Part 2…… The Princeton Lunch Ride May 6, 2006
After lunch and the gabfest in the parking lot were finished, we rode to the previous meeting place at the Chevron station so that everyone could fuel their bikes for the ride home. The Chevron must love days like this when so many fuel up and the daily balance sheet goes sky high. Once all the good byes were done with, everyone formed into their groups for their ride home.
Well, except us, that is……we had a very raggedy group left. Mr. ultra ultra and his sidekick the self appointed tail gunner took off with nary a good bye to most of us. Apparently they mentioned to Mr. and Mrs. Roadie that they were heading out on their own.
That was fine by me. I know my way home.
Another rider decided to leave on his own without saying why. We saw him again later in Manning Park, where he was waiting for us. He had just wanted to ride the twisties by himself at a much faster pace than we would have been riding.
The rest of our group collected together to get ready to go home. “Fringes” was now in the car with the kids and hubby was riding the bike to go home. As we collected at the exit of the lot, “Mr. Roadie” turns to me and says, “Who’s going to lead”?
I replied, “Aren’t you?”
“No”, he said. “I prefer to ride tail gunner.”
“I guess I’ll lead then.”
Mr. Roadie seemed to like that idea. Although “Jake” and hubby are good riders, they are inconsistent. Fast, slow, fast, slow……sightseeing on the way.
We left Princeton, with me being the road captain and Mr. Roadie bringing up the rear…..except for “Fringes in the car”.
I had one goal in mind. I wanted to get home as quickly and safely as possible. I can be very focused when I need to be…although I am sure there are people who will tell you I am somewhat of a scatterbrain…Ok, Ok, I know I am somewhat of a scatterbrain sometimes. It helps to keep people’s expectations of you from getting too high.
I find I ride well when I am watching the road ahead without the distraction of the group ahead of me. I look ahead for the curve signs and make all my prudent decisions like gear changes and speed choices based on my skills, road conditions and enjoyment levels. With “Fringes” in the car, I knew I didn’t have to consider her level anymore. The other 3 riders behind me were all much more experienced than I, so I was able to ride my own ride.
We made good time getting to the lodge despite “Jake” having to stop to put on some gear and despite the trucks that can only go slow up the hills. I hate those guys. I don’t hate that they can only go slow up the hills. It’s that they then speed up to light speed on the flats and straight aways thus preventing you to pass them in preparation for the next big hill.
We stopped in the lodge for a quick pit stop before carrying on to Hope. We were now joined by the fast rider who having got the fast twisties out of his system was happy to ride in our group again.
Dang! It was raining a bit. It meant extra caution on the curves. It must have been the end of the work day for the construction crew, because all of a sudden there was a convoy of big trucks flying by us spewing water and grit all over the place. It was very difficult to see. They also created quite a lot of turbulence which made me think that yes, there are times when a bigger bike would be better. My bike wouldn’t be buffeted around so much if it were heavier.
I rode really well. I slowed and shifted down to the appropriate gears before I got to the curves and powered out of the curves. I paid no attention to whether “Jake” or hubby were keeping up. They were experienced riders and they could darn well quit dawdling and keep up.
We arrived in Hope to fuel the bikes and ourselves. At this point the fast twisty rider went home. He had to get back to feed his dogs. The rest of us went into the “Home Restaurant” which is biker friendly. We just wanted hot drinks and desserts of which they had an amazing selection. It was good to get inside and warm up for a bit. “Jake” even managed to entertain us with a magic trick that he flubbed.
It was completely lost on the 4 year old (the intended audience) but all the diners in the whole restaurant were laughing. In fact, the situation was so funny, I was still laughing about it days later.
After our coffee stop, we prepared to make our way home. Mr. and Mrs. Roadie would leave us at Abbotsford and then “Fringes” and hubby would leave us at Langley. “Jake” and I then would carry on to Vancouver.
I took the lead and Mr. Roadie stayed back. I like having Mr. Roadie as a tail gunner. He has nice bright lights on his bike and it makes it easy to see him in my mirrors. We hadn’t been riding very long when I noticed “Mr. Roadie” suddenly gaining speed and moving up to pull in behind me in the staggered position. I just kept up what I was doing. I had a feeling I knew why he had done that. He got tired of being behind “Pokey and pokier”.
My speed tends to be quite consistent. I recognized that I was getting fatigued. My chest was burning from all the coughing and my fingers were frozen from the “Arctic” air. Knowing this kept me focused. I made sure I kept my eye on every freeway entrance ramp and pulled into the next lane when needed. I kept a vigilant look ahead for slow moving vehicles and passed when needed. I set a fairly quick pace for a change because of the necessity to get home. “Mr. Roadie” stuck to me like glue. “Jake” (pokier) and hubby (pokey) finally got the message.
“KEEP UP FOR CRYING OUT LOUD!”
They finally picked up their pace to stay with us. Once we were back in the Fraser Valley near Chilliwack, the traffic was heavier. It was important to stay together now. A bigger group is more visible to car drivers and it is harder for them to break up the group if we stay together.
We finally got to the exit for “The Roadies” and I waved good bye as they left us. Eventually we reached Langley where “Fringes” and hubby left us. That left “Jake” and I to carry on. I did not slow my pace and for a change “Jake” seemed to be focused on just riding instead of sight seeing. He seemed to sense my urgency and kept up with me.
What’s that up ahead? I saw flashing lights so I prepared to slow down. I tried to uncurl my hand from the throttle to flash my brake lights as a warning to those behind me that I was slowing, but my hand was so frozen I had trouble uncurling it. I did manage but only just. I slowed to the speed limit and as we got near the flashing lights I changed lanes to give them more space. “Jake” stayed right with me. We then changed back into the right lane to let the more speedy folks go by. Now that we getting into a more urban area, I wanted to slow down a bit. When we were nearing the Port Mann Bridge, I signaled to change lanes to the passing lane. “Jake” blocked the lane so we could move over.
“Yay!” He was paying attention still.
If you know the Port Mann Bridge at all, you know it is a huge bottleneck to get to it. There are 2 lanes merging into one and you can expect to be crawling at a turtle’s pace until you are actually on the bridge.
We were now in the passing lane. It is much safer and easier to be here for the approach to the bridge. It only took a few minutes to get onto the bridge tonight and once on the bridge, we made quite good time getting the rest of the way home. “Jake” rode with me to see that I got home safely before carrying on to his own place.
He asked me what my plans were for the next day. He wanted to go ride again. I told him I was in no condition to go anywhere. I realized that the ride I had just done had made me quite ill. It wasn’t just the fatigue of a long day that I was feeling. After a day of breathing in icy air, my bronchitis took a turn for the worse. My voice was failing, my chest was burning and my cough was incessant. I declined getting together so I could stay home and rest.
He left and said he’d call in a couple of days to see how I was doing.
The next day, I was so-o-o-o-o sick.
I was glad that I had used my common sense to say no to going out the next day. I decided I better get to a doctor. I had debated whether to ride or to take the bus. I really didn’t think I should have been riding, but I needed to get medical help. I chose to ride given that my doctor’s office isn’t very far away. They said they could not see me. They wouldn’t take any more walk ins. Gee, I’m sorry I couldn’t schedule getting sick at a more convenient time.
So, I got back on my bike and went to a walk in clinic where I sometimes go. They were closed. I almost cried then. They were supposed to be open 7 days a week, but there was a note on their door saying they were closed that particular day. Now what? I needed help, but I wasn’t sick enough for the emergency department. Then I remembered there was a new clinic that had opened up about a ten minute ride past my home the other way. I got back on my bike, and rode to the other clinic. Oh great, aside from the icy air, it was now starting to rain. If I didn’t get help soon and get home, I just might end up in the emergency room.
Thankfully the clinic was open and not busy. I was able to get in to see a doctor who prescribed something to help clear my chest. I then rode to the pharmacy to get the prescription filled and buy some soup while I was there. I got home only to find out that the pharmacist had neglected to put the medicine in the bag. So, I had to go get my bike and go back out into the cold air to retrieve my medicine. If I had not been feeling so ill, I might have been able to formulate the thought in my head that they should deliver it, since it was their mistake. However, I went and retrieved it and then came back and had some chicken noodle soup. In retrospect, I was glad I had used my bike, because if I had been on the bus I probably would have broken down and cried and may have given up and just gone home.
The next day, I emailed “Mr. Roadie” to thank him for moving up behind me when we were riding. I asked him if it had to do with the other 2 not being consistent. He said it was. He got tired of their “sight seeing”. He said they weren’t even bothering to shift down for the corners and they weren’t powering out of the curves. He said he liked the way I handled the ride home. That made me feel good. That was quite a compliment coming from someone like him.
I thanked him and said just call me “Road Captain” in training.
I'll post a few pics later.
