elliottzone

2011 Canmore Highland Games

elliottzone — Mon, 05 Sep 2011 04:18:59 +0000

We spent today at the Canmore Highland Games this weekend, which provided plenty of entertainment and beautiful weather (for once!).

Canmore is an amazing place to attend the games, especially the massed pipe bands that wrap up the event. The surrounding mountains provide an impressive visual backdrop but also enhance the sound of the massed pipes and drums so you hear and feel the music.

The 2011 games were the 21st that Canmore has hosted, which draws thousands of spectators from all around the world. The talent is world-class, too, with many of the pipe and drum groups having won events around the world.

Being held in the mountains of Alberta late in the year the weather can be iffy. The games have seen their share of rain and snow but this year the weather was beautiful.

A big thanks to all the organizers, the pipers and drummers, the heavy games competitors, the sheepdog trainers, the Highland dancers and everyone else who always makes these games a fantastic experience.

View my 2011 Canmore Highland Games photostream.

2011 Calgary Highland Games

elliottzone — Sun, 04 Sep 2011 04:00:14 +0000

Pipers, drummers, dancers and vikings! This year’s Calgary Highland Games was fantastic!

This was the largest Calgary games we’ve been to so far, and while moving the location much further away mean for a longer drive, the extra space allowed for much more entertainment.

View my 2011 Calgary Highland Games photostream.

Spring time bike fashion

elliottzone — Sat, 28 May 2011 00:26:14 +0000

I noticed a bike draped in rain gear at the racks today – typical commuter clothing these days…

Brass bikes sculptures

elliottzone — Thu, 19 May 2011 23:20:16 +0000

Calgary artist Luke Lukasewich has a couple of great bike sculptures on display and for sale. The bikes are made from recycled BMX parts and a brass bed frame.

You can check them out at the AXIS Contemporary Art gallery.

Being too visible on your bike?

elliottzone — Thu, 03 Mar 2011 03:50:43 +0000

Being highly visible when riding is one way to help make sure you don’t get hit by a driver.

There’s “Oh, a cyclist” visible and then there’s “visible to the point of making sure everyone who sees you feels kinda sick” visible…

Uni-single-speed commuter bike?

elliottzone — Fri, 11 Feb 2011 19:52:43 +0000

What do you get when you cross a unicycle and a single-speed?

Shimano Alfine and snow

elliottzone — Thu, 03 Feb 2011 23:32:22 +0000

This is my first winter season using my new commuter bike that has an internal geared hub.

The Shimano Alfine 8 speed hub is doing a fantastic job — goodbye frozen/clogged up derailleurs!

Reset Google / Gmail password on an Android phone

elliottzone — Sat, 25 Dec 2010 03:43:47 +0000

You would think this would be something that was easy to do…

I did a “year-end password change” on one of my Google accounts and so the next step was to change the password on my Android phone so that my account would sync correctly.

I must have looked through every single menu and settings screen looking for an obvious “change password” option. There was nothing to be found.

Looking online didn’t give me any solutions but there were lots and lots of people asking the same question. Some of the responses said I should get a prompt within a few hours or days of changing my Google account password online. I really didn’t want to wait that long for something that might (maybe?) happen.

Luckily, I stumbled across a way to quickly and easily change your account’s password on your phone.

Simply go to the Android Market on your phone.
You’ll get prompted to enter a password — enter the new password you created for your Google account online.
After you’ve made the change, go back to your home screen
Press your Menu button
Go to Settings
Go to Accounts and Sync
Press the applicable Gmail account
Press Sync Now at the bottom of the screen

This should show that your sync is now working.

I then sent a test email from my phone and checked online to make sure it sent. It took a few seconds for the test email to send, but everything seems to be working correctly now.

Remember that any other apps that use your Google ID and password for authentication will likely have to be updated on your phone, too.

2010 Bike Shorts Film Festival

elliottzone — Thu, 23 Sep 2010 22:36:45 +0000

Bike Calgary is back again for their third year hosting the Bike Shorts Film Festival.

Date: Tuesday, October 19, 2010
Place: Downtown Library Theatre
Time: 7 – 9:15 PM

Tickets are $10.00 in advance (purchase online at www.bikecalgary.org) or at the door for $12.50.

How to remove a wheel with a Shimano internal hub

elliottzone — Fri, 10 Sep 2010 22:52:15 +0000

A few minutes ago I had to pull the rear wheel of my MEC Hold Steady bike. This was the first time I’d removed the rear wheel, which has a Shimano Nexus internal hub on it. For rear wheels with derailleurs, removing the rear wheel is a matter of seconds — pop the quick release and out it comes. Not so with the internal hub wheel…

Undoing the 15mm bolts was a no-brainer, but then there was the matter of removing the chain and gear cable which, I assumed, was also a no-brainer. Wrong. I unlocked a locking ring (which I shouldn’t have done) and suddenly there were a whole bunch of loose parts flopping around. After finding the right combination of red and yellow dot alignments, I got everything back together but still didn’t have the gear cable unhooked.

Time to look in the manual (a first!). Unfortunately, there was nothing in the manual about removing the wheel or cables. So, off to YouTube and… success!

Here is the right (and very easy…) way to properly pull a rear wheel that has a Shimano Nexus or Alfine internal hub.