The Beer Can

Saturday was a beautiful day for a ride. The kind of day that makes you want to bike from sea to sea. Fred and I met at 7:30 AM and went up to the Thousand Trails campground just past Cultus Lake. It's about 29 klm (18 mi) from our house. It was a real enjoyable ride. Elly picked Fred up a little later and I spent the day at the campground with Shelley and her family. I left for home around 6:30 PM. I was about 5 minutes down the road when I heard a vehicle coming from behind, then I heard an object whiz by me and hit the ground. It sounded "heavy", son of a gun, it was a can of beer! I don't think it was light beer either. Thankfully the guy throwing it at me has his ability to use his brain equally matched with his ability to hit a moving target from a moving vehicle.

Of course, he may not have had an intent to injure, it may have been the "thrill" of it all. It reminds me of the time we were camping at Deception Pass State Park in Washington with friends. We were on the beach, along with the sea gulls, when my friend picked up a rock and threw it at one of them. Like he's actually going to hit it. Well, there was a "squawk" followed by a thud as it hit the ground. That was one dead sea gull. Of course, he felt a little bad and embarassed by it as he didn't mean for that to happen!

So I'll give the guy in the beat up blue Toyota pick up truck the benefit of the doubt. But really, there are better ways to share a beer with a cyclist than throwing it at him from behind. Such a waste.

The Great Toilet Paper Caper

OK, "Great" is a bit of an embelishment, but it has a nice ring to it.

This past Saturday I got out for a bit of a ride, over to my inlaws and back, about 35 klm (21 miles) round trip. I like to use my MP3 when I ride solo, and upon arriving at my destination, I tucked it into the pocket on the backside of my jacket. I hung around for a bit, then proceeded to head home, MP3 player dug out of my pocket and back in place in my ears. Just down the road, I passed Shelley going the other way. She saw me and began to wave. It's always nice running into people you know while biking isn't ?

When I got home and off of my bike, I noticed a 3 foot long piece of toilet paper hanging from my back side. How in the world did that get there ? Upon further inspection, I noticed it was unused. What a relief !

When I told Shelley about this incident she said, "Yes, I saw it. That's why I was waving at you. I was trying to tell you you had toilet paper stuck to you." Seems Shelley had put it in the pocket one time when she had worn the jacket and had a cold.

So, I biked 17 k with a white streamer that day. Could be worse, lots worse!

Need For Speed

OK, I admit, I don't have a need for speed. What I do have is a need for comfort, and I still haven't found what I'm looking for.

Our Sunday afternoon ride included a new cyclist, expanding our group to four. The new cyclist is Tony B, also a member at Chilliwack CRC. Tony is a chicken farmer, but I do say, a pretty athletic chicken farmer. He owns a bike, but it's more of a cruiser (truck) as opposed to a road bike. So Tony used my bike and I borrowed Fred's wife's bike. Elly's bike is a good road bike, although a little on the small side for me. I could tell because my knees kept hitting my elbows.

So we picked Tony up on route, bikes loaded on the back of my truck. Tony comes out of his house wearing a golf shirt and khaki shorts. "Hey Tony, we're going biking, not golfing".

Well, the bike route was nice and scenic, going from Mission to Harrision Hot Springs, about 55 klm (33 mi) and the breeze was going the right way. There is one good sized climb near the end which also has a fairly long, windy, rapid descent. Fred and Art were already ahead and Tony was behind me. Once my speed had built up, I used the brakes a little, but then I hear "Coming by!" and it's Tony, riding my Opus Andante racing bike, golf shirt and khaki shorts flapping and fluttering in the breeze!

When we finished, I checked the computer on my bike (the one Tony was riding) to see what speed he had hit. My previous high was 58 (35) but the computer now showed 70 (42)! I guess Tony has a need for speed! Either that or I forgot to tell him how to use the brakes. He thought it was quite the rush anyhow. I think he'll be buying a road bike soon. (He'll likely be trading his khaki in for some of that nice spandex too!)

The ride took us 2 hours, averaging 27.5 (16.5) per hr. So a typical Sea to Sea day will mean doing that length twice. The trick is to not peak too early, but I don't think I'm in danger of that quite yet.