People share a common nature but are trained in gender roles. -Lillie
Devereux Blake, novelist, essayist, and reformer (12 Aug 1833-1913)
Watching Olympic coverage with Etta and Duke! Both kittens hope to participate in "Galloping", a new sport to be introduced in the next Summer Olympics, in Tokyo, 2020! They should be peaking by then so we anticipate Gold!
Hello to The Eggman, Santiago and Glasgow! Just a quick note to say what a grand time it was to see all three of you together, in one place, at one time, not since we last played, lo these 26 years since! Thank you for the one beer and three chips, Eggman, much appreciated! I had hoped to pop by on Wednesday to say hello again, John, but simply ran out of time. It looks as if my hip surgery will be scheduled for September 14th so I will need to be back in Vancouver a few days beforehand. Perhaps we can arrange another visit at that time but I know everyone has busy schedules.
Santiago, thank you so much for the wonderful, wonderful dinner and the marvelous wine and malt. I haven't had to drive home with one eye shut ever since I stopped playing squash! Keep me informed about KVR ride and if it works we'd love to see you here. Glasgow, thanks again for your generous donation! I forgot to give you your cheque so I've torn it up and eaten the pieces!
Until next we four meet, all the best to one and all. Fondestos and Cheers, Patrizzio/Il Conduttore! PS: Sad story of today's bike ride, if interested!
Lazy sleep-in this morning and then an even slower start to the day as I had quite a few phone calls to make to the five wineries that have my Visa card number on file to pay for wine-club shipments. [Left my card in Frank Slide at the end of June so had to request a new one!] Then I needed to change my card number, online, with Treo. By the time I'd done this and accomplished a few chores it was close to noon by the time I was ready to leave the house. The wind was not blowing all that strongly, 11 kph N, so I decided I'd make a run for OK Falls and battle it on return leg.
This being the case I decided I rack up a bit of distance before heading along Government so made for PTC and then up Vancouver. Once I'd made the loop to Upper Bench and was racing down Johnson I took a quick dipsy-doodle back along Middle Bench and on the return leg here saw a family of five deer, three adults and two fawns, all enjoying the shade of a large tree by the side of the road. Then to Government and it was great to have the wind at my back all the way along Eastside, (Sad to say I saw the body of what I took to be a yearling, on the lake side of the road, about a km past the last houses south of city limits of Penticton.), and the McLean Creek turn-off. Now that I've climbed Anarchist any shorter ascents seem "easy" in comparison, so I quite enjoyed the distance as it is only a little over 2 km to the top, as opposed to almost 15 km for the grind out of Osoyoos!
Then I was swooping down into OK Falls, past Syncromesh. [Sign near the closed gate: "Thanks! See You Next Year!" Very tiny production so I gather they are all sold out. Glad for the winery but annoyed at myself for not visiting sooner as I do like many of their offerings.] Bit of dipys-doodling around the lakeside park here as I wanted to log 71 km by the time I was back home and knew, given what I had in mind for the rest of the ride, that I'd need to collect an additional 10 km at some point, before I returned on Eastside. Anyway, once I'd completed the loop here I took Maple all the way to Oliver Ranch Road and when on it took the turn-off to Liquidity and headed for Blue Mountain. Good short climb up to the road that runs along the lovely cliffs at the top of this gorgeous bench. Each time I drive or ride here the view of Vaseux and the magnificent hills which surround it take my breath away. Furthermore, the emerald green of the truly extensive vineyards carpeting the gentle slopes of the bench is truly something to behold. If you have not enjoyed this particular vista, Dear Reader, I urge you to do so at your earliest opportunity. Wow! Wow! Wow! Not something to be missed if you can swing it.
Bit of a struggle on the way back, [I turn around just before the cattle guard which leads to Blue Mountain Winery itself.], as the grade is slightly uphill for most of the way and now the wind was showing me just how strong it was. Some relief on the way back down to Oliver Ranch Road as the hill makes for a very quick, zig-zag descent, and then a dizzying rush down it to Sun Valley Way where the relatively easy climb past Stag's Hollow and Wild Goose begins, once past Duda Nursery. Then back towards OK Falls, with another dipsy-doodle around a number of the crescents off 10th, only as far as the climb back up McClean Creek Road begins. One last loop back to loop the park on the lake and then it was Eastside for me.
New tarmac out of OK Falls is a delight and always helps to mitigate the force of any head wind. Was pretty pleased at my AVG, around 21.3 kph, as I made my way towards Penticton. Was just congratulating myself on being about 11 km from home when I heard a fairly loud bang. At first I thought it wa smy water bottle. If I've filed it with "fuzzy water" the agitation it receives often causes it to "blow" the cap open with a fairly startling noise,a t least the first few times it happened. Unfortunately, it was not my water bottle but my rear tire, as I soon realized! Nothing to do but pull over and walk a few paces to where there was a a gate leading to a road up into the hills. Took off my pack and hoped that Lady Dar had taken her cellular with her on her round of errands when I realized that I had neglected to bring my own phone! Very, very annoyed with myself but nothing to do but start to hoof it so when I could , I crossed the road to be facing oncoming traffic.
I knew I was about 11 km from home so quite distance to walk. This being the case, when I came to the start of the relatively smooth tarmac which leads almost all the way back into town, I knew I was close to a pull-off which is just beyond a small municipal quarry on the east side of Eastside Road. I've often seen people filling up the trunks of their cars or the beds of pick-ups with the lovely rocks one finds here, blasted or otherwise excavated from the low cliffs here. Technically, I don't think this is legal but I suppose when such wonderful landscaping material presents itself, for free, temptation is too much for those who need such attractive stone. Decided I'd try to hitch hike here as there is plenty of room for anyone to pull over and park safely. Didn't have to wait for very long when a large commercial van, Modern PURAIR® Penticton, emblazoned on the side, stopped just past where i was standing. Very friendly and helpful young man, Bryce by name, told me he could take me into town and proceeded to load my bike into his vehicle, through the large side door.
Had a grand chat with him all the way back and we talked about where he was from, [Moved to Penticton when he was 7, with his family, and after high school, I gather, did some travelling around Canada in a van he bought, then lived in Vancouver for a year or so before returning to the Okanagan.], and how very glad he was to be back where he started. I shared some of my own story about ending up here and we also talked about some of the music we liked. He noticed I was wearing Barefoot Wine sunglasses, [Chloë had picked up two pairs for me at the Folk Fest Beer Garden!], and he suggested that I shouldn't miss the Summer Concert Series, Show #5, featuring Daniel Wesley, a name I don't know, this coming Monday at the Barefoot Beach Resort, a venue I didn't know either, just off Skaha Lake Road not far from Airport Road. For my part, I mentioned The Harpoonist and the Axe Murderer, the stunning group we'd heard at the Folk Fest and who will be appearing at Tinhorn Creek late this month. He seems to like many of the musical offerings at the Dream Café as well so it was a most entertaining ride.
He dropped me off in the Canada Superstore parking lot and after thanking him so much for his kindness, I made my way along Main back home. Lady Dar was still out when I arrived but a few minutes later she returned. It was close to 4:30 pm by then so I quickly loaded my bike onto the rack and drove to Freedom. Turned out that my rear tire has worn pretty thin, hence not much protection for the sensitive new age inner tube, and I am now the proud owner of an All Condition Armadillo Elite and, with replacement tube, labour, etc., $100 poorer! Still, cannot complain since I have logged a fair bit of distance since Falcon and the GranFondo. Furthermore, as I'm probably going to have hip-replacement surgery on September 14th, my Trek should be in pretty good shape until then. My chain didn't need replacing and everything else seemed in good nick so I'll need to ride like the wind until Clive Duncan comes to work his orthopedic magic! Literally, Hip Hip Hooray!!! Cheers, Patrizzio, Frustrated but Resigned and Drowning My Sorrows with a 2014 Upper Bench Chardonnay, 14.4%! Map and Stats for ride:
https://connect.garmin.com/modern/activity/1300813742#.V65cOEeFSIg.email
No comments:
Post a Comment