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Happy Canada Day everyone, and special shout out to Murray a fellow Member of the Vancouver Bicycle Club who is featured in a CBC News story Crude Awakenings about how charities are continuing to provide service to there client who coping with high Gas Prices. Murry who is the coolest 60++ year old guy volunteers and delivers Meals on Wheels for Health and Home Care Society of B.C. Once again I see the power of the bicycle make the world a better place.
Yes it a bit of and oversimplification say that persons who chose to come same public event as you do are your friends. It would also a great disservice to say that at least I have something in common with the 2011 other cyclists who took part in yesterdays Critical Mass.
Acknowledging the power of the bicycle it like a core belief of nearly Critical Mass rider.
I have ridden my current bicycle for nearly three years it take me to many places to work, to stores and places of recreation. It also worth to mention my bicycle also take to some hard and scary places collisions with car doors and the sound of my helmet hitting the asphalt as I was falling to the ground.
I am sure if you asked the 2011 people who rode on yesterday Critical Mass if they shared any of the above experiences the would very likely said yes they did. Bicycle represents freedom to the people who ride them often and the act of riding you bicycle itself can become as fairly joyous experience.
Yesterday Mass bought so many fun riders in one place. I know that there were as least 2011 riders because one my friends on the ride counted everyone that went by him as corked and intersection he said he saw 2011 bicycles pass by him. When I stopped for a bit of a break and corked near Denam and Robson it took more then 20 minutes for all the bicycles to pass by my intersection. Critical Mass Vancouver was so colorful yesterday the are bicycles in every shape and color some with matching wheels and seats. There were riders in bright colored Aloha Shirts Girls in wigs, Guys bathing suits it just a moving party on wheels. I'm glad I was able to ride in my third consecutive June Critical Mass Ride yesterday it was great fun
Fun Trip Relaxing in Waikiki Hawaii
Brian
This Past Saturday the Vancouver Bike Club did a Great Ride where we slowly climbed up hill in Burnaby and rode down Downhill in a Trail Setting for a few k. My Bicycle preformed well in off rode setting and made understand some of the things I read about bake fade with mechanical disk brakes. Over all I was happy with bicycle and the ride although I felt a bit dehydrated by the end the ride. The Ride was about 36k round trip (use map pointer to see full route)
Last Friday Critical Mass snaked around Vancouver like a cobra ready to strike. It was a well attended rally of at 500 to 600 bikes at the Art Gallery Starting Point. Instead of the Ride going thought a major down town streets mass meet up was a Small Group of Politico Bikes Who Were having a Bike to Work Week BBQ. This was all bad news for the Ride now 600 riders needed to get through a very narrow bike lane that would at most free three bikes across. This slowed the ride down and this issue just kept building throughout the ride. Even with this Problem it was a really great mass the Vibe was good. There were aggressive bikes that taunted dives at Intersections. When I was corking a guy in a Mimi on 4th and Burrard Street Two Young Guys Road Up to Him with Camera and Make Some Stupid Comments. I had to tell the bikes to move on and that moment I felt that I was protecting the driver from the bikers as I was protecting bikers from the drivers.
Here is the Ride Route As Posted By Dragon from a Internet form
Super long ride though.
* Art gallery to Helmekan
* Around Science World
* 2nd to Cambie
* Up the side street to Broadway
* Over the Burrard Street Bridge To Georgia
* Over the Viaduct
* Through Chinatown to Gastown
* Through Gastown
* Up Howe to Robson
* Down Robson to Denman
* Over to Georgia
* Onto the Lionsgate Bridge.
* Turn around and to the ultimate downhill through Stanley Park
* Then we lost the route....
No Joke super intense.
I think there were over a thousand people at one point.
My favorite was sitting in the middle of the Lions Gate Bridge.
Totally silent.
It was a Really Great Mass I love to see how the light changed during the ride
Regards
Brian
The day trip started with a simple premise 4 persons on Bicycles ride through Sannich on their way to to Victoria and stop for lunch and return to the ferry terminal which would make for nice day trip. Living thought the ride felt more like a living a Live Eposide of The Amazing Race than a Vancouver Bike Club Day Ride.
Sannich Loop Two Tail looks like fairly flat 80 k day trip from the map posted on the Internet.
Visually it is a great ride which takes you thought the Rolling Hills of Sannich with great views of both Water Landscapes to West and Young Vineyards to East the only problem is there are no road based signs marking the Cycling Route.
So one wrong turn and you are going north when you would have been better off going south. After some careful map reading the group decided to turn around and head to Mount Newton Cross Road back to Sindey to join the Lochside Trail then it was a quick spirit to Victoria where we just made it for the last lunch sitting at Pagliacci"s (Learn about the Opera at this Link) in Victoria and then race back to Tswwassen for the 6pm ferry. Us and our Bicycles were the very last passengers that boarded the ferry. Based our estimates the group road at least 98k in about 5.5hrs of Riding so thats about 18k and hour and we burned at least 4500 calories. It was a fun ride to say the least.
Wow Sometime things just seem to work out better then you could ever plan them . This Saturdays Vancouver Bike Club at the spur of the moment decided to bike to the Burnaby Velodrome. Eleven Bike Club Members set out for a Saturday Bike Ride to Iona Breach club a tried and true destination but I would suggest something different a ride to the Burnaby Velodrome near Simon Fraser University I read on the net Velodrome Track was having a May Days event open to the public.
So at the start of the ride I took a vote 8 people voted to go the Velodrome. That was the Good News but there was a problem for me I did not now exactly how get to the our new chosen destination. Thats were the Team work came in Ben who came from his first ride in a while said he pretty much new the way. Also Cameron as always has a great sense of Bike Routs in the Greater Vancouver area. Neil had his maps and back up GPS system and it was time for the start the ride. It was Overcast sky's but the streets were dry.
We headed east thought the Adanac Street Bike Route to Frances/Union Bike way via Cliff Ave to Barnet Road to the Velodrome there were some hills during the ride but nothing too bad. As we approached the Velodrome there was a short steep hill we had to climb to enter the Velodrome Parking Area. The lot was full of cars but we did not see a any sign of bicycles and there were no bike racks to lock up to. We locked the bike to some posts and into the Velodrome bubble we went. After a short walk to the viewing area I saw my first ever in person bike sprinting going on live in front me.
There were about 25 Riders in Bright Colored Jersey's Speeding around the 200 meter Track in Fixed Gear Bikes as a team member did a hand off they (there were Women and Men on the Track at the same time) would push the other rider forward like a small catapult. The Club watched the racers and got some snacks and turned the whole proccess around for the most part and where back in Vancouver by 1:30 it was about a 45k ride total and I am really glad I did it.
Last Week Club Ride Was a Classic. A Quartet of Committed Riders Start In Kits ride thought East Van Over the Second Narrows Bridge Stop At the Sea Bus Sation for coffee and over the Lions Gate back to Vancouver and it rained for the full 3 plus hours of the ride
