THIS IS WHAT HAPPENED LAST YEAR!!!
A big thank you to everyone who helped me with this years Adventure Challenge...and what a Challenge.
The day got off to a great start. Coffee was brewing and I am feeling pretty good. At 6:55am I load Neil's Brodie Enduro mountain bike on my bike rack in front of the house tying it down with rope so it is nice and secure for the drive to Deep Cove. I have another box to load so I run into the house and pour myself a coffee. My step daughter is in the shower and once she comes out we are ready to go. I run down to the car to load up my box. It is now 7:05 am.
The bike is gone.
Ropes cut and no one in sight. Panic! I tell my wife and I am in the car racing through the streets and alleys of quiet Kitsilano. I find three young street urchins (2 of whom are riding nice Konas) and am asking them if they saw anything. They told me where I should check first. One of them did offer me the use of his Kona, but it had no seat. I said it was stolen, but he assured me that it was not from this area. Meanwhile my wife has phoned the Police and reported the theft in progress. I had also phoned the police while cruising so there was some confusion on the go! I found a police cruiser and pulled up to him to discover he was looking for the same bike I was looking for. When I get home there was another officer talking to my wife. I still have to find a bike to ride for the race in one and a half hours.
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We have to go, bike or not. My wife suggests we cruise Main Street and Hastings to see if we can see the bike. Good idea. Tensions are now very high in the car as I don't think any of us are enjoying ourselves now. No bike to see from the roads. I pull up to the corner of Hastings and Carrall which is one of the least attractive places downtown and begin to stroll among the masses (yes...masses at 7:30am) of drug addicts and traders. I tell my story of woe and describe the bike. No luck. My new friends Nancy and Rachel are interested. It appears that Rachel deals in bikes. She will keep her eyes open. Nancy has a phone and offers to phone me. I don't have a card but I spy a pen in Rachel's hair and reach for it. I give it to Nancy and she writes my name and number on her scabby hands. I thank them and I am retreating back to the car and a couple of fellows have some bikes. One of them comes up to me with a green mountain bike. It looks ok and he will sell it to me for $10. I agree to the deal and run back to the car to get a 10-spot from my wife. Transaction complete I return to the car with my new-to-me BRC Banzai mountain bike. Jump in the car and I am off to the races.
When we get to Deep Cove I register for the race and I quickly tell my story. Great news! John Henry has a crew here tuning bikes! I take it up to the tent and tell them I just picked it up and don't know if it works. I went to the kayak start and asked them if they could put it by my stuff when they are done with it! I hoped to hell that it would work.
The Race:
Kayak was absolutely beautiful.
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The mountain bike was a course from hell and heaven all at the same time. I have a new found respect for mountain bikers. My wife had to deal with some first aid on the trail when a girl flipped over on her bike and the brake lever punctured he thigh. Apparently there was some adipose tissue hanging of the lever and a bit in the girls hair which the wasps were buzzing around....eeewwwwwww.
The run was uphill in both directions, or so it appeared.
5 hours and 17 minutes of being in one of the most beautiful areas of the world was a great way to spend a saturday despite the number of bike riders swearing their way through the boulders and hills of Mt. Seymour.
After the race there was lots of food and juice. I learnt that I won the solo men's category for the race and got a trophy!
On our way back home we went back to see my friends Rachel and Nancy but nobody has seen them. There was a fellow who was there during the morning session and he takes interest in my quest for the bike. He thinks he knows where to look. My new friend Guy. He showed me his Indian Status card so I can take his name down. He looked like a native Trevor Linden when the picture was taken. He smiled at that!
Guy takes my business card and I take his number. Perhaps I will call him today. I hope he finds the bike.
On that note, keep your eyes open on Craigslist for the sale of a blue Brodie Enduro mountain bike.-->
That was my day. I hope yours was as good and cost less than mine eventually will!
Thank you all from me and from the kids at Canuck Place.
Malcolm
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