Saturday and Sunday Rides

July 19th and 20th, 2008

On Saturday I headed out to the Beach Hut... yep, Qualicum Beach again. There was to be a ride with a bunch from Victoria and Port Alberni, Courtenay and Campbell River. What a shock then for me to see a whole crew of riders passing me as I was riding that part of the town close to our meeting spot. I honked and some waved at me and they kept going. I was stunned. I tried to turn around and follow them, but because traffic was heavy and it took a while for me to turn around, I lost them. I didn't know what to do. So I thought well I might as well have a coffee before I head home.

When I got to the hut, and was standing in line, Ms. Bling, Lisa, was suddenly there, and so was Dogdrifter. They explained that Eric needed something and though they'd been riding past me, they were coming back. What a relief.

We soon went off for a ride to Nanoose Bay and then down to Schooner Cove. I had no idea that there was such a twisty road back there, and Schooner Cove is absolutely gorgeous.

We really enjoyed that ride, but there was a very frightening moment for me at one point as I was rounding a curve: I hit one of those oil snakes with my back tire and suddenly felt my bike trying to slide out from under me. I thought for sure I was going down, but somehow managed to come out of it. Flo was behind me and was so proud of the way I managed it. The trouble is I really don't even know what I did right. All my actions were suddenly just based on instinct and I think pure luck.

When we got back to Parksville, I honked and turned off leaving this fine group and heading back to Vic. They were on their way back to QB, on their way home eventually, but since I live South, I felt it was time to part. I wasn't feeling fantastic anymore, that oil snake made me very unsure and I just wanted to get back to Vic.

Sunday ride to Cowichan Lake with Vic

On the Sunday afternoon, Vic and I took a ride to Cowichan Lake. I really wasn't feeling great. I couldn't find my wonderful leather legs anywhere, and still felt unnerved by the oil snake experience. But the ride was uneventful for me. Not so for Vic... he experienced one of those oil snakes. I guess in the hot weather they become more slippery, and it seems to me that they were fresh too! He didn't have any real trouble, but did tell me he felt his tire slipping on the thing. We had a much nicer ride coming back then going up... we used the main highway to get to Cowichan Lake, but came back by the Skutt's Falls Road which got us to Duncan. That road has a few very nice curves and the speed is slower and it's much prettier riding. But for some reason, I just wasn't having my usual amount of fun, and I was glad when we made it home again.