Frostbike

https://www.amazon.ca/Frostbike-Pain-Numbness-Winter-Cycling-ebook/dp/B00LT3CRNU/ref=tmm_kin_swatch_0?_encoding=UTF8&qid=1686962282&sr=8-1

Frostbike: what a fun read!  I laughed so much reading it on my kindle reader.   I have been biking in winter for 4 years now and was wondering why I seemed to be one of the only people riding a bike in winter.  Tom Babin answered this question quite humorously.  The answer is simply in our mindset.

I grew up in Montreal where snowbanks in winter could be as high as the roof of the house and the temperature could get to -40C and we still had to go to school and my father had to go to work.  It was so cold the cars were not able to start.  We would play outside, build snowmen, throw snow balls, skate, play hockey, build forts, ski, and travel in storms.  Winter was fun and a normal part of our life.   I never bicycled in winter as a child but my mother kept telling me every year that my uncle would bicycle in winter, going up steep hills with his bicycle with balloon tires.  Winter bike riding was always normal for me; I just did not get to do that yet, until 4 years ago.  When I moved to Toronto, I remember thinking that we did not get much of a winter here.  It was so mild that I had not even shovelled the driveway once.  Why I seemed to be the only one of the few people, let alone women, riding in winter was something I wanted to understand.

Tom Babin takes us through his own experience struggling with winter bike riding in Calgary while going to work.  Bad traffic convinced him to give bicycle commuting a try.  He found out that the bike commute, in winter, was faster than driving by car!  Biking allowed him to save time, be fit and be in good spirits.  Riding a bicycle instead of his car also allowed him to save quite a lot of money.  His attitude was “learn as you go”.  Relating his personal struggles was quite meaningful to me, as no other person talked to me about their experience riding in winter.  There are many YouTube channels about bicycling, about bikes, but I have not seen anything about riding bikes in winter.  His documented experience is precious.

Babin has come to understand that any bicycle can be used to ride in winter.  It all depends on the conditions you ride in.  Icy conditions are the most concerning.  I agree, with a few comments.  In my experience, we can ride with hybrid tires all winter on a maintained path.  Even a maintained path can have ice, though.  I slipped a few times and I fell once, because of ice in 4 years of riding three to four times a week .  Regular mountain bike tires were excellent to travel across the GTA.  I never fell with that.  I would not use any mountain bicycle clunker though.  The first entry level mountain bike I purchased had structural damage after one year of use.  I was riding a wobbly bicycle.  I threw it away, not even thinking about giving it away.  I also had to get the brakes fixed as they did not stop fast enough when I did spot an icy patch.  A good mountain bike is in order for winter riding in the snow.   Riding in winter causes rust on the bike but parts can be changed easily with little cost.  Babin talks about studs.  I have never used them before.  The roads and trails are well maintained in the GTA.  I never felt the need for them, so far.  I did not have to cross a river on ice, as I did as a child.  Mountain bike tires were quite good.  My next step, in terms of winter cycling would be Fatbikes.  Babin did not use Fatbikes either.  He seems to think that it would open a new large area of exploration.  Fatbikes can ride on loosely packed snow and give the feeling that you are riding on a cloud. That seems interesting and worth exploring further.  Fat bikes could be used up to 140 km long rides.  They are not as fast as road bikes though.

The mindset area of the book was fascinating.  He has come to understand that winter is the enemy in most people’s minds.  It’s a mindset.  Winter is a metaphor for death;  winter is the enemy.  People hate it so much that we try to will it away.  It was not always like that.  It is a new phenomena.  People spend nearly an entire season indoors so they become disconnected from its reality.  The fun aspect of it is lost.  Avoidance begets hate.

He mentions that most cities don’t even bother counting the number of cyclists in the winter because they are perceived to be too few.  Bicycles are considered kids toys.  The GTA has many completely separate bike paths designed for cycling year round but winter cyclists are perceived as zealots, oddballs, or deranged by most people.  It is also considered an activity for the poor.  Popular culture, daily news, and city designs make sure people continue to think like that.  At best, winter cycling is considered an extreme sport, like Gaul during the Giro?  All these mindsets, misconceptions, and images are hard to change.   It is encouraging that there are people trying to break those moulds, trying to create new more accurate images.

People lost the habit of dressing for winter.  Teenagers go without winter coats and boots because they can.  They don’t have to be outside for more than a few minutes.  People waiting at bus stops are freezing because they are not dressed warmly enough.  All the while cyclists in winter try to make sure not to sweat because riding a bike causes our bodies to produce a lot of heat.

There is hardly any research on winter biking.  Why do people ride in winter?  What prevents them from riding?  What could be done to encourage them?  Only a few studies are available. Babin said that one of his motivators for riding in winter is that the activity made him feel exceptional.  It gave him status but he started to dislike the comments he received from others.  He also enjoyed the beautiful, inspiring, soul-calming locations we get to see on a bike.

There are very few days when it is impossible to ride a bike in winter.  Toronto has an average temperature of -3.3C .  Temperatures down to -20C are possible to ride in.  I personally rode in colder temperatures and with wind gusts up to 70 km/hr.

The average number of days in which the daily minimum temperature is colder than -30C are few or non-existent.  Our PERCEPTION of winter is the biggest influence on the number of people willing to take a chance with winter cycling.  Babin tried to embrace the season by doing more fun activities in winter so he would like it, change his mindset.  He spent more time outdoors in winter with friends.  At the end of the book he relates that he went to work and he found ONE other bicycle parked next to his.

In my case,  my 3 year old granddaughter loves to ride in winter.   She started riding in winter at 2 years of age.  She explains to her uncles how to dress properly, by adding snow pants and that she loves her mountain bike.

I hope that she (and now her siblings) will have as much fun, pleasure, enjoyment, interest and satisfaction as I do and that she will remain connected to and engaged with nature in all their forms.  It is all for a good cause:  climate change.  Nature is a source of knowledge.  Cycling in winter keeps us in excellent health, physically and mentally.  It keeps us in touch with reality.  We can see the world from a different perspective.

Hopscotch: create with code

The Ontario Ministry of Education offers a new Mathematics curriculum in 2020.  This curriculum offers major changes with the introduction of coding for all students from grade 1 to 12.  This presentation done with Prezi offers examples from grade 4 to 8.  It integrates concepts of the math curriculum, science curriculum, language curriculum and physical education.

https://prezi.com/_dvsffu2d4bv/?utm_campaign=share&utm_medium=copy

 

Notes of the presentation:

Flight – Google Docs

 

 

 

Réussite Mathématique

La réussite mathématique

L’apprentissage du code et de l’intelligence artificielle est à la portée des enfants.

Présentation Prezi:

https://prezi.com/y5omyqfblt6e/?utm_campaign=share&utm_medium=copy

Notes de la présentation:

vie sur mars

Passer à l’action avec l’infrarouge

Passer à l’action avec l’infrarouge

Une grande majorité de nos enseignants et nos élèves sont sédentaires.  Ils ne bénéficient donc pas des grands effets positifs de l’exercice sur la santé physique et la santé mentale.  A l’aide d’un téléphone portable, d’une caméra FLIR, d’un vélo et ses effets sur la motivation en allant à l’extérieur, nous allons explorer la thermographie infrarouge dans la science du sport et les effets du transport à vélo sur l’environnement.  De plus, les photos infrarouges prises avec la caméra FLIR peuvent être intégrées à la programmation avec Hopscotch et l’intelligence artificielle afin de créer des situations novatrices dans la salle de classe permettant de résoudre nos problèmes de société les plus importants dont la santé durable.

http://prezi.com/va83sxev3l2c/?utm_campaign=share&utm_medium=copy&rc=ex0share

 

Notes en français:

passer à l’action-19znr2p

English notes:

take action-1vewpn7

A large majority of our teachers and our students are sedentary. They do not benefit from the great positive effects of exercise on physical health and mental health. Using a cellular phone, a FLIR camera, a bicycle and its effects on motivation when going outside, we will explore infrared thermography in the science of sport and the effects of cycling on the environment. In addition, infrared photos taken with the FLIR camera can be integrated with Hopscotch programming and artificial intelligence to create innovative classroom situations to solve our most important societal issues like sustainable health.

La classe de l’avenir

La liste des demandes aux enseignants est longue :  il y a l’intelligence émotionnelle, la littératie, les mathématiques, l’évaluation, le sport, les sorties scolaires, l’intelligence artificielle, l’environnement, les devoirs, préparer nos élèves pour des emplois qui n’existent pas encore et j’en passe.  Comment y arriver ?  Avec une grande mission thème, comme l’exemple de trouver la vie extra-terrestre sur la planète Mars, on vous invite à explorer le numérique avec plusieurs technologies intégrées de façon cohérente.  Nous verrons principalement comment nos connaissances peuvent rester actuelles avec Twitter, tout en intégrant ce qu’on a appris en utilisant la programmation avec Hopscotch et la prise de photo infrarouge, pour obtenir la classe de demain, aujourd’hui.

Présentation Prezi

http://prezi.com/tsxsm0clp7vr/?utm_campaign=share&utm_medium=copy

 

Notes de la présentation:

la cohérence avec le numérique-1mme63f

 

Translation:

coherence with digital-14acpkf

 

The list of demands to teachers is long: there is emotional intelligence, literacy, mathematics, assessment, sports, field trips, artificial intelligence, environment, homework, preparing our students for jobs that do not exist yet and so on. How to get there ? With a great mission theme, such as the example of finding extra-terrestrial life on the planet Mars, we invite you to explore the digital world with several technologies integrated in a coherent way. We will see how our knowledge can stay current with Twitter, while incorporating what we learned using Hopscotch programming and infrared photography, to get tomorrow’s class, today.

La médecine sportive avec l’infrarouge

Idea of a presentation using a FLIR infrared camera and an iPad.

 

Background resources for a possible presentation:

Article from l’actualité:

https://lactualite.com/sante-et-science/2018/06/22/mettre-le-monde-en-mouvement/?utm_campaign=daily&utm_source=newsletter&utm_medium=email&utm_content=article1_button

World Health Organization new plan: “Let’s be active”

http://www.who.int/ncds/prevention/physical-activity/gappa

 

 

Présentation avec Popplet

popplet

Popplet is a software to create graphic organizers.  It works with a computer and on the iPad.  It allows students to clarify, organize and deepen their thinking.

 

Prezi:  Approfondir sa pensée avec Popplet.

http://prezi.com/a2m7qal3ucin/?utm_campaign=share&utm_medium=copy&rc=ex0share

 

Texte de la présentation:

popplet_pres_old

 

 

Grooveedgeucation

photo 1 (45)

 

photo 2 (47)

http://thegrooveedgeucation.com/edgeucators/

Students had an opportunity to learn the basics of dance today with a professional dance instructor from Grooveedgeucation.    They learned there is no good of bad way to dance.  Dancing is done with their entire body:  their heart, their mind, their expression.  I was not present during the entire session. At the end, students had a good workout, they learned the principles of dance during the 45 minute session.  There are pictures here that show students taking two minutes of complete silence to return to a calm state.  The second picture shows students taking deep breath before returning to class.  Dancing in such a way is a great way to release stress.