A few days ago, Dan had this crazy idea (nothing new there). He thought it would be a GREAT idea to bike to Mission and see the new movie "The Bounty Hunter." (In reality, the movie was just a cover for the great idea. A ploy to get Amanda to agree; she can't resist a Gerard Butler film). Hesitantly, Amanda agreed to this idea (it was the promise of Gerard that threw her over the edge. She has a thing for Scottish men). She must mention that she hasn't biked anywhere in over a year and the thought of riding to Mission scared her a bit.
So, the morning of the great adventure came. Amanda, after much prodding and hesitation, got her bike helmet on and they began their journey. But their journeys are never without a little bit of excitement and adventure. (There wouldn't be an annual crazy event without it!)
The journey began uneventfully, by filling up the bike tires with air. It all went well until we got the bottom of Gladwin Hill. The velocity of the downward momentum of the hill left us both with tears streaming down our faces from wind getting in our eyes. Dan stopped to wait for Amanda to catch up and as she bypassed him, a couple of dogs from the farm next to the road came out to investigate. Amanda was now in the lead, and looked behind her to find these dogs barking viciously while attempting to run Dan off the road and eat him alive. Dan biked like he has never had to bike before in his life, in an attempt to out-bike the dogs. Meanwhile, Amanda turns her head to see these dogs chasing after Dan with their mouths wide open. She bikes as fast as her little legs would go (into a head wind we might add) in an attempt to keep distance from the dogs, leaving Dan to fend for himself. (sorry Dan!) Dan meanwhile feels the dog breathing angry breaths up against his leg. Dan looks down to see the fangs of this rabid hell hound gnashing his teeth and narrowly missing the flesh of Dan's calf. Fearing for his leg, Dan bikes all the harder, while contemplating what to do if the dog actually gets its teeth into him. Somehow, we both out bike the dogs (its that fight or flight instinct). Yah adrenaline! By comparison, the rest of the bike ride went smoothly, with only the occasional teasing about rabid puppies from Amanda.
The Mission bridge was another interesting point of the day. If you call having to walk the entire span of the bridge, pushing your bike along, because some thoughtful engineer 40 years ago, failed to realize that having a high railing might actually be useful. Lets just say, it would be easy to fall off your bike and into the Fraser River. Which, we might add, is a LONG way down. Especially when the railing that is barely hip height is the only thing keep you from meeting Jesus. The next stage of adventure came when we had to disembark from the bridge into on-coming traffic barreling along at 80km/h or more. And when, we did safely make it across the off ramp and onto a narrow grassy knoll, we realized that our biking option were limited. The really didn't design this bridge with any real pedestrians in mind, or rather how they would GET to the bridge or OFF the bridge. The bridge itself wasn't a bad 20 minute walk. But we did manage to make our way down a narrow shoulder protected from traffic and arrive in the theatre parking lot only to discover that it was not cyclist friendly (let alone pedestrian friendly). We did manage to eat lunch and get to the theatre before the movie started. The movie was good, thanks to that handsome Scottish man Amanda really enjoys. After very little thought and/or contemplation, the idea of biking home (and up the Gladwin Hill, chased by dogs), was vetoed and we took the bus home. All in all, a great 13.6km ride.
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