Helen Brown/Evelyn Woods version

(if you don't get the reference, Google-it)
Sept 23 - the entourage arrives atop Mount Seymour, the road is 11km long and the elevation change is pretty good for bombing (but presently I can't recall how much). We all get out, several of us water the bushes, we get our bikes ready, ride around a bit, scope things out, take pictures, passers by watch us amusedly, get one of them to take a group picture. When we are pretty close to doing the 1st run I remember that I have my cheapo digital video camera & mini-tripod with me. So I duct tape it to my handlebars and video run #1 (very bumpy footage). The run was fantastic. A 15 min bomb, sharp corners, other bombers passing & passing still others, some bumps which were a bit tricky/hazardous, a few cars passing dangerously (especially a trio of them from California, I almost ran into the rear of the 3rd vehicle), some passing relatively safely. When most of us reached the bottom someone said we should the van/pick-ups to block for us next time. Then a minute later the last ones arrive at the bottom, followed by our 3 'support vehicles'... and then a long line of cars...hahaha. But they didn't get delayed too much. The speed limit down the hill is 60km/h, with the corners much slower, so if someone were doing the legal maximum it would take longer than 11 mins to reach the bottom, and we did it in 15 mins (OK, some faster, some slower, but not by much).
We climb back in the vehicles and go up again, shuffle who is driving down, I pass my camera on to Morgan who mounts it on his bike, and we go again. Just after we start, I stop as a piece of duct tape had managed to stick to my rim (potential braking hazard). Just as I get going again I see & hear some confusion in the pack, and someone goes down. I get there, one of the Portlanders (Julie, although I didn't know her name at the time) had done a face-plant. Nasty. Broken teeth and quite a bit of blood (but at the time she thought her teeth were knocked right out. We spent a while in vain looking for them), and no insurance. Much of the pack was in front of the accident and carried on down the hill. Of those who stopped, some went went downhill in vehicles and a few by bike (as I did). I took it easy for the 1st little while, but hen I decided it was silly to go slow (the extra drag from sitting upright) as the vehicle with Julie was behind me. I thought they might go on ahead so we could take Julie to a doctor right away, but they were staying behind me. Soooo, I crouched down low and went full out, did nice technical cornering, and picked up quite a bit of speed. I caught up to a bunch of them (bikes and vehicles, 'ours' and others) and passed them.
At the bottom, we decided to go to a clinic in E Van, but it closed at 6pm and it was now 7pm, so we went to VGH. Julie was in a confused mental state, so it was just as well we went to hospital, who knows what unknown injuries she sustained. Had the clinic been open, they probably would have suggested the hospital too.
I went with the group to VGH, which included Maitland & Portlanders, & others went home (my mini with them). After a while of hanging around emerg., all but Julie & 1 friend went for pho. After eating and walking to VGH, I carried on to the bus home. For news on Julie, check here.
(so much for this entry being a speedy finish)

Since then, usual Critical Mass on Sept 28th (what is up with the cops hanging around now! July, August & September now, but they always stayed away. Now they are riding at the back of the pack, about 6 to 8 of them.). Some of us went to The Naam instead of the after party, some went home, rode back DT and dropped off one of the group, and carried on to Katie G's place. Crashed there for the night (thanks KG!).
Had a Thanksgiving dinner @ Frances' a day early (Oct 7th) as I had to work on the real Thanksgiving Day, found another bike on the way home the night of the 8th (put out with the garbage collection but with a "free" sign on it), a nice old Raleigh in excellent shape (only missing a QR skewer up front, and I have since garnered a buyer for it).
Went to Midnight Mass Oct 11th (when I found the prospective buyer) and the monthly MC3 ride Oct12th (and finally after a few aborted attempts picked up my mini from Lyle).
The weather was good Sun. 14th, went riding with Bec, spotted a cool mini at a 2nd hand shop (she tried it, I tried to try, but my SPD shoes were too slippery on the plastic pedals), ended up going to dinner with her and one of her housemates, and then over to a friend's for drinks. It was quite the multi-lingual affair. Much much later we went to catch the bus home...Oops! Sunday Service = Super Suckage. Bec & friend missed the last bus back (cab time), and I missed the last SkyTrain (and didn't want to wait 1 hr for the 1st Night Bus, 1hr to Whalley plus 45mins ride home) so I rode straight home (2hrs 10 mins. Tired + under the influence = slow time, but still not bad.).
Tues 16th went back to town before going to work to buy the mini (overpriced @ $20, but why not. It'll be worth it in fun later on).

The Work-Less Party masquerade ball is tonight.

Trying to Finish It Off

...(meanwhile, back at the ranch) Sept 22 sometime after 9pm and we all had our prizes from the alley cat race, we headed to the Velomutation party at 2nd & Manitoba (the party was supposed to be at Pedal Play's place, but somehow the fire dept. heard about it and came for a surprise inspection of the venue. They nixed it. So it had to be held somewhere else.). The good news about the new venue was that it would be better for the performances and more room in general, the bad news that this place would be keeping ALL the monies generated by the bar. Since it was a PEDAL fundraiser, this was bad news indeed (at least the gate receipts wouldn't too bad). The idea hatched by many was a significant BYOB element and bar boycott. Unfortunately the venue operator had other ideas. We got the word shortly before heading to the party that there was a bag-check at the door. After socialising for awhile without, I went within. There were 2 different rooms with music, one of them was the one with the bar. The other was dance/performance area for our purposes, but it was just a big empty warehouse area, decorated with bike-themed items. There really isn't too much to say about the party, other than it was great, so were the performances, and I was struggling to stay awake as I had been up for about 40 hrs. Ok, it was about 39.5 at the start of the party, and 44 when I left. I rode to Anna's place to crash for a bit before riding to work. When she saw that I came on the mini, she was shocked. Anna (and a belated thank-you for the concern) had been trying to get me to come back with her for about an hour because I looked about to collapse (so she said, and I have no reason to doubt her). I think she was afraid I wouldn't be able to make it to her place (near Knight & Kingsway) without some serious mishap. But we did, in quite good time, and I zonked out promptly (arrived 0240, lights out 0245, and I guess asleep 0250). I was a little worried about waking up as I had forgotten previously to charge my phone and thus the battery was dead. My only working alarm (ever since I changed the battery in my watch, its alarm won't work?) had no juice, I was seriously sleep deprived, and needed to be up in 2 hours. I figured I would need an hour to get to work, the extra time due to lethargy, the cold, not being able to ride quickly for fear of irreparably damaging my seatpost (which bent a bit during the Alley Cat), plus I was going to go Oak St rather than Knight St bridge (less elevation climbing). Amazingly enough, I woke up just at the right time, and was out the door at 0500. I didn't have my jacket, nor arm nor leg warmers, and it was chilly and the air damp outside. I snitched a plastic bag from Anna's recycling and put it inside my jersey to cut down on the wind chill. I really wanted a newspaper for the job (insulation as well as windbreaking), but all I could see were the damp/wet ones outside. Not what I wanted. After stopping at the Mohawk in Richmond for milk for my breakfast cereal, I arrived at work right on time.

After work, which was the same old stuff, and fairly busy but not too bad, I headed North again on the mini. Unfortunately I was delayed a little leaving, by about 25 mins (I forget why), and was going as quickly as I dared considering the seatpost. I stopped at Himalaya Restaurant on Main by 49th for some samose (plural of 'samosa') for my afternoon's food supply. I did have some fun on the ride, zipping down Main northward from about King Ed, past stopped traffic and such, bombing down the hill from 12th to 2nd. When I got to the vicinity of the Via rail station I made a few phone calls to contact those going on the "Alpine Bombtastic" down Mount Seymour. No luck. Just hope that they are sufficiently behind schedule to catch them

(more tomorrow)

irRegularly Scheduled Update Delayed

Umm, sorry, but I still haven't finished the story of September Bike Fun, and CM has occurred again, I have more pictures to upload (maybe tomorrow), and I still haven't done anything with the "Mountain Bombtastic" (AKA "Sey-Bomb") video. And I haven't written up my 'incident report' for Sunday (Yes, there was an 'incident'), I blogged instead.

Thugs for Cancer

So, on Saturday the 29th I had to work in the afternoon. I leave the house and just 10 seconds before I get to 16th, a trio of motorcycle cops (RCMP) with lights flashing blocks the intersection, and two of them then proceed westward. I look down the road to the east and see a mob of motorcycle cops, bicycles, vans/trucks coming up the hill by Earl Marriott, very slowly I might add. The cop gestures to the east, to ask if I were turning that way. I shake my head, then point west. He does nothing. So I start to turn, and he barks out "NO! YOU'VE GOT TO WAIT!!"

WTF??!! I'm in no danger of mowing down the slow moving peloton, and he and his cronies have to block the road 1/2 mile & more ahead of them. The next intersection over is a main one with traffic lights, the bulk of the time it is green for the direction the thug posse is heading, and when there is cross traffic, the lights change briefly. Now there is a bunch of cross traffic (both ways) wanting to go through their lights but are being blocked. Eastbound traffic which could have proceeded before the lights changed, but are being blocked from going through in the OPPOSITE direction (and obviously the other side of the road) as the thug posse and could not possibly interfere with them, yet these dumb fucks think they to cause disruption before their mass ride gets close to actually "needing" to be escorted.

I could see that these slow-pokes were not arriving any time soon, so I hoofed it to the next intersection (blocked), went the only non-blocked direction, cut through the hospital access road to get past the blocked bit, but now more of the goon troupe has pushed west past my new position so I have to go west on foot on the sidewalk again to the next intersection (also controlled by lights and blocked by cops, well ahead of the cyclepack), turn left again and ride 1 block south, ride 2 to the west, 1 north again, and I get to Johnson & 16th just in time to witness the latest move of thuggery to the big traffic centre to block it off prematurely. Everybody sat for 3 minutes before the 1st wave arrived. More motorcycle cops. A van. A pack of 10 cyclist in matching gear/bikes. A large truck. A car. More motorcycle cops. Then they turn right and head north. What could have been a minor traffic delay became a big snarl because there was nowhere for anybody to go. Now it is true that it was a minor inconvenience (I was in danger of missing my bus until they decided to block 152nd so it couldn't arrive either), but when it needed not be any disruption, nor did it need as much escorting as a visiting Head of State with a risk of assassination.

Plus, what on Earth possessed these morons to call their ride "Cops for Cancer"? Which cancer are they promoting? Lung? Colon? Or just their self righteous attitude that it is OK to shoot unarmed prisoners in the back of the head, whilst in a jail cell, and say that it was in self defence? I say "Cancer for Cops" like these.

On another tack. In the August issue of Momentum Magazine, there is an article by Sheldon Brown along lines I have believed about bike-a-thons. I don't support them because a long distance bike ride is fun, not a "penance" like the bike-a-thon promoters seem to think. Read the article (it is a short one, just takes a minute or two).

The Fun Continues

So, to update/continue the weekend wrap-up...
Friday Sept 21 - The Bike Porn event was a scream. After work, it was raining, so I waited a bit for it to improve before heading to the W.I.S.E. hall. I went catch the 98, but instead of the 6-10 mins frequency Translink claims, no bus for almost 1/2 hr. I was about to ride away when it finally approached, I could see that it had only 1 bike on the rack, good, but it was not in the curb lane, bad. It was jam-packed and just kept on rolling, so I saddled up and rolled myself. The reason I didn't just ride initially was that I was carrying a lot of stuff with me. Some for me, some for Bryce.

I arrived in time despite the bus, to see a large group of cyclists outside the hall milling about, many of them Portlanders & Seattlites. I locked my bike and went inside. Hanging out before the show, taliking to lotsa peeps, having a couple drinks, then on with the show. The presenters were RevPhil & Ifny, who were in very good form. The live performances were great. I especially like "The Creaking Planks". I've seen them before (but they're never the same. I mean that the performers vary a bit, not just the material). The songs are absolutely hilarious, not to mention good music. Then came the headliner, RevPhil's movie "The Pornography of the Bicycle" ( see bikeporntour for more blogging of its travels). Ummm, how to describe it.... I can't really. There were many bike short films, some by Rev Phil, some by others, and almost all involved bicycles. The one that didn't, about the San Fernando Valley Illegal Soap Box Derby, was pushing the edge of technicalities, as some of the 'soapbox' racers were made with bicycle wheels. But it was good. OK, so there was another that to the untrained eye might not have appeared to be about bikes, but the fist was just the warm up for the saddle. I leave it cryptic intentionally. OK, I can't resist, it was bikeporn. After that there was an auction, and I outbid, Turbo I believe it was, for a pack of Portland goodies, but I lost out to a combined effort for another one that included a bunch of legal papers from RevPhil's arrest/trial etc from last years World Naked Bike Ride (Portland edition). Then we did a little clean up (other volunteers did the real clean up) before the Naughty Negligée Night Ride. Nobody was naked, a bit to cold, or not enough fortification. I wore (besides my helmet, gloves & cycling shoes & socks) my thigh-high cycling leg warmers, underwear, & back-pack. I think it had the right effect because I did get a few comments/looks/shouts from some passers-by.
We ended up at Trout Lake after a while, socialised, some people went in the lake (what else would one expect when there are Zoobombers present). Later we went for pizza @ Commercial & Broadway and hung around there for a while. I had 2 full cans still in my pack, and not wanting the extra weight on the ride home, I gave them to Morgman, put on my duds, and rode.

As always, I love my solo rides home in the wee hours. They are great. I would love to share them with others (1 person at a time). Everyone should do a solo night ride. 1 minor glitch this time. I misread my watch, and didn't realise the implication until I checked it when I got to Whalley. 03:05, 50 mins more to ride, no time left for a pre-workbound-ride nap. And the wind picked up when I had another 15 mins to go. So, after getting home, I fed & watered the cats, had a big drink, changed to fresh cycling togs, and was gone again.

The ride to work was not too bad despite the wind and my very tired legs, until I hit the Alex Fraser. I had a really tough battle to stay upright. The cross-wind was almost the worst I've had to fight going across a bridge (the worst time was when going over the Patullo a couple years ago. I almost ended up on the road infront of heavy truck traffic). When I got to the Westminster Hwy,the wind was head-on. The best I could manage was 19 km/h, as low as 12 km/h at times, instead of my usual 28->32 km/h. So, I ended up 30 mins late.

Sat Sept 22 - Work was the usual. Went to Pedalfest riding the mini, saw some people, but it was just a pause on my way to CARcass, which was already in full swing. I got there in time to see some events ("tubes of despair", "panty racing" [no, that is not racing panties]) and participate in the "Balloon Smackdown". I came pretty close in the smackdown. I was in the last three going when I got body-checked off my mini (while going pretty fast I might add) during the 'audience participation' part (we 3 were finding it hard to get at each other), and decided to rescue my partly broken helmet blinky rather than remount my bike and carry on before someone popped my balloon. It was lots of fun, even with the bloody knee & elbow. CARcass isn't CARcass without blood. The "main event", CARcass itself, was injury/blood free this time, oddly enough.

After CARcass came the "G'Day Mate! Almost All Aussie Hustle Alley Cat". It was my first Alley Cat style race, and I did it on the mini (of course, only having the 1 bike with me), and it was fun. I missed one check-point. I mis-understood the instructions AND my passport style manifest. There was a small-wheeled exempt check-point, and I thought it was that I could miss 1 of the 6 check-points, my choice. Oh well. I still got a prize for my paper airplane making skill at one of the check-points. I picked a reaallly cooooool high pressure 700c tire from the goodies pile when my turn came.

(more to follow, gotta go)

September = Fun

Well, bike fun at any rate. Work is slowing down as the tourist high season winds down, so now the new computer system is being tweaked for implementation soon (it has been pushed back a few times for technical reasons). So work isn't fun. Tedious, yes.

Sept 13th was Midnight Mass. A bit of a fiasco. Didn't get very far before a newbie drops his chain. I stop to help out, his buddy stopped, the pack didn't. Called "hold-up", they didn't, not the protocol. After chain is back on, we start to boot-it to catch-up, the chain breaks. He says go on ahead, I'll switch bikes at home, & then phone to meet. Well now the pack is truly gone. We can find no sign of them, and the destination was a little vague, namely "let's hit some parking garages downtown". We cruise around looking for garages which have hoots & hollers emanating forthwith. Nada, niente, rien. Not at the usual spots. Oh yeah, besides me, the other 2 are also newbies (friends of broken chain), and are from Squ'ish (you know, up the coast a little, before Whistler), so I'm having to lead them, and the couple times the crew did parkades, I wasn't there, so I have no idea as to the most likely spots. Anyhoo, we decide to hang out by the former Plaza of Nations (no more roof, sigh) down by the water til the chainless one calls. Eventually he does show up, and after a bit more we go riding along the bikepath, under Cambie Bridge, then over it, along the False creek path to Granville Island. The suggestion is made to go to the "Granville Island Mountain" (yeah, that's what he called that lump of dirt. Kinda funny). So we do. And Lo and Behold... the missing Massers (OK, most of them, it had a few other splinter movements before we got there, I was later told). So a few cheers and story swaps and it is getting late (if we didn't find the main pack when we did, I was about to head for the 02:09 nightbus. As it was, I left shortly with some of the Eastward rollers and caught the same bus when it got to 10th & Kingsway, made it home for a 1.5 hr nap before getting up for work.

Fri sept 14th, worked extra, MC3 ride after going home to change bikes (to the new blue Norco). The ride ended up at Kits Beach in the dark. After chill time, Siegels Bagels, rolling eastwards to a burrito shop on main, more chill time, I just barely made it to the last 351 Granville & Broadway, and another 1.5 hr nap before riding to work again. And guess what. I felt great both days despite the lack of sleep. Mind you, I forgot to set my alarm next night, and overslept. But I only slept a total of 8 hrs

(YVR not co-operating, it's busy & I am having to work)

Fri 21 sept - the party/fun/games begin, the kick-off for Velomutation/Velofest etc. was the "Bike Porn" night. (add more later)

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)

Aug 17th

(it is a little calmer at work now, so a few quick words)
On Friday the 17th, after doing 6hrs at work, I hopped on the bus to White Rock and headed to the border to catch up to the B:C:Clettes & supporters on their way to Bellingham for the roll-out of the Velo:City Tour. The group had a head start on me, but I was through the border crossing in about 8 mins. I caught up to the group about 1/2 hour south of Blaine (15km by road route) and we meandered our way to Bellingham, a 45km trip from the border, but the group had ridden from the King George SkyTrain Station before that.
We rode around, some of us ate burritos, checked out some of the scene in town, snooped in "The Hub" bike co-op (which was hosting the 'Clettes' performance), went on a Sparks/Tilt run. Later watched the bands play and the ladies do their routines, the usual party stuff. I was intending on riding straight to work around 01:30, but Jeff Lost had to go home early, and I got a ride with him & Kim so I was able to catch a couple hours sleep at home before riding to work.
I have some more pictures to upload, but have yet to do so. I haven't been taking enough pictures recently.
Upcoming events: Aug 23rd. Midnight Mass, Aug 31st Critical Mass, Sept 7th Chris Mass, Sept 21-23 Velo-Mutation (also CARcass Sept 22)......

Very Busy At Work

It is the height of the cruise season, so I don't have time to blog. I'm doing the usual bikey stuff: Critical Mass, Midnight Mass, various activities/parties/rides that come up. Check the lynx to the side, including Picasa for pictures I've uploaded. Some of the things have been photo'd but not blogged, so one can get a feel for it. Also, check out the B:C:Clettes' site.
I got another bike, an old '70's Norco road bike with a Manganese-Steel alloy frame & super skinny 700c wheels/tires.
Decided not to buy a bus pass this month and ride to work each day (still busing home).
Check out the upcoming Chris Mass Ride
Different version here

the past 10 days...or so.

Been very busy @ work, no time to blog. I get about the 1st hour Sat & Sun AM that is slow enough to do other internetting, but I'm not usually inspired at that time to blog. If the Muse does not make her presence felt, no blog.
June 28th. Went in to E Van. to watch "Bike Shorts", after the show was going to get something to eat before Midnight Mass, while chatting afterwards with Jeff Lost, we were going to go together, started to ride with Red Sara just to kill a bit more time. Ended up Jeff, Robert, myself & Sara @ her place chilling, listening to the rain. Around 23:30 Jeff & I put on our rain gear (it was pissing out) and rode of to M. Mass. When we got to the park, the few who were there were across the Drive under a store awning. We waited till 00:15 to see if any more latecomers would arrive (a few did just @ Midnight, but not later), and the 16 or 18 (I sort of counted them) of us left. In that number was Shawn Granton from Portland. (He came up for a break after Pedalpalooza, & was also @ Bike Shorts, and wanted to see first hand our Critical Mass). I wasn't too rainy by then, but enough to be noticeable. After riding for a while, we stopped for pizza. After some postprandial peripatetic pedalling, we ended up at one of the little plazas by False Creek in Yaletown, and chilled some more. It was no longer raining, and the time was 03:00ish (I think, my recollection is a bit fuzzy, with cause). Jeff and I were the last ones to leave, and he invited me to crash at "his" place (really Kim's UBC dorm). So we head that way. Thanks to some last minute ingestion of Wiser's, Jeff was having an exceedingly difficult time remaining upright. And it got worse as time went on. It was a slow ride, with multiple crashes (once he crashed into a parked car. Despite the blood and the scrapes, no serious injuries). Unfortunately Jeff had not told me pre-imbibing our 'crash' destination, and we followed one of his "realisations" of where we should be going. Not being able to do any fine manoeuvring, Jeff hit a pothole, and got a pinch flat. While he lay in the wet grass at the roadside, I attempted to repair it. The light drizzle didn't help. The patch didn't take, I didn't want to try again, so we walked (continuing in the wrong direction). Jeff (you see why we call him Jeff "Lost") suddenly realised, correctly this time, where we should be headed, and was able to give, for him, precise directions. Turn around, head back where we were, and continue on westward. While doing so, I noted Jeff's rear tire was going flat too. The pothole got the rear as well, but not as hard. It took a long, long, long time to get to the dorm. Jeff had to rest periodically, including a 45 min nap in the grass at the corner of NW Marine & West Mall. We finally made it to Kim's residence at 06:05 (she was away on a field trip). What a babysitting job that was. Jeff, you owe me big time, buddy! ( and Kim, my sympathies. I know you get stuck doing it too).

June 29 - At 09:05 an upstairs acquaintance stopped by to see if Jeff wanted to go for a ride, needless to say Jeff was comatose.
Noon, Jeff gets up and makes pancakes. Between then and 4pm I eat 4 of them. A bit of batter got on the burner, so burnt starch smoke did its usual trick on me, instant migraine. I still had it when we left @ 16:50, heading for Critical Mass. I was hoping to get there by 5pm (wanting to leave sooner, but with a migraine I couldn't focus on speeding up Jeff) for the "Blessing of the Bicycles" at the Cathedral, but no luck. Jeff had to take his "pretty bike" instead of the fast one (the flats from the early morning still awaiting repair) so it was a slow go, and then I got a puncture while we were going down Burrard St. We got to the Art Gallery at 17:30. There was already a massive horde there, and it continued to grow until we left about 18:15. I'm sure the unsettled weather kept quite a few massers away. Needless to say, it was a huge ride, being bicycle month. I took a bunch of pictures. They are on my Picasa page. I didn't hang around for the after party this time.

June 30th - Slept in a bit. left home 0428, arrived at work 0600, 1 hr 32 mins. My best recent (last couple years) time, but boy did I ever have to hammer it.


July 1st, Dominion Day. left home 0358, got to work 0540, 1 hr 42 mins, a veritable cruise. It was a great ride. After work went down to Crab Park where the Bike Bee had been invited to do another Velo-Deco as part of the festivities there. We packed up around 4pm, but didn't actually leave till about 4:40, and stopped by Pidgeon Park, where there was some musical entertainment. We hung around there for a while, then went to David Lam Park in Yaletown for some more music. It was part of the Jazz Festival (I didn't know that's what it was until we got there). The music was pretty good, but most certainly wasn't jazz.

The rest of the week has been pretty much as usual. July 7th, a very leisurely ride in to work. The weather was fantastic. I really took my time, at least it felt like it, 1 hr 45 mins. It sure makes a difference when the load is light and the sun comes up early. I love riding in like this. We'll see what the rest of the day holds. See you soon Jenn.

A little Catch Up

So it has been a while since my last entry, and not too terribly much has happened. Just the usual work/eat/sleep/ride where required other than June 17th, which was the 1st of two "Car Free Days" on Commercial Drive.

On the 17th I went down after work, intending to volunteer my services if needed for the "East Van Chopper Fest" section of the event. I didn't sign up for a spot because, well, I forgot to do it sooner. But they had all the bodies neede to finish off the day, so I just wandered around to see what was there. There were lots of booths/tables etc. of various groups. I was a little hungry, but buying $5.00 smokie hotdogs and $3.00 bottles of water/juice is against my principles. Those prices were unconcionable. After about 30 45 mins I was back where I started, and met Bec. She had just arrived, so we wandered around together for a while, participated in some of the activities, and had coffee. We saw a lot of people we knew, chatted with them, just the usual socialising stuff.

I saw a really cool plush penguin in a toy store (but the store closed 15 mins before I noticed it). It was a crested penguin, but without looking at the tag I would not be able to say if it were a specific one or just a generic one. Since most of the crested penguins have yellow crest feathers and this one's crest was orange, and the "face" was black not white, it most resembled a Maccaroni Penguin (eventhough the crest's position was a little off). This was an exciting developement, actually, and besides providing inspiration via Bec for something else (it's a secret for now), it stuck in my mind as something to purchase on the 24th (eventhough I could come back sooner). Anyhoo, I took a few pictures of the Chopper Fest area, and later in the week put them on Picasa. I also put some other old pictures up.

Saturday the 23rd the weather was not too bad, considering the forcast and what it was like on my ride in to work, so I sent out an e-mail to see if anyone was available to go for a ride. Robert was, so we met down at The Gazebo, hung around for a bit, then we went off to the north and rode down by the harbour and eastward, under the 2nd Narrows bridge along the trail behind capitol hill. At Fell & Hastings we parted, he went back to town, and I went south along Kensington to SkyTrain and then the 321 home.

Sunday was really wierd. The weather was just spitting a bit on the ride in (although at first it was rainy before I started out and partway into the ride. Just enough to make it really grimy whenI had to change a tube, thanks to the usual shard of glass about the size of a piece of pencil lead tip). But about an hour after arriving, it started pissing out. Rain; no rain; clouds; wind; more rain; sun; clouds; rain; clouds; sun; rain....on and on changing frequently. I thought for sure my trip to purchase the penguin would be a soggy one. But then around noon it cleared up enough that it looked like the rest of the day would be sunny. When my shift ended, I began to clean the grime off my chain. It took a while. So just as I was finishing, it began to rain agan. Hard. I went back inside contemplating just going home, got on my rain gear, and waited for a bit. The clouds were moving north, so I waited some more, and there was a clear area to the south. All in all, abouth 30 mins after it began pouring, it was clear again. So I decided to go penguin hunting after all. Arriving at the store, it wasn't there in the window loike it had been last week, and the clerks didn't seem to know what I was talking about when I decribed it, in great detail. Then one of the clerks asked if I was sure it was their store, and not another one. Ooops! There was another store 1 block up. I went up the drive and found the right store. It didn't make much difference. No penguin on display, no penguin inside with the other plush toys, but I knew it was the right place because there was a tiny plastic penguin in the window as I had remembered (I have its twin already), and there was a clued-out clerk who didn't even know they had had a plush penguin (nor that there actually was a plastic penguin in the window). She didn't know when they might be ordering more plush animals..... not a star employee in my opinion. I'll have to find out when someone with a brain is on shift to make sure I get my Eudyptid (Crested Penguins are Spheniscus Eudyptes _____ ). Then when I was about to leave, Jeff Lost called, so I went and met him, we had coffee, but there wasn't time to go for a ride as David wanted me to join him and Tim for their usual Sunday at the Greek restaurant.

So I took the bus home (funnily enough, I met another of my local co-cyclists who happened to be in town, also waiting for the bus. He was already at the stop. We were chatting while waiting, and I told him I was heading back to go for my birthday dinner, so he said that if the bus only had 1 spot available, as his present to me, he would let me have it. 5 mins later, that is what happened). David came and got me and we went to Langley, ate and home again much later.

I Love My Bicycle

Yes, it is true, I love my bicycle. Without it I would not have experienced so many things and met so many wonderful people. Amazing things happen when travelling by bike.

Earlier "today" I was feeling a little down. Previously, I had been looking foward to today's Midnight Mass ride, but as the days wore on, my mind was not that enthused about anything. But, there was one person I was hoping would be there, eventhough it was statistically doubtful, thus I stuffed a few necessities into my pack at the last minute and left for the bus.(Apart from giving some transit help to a couple visiting fom Vancouver as to the best/fastest way to get home, it was uneventful. Usual "Scum Run" nonsense.)

Arriving at Grandview Park, there were some of the usuals and a few new people. It is always refreshing to see the new ones. One of them was sporting a very familiar rear blinkie. I had lost the blinkie from my red helmet in Stanley Park after the MC3 Performance Ride, and Ren, who was sporting "it" had been to the ride. So I asked her if she found it in the park, and she had. She was surprised the I had "guessed" correctly, so I told her how I knew and the specific battery that was within it (a "Pure Energy" rechargeable alkaline AAA). But since she had no other rear light, and was using a borrowed front one, I told her it was OK. I wasn't asking for it back, I was just glad to know that someone who needed it had found it. I chit-chatted with various people, and was feeling much better. About 00:07, one of the new people was anxious to leave, and since it didn't look like we were waiting for anybody else, I told her "then call out 'Two Minutes!'", which she did, but not loudly enough. So a bunch of us started yelling it, and some asked where we were going. Leanne did a little prep talk about MM etiquette for the virgins, and we headed of to New Brighton Park. We got there, hung out for a bit, then the unsurprising suggestion of taking a skinny dip in the pool was voiced. At first nobody did, then one, and another, and a 3rd person started to climb the fence, disrobe, and take the plunge. Eventually more joined, for about 8 in total. The water was sooo nice and warm. Just a little above skin temp, not too much chlorine, just perfect. After a few mins swim (about 5 or so) we got out. After hanging out some more, we left to go downtown somewhere. We stopped at the little park with a small pier down by the helipad just east of Canada Place, And chilled some more, and I took a few pictures (will upload to Picasa soon)

While we were there, I had a little chat with one of the newcomers, and as we all were leaving for the next stop (who knows where), the two of us happened to be at theback of the pack, and we continued a pleasant conversation (I digress, but I forgot to mention that it started between New Brighton and the pier). We went under Canada Place, up the ramp, and onto Burrard. We were still at the back of the pack, and the main peloton was heading south. But the charming young lady with the blessèdly happy name (wink wink, nudge nudge) was asking me where East Van was from there, and she wanted to go home. So after inquiring as to its locale, I offered escort duties. Which I did.

What was so amazing, well, one of the many amazing things, because we really had a great chat along the way, was that her place was on a corner lot where one of the streets was her namesake, albeit in another language and a different inflected form. It would be like a person named Rocher living on a street called Petrify.

Ah, well, I started off intending to wax poetic about my bike, but no longer feel like it. Suffice it to say that my ride home was uplifting. Truly great. (And I'm not taliking about it being only 2 hrs again, which it was. HAHAHAHA, take that you slow-poke night bus. I didn't actually race it because I was not exactly in the right place when I started my solo ride, but checking my watch, I lefted 'Blessèdly Happy' at 0225, and was home at 0414. A 10 min solo equivalent back-tracking at that time of day would put me on the edge of Downtown, so I would have beat the bus again. Maybe next time I will actually get to race the bus.) So you non-pedallers, GET ON YOUR BIKE! Your body, mind, and the planet will love you for it.

Update

If you already looked at what was in my Picasa web albums, look again. The "MC3 Performance Ride" & "Mixed Bag O' Trix" have been updated.

a taste...see CBP's Picasa for more

MC3 Performance Ride

The 2nd Friday of each month is the Margaret Charles Chopper Collective (MC3) ride, and this month's ride, being in "Bike Month" (yeah, I know, EVERY month is bike month, but this extra fun stuff that happens in June is to entice you non-cycling, poluting, flubber-butts, out of your Stupid Ugly Vehicles to do something meaningful, on a bike. Anyway, check out B.E.S.T. for more info on "Bike Month"), is/was "The Performance Ride". So I decided that I would take the mini as more fitting with MC3 than the Brodie. But it needed a little bling. I took some of the retro-reflective material I brought back from Velo-Deco and glued it to my tires, so it looks like a giant sized gear on the sides of the tires. It was time consuming, but fun, in a way.

Adornment completed, and extra time for anything else thrown out the window by being accidentally waylayed by Johnny next door, I stuffed my few "supplies" and fewer supplies into my knapsack, hopped on the mini and headed for the bus stop. When there, I went through the usual wheel/pedal/seat-post removal, stuffed the bikey bitts into the bedraggled hockey bag, and waited for my chauffeured coach to arrive. It did, either 7 mins early or 23 mins late, I didn't ask which (didn't particularly care either as I was extra early to do the diminution job). Given that it was a Friday evening, and the bus rarely leaves early, even by 2 minutes, I guessed it was late, but that happened later. The trip was quite fast, the driver didn't spare the horses. After the Broadway stop, I pulled the bell cord to get off at 6th Ave, then ride to the Science World meeting spot. But he didn't stop! So I thought he must have had a bit of a lapse and would let me off at Davie, but he kept going, zooming up Seymour St all the way to Robson St where somebody else had previously asked him to stop. Some others were also puzzled and had thought he would be stopping, but diddn't. So a whole bunch of us got off, and a few pointed out the number of stops he missed, and he said words to the effect of '..I missed a stop? What do you mean?' Oh well, it didn't really make a difference to me. I reassembled the mini, put the tools and bag back into my pack, went along Robson, around the outside concourse of the Marshmallow-In-Bondage, to the seawall bike path by the now demolished Plaza of Nations, and on to Science World. Lots and lots of people there. More arriving all the time. We were probably about 300 strong by the time we left. We went on an interesting zig-zag route through Strathcona to an unused parking/truck loading area next to an old building in the Clark & Powell vicinity. The locale had 2 slopes on either side of the loading area, making a sort of really broad half-pipe. So a little bmx action took place (as planned). When we left, I went over the jump portion 2x, but with caution as my previously thought ideal straight handle-bar now seat-post isn't strong enough (bent while bombing Stanley Park during last critical mass). We went downtown, via Alexander St and Gastown. The people in Gastown liked us, the car divers maybe not, but who cares about them. On to the plaza beside 200 Granville.

As we arrived, a security guard calls out to us that we are on "Private Property", and as such must respect the private property.......by walking our bicycles! It was quite funny. 1 overweight late 50's security guard telling a cycling horde to dismount. We were going to anyway, as this was the spot for the next performance. But people started dismounting a tad earlier than I would have normally expected. But hey, its Vancouver, nobody's likely to do anything to anybody anyway. A few people did, individually go chat with the guy. The usual, '..hey don't worry, were just here for a little harmless fun for a bit, then we'l be moving on.' Bryce did a little "spoken word" bit. Not so much spoken, but warbled in a quasi-sorta-song-like fashion. Extemporaneously. Bike themed. Then the B:C:Clettes did 3 numbers.

We moved on, security watching, as I called out to a few to stop kicking their beer cans and pick them up (after all, for these things we are supposed to follow the "no trace" rule. Pack it in, pack it out). They did. We stopped next (oh, yeah, it was just starting to get dark now) at the little park north ft of Bute @ Hastings. Hung out for a little then Kablamo! took the stage, doing a mock Revival Sermon, bicycle themed. When the mock-minister invited members of the 'congregation' to take part in the Eucharist, some people came up and joined the line, did their bit, and after about 10 people had done so, they started thowing things at each other, and some of the items made their way into the crowd. They were small tomatoes. A flurry of flinging took place. Then we moved to the next venue.

Which was the little plaza at the entrance to Stanley Park, between Georgia St and the water. Here, after a bit of chilling, The Brakes performed. Well, 4 of them, as Midnight Simon is also a Brake, and he is in Europe. James misplaced his performance mini, so he did his part of the routine without it until Morgan found the bike and gave it to James in medias res as it were.

After that, it was into Stanley Park for some partying. Music, dancing etc. in the woods. With the Pedal Play sound system. One slight hitch. A few of us, myself included, were trying to herd together the tail-end stragglers so no one would get left behind. The problem was the people ahead didn't check behind and went too far ahead, and we didn't know exactly where we were going. We went where we thought they were headed, no sign nor sound. A couple of cell calls and we had directions. Unfortunately they were only partially correct. Well, now I, and about 10 others, no which path NOT to go down in the dark. the "shy" men wouldn't even say if a large bunch of bikes went by earlier, they just turned their backs to us as we approached (except for 1, and that was after we passed obout 12 of them, spaced apart.) It took a while before we had our answer and turned back. Another 2 cell calls, revised directions and an escort from the party to meet us, and we arrived. Lotsa music, loud, bass, powered by car batteries and bicycle powered generators. Lighting via a couple of Tiki style torches and a ton of tea-lights (some in paper bags to be lantern-like). As the night wore on, the crowd thinned. I helped in the great tea-light round-up at the end, and left when there were only about 10 people still there packing up things. I had a bit of trouble finding my bike, but not to much thnaks to my retroreflective tires. It was 0140. Found my way out of the park 0145, next NightBus to Surrey Central would leave 0209 and arrive 0315, which meant I would be late ('cuz I don't think I could do the North-South run in 45 mins on the mini) since I want to leave White Rock no later than 0415. So I rode the mini to work, via Beach, Pacific, Burrard Bridge, Cornwall, Arbutus (going up the hill between 1st and 2nd aves, a guy yells out to me "BMX? High Five as you go by." So I did. And another guy asks me as I go by "Are you Catholic?"WTF?), West Boulevard, Arbutus, SW Marine, 70th, Oak, Oak St Bridge (0240 I was mid span), stop at the Mohawk just off the bridge for foodstuffs, and I was at the office 0255. As it turned out, the graveyard guy was sick, and had been trying to get ahold of the 'emergency' dispatcher (one of the owners' son), unsuccessfully, and was very pleased to see me. So after resting for an hour, I took over 2hrs early.

I took a bunch of pictures, but the cable is at home, so they'll have to wait.

random items, sorta

OK, so its 0130, and I just got back home,and I have to leave for work in 2.5 hrs, and some tings, EtOH quasi inspired came to me, familiarisation is an amazing thing. there are things I can do inebriated on a bicycle which I should not be able to do, because of the "reduced motor skill", but I still can do. Like, oh, who cares, this was a silly blog subject.
I hope Kendra's kitty is OK.
The "Electric moon banana ride", or whatever it is called, sucks like Ottawa vacuuming out tax dollars. What is with these people, are you into having fun or just another hammer-head ride, 'cuz I can hammer it by myself anytime, I want to have fun on a late ride. Sorry Dale, I tried to stay between groups to see where everyone was headed and be a pointer for the latter riders but it didn't work. Friggin' maroons. They were no fun. So I packed it early and headed for the bus.
Beck, I hope you found the Kitten Shack OK and get to bomb tomorrow (today). ZOOBOMB!
RED, where were you, we waited and waited, but you didn't arrive.

for you, jennifer

http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-5267894961075966307
You might have seen it anyway, but it's funny.
I have uploaded a bunch of pictures to my Picasa account, http://picasaweb.google.com/bikingpenguin
I still have more, but this is a start.

Midnight Mass May 24th

For Royalists, May 24th is the REAL Victoria Day. (Just a little aside). I headed to MM with purpose. To make sure that Simon's baby has a life of its own. The 1st one while he is away. I arrived 23:40, mere seconds behind the first arrival. It was his 2nd one (his 1st was last summer) so he wondered where all the people were. Sure enough, 23:47 a few more arrived, and by 11:55 there were at least 20. The atmosphere was a little subdued, being Simonless I presume, and people seemed a little hesitant, not sure how it would turn out. There were some new faces, a good bunch of regulars, and some newer to MM in the past few rides.
At a couple minutes past midnight, somebody asked when the ride would leave. Another person responded with 'then call "5 minutes" '. Then Kati J showed up, and I said "here's Kati J, we can go now" and another person seconded the motion. A few people made the roll-out call of "2 minutes", somebody else called "5 minutes", and another started calling numbers randomly, like a rocket launch count-down that had been jumbled. But we actually started rolling about 00:10. Destination 'Oak & 33rd'.
So we go along Commercial and turn onto 10th Ave, nothing unusual in that, after all 10th is a bike route, but the leading riders pull into the China Creek skate park. There were a few boarders there, eventhough it is pitch black, no lights, and we start talking with a couple of them. Then a couple bikes go for the bowls. I took a couple of spind too. Never having visited them in daylight, it was kinda eerie, a black abyss when going over the edge, then the bike light is at the right angle to shine into the bowl and then the bike is in the bottom, and speed nust be maintained to get out the other side or to ride the bowl itself without sliding down sideways. If you don't go fast enough you can't ride at an angle which will allow full pedal rotation, and if you can't pedal fully, lack of speed means side-slipping into the bottom, and not enough speed to ride out of it. It was a fun little detour, but it didn't last long, only 1/2 dozen or so tried it, them we aboandoned it to the boarders.
Onward to our quest. At Oak & Douglas a few stopped as the lead goup carried on, and asked if we weren't going to "The Ghettodrome" (alias 'The Crescent' to motorists and Shaughnessy residents). The response was 'no, Oak & 33rd, we can always come back if it sucks'. Further along Oak st we attained 33rd, and Eric Hamber S.S. in particular, noting the oval track. In we go. After stopping briefly to extinguish headlights and putting rear ones in 'steady' mode (no flashing) we boot it around the track a few times. OK, so not EVERYONE did, but most went around at least once. After testing the track a bit we hung out as usual. As the night went on, a few people departed bit by bit till it was suggested to go for food. About a dozen of us headed for the Naam again. Some turned left at 12th some at 10th, but I like going down Broadway at this time of night (it was only about 01:30), so I did. Then when I hit Arbutus, I felt like doing something different. I was at the Naam 2 weeks ago with the gang, why not go to Seigels. So I did. Only problem was that I didn't know Seigels is no longer 24hrs. I check my watch, lots of time to catch the 02:09 NightBus back to Whalley. Went to Vanier Park, took a few pictures of the city lights and their reflections from English Bay, then cruised over Burrard Bridge, down Hornby to Dunsmuir and wrong-wayed it over to Howe, put my bike on the N19's rack, and waited for the driver to get back. Had a nice conversation with another couple waiting for the bus. At 02:15 we note that he's a little late, and just then he arrives. The woman had been saying that they usually leave right on time, and then notices that their bus isn't one of the ones in line. Turned out their's waits south of Dunsmuir, while all the other are on the north side, and it had left already. Ah well, they'll only have another 20 mins or so to wait now.
The bus driver sits for a bit, and we don't leave until 02:20. The run was quite busy, therefore quite slow. But that just meant we didn't have to wait at the various 'timing points', and arrive Scurvy Central 03:23. I arrive home after a 48 min ride. Some time in the future I'll have to race this guy. Without telling him of course.

One More Reason to Hate Anaheim Mighty Ducks

'Cuz now I have to hope Ottawa wins the Stanley Cup!

Add'l Add'n

So last night after I got off the bus I checked out where the bikes were left for pick-up, and yes, the one I didn't take was still there, so I wheeled it home. Maybe I'll hack it up and make a skookum trailer out of the pieces. Also, the 2nd one's handle bar looks like a perfect fit to be my mini's new seat post. Hah! Full leg extension here we come!
It's nice that our neighbour's WiFi is more predictable these days (wink wink, nudge nudge)
1st day off of 3, errand day, 'cuz tomorrow is Midnight Mass, and Friday Critical Mass (THE PIRATE RIDE! YAAARRRR!!!). Oh yeah, this evening is a pre VeloDeco gathering. What is "VeloDeco"? Check the Bicycle Bee link the the right.
JE(A)F: Woodward Hill is the one on KGH from Colebrook Rd to 64th Ave, Johnston Hill is the one on Hwy 1 from the Port Mann Bridge to the 152nd exit, and for further knowledge, Peterson Hill is the one on KGH from 128th St to 108th Ave (East of the Patullo Bridge).
Ripped a couple of CD's and scanned the booklets for David.
Well, I'm off shopping for now. I need comestible supplies.