This 'n' That

August 31st - got called in to work, @ 0415, as the day-shift guy was sick, so I had just enough time to get my stuff together and make the 0500 bus to start @ 0600. Being the last Friday of the month, Critical Mass was on my mind. On Thursday I had been mulling over what to do for CM. Now CM is always fun, but I like to change things up a little now and again. So I thought I would hit the road around Noon, ride to Bellingham (as the people at The Hub had been so welcoming to us for the B:C:Clettes' Velo:City Tour kick-off back on the 17th) and check stuff out there for a while followed by CM in B'ham (which does have one, albeit small). But the call to work nixed that plan. So, on with the in town plan. Race home after work, drop off my stuff & Brodie, grab a few CM supplies (liquids, for the throat. All that yelling is thirsty work...) crescent wrench, duffel bag &c., the mini, and head for the bus. This time after the disassembly I hopped on the 345 and then SkyTrain. During the train ride I reassembled the mini so I got in with plenty of time. No more of the hoping the bus will get to town on time (Friday traffic) and then the reassembly. It took a while before I saw any of the "usual suspects" (those whom I know). After a while of the socialising, I saw 3 CoV bike cops on the edge of the gathering, and after talking about it with Brycycle, we saw a few more. By the time the Mass left (about 18:25, a little later than usual, maybe the late departure was due to the cops. Some people were wondering why they were there. We've not actually had a "Police Presence" like this before.), there were 8 bicycle cops in all. I had still some 'Sparks' brought back from B'ham, so I drank it in the relative safety of it being an unknown entity. It was a pretty good ride. The cops didn't cramp our style. A group of 4 stayed at the very back of the pack, and the others 'mingled' individually on the periphery. They only intervened in a couple incidents that I saw, and I heard of 2 other things (1. a very irate/apoplectic motorist was on the verge of assaulting some corkers when the 4 cops who had been at the back moved in to settle the guy down. 2. Some twit on the Burrard St bridge tried to do a U-turn right in the midst of our mid span pause, so 1 of the fringe riding cops came over to get the guy to stop. 3. I heard that a drunken rider took a little spill while we were in Gastown, and his packpack spilled out a bunch of empty beer cans onto the road, right in front of the rear group of cops. 4. Somebody I know was spotted with a single beer can and was made to pour it out.). During the post-ride gathering at the Anza Club, one of the riders reported that the cops appeared to have had more of a work-out than they are used to. It is kind of funny, because CM is such a sedate ride, even if it does last 2hrs or so.
In the Anza Club the theme was Virgo (or other virginal things), and there were some funny interpretations thereof. Zodiac temporary tattoos, fortune cookies (all fortunes had to be read with the inclusion of the phrase "...in my pants"), cherries (for 'popping'), plus costumes. The band that played first was lead by my namesake (except, oddly enough, his last name wasn't 'Penguin') (so I introduced myself later). I took some pictures (that reminds me, I have a tonne to upload) in the club (none of CM this time) of some lovely ladies (because I have a 'photographic memory- if I photograph them, I'll remember them. Unfortunately I didn't come up with a timely mnemonic device to remember their names!! Ooops!)
When I finally left the club (delayed by a few mins by a last minute discussion) it was a little after Midnight, and I raced (which is a lot of work on a mini) to the bus. Got ther with a minute to spare. ARRGH! No change, only paper ('cuz I went passless for August, and I used my last ticket getting to town) so no fare. I found this out as the bus is arriving, and I still needed to disassemble the bike. Oh well. Let it go, as they say. So I rode to Stadium Station to catch the SkyTrain to Whalley & the last 321 (I don't remember buying a ticket at the station, nor stopping anywhere to get coins, but I did, 'cuz I have the transfer!?).
While at Stadium Station, I had a few admirers of my mini. One of them asked if I could actually ride it (Hah!). Well I showed him! And unfortunately I also showed the video monitoring station. No sooner had I zipped down the length of the platform and back than a voice over the PA tells me no bicycle riding in the station. Killjoys. Ah well, usual train trip-bus ride home and a 1hr nap before getting up for work.

Sept 3rd - worked as usual, so I missed the Mini-bike Monday/Welcome Back B:C:Clettes ride!!!!!!

Sept 07/07 - 7pm Chris Mass (notice that it is four sevens when written). A whole bunch of Chrises and pseudo Chrises went for a ride. We left a little late as it was also Momentum 'Chris' Walker's birthday picnic. Went up Main st to QE Park, hung around for a while before meandering our way to Kits beach. Hung around some more. About 2215 I headed for Bec's, as I had something to give to her (from before she went North). There was a pot-luck at here place for the residents & their guests (which I could have attended had it not been Chris Mass) earlier, and there were still quite a few people there. I enjoyed some interesting conversations/discussions and just after Midnight I headed for the bus, escorted by Bec. Unfortunately my head was a little fuzzy, and I had it in mind that there was 1 more bus, since we decided to stop & chat, and, well, there wasn't (which I found out right away checking the schedule on the pole). So we went back, I crashed on the hide-a-bed, and rode to work @ 0500. Oh, yeah, forgot to mention that I did Chris Mass on my new ride. An old Norco road bike. 700c wheels, 18mm tires, 14 speed. Smooth, fast, and nimble, but mind the little rocks and bumps or its pinch-flat time!
(a slow day for a change at work, only it has just started to get busy, so I gotta go)