Submitted by Cousin Adam
There were actually two rides last night: Luke’s solo jaunt from the coffee shop to the clubhouse along the Assiniboine , and The Impaler and I on a recon ride spanning both sides of the Red. Setting off from EK and heading up Kildonan Drive , the first significant discovery of the evening was a means of gaining access to the Chief Peguis Bridge while avoiding Henderson . The 24 hour route can straddle the river without actually riding across the river if need be; there was some discussion as to whether the ice is safe at that point, but the Secretary is going to test that with his snowblower in advance of the race, so no worries.
A portion of the Yerba Cross route was revisited, including the sketchy single track and the even sketchier descent into the park. Once across and into Kildonan Park , it was determined that the park has serious promise as a race venue: lots of cleared paths, a few hills, and some very slippery ice. We will have to avoid the many cross country ski trails, though. This was supposed to be an illustrated ride report, but the batteries in my camera froze soon after taking these two shots of The Impaler at a bridge:
From the park, the ride followed Scotia south down the west side of the river, past the cemetery (no creepy groundskeeper this time) and onto Main . Then the ride took a gritty turn, down Mountain and then Salter. The fellow running (fleeing?) up the Slaw Rebchuk Bridge with us could have been the shirtless gentleman from the bus shack, but there were no police this time (and he had on a parka) so it’s hard to be sure.
The ride was then briefly delayed by snowplows on Sargent before arriving at Omand’s Creek and the trail alongside, which was unfortunately not cleared past the Wal-Mart parking lot, much to our disappointment. Empress to Portage to the Clubhouse.
Tuesday night product review: New product testing for the night’s ride included a wool balaclava I picked up over the holidays (big thumbs up), and The Impaler experimented with the judicious placement of duct tape over the mesh on his riding shoes to block wind (surprisingly, a big thumbs down – very cold, very quick; maybe related to moisture build-up).
Upon arrival at the F&H, Luke was in attendance, having started late from Espresso Junction on his own. The hockey turnout was good – Vic, James, and the Secretary showed, Jonny G arrived sans beard (again, some disappointment) and the President made a welcome appearance (and not just because of his spacious van).
Tunes consisted mainly of 80s one-hit wonders. Bonus trivia points: What is a “Kasbah”, exactly?
The camera finally thawed enough to get a shot of the revelry, and Jonny led us in a toast to the New Year with shots of Jaeg.
Big topic of the evening: Insurance. What is it, who needs it, do we want it, and would it change us for the worse? Some concern that the President and Dr. H, as titular heads, may actually be liable if anything should happen to someone at an FGBC ride. Yikes.
And signups for Kids of Mud is apparently underway or will be soon; get your kids on bikes, folks.
Our path will meander through Kildonan Park... including the creek from the duck pond to the witch's hut. Nice. We checked into the golf course area, see pic below, but the single track was too single... ie. infuriatingly narrow and soft. So we took a pit stop under the old train track.
Great day for riding except the wind which nearly knocked us off the trails for a short time. Turns out the Sals close to our place is awesome. Triple cheese nips almost all 'round.
It's going to be a nice loop. You don't really want to miss this. Granted, it won't be the same without Dr. H's snotcicle. (See the poster in the post prior to this one.)
