Slug87
01-16-2008, 06:06 PM
Last Friday night I am being a useless couch potato, when the weather forecast comes up on the screen.
'Rainy overcast week-end till Monday, and after that blue sky.'
So I called work and went have some fun in the snow on a trip to Calgary instead of wasting my time.
Fast forward to this past Tuesday morning: I was able to roll the bike out under a perfect blue sky. Since I needed to renew my US Visa, a quick ride on US soil seemed like the ticket, and the extra reason to make the engine run a bit.
I had not ridden the beast since January first.
Crossing the Fraser on the Albion Ferry provided a cloudless view of Mount Baker.
http://gstouring.com/BCSB/Lynden/FraserCrossing.jpg
No waiting time, and extra care going up and down the wooden ramps made for a pretty stress free crossing. Upon landing on the Fort Langley side I waved to the only other rider I saw all day. Yes yes a Harley rider.
http://gstouring.com/BCSB/Lynden/Washington.jpg
I entered the land of the 'pseudo frees' at the Aldergrove crossing after a terrible 8 minutes wait. ;-)
http://gstouring.com/BCSB/Lynden/Dairy.jpg
Quick stop for an ice-cream at that very popular dairy place.
http://gstouring.com/BCSB/Lynden/Lynden.jpg
Then into Lynden.
http://gstouring.com/BCSB/Lynden/MillLynden.jpg
More Dutch things under a near perfect blue sky.
http://gstouring.com/BCSB/Lynden/Barn.jpg
Then it was time to hit the open road for a little bit in the local countryside.
I was shocked to discover that cops had nothing better to do but to roam all over the place. Shame really as there was very little traffic and I had a really hard time to find some potholes in the road, unlike back in the GVRD...
http://gstouring.com/BCSB/Lynden/Resto.jpg
So I headed back to Lynden to find a classic dinner.
http://gstouring.com/BCSB/Lynden/Burger.jpg
Time to swallow a few calories to warm up.
I then decided that I would try to avoid the rush hour fun of the GVRD, and headed back towards the city via the same crossing, and zero avenue. Those stupids speed bumps along the border are tons of fun on my bike.
Crossing the Alex Fraser with very little traffic was an incentive for pushing the speed a bit. As a reward, I ended up experiencing the coldest feeling of the entire day, especially on the tip of my fingers. I miss my old heated grip.
http://gstouring.com/BCSB/Lynden/Richmond.jpg
Back in Richmond the clouds have returned. And now the temperature is dropping fast.
Time to go home.
Well unless the weather man mess up big time. It looks like Sunday might be just the ticket for another ride.
I would love to go earlier, but the sun need to do its work and clean up some frost first. A Squamish run is out of the question as it is in the shade till probably lunch time anyway.
'Rainy overcast week-end till Monday, and after that blue sky.'
So I called work and went have some fun in the snow on a trip to Calgary instead of wasting my time.
Fast forward to this past Tuesday morning: I was able to roll the bike out under a perfect blue sky. Since I needed to renew my US Visa, a quick ride on US soil seemed like the ticket, and the extra reason to make the engine run a bit.
I had not ridden the beast since January first.
Crossing the Fraser on the Albion Ferry provided a cloudless view of Mount Baker.
http://gstouring.com/BCSB/Lynden/FraserCrossing.jpg
No waiting time, and extra care going up and down the wooden ramps made for a pretty stress free crossing. Upon landing on the Fort Langley side I waved to the only other rider I saw all day. Yes yes a Harley rider.
http://gstouring.com/BCSB/Lynden/Washington.jpg
I entered the land of the 'pseudo frees' at the Aldergrove crossing after a terrible 8 minutes wait. ;-)
http://gstouring.com/BCSB/Lynden/Dairy.jpg
Quick stop for an ice-cream at that very popular dairy place.
http://gstouring.com/BCSB/Lynden/Lynden.jpg
Then into Lynden.
http://gstouring.com/BCSB/Lynden/MillLynden.jpg
More Dutch things under a near perfect blue sky.
http://gstouring.com/BCSB/Lynden/Barn.jpg
Then it was time to hit the open road for a little bit in the local countryside.
I was shocked to discover that cops had nothing better to do but to roam all over the place. Shame really as there was very little traffic and I had a really hard time to find some potholes in the road, unlike back in the GVRD...
http://gstouring.com/BCSB/Lynden/Resto.jpg
So I headed back to Lynden to find a classic dinner.
http://gstouring.com/BCSB/Lynden/Burger.jpg
Time to swallow a few calories to warm up.
I then decided that I would try to avoid the rush hour fun of the GVRD, and headed back towards the city via the same crossing, and zero avenue. Those stupids speed bumps along the border are tons of fun on my bike.
Crossing the Alex Fraser with very little traffic was an incentive for pushing the speed a bit. As a reward, I ended up experiencing the coldest feeling of the entire day, especially on the tip of my fingers. I miss my old heated grip.
http://gstouring.com/BCSB/Lynden/Richmond.jpg
Back in Richmond the clouds have returned. And now the temperature is dropping fast.
Time to go home.
Well unless the weather man mess up big time. It looks like Sunday might be just the ticket for another ride.
I would love to go earlier, but the sun need to do its work and clean up some frost first. A Squamish run is out of the question as it is in the shade till probably lunch time anyway.