Ready for the Tour Alberta for Cancer Ride

Well, as ready as I can be. I’ve got the car packed with bike gear, bike’s on the rack, bag is packed (with a change of clothes and toiletries). Today I got a haircut (it’s going to be hot tomorrow) and cleaned my bike’s chain and put the number plates on front and back.

I’ll be riding with Joel and Duncan tomorrow. More on that tomorrow.

Also, a package I’d been waiting for for a while came today. I waited for 22 days, to be precise. Who knew that non-expedited package service from China was so slow? Anyhow.

I’ve modified a watch. It’s the Casio AE1200, a world time digital watch that has been on the market since the 1990’s. As I’ve been using more watches lately, I’ve come to realize a few things.

1. I like watches with a steel bracelet. There’s something about the heft, shine, whatever that makes it feel substantial.
2. Whatever snobbery might exist in the watch world, I feel like watches are a middle ground between a tool and jewelry. High-cost automatic watches are beautiful pieces of art, but I like functionality, too.
3. I like colour. Just like Tammy likes jewelry that has colour to it, I like a splash of colour.

This watch is dubbed the “Casio Royale” in watch circles. It’s a play on the name of the Bond film Casino Royale, due to a superficial resemblance to the Seiko G757 that Roger Moore wore in Octopussy. I guess the name “Casiopussy” was taken. 😂 It’s been adopted by enthusiasts as being:

• cheap
• tough
• functional (more functions than a $300,000 automatic watch)
• easy to customize

And so I chose to try that out. I took the module from a $39 plastic watch, and wrapped it in a new stainless steel case with a solid-link steel bracelet. And to give it some flash, a green screen film from a German supplier. Putting a $20 movement in a $300 case, or giving an excellent (if inexpensive) module a fitting home? Who’s to say?

I’m really thrilled with how it turned out. The case and bracelet scream “quality”, and the fact that it’s a digital watch takes me back to when they were cool. I’ve got other screen films in different gradients as part of my order from Germany. Might try applying a different one in the future.