Mothers Day Cross Ride- Fun in the Forest!

[Dolly]

Just thought I would redirect the Mothers day discussion to a new thread for the Sunday cross ride. For all those Gals who can do whatever they want on Mothers Day ( Louise, Ann, Mary....and of course, Alan, based on his pictures on the Great Trail) and those guys who dare!! I was thinking of some nice rolly bits behind Thetis, but open to suggestions. 7:30 as usual Starbucks.

[Rolf]

I wish I could join what sounds like a good time, but I'll be venerating the three mothers in my life.

As for our favourite cross-dresser Alan, I'm glad his "nice rolly bits" may earn him attendance.

[JTyre]

That sounds like so much fun, but I must take a pass (). In our household, Mother's Day usually begins with me serving Ms. Tyre breakfast in bed ...



... cleaning ...



... and continuous pampering ...



(That said, while Ms. Tyre is beauty napping I'm aiming to sneak out for a longer and hiller than usual road ride. But, that's all on the low-down, K?)

[Alan]

Martin! Send your censor monkeys forthwith!
Rolf has posted an obscene photoshopped photo of moi. If not pornographic, at least not for the eyes of young 'uns....
Send your henchmen and order him to remove such vileness...
Fly my pretties, fly...

[mashby]

As this sounds too good to miss I'm delegating breakfast duties. From which starbucks will you depart at 7:30am on Sunday? Do you have an estimated return time or ride duration?

[mashby]

As this sounds too good to miss I'm delegating breakfast duties.

quoting self: of course, I can find my own path if you prefer to have a mothers day ride uncontaminated with manly testosterone..

[Rolf]

Mark: Starbucks in Fairfield Plaza. We usually aim to be done around 10-10:30—but Dolly may have different plans.

What's that, Alan? You wanted more photos of your questionably placed toe covers? Okay.

[schouten]

Eddy Grant and I discussed it and he strongly recommends we Rock Down to Electric Avenue. After which, we can take it higher...

See proposed route:

https://www.strava.com/routes/18796247

Coles note:

• Fairbucks at 7:30 - > goose - > Switch Bridge

• Book it to Bear Mountain and ride trails eventually connecting into Thetis

• Once we're done getting lost we can grab coffee

As usual this is a good dose of expedition for me so please bring patience and an adventurous spirit! Bring sustenance. This route has a lot of trail and hopefully some hairy/scrambly bits! Input welcome and I might post some revisions but this ride seems doable with enough time for coffee at the end!

[Ann]

Ron, that sounds good. I'm getting over a nasty cold, so I'm not sure if I can "book it" to Bear Mountain, but I will try. I should be able to handle the "getting lost" part though.

Barring delays, are you thinking we'll be back in town around 10 or 10:30?

[schouten]

Yes, I think coffee around 10:30 seems reasonable.

[LouiseF]

The route looks great Ron! I love those bear mountain trails. I think this ride will be pretty technical so might impact get back to town time, just fyi for people who might have tight timelines. I'm a bit non-committal at the moment since I haven't fully consulted on my Mother's day options but I'll say I'm reasonably likely. (Not that I have better things to do just that sleeping in might be something to consider...or maybe even a date with my paddle board if the water is glassy).

Since I missed the GT ride I am feeling like I need some context for Alan's shoe cover boobs and hairy cleavage.

[Rolf]

Fun, Ron! I'm so very, very pleased to see someone else playing with maps! I offer a couple of notes on your proposed route (to be ignored at will):

• After grinding up the Bear Mtn. Parkway (through Calgary's most far-flung suburb), I see you plan to go immediately past the Hub Bike Shop which controls access to the Bear Mtn. Bike Park—a private, user-pay facility. You may wish to: (a) bring money, (b) ride extra fast (and not wear TS kit), or (c) pick a different route.
• The same little concrete pathways through Bear Mtn. golf course that we took back in snowy February are unlikely to be similarly deserted. You may find a few more resentful/indignant/irate golfers on that cart track at 9 on a sunny Sunday morning.
• Electric Avenue is super fun and beautifully constructed by the Nature Trails Society, but "riding" it west to east on a cross bike involves an egregious amount of pushing your bike up ramps and technical bits. Riding it east to west instead offers a glorious (and mostly descending) mix of terrain; it also lets you take Electric Light back east, which may be one of the best trails in the CRD.
• I enjoy leading people into mayhem and ridiculousness at the best of times, but the time I took a crew along McKenzie Creek Trail was kind of humiliating (even if we only did it because Johnny Tyre egged me on). At least half of that trail is virtually unrideable.

Thanks for letting me relive some awesome rides! I hope you guys have a great day out there...

[schouten]

Thanks for the tips Rolf! Strava Route Builder and Trail Forks made most of the Bear Mountain stuff look like trails. I'll re-examine and revise. Sounds like some better route planning in Thetis is warranted too. More to come.

[schouten]

Okay, let's stay the course for Bear Mountain. Looks like we are on intermediate, single track trails and as far as I can tell only the Bike Park is charged for and only open from 11:00am. Let's be stealthy and perhaps have some cash just in case.

I'm super looking forward to Electric Avenue now (If only to serenade y'all with Eddy Grant's gem) but I don't see how we can traverse West-East with the Thetis connection. Let's just go into this with our eyes open and keep telling ourselves we should have listened to Rolf.

I've re-routed the Thetis trails to not use McKenzie Creek Trail as much and instead use Trillium. Not much of a cross adventure without some hike-a-bike. Really this is just good planning

[Greg F]

That sounds like so much fun, but I must take a pass (). In our household, Mother's Day usually begins with me serving Ms. Tyre breakfast in bed ...

Had a lovely, short chat with Ms. Tyre this morn. You best come thru on the brekkie-in-bed, son, that’s all I gotta say.

[Rolf]

I believe the exact phrase I heard was, "There must be two 'Ms. Tyres'."

[JTyre]

Dear Mothers of the Club:

You are goddess's, and you know it. So does Johnny Tyre!

Greg and Rolf, on the other hand, are unappreciative bums. Five minutes before arriving home after their Mother's Day ride's, here's the clean-up operation that Ms. Fennell and should expect from their spouses,

[Alan]

I am just hoping you 'men' out there will treat the mothers in your life real nice. I. Mean. Real. Nice.

[Rolf]

Ew.

That made my G(e)orge rise.

[schouten]

I reworked the route and reversed the flow so we go through Thetis first, then the way Old Man Warburton recommend on Electric Avenue and into Bear Mountain. Something funky happened to the way points so ignore the lines that don't make sense (Strava really does mean BETA for the Route Planner)

7:30 Fairbucks, 8:00 switch bridge.