Back in the Saddle...Again!

It's been a long time.  Yeah.  I know.  Life (and Candy Crush and Zuma Blitz) gets in the way.  It's not that I haven't been riding.  I have.  It's been nothing exciting though.  What's fun about riding to and from work every day?  Well, except for the going home part.  That's fun.

We have had a most glorious spring.  I finally kicked myself in the butt to get out for a ride on my own.  I am motivated too.  In the winter, I signed up for a 90Km bike ride.  It's the Medio part of the GranFondo in the Fraser Valley.  I have never ridden with a whole lot of other cyclists, so I will be quite a lot out of my comfort zone.  Actually, it scares the crap out of me.

Anyway.  Spectacular spring day.  We had a good run in the morning, so nothing like a short bike ride to fill in the afternoon.  I had planned to ride down to Deas Island Park, but didn't have enough time.  Actually, I didn't want to take the time since I felt a bit guilty about leaving hubby power washing the deck and patio.  So, I rode down along the river for half an hour and then back for half an hour.

Why do we always have to have headwind?  Coming home was a better, but it was a bit of a slog on the way out.  I did manage to stop and take this beautiful shot though.

Perfect shot to end a perfect ride!

Not Every Ride

Has to be a hard workout.  Today I took a ride with my friend Linda and her two adorable grandsons, Owen and Caleb.  I think Owen is about 11 and Caleb is 9.

I met the 3 of them at the bottom of the hill where we hauled all the bikes across the railroad tracks and headed down the greenway path to look for blackberries.   It was fun having riding partners and travelling at a more leisurely pace.

Along the greenway is a large berm that separates the highway from the path and is also covering a large pipe that belongs to Metro Vancouver.  There is stair access so workers can get to points to check on the pipe.  It also allows hungry berry pickers to climb up and check out the blackberry vines at the very top.  I don't know why I didn't think of this before.  We hit the mother lode!  They are in bright sunshine and were big, juicy and hundreds of them.

We started picking while Linda's older grandson headed with his bike down a little further.  About 5 minutes later, he came back with a VERY FLAT tire.  Poor guy.  We teased him and told him he should've waited till Thursday because we were taking a class on how to repair a flat on Wed. night.  I don't think he found our humour all that funny.  So, I stayed with Caleb while Linda walked Owen and his bike down to be picked up by Grandpa John.

I had no idea what adorable chatterboxes 9 year old boys can be.  I was totally entertained while picking the berries.

We ended up getting a nice bucket full and will go back for more.  We only did about 6 miles at an easy pace, but it was a totally enjoyable way to spend an afternoon.

There is nothing that smells like summer more than the smell of wild blackberries in the sunshine along the trail.

Back in the Saddle

Poor Black Beauty has been feeling somewhat neglected.  We have only been going to and from work (that's no fun) and short errands like to the library and Weight Watchers meetings.  That all came to an end yesterday though.  I finally got in a good ride.

I had planned to bike to Westham Island and check out the wineries, farm stands and whatever else they have there.  I got a bit of a late start though, so thought it might be a bit overly ambitious.  The round trip would be about 45 Km.  I opted instead to head out along River Road and go into Deas Island Park again.  It was a bit of a tough go, even though the road was flat.  I had a pretty brisk headwind heading out.  It was gorgeous in the park, but lots and lots of people.

I discovered this really great old Victorian house.  The photo doesn't even come close to doing it justice.  The house and the beautiful flower garden in the front were breathtaking.  Isn't it a beauty?

After a short jaunt through the park, I headed back out to the highway.  I'd seen another sign for a bike route and thought I would check it out.   I led me along a meandering road that went past horse farms, old farm  houses and fields of corn.  I wasn't sure where I'd come out, but I suspected it would take me to Hwy. 10.  I was half right.  I ended up riding for what seemed like forever and finally saw signs of another highway.  There was quite a lot of traffic, so it was a bit dicey for a few minutes.  When I got to where I thought I wanted to go, I was standing there with my bike thinking, "Holy shit, this looks like the FREEWAY!!"  Traffic was whizzing by really fast, but I finally got to the other side and onto the shoulder of the road.  Luckily it was not the freeway, but the new highway to the ferry terminal which had a really nice bike lane.  It's a new connector, so it's no wonder I was a bit disoriented at first.  

Soon, I came to Hwy 10 and knew exactly where I was.  The ride back home was nice.  I had a tailwind this time around.  I was pretty tired though and I'll tell you, nothing in the world tasted better than the Kashi Chia, dark chocolate and salted almond granola bar.  The bar was all soft and melty from sitting in my pack in the sun, but it was the tastiest granola bar I've ever had.

Funny thing about this ride is I ended up not going to my original destination because I thought it would be too far.  This one ended up being 40Km.  The Westham Island would've only added 4Km to that and would've been a much more scenic ride.  Oh well, live and learn.  At least I know I can ride that far without any problem.

My legs were wonderfully tired and my mind very mellowed out.  Great ride.

Saturday Evening Rides

I am really loving my after dinner rides.  There isn't a lot of traffic and it keeps me from wanting dessert.  All good stuff.  Of course, if I choose to have dessert when I get home, I have it knowing that it won't go straight to my butt.

It's been so hot here the last few days, but it seems easier for me to ride than to run.  I guess having the wind in my face helps keep me cooler.

Last night, I rode down to the dyke.  I was planning on riding to 72nd Street and turn down by King's Links Golf Course, but saw a sign for a winery down a different street and decided to check that out.  No, I did not go in to sample.  I would've never made it home.  It was a nice ride past blueberry, potato and corn fields and then this nice little winery.  It looked like it had a guest house.  Maybe I will check it out in a bit more detail on another ride.

I decided to get off the dyke by the Boundary Bay Air Park.  It's really dusty out there right now.  It was deliciously cool with the breeze coming off the water, and quite pretty at high tide, but the dust was not fun to deal with.  So, heading back, I almost wiped my bike out from trying to stop too fast after spotting a huge eagle nest with mama or papa eagle standing guard above it.  I just stood there watching him watch me.  It was breathtaking.

Too Hot to Handle

The weather that is.  We've hit a hot spell.  The hot weather, combined with going back to work after a week of vacation means that Black Beauty has been a little bit neglected this week.  I'm still doing the riding to and from work and short trips like to the library and my Weight Watchers meeting, but that's about it.

My ride home yesterday was a bit unsettling.  I am a very careful cyclist and never do anything unexpected.  However, there is no accounting for pyschotic semi truck drivers or new semi truck drivers.  The words "student driver" on the side of a semi truck will forever strike fear into my heart as I have flashbacks to being pushed into the gutter as he went past yesterday.  I couldn't even take one hand off the handle bars to give him an obscene gesture as he came closer and closer to me.  No sign on the back of his truck so I could find out what company allowed such an idiot behind the wheel.

OK, I need to calm down now, so I will go to my happy place and post some nice photos from my last ride down on the Boundary Bay Dike.  So beautiful there right now.  It's good for what ails you.

Lessons I've learned from cycle commuting.

1. Never, never say (at least where anyone can hear you
"Only a wimp puts fenders on a mountain bike." You will spend a lot of time walking around with a stripe of mud up your butt in order to save face.

2. Always carry enough change for the bus. The time you don't is the time you will have your 3rd flat tire and have to push it four miles home in a snow storm.

3. Even though the city you live in brags about being cycle friendly, THEY ARE LYING!! The roads are full of rubble and bike eating potholes.

4. Always assume you are invisible to motorists. For the most part, you are.

5. Never assume that because you have made eye contact with a motorist they have seen you.

6. Resist the urge to do seriously bodily harm to drivers or pedestrians that cut you off. They don't realize that you can be doing 25 mph when they step or turn in front of you.

7. Always show appreciation for small kindnesses by motorists. There are a lot of ignorant cyclists out there too...hopefully YOU will be the one they remember.

8. Resist the urge to give obscene hand gestures when someone cuts you off and almost kills you. They are bigger than you and might be packing a loaded weapon.

9. Carry a tool and patch kit and know how to use it.

10. Learn how to save face by "accidentally" making your chain pop off. ("Awww.....gee, I coulda made it all the way to the top of that BIG hill, but my chain came off!")

11. Always carry and old sock or glove in your bike bag. Saves your hands from grease when your chain comes off.

I am sure I will think of more as time goes by.  Some things actually are quicker by bike...like running to the grocery store and even getting home from work. But if one more person says to me, "Hey, you're gonna get in good shape with all that biking!"  I may or may not resist the urge to rip their face off!! Like I said to the last person who said that to me, "I'm already in #%^$@%#!!!! good shape!!

Meet Black Beauty

Black Beauty is the name of my new bike.  I have been a cycle commuter for many years and my last bike finally got to the point that it was costing almost as much money to maintain as it was saving me.  After 14 years and many miles, I decided that it was time to get myself a new and improved set of wheels.

Who would have thought that at the age of almost 61, I would feel like a kid again.  I am in awe of how advanced the technology is and what a joy this new bike is to ride.  I LOVE my Rocky Mountain Whistler.  If anyone would've told me that it would make the hills around here feel flatter, I would've told them they were crazy, but she really does.

I am looking for excuses to ride and hopefully, will document my travels with pics and details.

And away we go!