H. sapiens is the species that invents symbols in which to invest
passion and authority, then forgets that symbols are inventions. -Joyce
Carol Oates, writer (b. 16 Jun 1938)
Not up until almost 8:25 am. Even Lady Dar was about to go downstairs as I clambered out of bed and Dusty was already in the kitchen by the time we were there. Latest I've slept in since arriving so obviously settling in!
Hello Fellow Bridge Players! Trust all goes well with you two. Ayn flies in to Winnipeg late tonight to stay with Corinne's sister, Pamela. Patti, sister from Petawawa, arrives tomorrow and will drive Ayn out to the lake. Chloë is house-sitting for us for most of the time we are away as she can't fly here until later this month. Back on the bike today! Hello from Rosie-the-Riveter and Dusty. Fondestos from Lady Dar to you both. Cheers, Patrizzio!
Hello BC! Trust all goes well with everyone! Congratulations to the newish grandparents! Wonderful news indeed! Cheers, Patrizzio!
Great to hear from you! Say hi to all in Falcon and area, also, sounds like a new grandchild has arrived? Congrats to everyone- say hi and our best to the new parents as well! A short vid of the Eiffel Tower from our room- we enjoy the show each night with some wine and cheese from local merchants. Looking forward to our return home tomorrow. Off to a little bistro nearby for our last French dinner. Enjoyed a huge walk from Monmarte, to Marais and other areas. Managed about 15K per day on foot in Paris, very enjoyable with Euro 2016 happening, huge numbers of fans from all countries in their colours. Great energy in the city! See you soon. Cheers, Gregg & Francesca
Hi Pat, Yes, serious looking expressions. It this a digitial version of Prairie Gothic? Is that how Ellie and i will look too, after a week out in Alberta and Saskatchewan? Thanks for the update.
Trust we will have good weather by next week. We leave for Val Marie on Tuesday, June 21, when i pick up Ellie at Tswwwassen, before 11 am. We were planning to camp in Hedley. Now, i am thinking i can make Grand Fork in 6 or 7 hours. They have a municipal campground there too. I don’t want to dawdle in BC. Our first major stop is Writing-on-Stone Prov. Park. It was on my list, long ago, but Jim also said it is a must. We are staying on a kind of B&B ranch too, near Eastend, Sask, for two nights, which positions us near the Cypress Hills. Home June 30. Enjoy your stay in Manitoba, bob
Ingolf/Fish Hatchery Blues:
After my first jolt of java Mme Coriandre presented me with a fabulous breakfast, fried mashed potatoes, two thick slabs of back bacon and a a delicious portion of scrambled eggs. Topped everything off with a goodly slather of HP Sauce and I was in heaven. Great fuel for the coming ride. Sky was extremely overcast but the forecast predicted no rain. Wind was going to be a significant factor as it was blowing at 13 kph SE when I left, around 11:30 am and was supposed to reach 17 kph SE by 2:00 pm. Couldn't face riding all the way to Rennie and then have to battle this headwind on return so decided I'd chip away at the overall distance, (100+ km), by first heading to the South Shore.
Once that loop was complete, I didpsy-doodled into the Falcon town-site and then headed for Faloma. Just before Toniata I must have frightened a deer as it bounded along the mountain bike/walking path which parallels the road at this point, for quite some distance before it charged across the road, not all that far in front of me! Make no mistake, I certainly didn't want to entertain a collision with the animal. In the past I've encountered many deer, here, and back in the Okanagan, but without exception, they either pay little if any attention or else melt away into the surrounding forest/brush without dashing across the road I'm on. My dermatologist hit a deer, on his bike, while coming down a hill, at high speed, on one of the Gulf Islands, and said he was very lucky not to have been seriously injured or killed!
Unscathed, but jumpy, I continued to make my toward West Hawk. Once there, first did the loop to the highway and then instead of making for Penniac Bay I took what is left of Historic #1 to Hunt Lake. Road is pretty rough here. Ironically, not as bad as surface on way to South Shore, although one still needs to pay careful attention. I even went a km or so past the gate which prevents vehicles from going further and turned around just below the Trans Canada where this now all but abandoned section dead ends. By the time I was heading for Penniac Bay I had logged about 46 km so I knew that if I rode to Ingolf and looped back I'd only need another 10 km, or so, towards Rennie, before I could turn around and head home.
So that is what I did and not far past the Whiteshell Fish Hatchery found that the steep hill, (now in Ontario), that presents one of the best climbs, hereabouts, wasn't nearly as difficult as I'd imagined it would be. [I suppose doing Seacrest, on the way to Oliver, has held me in good stead!] Over the crest, the rest of the way to the tiny community is just a roller-coaster, easier on the way there but not too, too bad on return. Once near the hotel there, I turned around in the small parking lot and retraced my earlier route. Just past the Ingolf Campers Community Hall another deer dashed across the road in front of me, (obviously a relative of the one near Toniata), and shortly thereafter I saw a coyote cross the road! I might well have to take to carrying a semi-automatic assault rifle, particularly since the Canada Geese near Star Lake are quite aggressive of their juvenile young!
Back on the La Vérendrye Trail I headed towards Rennie but only went just over 10 km, past Lily Pond, and then turned around. I was now fighting the brutal headwind and it didn't take long before my AVG started to drop. Surprisingly, I was able to keep it hovering between 21.8 kph-21.9 kph as every so often a twist in the road would offer slight protection from the blasts. However, by this time my legs were beginning to feel pretty weary and I wasn't overly optimistic about keeping up the struggle all the way back to Falcon. Still, I soldiered on, using valuable breath cursing at the maddening wind!
Somehow, more by Good Luck than Management, I found that once I'd climbed the hills out of Penniac Bay and made the turn towards Falcon, my AVG was still around 21.7 kph. More significantly, since the wind was raging out of the east, it was now more of a cross-wind and I could actually increase the AVG on the straightaways. Felt quite pleased as I raced down the last leg which parallels #1 and then into the town-site again for one last dipsy-doodle to push the final distance up. I want to increase the length of each ride by at least 5 km so that I can approach 140 km before we return to Penticton. At any rate, was more than delighted with course I'd chosen and AVG I'd achieved so knew there would be reason to celebrate tonight! Map and Stats for ride:
https://connect.garmin.com/modern/activity/1216063005#.V2MgjzlKybw.email
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