Will Ratliffe
@ratliw
Retired enviro liability nerd, favourite season is whichever one I am biking in, passionate restoration volunteer.
The dinos whipped up a big old batch of fascist pancakes for a certain special person.
I am just calling them all bombus pulvurulentus. We have hit peak hollyhock, and the bumblebees are going wild. Happy to hear actual identifications. @thebeeguy.bsky.social @loriweidenhammer.ca
Easy access to remote areas without cell service is such a benefit. We just got back from a week in Saskatchewan, simply exploring.
Very healthy month off social media, but this is worth reinstalling Bluesky. A Mosaic Darner of some kind, I think. Seemed newly emerged - fluttering clumsily and spent several minutes peacefuly on a sunny hand.
Our local sharp shinned hawk left some scraps in the back alley. I have watched it take an unsuccessful run at a flock of Bohemian Waxwings; obviously it succeeded this time. Note the red (waxy) feather tips - camera won't get closer but there's no detail to show, just smooth red. Very cool.
Kicking off the @ckua.com.web.brid.gy fundraiser in style. See lots of you tomorrow for pizza. www.justgiving.com/page/backyar...
Not just you, and thanks for a poke that is getting me moving on a less than lovely day
#yycbike got my @coldbike.com frame bag and wow, what a fit. I may have reached peak purple. @bathtubbikes.bsky.social - nice paint job.
Lovely fresh tracks around the Glenmore Reservoir. Plowing is underway. #yycbike
#yycbike the Sheep River road is delightful. Just keep an eye put for the "snowshoe" tracks running down the road for 5km or so. Biggest grizzly prints I have ever seen - 1.5m stride, big as my boots.
My big excitement last year - cacti salvaged from an alley in Medicine Hat, AB to Calgary. They absolutely loved it, and grew and bloomed like crazy. The prickly pears are absolutely vicious - every time we go near them we get spiked.
Pretty sweet when you discover that the Duck tape perfectly matches the bike. Another Rstliffe custom fender, ready for stickers. Paracord attachment is nice but took a long time to sort out. #yycbike
#yycbike, it's first ride on the new bike day. Marin Four Corners 2, in what Steve at Cactus Bike and Ski described as a freakishly huge XL. They call it a drop bar bike - 21 mounting points, 44mm tires, super comfy riding position. With a taller seatpost my 6'9" son will love it.
Hey #yycbike, there is some sweeeeet ice in Fish Creek Park. Brand new Cake Eater studs, smooth ice and a skiff of snow = perfect drifting.
With the addition of a used (new but scraped post delivery) RockShox 35 emtb fork and a surplus (nice) drivetrain from my other bike I am down to 5 original parts. Frame, handlebar, front brake lever, seat post, crank. So that's a 5 on the #woodenbike scale (and including axles and bearings).
The City has waved a giant red flag regarding the Glenmore Reservoir. This is water levels over the last week. A quick projection says without Bearspaw it would be at dead pool (no longer useable) in March. No water.
We just got back from BC. Took the bikes on a hitch rack but wrapped the drive trains and brakes in old sheets. @rinrat86.bsky.social adjusted them so we had visible taillights..... Worked great, total cost, 1/3 of a rag sheet. Rinsed with rain barrel water, wiped with a rag and we are shiny again.
#yycbike Fish Creek Park singletrack is great. Smooth, soft packed but great grip. Astonishing traction on the super steep wooded trails. Retained contact with the bike, planned dismounts only (yay!). Best conditions ever for the really scary trails.
My wife and I bikepacked the Pacific Marine Loop on S Vancouver Island in early Oct. Biked on the ferry in Tsawwassen the day fall rain started, back via ferry from Nanaimo 10 days and 300km later. Sooke, Port Renfrew, Lake Cowichan, Nanaimo. West coast fall rainstorms, hilly rainforest, awesome.
Hey #yycbike, I am looking for a local or at least Canadian place to print custom decals for the most purple bike ever (thanks to @bathtubbikes.bsky.social for the paint job). Got lots of cool stuff already but I need a few custom as well.
Our Canadian flag flies year round, with pride. Today we removed and replaced it. Danielle Smith is a hate-filled, trans-phobic, fascist, separatist piece of shit.
Looks like a week until proper winter arrives. One wheel rejected the Ice Spiker so hard it flung a lever across the garage and left shrapnel. Second Ice Spiker fell on without tools. #yycbike
We are up to $780 for CKUA, the oven is still above 400F and cinnamon buns are cooking, and someone left a nice bottle of prosecco behind. Donation link below - last day for the fall fundraiser.