The Experience of a Bicycle

I’ve been running chainsaws off and on for years. You’ve got to be careful, I do a lot in the winter and have learned to quit when I get tired, which is just a couple of hours these days. A pic from last week cutting rounds for firewood. I were chaps and a logging helmet too.

Fast e bikes, slow e bikes? I could care less until some idiot causes me to wreck, then I’ll find out how mad I can get.
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I’ve been running chainsaws off and on for years. You’ve got to be careful, I do a lot in the winter and have learned to quit when I get tired, which is just a couple of hours these days. A pic from last week cutting rounds for firewood. I were chaos and a logging helmet too.

Fast e bikes, slow e bikes? I could care less until some idiot causes me to wreck, then I’ll find out how mad I can get.
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Is that white oak? It is very hard wood. Chains need to be kept sharp and cannot be the cheap ones with wood like that. I would Stihl rather talk with beautiful women from Southern France about bikes.
 

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This tree just fell a couple days ago. We got a quote of $500 to remove it. Is that a fair estimate? I was gonna do it myself with my neighbor but he's close to 70 and my little baby chainsaw is too small. I could buy a new chain saw for $500 though. Anyways , supporting a local business works for me too. It looks to me like the tree possibly had pitch canker or Annosus root rot. There was a ton of sap on one side of the tree. From our vantage point the tree appeared to be healthy. But the side facing up you can see tons of sap. I also noticed tons of large mushroom fungus around the base of the tree.
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$500 for cut up & haul off is a great price. Don't pay all in advance, may be a teaser rate for a chainsaw artist that leaves it all laying in your yard. Our dump charges $100 per thousand pounds for waste. The city will haul off up to 4 cans of yard waste a week, but it has to be cut up in cans of <70 lb.
 
As a consulting arborist and trainer chain saw training was the biggest PIA (profanity?). Every other tom dick and harry were clueless. I approved very few gardeners to run chainsaws. YouTube videos of chainsaw users demonstrate just how clueless many macho men are idgets with chainsaws. My approved staff wore helments, faceshields with chaps and vests that snagged chains and shut the saws down. Ear protection is a must.
I had to fall back on the hour long class on chainsaws we had in forestry school.

At the time of the sodomizing, I was unemployed and got a phone call asking in a negative way, would I want to work on the thinning crew. (You wouldn't want to work on the thinning crew would you?) I surprised them and said yes. I showed up, was given a saw along with chaps, etc. The safety lecture was, "Here's your saw, don't hurt yourself. The crew started cutting, I started cutting. It was painful for a week. Pretty soon one guy started giving me some tips, and I'd figured out quite a bit.

Fast forward 30 years. One of the guys was in Portland when I was there and we met. He said, "Remember the tree thinning? You do know that you were not supposed to last." I had a look of puzzlement on my face and he explained that they had a pool going on how many hours I would last. They all got their money back. I lasted until my real job started, and then even came back for more saw fun in the late fall.

Also years later, I walked into a chainsaw certification class dripping blood a bit. I'd cut my hand while filing my chain with one glove on. Gots to have some bare fingers to feel the chain. That set a good mood for the class. Oh, I passed and was recertified. Here's my assistant waiting for me to get going. We have a trail to open up!
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Now, back to bikes. This is the first time I've ever seen someone riding with studded tires on a bike. And, they are just as noisy on bare pavement as they are on a car. It was an acoustic bike flying down the hill.
 
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I used chainsaws daily for four years. They are vulgar. The danger and vibrations are constant. It is stressful. In a calming mode, I went for a ride this morning. It was crisp and sunny. Afterward I stopped for coffee and a snack. The French Mushroom Herb soup has brie melting in it. And I had a half-hour conversation with two of the most lovely women visiting from Nice, France. They are each 1.6 meters tall. I will see them again on Saturday. They are very into bikes and ride daily. Nice is the place with palm trees and red tile roofs along the Mediterranean and backed by the stunning Alps.
Sounds like a wonderful morning in Nor-Cal.
 
This tree just fell a couple days ago. We got a quote of $500 to remove it. Is that a fair estimate? I was gonna do it myself with my neighbor but he's close to 70 and my little baby chainsaw is too small. I could buy a new chain saw for $500 though. Anyways , supporting a local business works for me too. It looks to me like the tree possibly had pitch canker or Annosus root rot. There was a ton of sap on one side of the tree. From our vantage point the tree appeared to be healthy. But the side facing up you can see tons of sap. I also noticed tons of large mushroom fungus around the base of the tree. View attachment 140385View attachment 140386
A text book example of a tree failure from girdling roots. Grown in pots and poorly managed nursery.
 
In the woods out here we have canabolistic bananas.
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$500 sounds like a lot to me but I have the tools to take care of it myself. If they can drive a truck right up to it to haul it off 2 guys could take care of it in 2 to 4 hours. Then they have the cost of chainsaws, a truck, maybe a chipper, insurance, workers comp…………..It gets expensive for the business.
 
I’ve been running chainsaws off and on for years. You’ve got to be careful, I do a lot in the winter and have learned to quit when I get tired, which is just a couple of hours these days. A pic from last week cutting rounds for firewood. I were chaps and a logging helmet too.

Fast e bikes, slow e bikes? I could care less until some idiot causes me to wreck, then I’ll find out how mad I can get.
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Wow, those don't look much like my Stilhl that I bought back in the 90's! PS, That's a good thing.
 
Wow, those don't look much like my Stilhl that I bought back in the 90's! PS, That's a good thing.
I was a Husqvarna guy with a 26" bar for big trees. I became so good it was like golfing to land a tree 'on the green.' At first I had hang-ups, the physical kind, when a fallen tree hangs in the branches of another tree. That is dangerous. That coastal forest was overloaded and neglected for decades. It needed air, light, and biodiversity. All with constant sprocket lube with each cut and as much time maintaining as use. After four years I became like a Marine with an M-16, maintaining my saws. That forest was my artwork at that time, now it is bikes.
 

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I was a Husqvarna guy with a 26" bar for big trees. I became so good it was like golfing to land a tree 'on the green.' At first I had hang-ups, the physical kind, when a fallen tree hangs in the branches of another tree. That is dangerous. That coastal forest was overloaded and neglected for decades. It needed air, light, and biodiversity. All with constant sprocket lube with each cut and as much time maintaining as use. After four years I became like a Marine with an M-16, maintaining my saws. That forest was my artwork at that time, now it is bikes.
Gump for President!
 
Turned out to be a tougher job than they anticipated. Glad I hired them. The last two stumps gave them some trouble. The tree was much further to the left up a steep hill. They went to get the bigger chipper. Not sure why they didn't cut up the last portion? It's white pine. This was only about a 1/4 of the equipment they used.
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This is the owner of the crew that did the cut. One of his bigger cuts. He said he has a bigger one he needs to upload. He repurposes the wood in many ways. I'm gonna see if I can get a slab from my tree just for memories. It was a good tree that lived a good life and fell without a harm. God is good , and I am blessed to have such abundance.
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THIS is a chainsaw. I used to harvest a lot of huge urban trees for woodturning.
You know for $500 I thought I could get myself a nice chainsaw but after watching these guys. I was happy to support local business. I cut most of the stuff around my house with a smaller blade. But your chainsaw has me drooling. Very nice
 
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Valuable as lumber. They made a pretty penny and got paid to log it.
He had about 12 guys on the job and around 4-5 massive trucks and equipment. If he sells the tree for $1000 he lost on labor.


As a manager of 30+ years I could tell he underbid by the look on his face.


The two hour job took 6 hours.

Either way if he's richer for it , than so be it.

I did ask for a slab ,he's gonna call me. I really miss the tree , I felt a sense of loss when it fell.
 
You never know how these forum discussions turn when it gets beyond the original topic. But more often than not, here on this forum, these extended discussions take a nice turn & reveals what a wonderful, multi-talented bunch you all really are!

It's a pleasure and a great learning experience, most everytime I check-in here. And it's thanks to all of you!
 
He had about 12 guys on the job and around 4-5 massive trucks and equipment. If he sells the tree for $1000 he lost on labor.


As a manager of 30+ years I could tell he underbid by the look on his face.


The two hour job took 6 hours.

Either way if he's richer for it , than so be it.

I did ask for a slab ,he's gonna call me. I really miss the tree , I felt a sense of loss when it fell.
The picture didn't look like that big of a job. How big was the tree actually?
 
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