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Yeah, I can already hear you - "Where are the new videos and downloads?" We've had some technical problems that had to be fixed first so we're a week behind. Just because you need to do something right away, stuff breaks down, computers run out of memory, hard drives run out of space, software glitches take hours to figure out, you know, everything just seems to go wrong. So, this week and upcoming weekend will be spent editing the videos and getting the Meridian Long Wheel Base Recumbent and Bandito Short Wheel Base Recumbent downloads done. But, some good things have happened recently that outweigh the negative stuff.

Toronto based artist Janet Attard sent us some cool black and white photos taken by Martin of Cine Cycle when they were in New York recently for the Bike Kill in Brooklyn. You can see lots of pics and vids on YouTube and Flickr. . Just type in key phrases like "Bike Kill New York" and you'll get tons of info. This annual full-day block party event features home built chops, tall bike jousting and lots more. Some very interesting and wild bike creations at that event.

Just signed on with McGraw-Hill to do another book, 51 High-Tech Practical Jokes for the Evil Genius. There will be all kinds of projects for beginners to advanced tinkerers, even a chapter on Halloween projects to scare the bejeezes out of unsuspecting trick or treaters. This one will be alot of fun to do. Now all we have to do is round up a group of "victims" to try our pranks on. It will be out in September 2007.

Won a prize from Instructables last month (thanks, Eric). A set of sunglasses and spy camera from Spy Gear. I know they're made for kids, but I've been having a blast snapping pics. The resolution is 640 x 480 dpi and the unit holds 20 color pictures, so it's pretty decent. Wish there was something like this around when I was a kid. Well, I get to regress back to my childhood and play around with my new toy. Beats doing boring paperwork!

Weatherwise, the weekend was pretty decent. Saturday was warm enough to get some yard work done and clean the truck inside and out, the house windows, bag leaves and twigs. Sunday was nice, too, sunny and bright. Felt good to go for a long walk and soak in some rays. I enjoy walking. It seems as though winter arrives pretty late in recent years. We haven't had much rain this fall, causing water shortages in rural areas, brush fires and prompting our city to issue water conservation warnings. Today, it's cold, freezing rain and dull. This is the type of weather we used to have throughout the fall, but it's really quite late. No sense complaining. Winter happens - eventually.

Atomic Zombie Extreme Machines web stats for October 2006

Two new members of the Atomic Zombie Extreme Machines krew will be ready to meet the world in the next week.

The Meridian Long Wheel Base Recumbent and Bandito Short Wheel Base Recumbent bikes are done, painted and photographed. Videos will be up this week, either Wednesday or Thursday.

The downloads will be available early next week. Announcements will be posted here and in the Forum. Each of these bikes took about four days to build, including painting. Yes, once you get the hang of welding and basic bike building you can build something like the Meridian and Bandito in a matter of days, not weeks. I am really looking forward to starting my welding lessons in January. It will definitely help pass the time during the cold, dark winter days.

Of course, Brad has been zipping around the neighborhood and recreation trails trying the new bikes out. I like the designs and adjustable bottom brackets so that anyone can ride them, regardless of their leg length - something that us vertically challenged folks appreciate! I love the Bandito's color. Hope we use it on other projects, too.

Plus, I prefer to be higher than lowracers like the Marauder, especially in traffic. I generally don't trust gas powered vehicle drivers around here. But, I do feel confident riding these two recumbents because you sit high enough so that other vehicles on the road will see you as well - hopefully. Pretty impressive the speed you can crank out on the Meridian and Bandito. I can work up quite a sweat on each of them, and they handle exceptionally well, even on our horrible roads. If only it was spring!

The rush has been on to get as many projects done as possible before snow covers the ground for a few months or more. Brad has been burning the midnight oil, pulling many late nights and weekends to keep up the pace.

Yesterday felt like spring. It was nice to go for a long walk with the dog and enjoy the sunshine. Even today, the sun is shining, the sky is clear and the air is crisp, but not cold (about -4 C).

Next on the list is an in-line tandem trike, winter bike/trike, chopper and tadpole trike. We'll be working throughout the winter and posting projects as they're finished.

Cheers to the Freak Bike Militia - Golden Horseshoe Cruisers for sending us a couple of cool shirts from their Halloween Cruise last month. Awesome of you to think of us, even though we couldn't join you. Thanks dudes!

In Flanders Fields

by Major John McCrae
Canadian Officer

In Flanders fields the poppies blow
Between the crosses, row on row,
That mark our place; and in the sky
The larks, still bravely singing, fly
Scarce heard amid the guns below

We are the dead. Short days ago
We lived, felt dawn, saw sunset glow,
Loved, and were loved, and now we lie
In Flanders fields.

Take up our quarrel with the foe
To you from failing hands we throw
The torch; be yours to hold it high.
If ye break faith with us who die
We shall not sleep, though poppies grow
In Flanders fields.

  Turn your speakers on to hear Taps (.mp3 file).

Here we are already, the last day of October. This year sure has flown by fast. It seems like only yesterday we were talking about what we wanted to accomplish this year. We still have more projects to get done, but I heard on the radio that snow is on its way today or tomorrow, maybe even up to a foot! Geesh, I was kind of hoping it would hold off for at least another couple of weeks to do some more riding on our Kyoto Cruiser Trike.

We were planning to participate in a Halloween themed Critical Mass ride last Friday organized by the RUBiking club at Lakehead University, but an hour before the ride began, it poured rain, effectively putting a damper on that. Too bad; we were looking forward to it.

It's a chilly -6 and very windy today, gusting up to 52km/h (32mph), but the sun is out so maybe the Trick or Treaters will have a good night after all.

I bought some treats for a few kids on our street who come by every year to show us their costumes. I made them special goodie bags, and that's the extent of our candy giving. Not many youngsters on our block, and we end up eating most of the treats ourselves anyway, so this year I only bought for the few kids we know. One year we had an elaborate interactive computer animated ghoul that Brad created to greet Trick or Treaters when they came to the door. We had fun doing it, but it was alot of work for only two dozen visitors that came to the door. Another year, we had an interactive robot, VGER, hand out treats. This year, we simply ran out of time to plan something. The usual too much to do, so little time. But, at least we do have the garage heated this year so no matter how cold it gets outside, it will be toasty warm inside. Brad can keep building projects throughout the winter, the first time since working on Bicycle Builder's Bonanza several years ago.

The next project is called the Meridian Recumbent, a cross between the Marauder Lowracer and WildKat Recumbent. The frame is done and the wheels are on. Brad's working overtime to get it done for next week so we can take some photos and videos outside. Speaking of videos, check out the new footage we shot over the weekend of the Kyoto Cruiser Trike's climbing and off-road adventures. You can't really tell how steep that hill really is, but believe me, I've seen many people barely make it to the top on their upright bikes, especially while riding against gusting wind, like it was on that day we shot the video. It was gusting so fiercely that I had to brace myself against a pole, then on the ground, to minimize camera shake. I like the off-road footage the best as it shows how well the trike handles and turns sharp corners with ease. I just wish we were heading into summer, rather than winter.

Brad is working on a body design to build over the winter for the trike and a camper trailer that we will pull behind us. Will keep you posted as those projects progress. Back to work...Happy Halloween!

It's +4°C but sunny and not too bad for late October. Yesterday we took some videos and photos of us riding our new Kyoto Cruiser Trike. Of course, yesterday was bitterly cold and windy, much too chilly for video and photo shoots, but we had to get them done as soon as possible. As you can see from the pictures, the grass is still green and no snow yet.

Thank goodness for the hub motor! The wind was gusting so strong at times that it was hard to keep our eyes open. It does help us get going from a dead stop and against the wind. And, when we need to get somewhere faster - like home when it's freaking cold out - it's a real asset to our trike.

We really like how it handles on our streets, potholes, cracks, bumps and all. We ride pretty fast most times, enough to work up a sweat and feel the burn in your legs. You know that you've been pedaling hard when you dismount the bike and your legs feel like rubber. It's great being able to have a conversation with your riding partner without having to yell and being able to pedal at your own pace thanks to the independent front and rear shifting systems. That's one of the features that I really appreciate. I like to choose my own gears and pedal at my own pace. This is an awesome feature, especially when climbing hills. We hope to get more videos soon to highlight the trike's hill climbing capabilities.

Plus, Brad (the driver) is the one who controls the hub motor and steers to make sure that the right tire clears curbs and gutters, and keeps a lookout for vehicles backing up, turning in front of us from the right, and so on. When riding the trike by yourself, the driver is always in control and can easily travel distances solo with the help of the hub motor when needed. I feel confident riding this trike by myself.

Because it takes up more than half of a standard traffic lane, gas powered vehicles tend to change lanes rather than try to squeeze us into the curb, something that often happens on two-wheeled bikes. I hope that we see more of these on our roads so that gas powered vehicle drivers will get used to us sharing the road.

It's pretty awesome seeing people's reactions as we cruise around, even though a crossing guard smiled, "Oh, that's cute!" Um, cute? We prefer "cool" and let me tell ya, we were more than cool yesterday! I had a chill all afternoon and evening. Note to self: next time wear long underwear and a scarf or face mask. But, overall it was worth it as we rode past a transport truck driving school and got several thumbs up and cheers from the drivers.

Now you can build your own style of Kyoto Cruiser Trike and join the Kyoto Cruiser Trike forum. It's going to be awesome seeing other trikes like this in the Builder's Gallery and on the roads soon!

As I type this, Brad is typing away at the Kyoto Cruiser Trike download to be released this week. It's a good week to hang out in front of the computer since it's raining, cloudy and generally dreary outside. A typical fall day. Last week's snow didn't stay on the ground and the weather over the weekend was still tolerable to do some yard work and go for a long walk. No biking last weekend, though (sigh).

It's almost 7 pm and it's getting pretty dark outside. When we change the clocks back on Oct. 29 ("fall back"), it will be dark by 6 pm, then by 5 pm in late November. I've never really understood the need to change the clocks back an hour in the fall. Maybe someone can post an explanation in the Garage Hacker's Chat forum. The sooner it gets darker outside, the harder it is to stay motivated, don't you think? Make you just want to curl up in a blanket with a hot cup of tea and hibernate for the next six months.

I'm already yawning and it's only 7 pm! Guess I'd better finish off my work for the day and go for a walk.

We really can't complain much about the weather here. We do have some intense summer and winter storms, although this summer was full of tornado and severe weather activity. In my youth, I remember wearing jackets in September as we were heading back to school, usually crisp mornings with frost and even snow on the ground. Most October months were cold, rain, snow, sleet, and Halloween was rarely a good night for Trick or Treating. We usually wore snow pants and long underwear underneath our costumes, and it took several cups of hot chocolate after our treat collecting to warm the chill from our bones.

Over 20 years later, the intense cold weather and snow seem to take their time to infiltrate our region. Two years ago, we had an unusual warm spell in January, all of the snow melted and we wore t-shirts outside! We have had many Christmas holidays without snow, even green grass. The following spring and summer were brutal for forest fires, though, and lake and river levels were extremely low. Global warming? You be the judge.

Received the decals yesterday and they are now in the Atomic Zombie store so check 'em out. They are designed to fit on typical square and conduit (EMT) tubing on bikes, trailers, bumpers, wherever. Have a great night.

It was bound to happen sooner or later - the snow hath cometh. Up to 1 cm (.5") today. Yesterday, the forecast called for up to 10 cm today, let's hope that the most recent prediction is correct. Our days scavenging at the dump are numbered. This past weekend I cleaned up the vegetable garden and cleaned up the yard a bit thank goodness. Last year I was so far behind then suddenly we got over a foot of snow and I was out there picking carrots in the middle of a snowstorm.

We rode our new Kyoto Cruiser Trike several times this past weekend. On Saturday, we went for a cruise for over two hours, taking pictures at various locations and turned alot of heads. We had people following us in their cars checking it out and giving us a "thumbs up". On Sunday, Brad installed the hub motor and took it to the grocery store. Almost an hour later he returned home (the store is less than a block from our house). He spent less than 10 minutes in the store, but the rest of the time, he was outside answering questions from curious people, then had to relocate to another part of the parking lot because there was a traffic jam as more people pulled in to check out the trike.

Then, we rode our Kyoto Cruiser Trike to Thanksgiving dinner with some side dishes that I'd prepared strapped to the back of the frame in a duffle bag. Everything, including us, arrived safely. Good thing we had the motor to help us along the way since the wind was really strong. Coming home, we turned on the front and back lights and made it home in about 15 minutes. Because we took a recreation trail part of the way, our time was actually faster than if we had been driving a gas guzzler. On Monday, we went for another ride and stopped at a local coffee shop for a rest and warm up. Over an hour and many conversations later with more interested folks, we were on our way again. It was pretty cool to get kudos from some motorcycle riders.

Smooth, sturdy, handles corners like a dream, fast, sleek - what else can you ask for in a ride!? I like the fact that we have independent pedaling systems and gears. When we need an extra boost for hill climbing or accelerating from a dead stop, the hub motor is a wonderful addition. Of course, under the 3-year pilot project here in Ontario, the maximum allowable speed of electric bikes is 32 km/h. The idea is to have a hub motor provide "electric assist" since the bike must have operating pedals. I guess you could only use the motor if you want, but where's the fun in that?! Half of the fun is getting exercise, fresh air and carrying on a conversation as you sit side-by-side. I hope that we have more nice days to take a day long cruise to the country and take in the fall colors.

So, next on the list is to get the Kyoto Cruiser Trike download and some video clips ready within the next week.

Decals should be coming next week, too, as well as more Bicycle Builder's Bonanza and 101 Spy Gadgets books.

Brad found something interesting about our book, Build Your Own All-Terrain Robot. Apparently, it's been popular in the United Kingdom recently, according to Google's Book Search project. We're listed in the Top 10 most viewed texts in English on Google http://books.guardian.co.uk/news/articles/0,,1888464,00.html . What an honor to be in the same list as Webster's Dictionary and Noam Chomsky. Our editor thought it was pretty cool, too. That's all for now.

Well, it's about time! Our province is finally getting the big picture. We can now ride our electric bikes (except Sparky) legally on roads and streets in Ontario, as long as the basic requirements are met. No special licenses, insurance or registration needed. Woo hoo!

Electric Bike Pilot Project To Give Ontarians An Environmentally-Friendly Transportation Option

TORONTO, Oct. 4 /CNW/ - The McGuinty government is testing a clean, healthy transportation alternative with the launch of a pilot allowing the use of e-bikes on Ontario roads, Transportation Minister Donna Cansfield announced today.

"Ontarians are looking for healthy, environmentally sensitive ways to get around," said Cansfield. "E-bikes are an easy-to-use transportation choice that reduce emissions and help cut traffic congestion." An e-bike can be pedaled like a bicycle or can be powered with an electric motor to a maximum speed of 32 kilometres an hour. Until now e-bikes were not permitted on Ontario roads. The Ministry is conducting a pilot test to ensure that e-bikes can safely share the road with other traffic and pedestrians. For the next three years, e-bikes will be permitted on all roads where conventional bicycles are currently allowed. Riders must be at least 16 years of age and they must wear a bicycle helmet while riding.

"Emissions from cars, trucks and buses contribute greatly to the quality of air we breathe. With e-bikes, more Ontarians can connect to the outdoors in an environmentally-friendly way," said Minister of the Environment Laurel Broten.

"Many people who would like to commute by bicycle are concerned about their ability to tackle hills and long distances. Electric assist bicycles allow more people to ride more often. We applaud the government for allowing
this option," added Juergen Weichert, spokesperson for the Electric Vehicle Council of Ottawa.

"Ontario has the safest roads in North America and the McGuinty government is committed to building on that record," added Cansfield. "The McGuinty government recognizes the importance of having a sustainable
transportation system that will support the needs of today while protecting our natural environment for the future. E-bikes encourage people to leave their cars at home. Ontarians now have more mobility choices that are
environmentally friendly, and this government encourages the safe use of these vehicles."

Full backgrounder and details can be found at www.mto.gov.on.ca .

Thanks to yesterday's warm, sunny weather, the trike was primed and painted. It's been a pretty warm fall so far compared to previous years, which is great for us since we have nowhere to paint indoors yet during the winter. We'll have to figure something out. Will be working on the seats this weekend, and if we can get them done, then we'll be taking our first real ride and taking some pictures and videos!

Monday, Oct. 9 is our Thanksgiving holiday here in Canada, and even though we aren't officially off from our jobs, maybe we'll have some time to take a ride. I love the fall. The colors are amazing, although the trees are just starting to turn auburn, red and brilliant orange. The pumpkins are still mainly green. Need some frosty weather so they'll ripen or we'll have green ones for Halloween. Hopefully, we'll be able to take some rides in the country and take in the scenery before it gets too cold.

As I write this, our new decals are being printed. We should have them here next week. Pretty excited about them, as it's the first time we've had decals made. They will be in the Atomic Zombie store next week. Stay tuned for more updates and announcements here and in the Support Forum.

It's going to be a warm day +20 °C today! Might actually get to make a few trips to the dump this week and clean up the yard. Put the Duct Tape Palace down for the season, poor thing. She's really showing her age. Found more small rips in the canvas and spots that have been leaking. Maybe next year will be her final camping year. Still beats sleeping on the ground.

I'm listening to a cool radio station from Sweden  - http://www.rockklassiker.com . They play alot of classic rock tunes like Iron Maiden, Scorpions, Whitesnake, Kiss, Bon Jovi, Judas Priest, Accept, Queen, Bachman Turner Overdrive, Alice Cooper, you name it. Might not understand what they're saying on the air, but the music is the best.

Brad spent most of the weekend getting the rest of our trike together, disc brakes and all. I think he plans to paint it tonight. We took it for a brief test ride over the weekend before the brakes were put on and I have to admit, it's AWESOME! We will be riding it to and from the grocery store every week after the paint cures as much as possible before there's too much snow on the ground. Who knows, maybe we'll be able to ride it for most of the winter. For quite a few years, we haven't had snow since mid to late December. Global warming.

Last week, we saw an excellent documentary at the theatre - An Inconvenient Truth. Learned alot about former U.S. Vice-President Al Gore and his lifelong commitment to environmental issues. Be a part of the solution, not the problem. Watch this movie. In fact, it should be required viewing in every school everywhere. I read on the site that it's coming out on DVD in November.

Our new trike is another way that we plan to address the global warming issue and emissions issues with the gas guzzling beasts of our roads. Plus, we plan to make an eco-friendly trailer next year using solar and electric power technologies More on this exciting project in the coming months. Stay tuned for the trike download next week!

Atomic Zombie Extreme Machines web stats for September 2006