long Edmonton winters, I retired it this year.

The next bike is a 2007 Jamis Aurora, which I bought in April of that year. This was the first new bicycle I ever purchased. It's a beautiful touring bike, built of steel and equiped with a very wide gear range for a variety of conditions. It's been my summer bike since 2007, as well as the bike of choice for several tours. It's been to Vancouver Island, the Icefields Parkway, California, Nova Scotia and Ireland. I've estimated that I have over 10,000 km on this bike.

Finally, the next bike is my newest purchase, a Masi Speciale Commuter. Also a steel bike, this is a freewheel single speed bike which I've adapted into a winter commuter. This will be my first season using it, but I love it already. Thanks to Chris Anderson from Velocity Cycle for doing such a great job putting it together, and for taking this great picture of the bike.

When my wife and I were married in 2004, we borrowed this bike, a BikeE recumbent tandem, from my friend Malcolm to use to ride away from the wedding ceremony. It's a lovely machine. I've had the change to go with Malcolm on a few other rides on the bike, and it is extremely comfortable and pleasant.

The last bike on this list is one I've only been on a couple of times, but it's memorable. This is my father's recumbent trike, which he's taken on two cross-continent tours since 2005. (The madness runs in the family, though I have yet to do anything of that scope.) He rode this along with me on my Kelowna-Edmonton tour in 2006, at least until he injured his ankle.