Belated CM rehash

It seems a little odd to post 8 days after the fact, but I haven't had much chance before now, or when I did have the time, I didn't feel like it. So, as per usual I headed for Critical Mass on Friday last (Jan. 26th). But what wasn't usual was that I had done a day shift (0600 -> 1400) as somebody was away on holiday. Plus, since I didn't want to be lugging around all my workday impedimenta and I had left behind something I wanted to bring to CM with me, I went home after work. The problem was that I got delayed leaving work (an unfortunate trend. Newbies!), and the bus was 25 mins late after I got to my stop. So it ended up that I only had half an hour between getting off the one bus, and getting back on another to town. What especially annoyed me was that I could not find the item I had left behind!

Ah well. So I got to the art gallery and began to look for a guy with a Montreal Canadiens tuque. Oh yeah, at the last Bike-Bee meeting somebody accidentally took my left bootie, and left his right bootie behind, so we had arranged for a swap. I got to the VAG about 15 mins later than anticipated (again, the bus. I got back on the same one I had been on, but after its turn-around. So he was only 15 mins late now as he didn't take his break @ Crescent Beach). Anyway, I was scanning the crowd for said same tuque from the steps overlooking the fountain, occassionally calling aloud "Andrew" (that's right Kreskin, the left-bootied one was named Andrew). Plus I was conversing with some of the regulars. At last, a minute before 6, the swap was consumated.

The ride itself was mostly like the others, see some regular faces, chat with them; see some new faces, chat with them too. Unfortunately, one of the regulars and Bike-Bee'er, Skyler, had a crash on his fixie (wrecked the front wheel, did a bit of a number to his face from what I hear), and the ambulance had to be called (he's OK now, I hear). Of the people with whom I chatted, a guy in a kilt (he was cheating. He had bike shorts on beneath it.) and a young woman in trews (after all Jan. 25th was only the day before), another young woman ("Britney") from Colorado (attending UBC. She's been here 2 years now) was riding an old Girls bike (pink, woven wicker basket, banana seat, streamers in the hand-grips. The bike cost $5, ditto the basket, and $6 for the streamers), and une jeune fille française très enchantée qui s'appelle "Anne-Sophie". She was on a unicycle. It was quite a big one. The wheel looked like it was 36". It also had a looped handle which went from beneath the seat to somewhat infront of the seat. On this handle was a brake lever! It was equiped with a V-type brake. So I asked A-S about it. She told me it was for going down steep hills. She had only been in Vancouver 2 weeks at the time, and was staying in a hostel. The funniest part was that I was able to guess her hometown (Aix-en-Provence), and the next place her family lived (Grenoble) before they moved to Paris. And the only clues she told were that she was from SE France and she had also lived near the Alps (first she said she was from the SE, and then said she came to Vancouver because she missed the mountains. I asked "the Pyranees?" She said the Alps. So I took a stab at Aix, and asked if when she was in the Alps if it were Grenoble. Well, after that I was in like Flynn (or perhaps it was my linguistic brilliance, my dashing white hair, my charming personallity, or the loan of an Allen key). Anyway, it was fun talking with her (she understood my French perfectly well, but wanted to practice her own English) and I wished I could stay longer after the ride ended @ the ANZA club. But I had been up since 0400 (it was 2045 when I left), had to be up @ 0300 2 more days. A-S said she had been riding a unicycle since she was 6yo (I would guess she was 22yo). In the summer she and a group of 11 others (of whom she believes only 2 are bicyclists) are doing a big unicycle tour in Southern Europe. Starting in Slovenia, going into Italy, Corsica, France and Spain. Oh Oh. Blogger to be down soon. Gotta stop now!!!!