I likely can't ride Sunday, so I plan to do a bit of a longer, slightly earlier, faster ride on Friday. The emphasis will be on speed and making it back for coffee. We'll still stop for mechanicals, but...
Leave Wonger's Wait (Petrocan at Shelbourne and Hillside) at 5:45. Should still make Shoal Pt. coffee by 7:30 or so.
Here's the route. (That was a fast August morning: 24 avg. to coffee. I'm guessing we'll be a klick or two slower this week, given wet and darkness.)
I'll plan to join you so long as I can kick this cold by then. I may meet you at Lochside and Blenkinsop greenway intersection though - you think you'd be there by 6 am?
Given the Panama Flats flooding, what about taking Elk Lake all the way to Sayward and coming back through Cordova Bay -upper trails then down the steep Grant Park descent or through the trails from the water tower back to Lochside? Just a thought....
And anything but south from Bear Hill Road at Brookleigh would put our Shoal Pt. coffee in jeopardy, I’m afraid. (Though I recognize it must hurt, as a North Gordon Head resident every time rides head south for their entire second half!)
The Panama Flats workaround on the Grange cut-throughs has been effortless over the past fortnight.
For what it's worth, I rode through Panama Flats on slicks last night and it was all cool aside from a small creek crossing (no dismount required). Although I'd just sampled 6 whiskies at Vic Caledonian, so my perceptions may have been slightly skewed.
I had a really good time on our ride this morning. Some of it was as fun as a roller coaster, some of it made me taste blood (in a good way), and all of it made me feel good to be alive. It was great to have strong-willed and willing company; thanks for losing a few minutes of sleep for an early-early ride!
After my Swiss tendency drove us to miss Alan at Wonger's Wait by four minutes and the poor guy rode alone for miles in the dark, I thought I'd exchange some of my Friday night for penance, by way of a few flyby-GIF immortalizations.
(Though I recognize it must hurt, as a North Gordon Head resident every time rides head south for their entire second half!)
