Hot, Hot, Hot Cycle to Victoria

Up here on the West Coast of Canada, we are just coming to the end of a heat wave - something not seen around here very often at all.

Over the past few days, the temperature at Vancouver Airport reached 34.4° C. (94°F.), and inland, 36°C. (97°F.) and, further inland, over 40°C. (104°F.). Come on, this is Canada.

Anyway, my wife and I decided a couple of months ago to take the ferry to Vancouver Island and cycle from where the ferry docks (Schwartz Bay) to Victoria (a total of 33 km) and then stay in Victoria a couple nights and then head back. We have done this for years with the girls but being 16 and 19 with jobs, etc., we ended up on our own this year (and no, they didn't have a wild party and burn down the house).

We started at the ferry. There was a summer special on so for the two of us and our bikes it was only a total of $22. It's about an hour and a half ferry ride and the BC ferries are quite comfortable.

We rode the first 10 km and then stopped at McDonalds for lunch. Not particularly healthy but good prices and the restaurant is right on the route.

The route, incidentally, is called the Lochside Trail and it's part of a bigger bike path called the Galloping Goose. It's a quiet route on either dedicated bike zones or quiet streets.

We progressed through Sidney and then the different Saanich areas (North, Central and South).

We crossed the Blenkinsop Trestle which has a great view of the marsh and also includes a statue of old farmer Roy Hawes who must have lived there at some time.

The bike route brought us right into Victoria and we made the ride through downtown to the B and B. We stayed at a place called Heathergate House which we found on the net.

It was a wonderful place to stay with friendly hosts, a clean and nicely decorated room, an amazing breakfast both mornings, and the piece de resistance, the garden where a water feature bubbled while we sat in the shade, escaping the heat and cooling down after our ride.

We then headed to our traditional first night dinner, the Old Spaghetti Factory. Good food, cool drinks, friendly service and inexpensive prices had made this a tradition for the past few years.

We were tired as we headed back, past the inner harbour, and ended up back at the room, with a couple glasses of chilled rosé before trying to sleep for the night.

In the morning, after a breakfast of bacon and homemade scones, we walked over to the Royal BC Museum to see the latest exhibit, Treasures from the British Museum. It was an excellent exhibit, one well worth seeing, which covered artifacts ranging from Ancient Egypt, Rome, Greece, China, India, and more. My only complaint was that I had seen most of these objects for free when I was in London!

After some shopping downtown, we went to the Beacon Hill Park area of the city, first for a coffee at Moka House, then for a picnic lunch in the park.

It was very hot so we walked fairly slowly, pausing in the shade when necessary.

We slowly made our way back to the B and B and had a sort of siesta in their wonderfully cool garden.

At around 7 we ended up in the Heron Rock Bistro, not far from the B and B, and had a wonderful dinner.

The service was friendly but French - meaning it took us a good two hours to eat - and I loved it! Compared to the previous night where there was a move 'em in, move em out, atmosphere, the bistro was wonderfully relaxed about the meal.

We started with an appy dish of paté, olive and prosciutto followed by NY Angus steak salad for my wife and bouillabaisse for me.

Both were incredible! A fruit crumble with a double espresso finished off the meal. We then waddled back to the B and B and rested before our return trip.

We had a good ride back to the ferry with no incidents. Had a great chat with a father and adult daughter who were also cycling. He was from Indiana and she now lived in Washington, D.C. We had an interesting discussion about crime as Vancouver has had some unusual gangland shootings during the past few months and Washington is only safe, according to the daughter, in the tourist area (the NW section). Nice folks.

We finally arrived back at the ferry terminal and hopped on the ferry. A good end to a hot but satisfying mini-holiday.

Link to Galloping Goose info

Fire!

Although this happened almost a week ago, it's taken me awhile to blog about the West Kelowna fires as I've been really busy this past week.

Last weekend, my eldest daughter and her boyfriend went up to the boyfriend's parents' vacation home in West Kelowna.

Kelowna is in a part of Canada called the Okanagan which is renown for its lakes, hot temperatures, and slow paced holiday lifestyle.

Saturday afternoon, I got the call that the boyfriend's Jeep had a coolant leak and needed a new radiator. Luckily, the shop had one in stock and would finish it the next day.


A couple of hours later, we learned of the beginning of the West Kelowna fire. It started in a place called Glen Rosa. As the afternoon progressed to evening, I monitored the fire. First 1000, then 2000, then 3000 people were evacuated and more were put on alert. The fire grew to almost 100 hectares but was still about 6 km from the vacation home.

At around 10 o'clock, there reports on Twitter of a new fire in Rose Valley - which was only a couple of kilometres from my daughter. I was getting nervous. We talked with my daughter, the boyfriend, his dad and each other until about midnight. The evacuation alert was growing but still did not affect them. I told my daughter to pack her suitcase,. leave the door unlocked and make sure she woke if someone came. As she didn't sleep all night, that wasn't a problem.

As things developed, I came to some conclusions. First, Twitter was an excellent source for the fire. By simply searching #kelownafire, I was able to get up-to-the-minute reports, links, and maps from many different people. Finally, a really useful application of Twitter!

Second, Kelowna radio (AM 1130) on the web was also a very good source of information. Although their website could have been better organized, the radio reports were frequent and current.


Finally, I concluded that Global TV was brutal. The news was old, the map of the affected area was laughable tiny and lacking in detail, the information was often inaccurate, and they played the same video clips over and over and over.


On Sunday morning, I reassembled the Firewatch Control Centre (TV, laptop, desktop, phones). Our first scrap of information from our daughter was that she was on evacuation alert now!

We encouraged them to set out for the repair shop and wait out the repairs in safety but, when they phoned, the shop said that they had the wrong kind of radiator and that it wouldn't be ready until Tuesday.

At that point, we decided t go on a rescue mission and pick them up!


Six and a half hours later and we got them from a shopping mall in Kelowna proper. The photos from today's blog were all taken at that time. Five and a half hours later, we were home.


A few days later and the fires are mostly under control and most of the 10,000 evacuees are back home. Three houses were destroyed by the fires - it could have been so much worse.

And when the boyfriend's dad flew up to pick up the Jeep yesterday, after about 10 minutes on the road, the axle broke!

I'm sure glad we went up and rescued 'em!

From "Free RIde" to "Running on Empty"

Wednesday started off as a way to take advantage of a couple of things that will no longer be around. It turned into something quite a bit different, as things turned out.


I first decided to go to the beach for lunch - White Rock beach. I had gone there previously, taking the Albion ferry, but on Wednesday I thought I'd take the newly completed Golden Ears Bridge.


Wednesday was an excellent day to take the bridge as it was the last day that it was free. Starting on Thursday, a toll is to be applied ranging from $1.40 for a motorcycle that's registered all the way up to $3.90 for a car that is not registered. I scooted up this new structure happily (and freely) and crossed into Surrey in no time.



From there I headed down to White Rock. I arrived there and parked the scoot ($2 for an hour) and wandered around, in search of lunch. I didn't want a really greasy fish and chips lunch (although I absolutely love fish and chips) and settled on a place called the Kahuna restaurant.

I ordered a bowl of clam chowder ($3.50) which was excellent. The lady who ran the place, a German, asked if I'd like some fries as she was just eating them as they were leftovers. The fries were super - and the price was certainly right!

After that, I walked on the beach.

I saw this person flying a kit - seemed like a good idea.

After, I saw this girl - I like how she was isolated on the beach.

I did have some camera problems as this was my daughter's camera (my old camera) and had junk on the lens. I photoshopped what I could...

After my walk, I headed east on my Vespa. I passed a gas station in White Rock on 16th but thought I was fine until the next station. My low fuel light then went on. I'll be fine, I thought, there'll be lots of gas stations in Langley. I was on a fairly major street and I kept looking up and down the street whenever I came to a light or stop sign. Nothing. No stores, gas stations - just farms and houses. I ended up riding 60 minutes and about 45 kilometres until I came to a gas station. I filled up and my Vespa took 5.7 litres - which seems way less than the 8.6 litres it's supposed to hold. This seems rather odd to me - did I really have another 3 litres to spare? After an hour with the low fuel light on?

I finally made it to my in-laws in Abbotsford, there to borrow my father-in-law's truck. A couple of neighbours wondered if he'd traded his truck for a Vespa and his tenant congratulated him on starting a new motorcycle game!

My Baby's Alright!

I wanted to wait a few days to be sure – but my baby is definitely in great shape now.

My last entry detailed how, for the past few weeks, when I’ve been starting from a standstill, it feels like my Vespa has been slipping or riding rough. I was worried that something was seriously wrong.

I arrived at Vespa Vancouver bright and early at the crack of 10 last Saturday morning. I had a great chat with Bob, the owner, and we talked about a variety of subjects from upgrading to a bigger scoot to electric bikes to fundraising.

He was setting up for an open house event so I dropped off my scoot and wandered off to Granville Island.

I spent a good part of the day wandering around Kits, enjoying a day of doing nothing for a change. Two lattés and an order of sushi later, about 3 pm, I headed back to Vancouver Vespa.

There was quite a party going on when I got there! The little store was packed with people looking at different scooters and electric bikes and noshing on packs of chips and soft drinks.

I made my way to the front counter and, while I was waiting, a guy walked up to me and said, “Hey, Big Guy, Small Scooter!”

It was a very odd feeling, being recognized for my blog. I’m often recognized around Maple Ridge because I’ve taught so long there but not in Vancouver and not for my blog. It was kinda cool!

It was Bob from Bobskoot. We had a nice conversation about, once again, a variety of topics. Although I love my scooter, I do not have connection to the scooter culture that he has. He told me about all these people he had seen at the open house and, although I had a vague notion who they were, it was obvious that, in the scooter culture, I don’t get out much. A very nice guy, though, and I may try to get a bit more involved during the summer. We’ll see.

Of course, the point of this entry is my scoot.

The mechanic gave it a clean bill of health. After checking all the mechanical parts, doing the maintenance, and giving it a test ride, my baby was feelin’ good. It was $130 – the usual service fee – and I was back on the road again.

Now that I’ve got almost 12,000 km on it, I wonder, if I service it regularly (about every 2000 km) and make sure all the fluids are up and try not to ride it too, too hard, will I et another 12,000 kms? 30,000? What’s the life expectancy of a 50cc scoot anyway?

I guess time will tell….

My Baby's Hurtin'

The last time I went into Vancouver, I hit quite a bit of traffic on the way so it was a bit stop and go. That's fine, I thought.

But since that time, I've noticed that the Vespa is not performing as well. That is definitely not fine, especially as it is coming up to prime riding season.

When I accelerate from a standstill, the motor seems to pull or slip for a couple of seconds and then seems to almost click into place and accelerates smoothly. It doesn't happen at any other time, just when I am accelerating from a stop.

It seems a bit worse when either the Vespa or the weather is hot. Worse uphill, too.

I've reduced my riding but certainly haven't stopped. I don't think it is getting any worse and I rely on using it.

I have an appointment with Vespa Vancouver on the 20th. Hopefully it will continue to ride OK and not get any worse. Or anything major.

Goin' State-Side

It was a perfect day for a ride - brilliant sunshine, warm temperatures and I had a little time to blow. So I decided to go state-side.


I went the usual way, taking the Albion Ferry and chatted with this guy who had an amazing looking bike. He built it himself with a little help from friends. It's hard to see but the drive belt is on the outside just behind is left foot. That would be a disaster for me. He has a 1700 cc engine and incorporates shell casings for a lot of the end pieces (like the handlebars and the shifter).

I eventually got onto 216th, thinking it was a small quiet road. It was small but not quiet. Oh well.

I've always enjoyed going into the US. I find that when you cross a border or take a ferry, even if you're not going that far, the simple passage through something official like a border crossing makes it feel that you're really away from home. And there are differences, most of them subtle, but they are there.

For example, in the US:
- the roads are better
-there's way more flags (still can't get used to that)
-the food portions are bigger
-every thing's way cheaper - especially with the Canadian dollar at almost 90¢
-there's different candy bars like Payday (you can find Pay Day bars in Canada if you look hard but they're always stale - I can go to any gas station in Washington state and they are always fresh) and Milk Duds and a whole bunch of brands we don't have
-you can't get Smarties in the US (not those wafer rolls, but really Smarties that are like MandMs but way better)
-you can get rainbow goldfish crackers - what my girls call Gay Pride Goldfish
-wine is dirt cheap - a bottle of the same wine can easily be twice as much in Canada
-people have a slight accent (which I find incredibly weird - a person from Prince George (way up north in BC) has the same accent as me but a person 90 minutes south of me definitely has an accent

I could ramble on for days as there are so many differences but there are even more similarities making a visit to the US very comfortable.

Except for the border crossing. It always feels like I'm being grilled about something. This time it was on my scoot asking how fast it went and could it go on "the Guide" and what did I mean, I took the smaller roads. I must have passed, however, and was soon on my way.


In Lynden, I went by the back of this small airfield. I loved how it was right beside the road - although a plane was taxiing, I would have loved to see some plane take off right over my head! I was going to stop in Lynden for breakfast but, by the time I got there, it was 11 and I thought I'd

Taking Hannegan Avenue from Lynden, I rode the 16 miles or so to Bellingham, or Bellis Fair Mall, to be exact. I had last been there about a year ago and found the mall quiet but beginning to recover. This time, thanks to the strong Canadian buck, the mall was pretty busy. There were a few empty stores and the Daiso store that I enjoyed so much last time was vacant. I had a lunch of clam strips and clam chowder and then shopped a bit at Target.


Although I didn't take any photos at the mall, I did take this one a few black away from the mall. It was a bit incongruous, having a field of flowers so close to a megamall.

The ride back to the border was uneventful although extremely pleasant. At the border, I declared some socks, a pair of shorts and a $6 bottle of wine. The customs officer, like big sister, said, "That $6 bottle of wine will cost you $8 in taxes if I send you inside. Remember that for next time." Yes, Ma'am, I thought. I love Canada.

Going back to what I said earlier, I love going away somewhere because it's exciting but I also love the coming home part. Whether it's crossing the border, arriving on the ferry, or landing at the airport, coming home is just wonderful!

Back in Canada, I took 264th most of the way - the road I thought would be busy - and found it to be a relaxing ride with very little traffic. A relaxing end to a very nice ride!

Cell Phone Retrieval Over Lions Gate

Yesterday, I went to a 50th birthday party for a dear friend (Happy Birthday, Stew) and prior to the party, went shopping at the Park Royal Mall in West Vancouver. I found, to my dismay, that I had last my cell phone in the mall - mind you, it didn't stop me from having an excellent time at the party....

When I returned home, there was a message on the answering machine saying that the phone had been found. Today, I retrieved the phone. Unfortunately, my camera is with my daughter who is on a band trip so the photos for today are from a variety of sources.

It was a perfect day - sunny, slight breeze and I had lots of time. I left Maple Ridge, went through Pitt Meadows and crossed the old Pitt River Bridge - the new one is being built so my crossings on the old swing bridge are numbered. I then went through Coquitlam, Port Moody and onto the Barnet Highway. It's always shady on the Barnet but it wasn't that chilly today. I then headed up Hastings through Burnaby into Vancouver.


I went through downtown and then approached my favourite bridge, the Lions Gate. Built by the Guinness family (yes, that Guinness family) in 1938, it is a beautiful bridge and has breath-taking views of Burrard Inlet, especially when you are sitting on a scooter. I looked around when I had the opportunity and enjoyed the fantastic view.


After picking up my cell phone at the mall I headed back over the bridge. At the Vancouver end of the bridge, I took a detour through Stanley Park, a huge treed park connected to downtown Vancouver. There is still considerable damage to the park caused by a huge windstorm in 2006. It was a slow, shady ride through green trees beside windy beaches and it was very good for my well being.


The way home was fairly uneventful until, in Burnaby, on Hastings, a motorist decided to change lanes into me. Luckily, I was able to maneuver out of the way but I didn't even have a chance to honk my horn (although I was able to flip the bird a minute later).

An unfortunate moment, but I didn't let it interfere with the extremely enjoyable day.

Is Bigger Better?

I spent part of the morning doing research on Motorcycle Driving Schools. Why? Because I am still trying to decide whether to go to a bigger scooter or to stay with my 50ccs. I went so far as to take my learner's at the end of last summer but have not taken the skills test or any course yet.

The skills test was going to be a no-brainer because you used to be able to take a 50cc scoot for the test but now you need one that is over 50ccs. So I haven't taken the test yet.

Now I'm looking at a Motorcycle course that would give me my skills test and help prepare me for the license test.

There are several advantages to getting my motorcycle's license...

• more speed - no more pulling over to the side or having cars line up behind me as I go up a hill
• distance - I could go a lot farther - Seattle would just be a rest stop
• passengers - right now my girls are just too damned big to safely go anywhere on a 50cc scoot - especially since I'm a big guy
• motorcycle course - probably wouldn't hurt to improve my skills
• durability - I'm not sure how long my LX50 will last as I twist-all-the-way-and-go most of the time

However (there's always a however) there's some definite cons...

• expense - it will cost more to buy one - new, maybe $6500 taxes incl. for an LX150, over $8000 for a GTS - and I could probably only get about $3000 for my LX50 (with 11,000 clicks).
• insurance - I pay less than $500 a year for insurance - it would cost over $1000 just to go to a 150.
• more speed - I am a very conservative rider with my current scoot because I have no choice - if I had more power, I would probably not stay in the right lane all the time (I certainly don't with my car) and that would put me at risk
• challenge - despite the hassles, I really do like facing the challenge of taking my little scooter all over the place - including long distances
• motorcycle course - there's another $750 cost that I don't fell I need right now with my current scoot

So there it is - I am stuck trying to decide between being Big Guy Small Scooter to being Big Guy Medium Scooter. What to do, what to do.....

Pacific Populaire

This weekend was one of the best in recent memory. The sun was shining and it was actually around 20° C. today. What great scootering weather - but I didn't scoot at all.

Why not?

Two words - Pacific Populaire.

My friend, Stew (whose photos grace the blog entry today) asked me if I wanted to join him and a friend a few weeks ago. I said that I would probably go but actually waited until the last possible moment so I could check the weather forecast. As it turned out, the weather was perfect.

I drove into Vancouver with my bike on my carrier and parked at Stew's house. Stew and I were joined by his friend, Lana, who had come over the night before from Vancouver Island. After a quick cup of tea, we headed out on our bikes to the Pacific Populaire.


The event is put on by the BC randonneurs which is a long distance cycling group. This particular event was just for fun so it attracted everyone from the serious hard-core cyclist to, well, us. There was a choice between 25, 50 or 100 km so we went up the middle and chose 50 km.


When we arrived, there was a huge lineup for registration - obviously the good weather had brought out a lot of last minute participants. Luckily we had pre-registered so we didn't have to lineup for an hour.


There were so many people registering that the ride was delayed by half an hour. Then we were off!


As usual when I'm starting of on a long ride, I went to fast and did not find my own pace until about 5 km. After that I slowed down a bit and found a pack of cyclists at my own speed. The ride starts in Vancouver at a place called Riley Park and goes along streets that have dedicated bike lanes. We headed south and eventually crossed the bridge over the Fraser River and went by Vancouver Airport. We then ended up cycling in Richmond.


The Richmond part of the ride was very enjoyable as it was relatively flat and there wasn't too much traffic.


At around the 20 km mark, we stopped for a quick coffee at a coffee shop. It was a nice break as we watched the other cyclists whizz by but eventually the sweeper of the 50 km ride stopped by and we decided it was time to press on!


We made good time on the 5 km to the halfway mark and then got our control cards stamped.


Happily there was a nice variety of food including bananas, cookies and cakes.

We had a quick rest and then got back on the bikes as we didn't want to stay at the back of the pack....


I felt really good for the next several kilometres. We made good time as the roads were smooth and the headwind eventually dissipated. We continued on until we crossed the bridge back into Vancouver. Then began the hill back up to the start. Although I slowed a bit on the hills, I still made pretty good time.


Finally, we rode into Riley Park and received a pin to commemorate our ride. We finished the 50 km ride in 3 hours and 24 minutes but that included the 30 minute stop for coffee. After having a couple more cookies and a celebratory photo, we headed to another coffee shop for a quick latte. A very enjoyable ride, but I don't know if I'll be up to the 100 km next year!

White Rock Beach

It's been a while but I really haven't had anything to say up until now. I've ridden my scooter to school and to a few appointments but the unseasonable crappy weather and the busy-ness of life has affected my blogging.

Today, however, I have a reason to blog!

I had finished my planning for the week, done a couple jobs around the house, and had some time left in the afternoon. It was a beautiful sunny day, although only a crisp 9° C. (whatever that is in Fahrenheit - maybe around 50°). I decided to see if I could make a round trip to White Rock beach in the two hours before dinner. It was, as it turned out, a bit of a challenge.

I first took the Albion Ferry to cross the river. I'm getting quite nostalgic about the Albion Ferry. The Golden Ears bridge will be opening downstream in June and so the free ferry will stop running at the end of July. The bridge will have a toll while the ferry doesn't and the bridge is really out of the way for me. People have always complained about the lineups at the ferry but if you're on two wheels, you go right up to the front! I'm hopeful that some private operator will take over the route....

My way to White Rock, a beach on the ocean, was a bit busy. I chose roads that were very well travelled and I ended up pulling over quite a bit. One place that I pulled over had this lovely, friendly sign greeting people from the road.

I arrived in White Rock and my mind was flooded with memories from my past. When I was small, my parents took us there quite frequently for holidays. It's funny, I lived in Vancouver but we hardly ever went to Vancouver beaches as a family - always to White Rock! I think it held a special place for my parents as they met there. The Cottage fish and chips restaurant has gone through many changes but was the favourite place for my family many years ago.

I parked my scoot near some motorcycles and I'm sure we were all illegally parked. Problem is, it's pay parking everywhere else and I knew I wasn't going to be there long.

I walked over the tracks to the beach. When I was a kid, I remember putting a bunchy of pennies on the track just before a train went by and collecting as many flattened pennies as I could find. Do kids still do that today? I don't know.

I spent a grand total of 15 minutes admiring the scenery. It was a busy place with lots of people milling around. As I sat at a picnic table I saw: on the other side or the table was a women and her baby; the bench next to me had two teenage girls chatting and laughing; on the beach in front of me, a biker guy sand girl were lying against a log smoking a joint. Interesting mix.

I headed back a different way which was much better. Going up 184th Street most of the way home, there was little traffic and not too many hills. There was a patch of construction where I had to go over gravel for half a kilometre but it was fine other than that.

Just before turning back to Fort Langley, I came across the almost completed Golden Ears bridge. It was quite the sight and quite the engineering feat.

Finally, I took the ferry back home, arriving just as my wife was serving up a warm stew for dinner. It was a good ride, one well worth blogging.

Buntzen Lake

It was a beautiful Saturday today - sunny and crisp - and I felt like going for a local scoot. The temperature was pretty good for a day in February - around 12° C. - but I didn't feel like a long trek.

After coffee at a relative's house in Port Coquitlam, I headed towards my destination, Buntzen Lake. Buntzen lake holds many warm summer memories with my side of the family as we often meet there near the end of summer and catch up on vacation highlights.

I turned off the Lougheed Highway and went up Ioco Road and then towards the community of Anmore. It was quite a steep climb up the hill and a fairly twisty road. On the map above, it's the red route. Parts of the road in Anmore were very rough and bumpy and I had to slow down considerably.

I went through Anmore (basically a residential area) and continued onto Buntzen Lake. At the entrance of the park was a sign that read "Caution - Extremely Slippery Road". At this point I thought, hmm, maybe the fact that I'm on a scooter means I'm a bit of risk taker in the first place so perhaps I will carefully try this road. Also, the temperature was warmish and the sun was out so I carefully went down the road.

I did notice a fair bit of snow on the sides of the road but there were no near death experiences on the road or, for that matter, during the entire ride.

I arrived at the lake to a beautiful vista. I snapped a few photos, noticing that the people that were there to have a picnic had the whole beach for themselves! I would have stayed longer but I smelled hot dogs cooking over a over a barbecue and realized I had missed lunch.

I went a different way back, through Belcarra and Ioco. The road was much better as were the opportunities for photos.

I first stopped in Ioco and took this picture looking at Burrard Inlet. It was very bright out at this point which is why the photo is a bit washed out. Still, I liked the sparkling water from this viewpoint.

On my way down the hill, I also saw this church/religious centre. I liked the look of this old house and how it was being used.

I ended up in Newport Village (where Ioco Road meets the Lougheed Highway) and had a latté and a prosciutto and bocconcini sandwich at an Italian café before heading home - feeling warm and content despite the crispness in the air.

Back in Black - well sort of...

Well, maybe back in green and black....

So why, oh readers of the blogosphere, has this blog been so silent these past few weeks?

Well, not long after my last blog entry, I scooted off to school one morning. It was icy out but I thought, hey - I'm careful, I know what I'm doing, I'm experienced, and I'm Canadian so cold weather should be a snap for me.

I was wrong.

Yes, I know Steve Williams rides in minus 20° temperatures and has no problem. A few weeks ago, there I was, with the mercury at maybe -2°C. , on the way to school in the morning. Just before the turn for the school, I hit a nasty patch of black ice and slipped and slid for about 15 metres. Miraculously, I managed to somehow stay on the scoot and recover. Even better, another teacher from my school was right behind me and witnessed what he thought was some great riding. Thus ended Near Death Experience Number 48. (No, that's probably not an accurate count - I'm actually just guessing!)

Even though that day ended in a sunny ride home, I have to admit I was a bit shaken. Between that, more cold weather, and some school related reasons, I did not ride at all until yesterday.

Yesterday, I rode just to school and back. Nice ride, a bit cold but not icy. Some sun in the afternoon.

Then today, I decided to not only to go to school but I also had an appointment in New Westminster.

It was my first longish ride in a very long time - and the Vespa performed very well. What was more revealing was that I felt wonderful after I returned home. Yes, a little chilled but very positive. It's that elusive feeling that I have missed so much over the past while - sort of a excited contentment that seems to come out of nowhere. I know I've blogged about it before but I'm still amazed at the positive effects of scooter riding.

Now I'm looking forward to a bit more frequent rides - and some more regular blogging. Here's hoping.....