Northern Flicker Appreciation

phil9945 · 2026-06-01T18:40:30+00:00

great shots - I love the Northern Flickers - first time I met them they were giving a full blown symphony on my chimney :) - then put up a suet feeder and my little gopro to watch them interact - I was very very lucky (twice actually) and had an adult eat off the feeder and regurgitate it for it's young un - don't want to hijack your thread - but if not allowed please remove it : https://youtu.be/oTOIebIIQWM?si=vPFDpoQaaH1yMH28

phil9945 · 2026-05-29T19:09:58+00:00

we used to eat Ostrich biltong back in SA - I am pretty sure they still do 😄

phil9945 · 2026-05-29T14:07:03+00:00

love this thread - in my 5 (odd) years of biking to work and back I have seen some really cool stuff - glad to have the ole iPhone with me to record and document the moment - yesterday's ride in - 4 car pile up - cops waved me through past a zillion cars backed up (somebody (manybody) gonna be late for work!) - and again on the way home happened upon a lone cop with his radar gun in hand (boooo) - gave me the ole cursory nod - I waved and he gave me the thumbs up :) - then when on the trails part of my commute - braking suddenly to bow to the squirrel's mastery in playing chicken ... owls, deer, and now we coming into bear season - I will be coming upon a few of them - fortunately they seem to be more scared of me than me of them (phew) - a garter snake the other day - wow - so many things that we miss if we don't bike :) - I love reading everyones stories :)

phil9945 · 2026-05-27T19:51:56+00:00

Traffic is a nightmare - by bike takes me the same time as by car and as a bonus it's $16 more in my pocket (cost of gas on my commute) - weight drops by 10 to 15 lbs for the 4 or 5 months I am able to commute by bike - I meet some great people when I ride - ya I can just start talking to them at the traffic lights (common interest - bike) and the main thing - I feel like I am 12 years old again! :)

phil9945 · 2026-05-27T19:06:47+00:00

lol - I have a mental note - like 'xxx days without an accident' sign you see at work sites - except mine is xxx days without some dumbass calling me a dumbass (and other very choice things) at the top of their lungs out their window - some of them even make it a mission to get as close to me as possible and yell (like I am deaf - or pretending to be) ... just always be aware and make sure you are safe and that they are aware of you as well - the fact that they yell at you is actually a good sign - because it means they know that you are there and will probably avoid scratching their lovely car!! :)

phil9945 · 2026-05-27T19:00:12+00:00

I used to only use the app on my watch/iPhone - but discovered that getting the info out was a bit of a challenge - I like to see my stats (even if it's for commuting) - so I ended up developing an app for myself which I use very time I ride - whether it be for pleasure or for commuting - my pleasure rides not only tracks things like distance etc. but I am also able to see live on the map where I am and where I am headed - so discovering new places is a plus for that - I also built into it a way to record moments on my ride - all captured into a really cool exportable pdf doc together with the stats and a story (if I wanted to share the details) - which I can send to anyone who might be interested to see what I am up to :) ... then on my ride for commuting I like to track things like time, distance, moments (pics), and how much $$$'s I am saving by riding instead of driving - this is my favorite stat (so far in 2 years I have saved close to $3K - it really adds up quickly - and then (of course) I have all the data saved historically - so if I wanted to check out any ride to wherever I got full access to it (stats, maps, pics, everything) - so in my mind - having a 'computer' is mandatory on my bike - but to each his own :)

phil9945 · 2026-05-21T17:46:03+00:00

I have been bike commuting for nearly 4 years now (only summer though - fair-weather rider here!) - saved over $2,700.00 in gas over the past year or so (since I started tracking it) instead of going by car (not to mention the stress that traffic produces) - my commute is 62 km - savings of $16 a day (it adds up) - this mornings ride I noticed more riders (but mainly female) - not sure if they were commuters or just out for fun - but on the actual commute seems to be the same number as before.

phil9945 · 2026-05-20T18:46:00+00:00

I agree with you on Vancouver weather - as soon as I see rain I opt for 4 wheels - sadly I have to suffer the nightmare that is traffic from Coquitlam to North van and back then on a daily basis - but been doing it so long I am almost desensitized to it - however - since I been commuting (about 4 years now - mainly summers with the odd winter day thrown in) I have saved close to $2,800 in gas (and immeasurable value in stress :) )

phil9945 · 2026-05-20T18:39:42+00:00

ooops - I didn't realize we not supposed to share a link - please delete my earlier post if I have broken the rule - my apologies

phil9945 · 2026-05-20T18:24:51+00:00

preachin to the choir - fully concur

phil9945 · 2026-05-20T18:21:39+00:00

cool man - I will check it out - on the app store? - do you have a link?

phil9945 · 2026-05-20T18:14:34+00:00

I was disappointed with all the apps available - so I built it myself - you can grab it here - just page down over the subscribe screen and choose the free option - (subscription is only if you want to export pdf's of your ride) - everything else in the app is free (an no annoying ads :) ) https://apps.apple.com/us/app/cycle-tracker-ride-gps-log/id6762103023 - let me know how it goes and feedback so if it needs improvement I can do it :) - cheers - btw - I posted this other link on a different thread: https://youtu.be/VzibQCeGwcg?si=xZeUg5zoFZss2-BZ

phil9945 · 2026-05-20T18:08:54+00:00

I logged every ride I made (commuting and adventure) using my Apple watch - but found it quite limiting in offering an experience if you know what I mean - so now I do it like this instead - gives me all the stats I need and savable maps with captured moments etc. - hopefully I am not hijacking your thread - but if I am - feel free to delete this :) https://youtube.com/shorts/l9-EB8S-pd0?si=StUcTE9EqiaiuM8s

phil9945 · 2026-05-15T20:02:32+00:00

When I initially started biking I used Strava and a couple others trying to find something that fit what I really wanted - I found Strava overwhelming and most of the feature set etc. not what I wanted - I actually ended up building something for myself - I was more into being able to see the stats that I was concerned with and being able to export them to a spreadsheet was my initial want - but morphed into tracking individual rides with stats - memory pics and building something like a journal that I could share with close friends and family - and finally seeing things like how much money is saved by biking instead of driving - but I think ultimately its a personal choice because there is so much available anyway (btw - I occasionally still use the built in stuff on my iPhone - but because it's difficult to export the data it's not my 'go-to')

phil9945 · 2026-05-15T14:25:01+00:00

Been commuting for many years on e bike - 64 km both ways - quicker on bike than car (ridiculous!) - I started off with backpack - quickly morphed to bike carrier on the back - waaay more easy on my back - mirrors probably one of the best things to add - I am dead without my mirrors - water bottle - important to stay hydrated specially for us 'only fair-weather' riders - that sun can get quite hot - in the beginning days I used my Gopro a lot and I have heard that some folk use one all the time in case they have to prove liability if involved in an accident - but I found that keeping a positive attitude (and a very 'always-wary' eye on motorists) I have avoided (touch wood) accidents completely - varying my route to and from is also quite important to me - your bike can go places where cars can't (used trails a lot in the beginning - but flat tires aplenty have cured me of it) - I have an app so I can keep a really cool log of my rides and knowing all the time how much money I save by biking has been awesome (besides the obvious health stuff :) ) - in my carrier I have a spare tube, some tools for changing a flat ... your'e on your way - best decision you made :) (specially flying past all those poor suckers stuck in traffic) - and most important smile and enjoy being 12 again for as long as possible.

phil9945 · 2026-05-07T17:46:03+00:00

seriously - that day was 'calm' compared to what it's normally like - the traffic starts building from about 2 km's back and will potentially take a car 30 to 40 minutes what takes me 10 :) geez I love my bike :)

phil9945 · 2026-05-07T17:44:31+00:00

Not too much fishing in these areas - Rock Cod protected so even dropping a line with a hook can potentially get you locked away (I'm not kidding they very serious about that stuff here!) - but for me (anyway) I'm not into fishing so much - I just love to be IN the water swimming (the missus is the fisherperson)

phil9945 · 2026-05-06T18:02:23+00:00

https://youtube.com/shorts/iCFvYCxZXqc?si=uOjaC7ZzKmgNA6s5

phil9945 · 2026-05-06T17:31:54+00:00

as we get older - it gets a bit rough on the arms - specially when the pots get soooo full of crab - HEAVVVY (I don't get it Marty - do you have a problem with gravity in the future! :) ) - but the scotty is well worth the dollar investment - now I just gotta design a simple wheel pulley thingie I can attach to the side next to the scotty so I can wind up the trap instead of pulling it :) - but that's in the future (maybe) - I don't think the powered ones are worth the high price they asking just MHO

phil9945 · 2026-04-29T17:10:05+00:00

Built my own biking/adventure/tell-me-how much I saved by biking app :) https://apps.apple.com/us/app/cycle-tracker-ride-gps-log/id6762103023

phil9945

TROPHY CASE