1. Downes

    Full Cycle

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    June 1, 2023. This is the Full Cycle in Hintonburg, my first time in this store. It’s pretty funky. On my way in to work I dropped off the gravel bike to have the wheels straightened and to install new tires (so far on my new bike I’ve replaced the…
  2. Downes

    Expedition

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    May 29, 2023. This heavily modified vehicle was spotted in the Metro parking lot here in town today. It has European license plates and is obviously a live-in expedition vehicle used by one of those truck/van adventurers. I tried to find this particular one online, but had no luck. Anyhow,…
  3. Downes

    Wetland

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    May 28, 2023. We went for an ambling walk along the Mer Bleue trail today. Again, it’s good to be out in the sunshine. The water levels are still pretty high, but the forest has come to live and was particularly lust and beautiful today. I’ve started sleeping on the…
  4. Downes

    Cows

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    May 27, 2023. A farm with cows along the road to St. Albert. I spent a lot of the day on the cot but forced myself to get out for a short ride to St. Albert. At 16.9 kph, this is one of the slowest rides I’ve ever taken on…
  5. Downes

    Julia in her Cave

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    May 25, 2023. Hard to be cuter than Julia fast asleep in her furry cave on the shelf right behind where I sit. I took a sick day today; the itch was so bad I couldn’t sit, so I lay most of the day on a cot in the cold…
  6. Downes

    Starbucks

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    May 24, 2023. This is the Starbucks near my office (‘near’ being about a kilometer away). I’m *way* behind in uploading photos, because the stupid itch continues to assail me. Working in the office really really doesn’t help with this. https://flic.kr/p/2oEZGpz
  7. Downes

    Larose Forest

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    May 22, 2023. This is my bicycle on day three. I made my way home along the Prescott Russell trail and then south through Larose Forest.It was tough because I had to ration water until I got to Bourget. I thought I might have lunch there but all three of…
  8. Downes

    Cobbs Lake Creek

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    May 21, 2023. This was the view from the old rail bridge along the Prescott Russell trail. I rode it for a short distance along my endurance-level 70 km ride mostly into a stiff breeze on a sunny but cool day. I was completely wiped out by the end of…
  9. Downes

    Domaine du Sapin

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    May 20, 2023. This is my campsite for the first night of my weekend trip, at Domaine du Sapin near Greenfield (just soiutheast of Maxville). Though it rained most of the day (and most of the night) it held off just long enough to enjoy a campfile and nice dinner.…
  10. Downes

    All Packed Up

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    May 19, 2022. Here’s my bicycle all packed up and ready to head out for a three day practice ride this long weekend. Very busy day today, as in addition also prepared my slides for my CNIE talk coming up next week. https://flic.kr/p/2oBBGem
  11. Downes

    87

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    May 18, 2023. This is my mother and Bernie celebrating her 87th birthday at the home in the city. She’s not mobile and requires a lot of assistance but Bernie and his daughter Debbie are there every day and the staff are also really good to her. It’s so nice…
  12. Downes

    Office Tree

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    May 17, 2023. This is an apple tree in bloom just outside my office in the city. It was a work-in-office day today (plus two hours in a traffic jam right after) but I got quite a bit done – project closing report, online course, more corporate paperwork. Pretty tired…
  13. Downes

    Morning Surprise

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    May 16, 2023. This flower appeared in the tree in our front yard. We were not expecting a flower; the tree is just this scraggly bush we’ve been allowing to grow because it’s too much work to remove it – and then, suddenly, this! It appears our bush is actually…
  14. Downes

    Break Time

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    May 7, 2023. A break station in the cycle for CHEO event in Ottawa. I signed up for the 70 k. ride, forgot my helmet, went and bought one, started two hours late, and rode 25 km. With all of that, still a nice day: the ride, along with a…
  15. Downes

    Wet One

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    May 2, 2023. This is a little creek where it crosses the road about a kilometer south of Casselman. I got out for a short 26 km ride today on the gravel bike, It would be unremarkable except for the rainstorm part way through, a hard rain, cold and wet.…
  16. Downes

    Hungarian Paste

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    May 1, 2023. These are my new favourite flavours, one a paprika paste, and the other a pepper-tomato paste (I think), both from Hungary. I use them with my salmon-pasta soup, and it’s out0-of-this-world delicious. Now that my projects have concluded, I can soend my NRC time on more ordinary…
  17. Downes

    My Skin

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    April 29, 2023. This is the skin on my back, photographed fairly close up. I’m still struggling a lot with itchy skin; the itch sort of migrates, but right now it’s on my back. As promised yesterday, today was a work day; I attended to some coding issues on gRSShopper…
  18. Downes

    The Ridge

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    April 28, 2023. It was a beautiful day today, sunny and warmish, with a moderate east wind, so I decided to cycle today and work over the weekend. I did a loop out to Riceville along the Ridge Road and then back to Casselman through St. Isadore. This is the…
  19. Downes

    Commute

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    April 27, 2023. Just another dreary spring day commute. I spent the morning preparing all my slides for my presentation (I didn’t even have time to join the strike over lunch) and then the presentation was postponed for a week. These things happen. https://flic.kr/p/2owYQAA
  20. Downes

    Diner

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    April 26, 2023. Lunch at the Thai Express by the Gloucester Costco near work. The scene made me think of those 1950s diner photos. Things haven’t changed, except now the restaurants are brightly lit and more varied, and the food costs ten times as much. In the office today; I…
  21. Downes

    Bridge Out

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    April 25, 2023. This is the Touchette Bridge, a key crossing on my usual bike ride to St. Albert. As can be seen, I won’t be using it for a while. Today was another day focused on my newsletter and catching up with paperwork. https://flic.kr/p/2owSXs5
  22. Downes

    Char

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    April 24, 2023. Charlemagne watching me as I go down the stairs. There’s a spot in the front hall where I can interact with the cats at eye level. This is now the ‘petting zone’. The shadow is created by cardboard barriers we installed to prevent them from falling into…
  23. Downes

    Trillium

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    April 23, 2023. Evn if they’re not quite blooming yet, it’s nice to see trilliums all through the forest floor. We went for an 8.7 km walk along the Mer Bleue trail. It was supposed to rain all day, but it didn’t, though trail was pretty muddy in places. Otherwise…
  24. Downes

    Train

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    April 22, 2023. This is a train with two engines and two cars in Finch, Ontario. I thought it was going to rain all day, but instead the rain held off until evening and the result was a beautiful day for cycling (if you don’t count the 50 kph wind…

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