Cool and Crisp Jack Frost Early Morning Blues: Monday, April 3rd!

You have to fall in love with hanging around words. -John Ciardi, poet and etymologist (1916-1986)

Hi Patrick I was just deleting old emails and realized that I had not thanked you for sending the pics from the rugby sevens, some really nice photos.
All is well in soggy Vancouver and we are finally starting to dry out with some sunny spring like weather and yesterday I cleaned up the BBQ and got the cobwebs off my bike. Tomorrow I am playing golf with the lads , hopefully in the sun, and the "old mans" golf club opening day is this Thursday, and the forecast is for rain!!

Photo: Daniel Koerner

I went to the opening social last Tuesday and decided it was too depressing to hear everybody's ailments and that this will be my last attendance. Dave haddleton asked me to join the golf club in 2006, which is now eleven years ago, and it has been a lot of fun playing semi competitive golf with him and Dave Cooke, but this year neither are playing, and I will be a "spare" playing probably with younger, keener, golfers. Hopefully I will be able to hold my own !! When are you next in Vancouver? We didn't get much time to chat during the rugby visit. Cheers Mick

Hi Rain City Golfer! Great that you are back on the links but sorry to hear the Captain Haddock and Captain Cook are not playing anymore. Time and tide and aging joints! Yes, rugby was a wonderful whirlwind, with little time to visit, as you mention, but glad you enjoyed snaps. We are back in May, probably driving in on Wednesday, the 10th. Lady Dar's Library School class reunion is on that weekend, with events on Friday and Saturday evening, so perhaps we can arrange a visit, depending on your grand-parenting obligations!!! We'll be heading back on Monday, the 15th.

Off to Lens on Lent again, this evening, a film series at Oasis, Lady Dar's United Church of choice, here in Penticton. Film to be screened is Dark Horse: The Incredible True Story of Dream Alliance, a 2014 documentary. In case you don't know it: "In a small valley town in South Wales, a barmaid decides to breed a racehorse she ultimately names Dream Alliance. She and her husband buy a broodmare and she asks other villagers to join in the effort with funding and advice. The horse goes on to win the Welsh Grand National."Fondestos to you both. Will be in touch before we next head into Vancouver, to see if we can arrange a visit. Cheers, Patrizzio! Pics: Lady Dar's gluten-free cauliflower biscuits. Very, very tasty! Etta: Luxury, Sheer Luxury!!!

 

I awoke a few minutes before 6:00 am after a very sound sleep, in spite of having two cats wedged between my legs for most of the night! Beavered away at email, with a tasty mug of java until Lady Dar appeared. She was off to yoga and then a number of other appointments and errands so we bade one another goodbye. I had breakfasted on yogurt, sliced apple and granola but wanted to have a sandwich before I left to go cycling. Once I'd fueled myself, (I was planning a 100 km ride so needed additional sustenance, Dear Reader!), I suited up, applying sunscreen as well as I knew it was supposed to be sunny with little cloud cover.

Was ready to roll by about 11:30 am and set off for Lakeshore. Wanted to log about 20 km, gerbalizing, before tackling Vancouver Ave for the Middle Bench/Upper Bench Loop. Head wind, whenever I had to ride into it, wasn't too, too bad and by the time I made the climb and completed the loop there, I was soon whistling back to Riverside, heading for Red Wing East. After completing one circuit of this development I had almost 40 km on the clock when on 97. Again, head wind wasn't overly strong and I actually reached an AVG of about 20.5 kph by the time I turned onto Wharf Street into Trout Creek, with 50 km on the clock. Very pleased about both as I knew my planned goal was coming together quite nicely. 

I had been paying close attention to the distances between various points along my route, the better to calibrate how much dipsy-doodling I'd need to do as the ride progressed. Since it is almost exactly 10 km from the corner of Wharf and 97 to the end of Lakeshore Drive in Crescent Beach my odometre read 61 km by the time I there. Did a few loops of crescent Beach to kick up my distance to 66 km before heading back to Trout Creek. Once off the designated bike/pedestrian path I did two loops around Thomber/Landry Crescent so that I was at 83 km when back on 97, crossing at the lights on  Johnson. I rode up Johnson for about a km so that I was at 85 km by the time I returned to 97. 

With the wind now behind me I was able to push my AVG over 21 kph and when I hit Red Wing West I was registering close to 93 km worth of distance with an AVG of 21.3 kph. One quick loop here and then back into Penticton and onto Riverside. Needed a minor dipsy-doodle into the parking lot of the mini-mall there to put me at 96 km and then I knew I was home free to break the 100 km mark by the time I was back at Burns. I was a tad concerned that the slight uphill grade on Ellis would cause my AVG to drop but with the wind and mind over matter I was able to push myself hard enough to maintain what I had worked so hard to achieve. Hip Hip Hooray! First 100 km+ ride of 2017! Onward!! Fight!!! Cheers! Map and Stats for ride:

https://connect.garmin.com/modern/activity/1657004658#.WOLdyX-scz4.email

Patrizzio, I did the ARC today,(Arbutus Railway Corridor), … turns out not as physically demanding as your dippsy-doodling-100K rides, but a good start for me! Be nice if they extended it over the river, all the way to Steveston! Couldn’t figure out how to pass on a shared link, and it’s late, so I just attached some screen grabs.

Construction visit any time the last two weeks of April, even going into May a bit - I know you have a trip planned) - looks good. Let’s update ourselves on a project and have a plan. You still talking shelves / storage / display unit for your vinyl based acoustic repertoire?
Q. How many shelves does a household need? A. Just a couple more  

I’d like to bring my freshly cleaned and tuned bike and do a one day up-as-far-as-we-go and back along he KVR. Touch bases soon. May require a trip to Kelowna for supplies. Branko [*] No habrá paz para los malvados [*]  There will not be peace for the evil ones!

Hi Ragin'! Did you pick up a Garmin? Which model? You can share the link for a given ride by invoking the symbol that looks something like this <, with dots at the end of the connecting lines. This will allow you to choose how you wish to post link. Took me a while to figure out many of the features and am sure I only use a fraction, even now. I really like having a record, particularly over new territory. I even take my Garmin hiking. Would be great if ARC did go all the way to Steveston, as you say. Perhaps someday!

The shelving quotation was wonderful! Timing in April/early May would be more than fine. Lady Dar is busing into Vancouver on Sunday, April 23rd to return on Tuesday, 25th so if you would like company, and can visit at this time, she could drive back to Penticton with you. You will need to let us/her know so she can book bus accordingly. Of course, you are welcome whenever your Dad's care arrangements allow.

With respect to biking the KVR it is possible to go as far north as The Little Tunnel, on a very good, hard-pack surface, about 35 km, round-trip from our place. From there on roadbed deteriorates somewhat but is still okay as far as Chute Lake, I gather. I've only gone about 3 km north of LT myself, but am keen to go to Chute Lake if it works. From there, all the way to Kelowna, it is very rough, according to a number of hiking friends. 

However, if we should go to Kelowna for supplies, we can take our car with its two bike rack and ride the KVR trestles outside of the city. Lady Dar could drop us off at either end of this wonderful section and we could even ride back down into Kelowna after that. [I rode it last September, before my hip replacement.] Believe trestle section is only about 10 km, probably less, one way, and one can return to Kelowna from either end. Basically all downhill, with some very steep parts, so a pretty taxing climb if one wants to ride to trestles themselves.

Another terrific, flat section, starts on the west side of Skaha, just below airport runway and hugs the shore all the way to OK Falls. We can follow the bike path from Lakeshore, beside the tubing channel to where on connects with the KVR. I have ridden this a number of times and it is immensely enjoyable.

At OK Falls one can continue further south, on the west side of Vasseux but I've not done this. I'll have to ask Aarturo about some of route as he has done it a couple of times, I believe. I gather it has not been maintained to the same extent at the two sections between LT and OK Falls. Nevertheless, plenty of places to explore.

Cheers, Patrizzio!
Patrick, So kind of you to send photos of the NDP candidate and office. I was going to write Corinne and ask her to give you some rest time but after those photos forget it!!!!! By the way 40% of the Liberal candidates are women - just a little fact to share with you. We just had company for dinner to watch the Final 4 game and are so sad that Gonzaga lost. Pretty neat that they got to the final as they are a very small school. Cheers, Dawn 

Hi Snarkoid filled with Factoids! Just another nickname to share with you! Although I don't follow March Madness I had heard about the number of Canadian players on a number of the top teams. I was rooting for Gonzaga as well, given their remarkable results. Mighty Mites indeed! While you were couch-potatoeing, I was probably cycling. Just another fact, ma'am. Just the facts!

Fondestos to you both. Buona Foruna with campaigning! Will certainly be in touch before election day to see if we can arrange to change your anti-tree-hugging stance! Fondestos and Cheers from Lady Dar, on the phone to Telus to see if subscribing to recently installed fibre-optic service will save us time and money so that she can buy more shoes!

Cheers, Patrizzio! Pic: Etta firmly believes she is living in Terrace with independently wealthy, grasping capitalists! 


Hi Old Farts, The weather warms … the ground dries … let’s go hiking! This Thursday, we plan to visit an old stomping ground, Rattlesnake Mountain in Summerland. 
  We will meet at 0900 at IGA in S’land (0840 at Home Hardware parking lot in P’ton, carpool to the base of Rattlesnake, near Bentley Road, and explore the mountain. 

We will finish with coffee at the Beanery afterwards. Please let me know if you intend to join us so that I can have some idea of numbers (in case we have to limit). 

Cheers, Jim Hi, Just a correction. The date for Thursday was given as April 5th. It should read April 6th. Sorry for the mistake. Cheers, Jim