It was clear, calm…and crisp for the start of the Early Bird 200. The temperature wasn’t far above freezing. More than 25 riders gathered just before sunrise at Main and 14th in Vancouver. There was general excitement for what promised to be a beautiful start to the Randonneuring season. We received our pre-ride briefing about construction and road closures and then we were off.
We headed down the hill to the river and crossed the North Arm Bridge—a Skytrain bridge with a dedicated cycling/pedestrian path. We followed the south bank for the Fraser River North Arm for a short distance before turning inland on Sweden Way, past IKEA, and then across Lulu Island to the north bank of the South Arm. Along the way went through a sampling of everything that Richmond is. Heavy industry, commercial, residential and rural neighbourhoods.
We continued along the riverbank on Dyke Road until we got to the Alex Fraser bridge. Getting over the bridge is hill climb on an otherwise pancake flat landscape. From the riverside it is about a 60m climb to the middle of the bridge. After the bridge we travelled west, into a headwind, on River Road. The Fraser River is a long working harbour with industry lining the banks. When we turned south, industry gave way to farmland and massive greenhouses that made an Amazon warehouse seem small. We rode through the quiet, residential streets of Ladner to our first control near the Boundary Bay airport. From there we cycled around the airport and onto the Boundary Bay Dyke—a gravel path and bird sanctuary along the seashore.
After about 70km of flat riding, we crossed the Nicomekl River. The next 100+km would be a series of hills, starting with the climb to the staffed control in White Rock. A staffed control is a real treat. You can fill your water bottles, eat cookies, chips and bananas and chat with other riders. By now, it was warming up. The control was a great place to shed some layers and put on sunscreen. Sunscreen, in Vancouver, in March!
We crossed highway 99 close to the US border. Highway 99 is a busy 4-lane highway that crosses the border and becomes the US I5. It was deserted. Not a single car was heading south. We zigzagged east with the tailwind and north towards the control at Fort Langley. Daisy and Stephen caught up with me somewhere around the Langley Regional Airport. It was nice to ride with company and it nudged me into picking up the pace. We stayed together until we reached the control in Fort Langley.
The Fort Langley control was at Lee’s Market. A number of riders were already there enjoying soup and sandwiches. Fort Langley is a picturesque village—you’ll have to take my word for it because I didn’t think to take a picture. From there it was back through farmland, on a series of country roads as we zigzagging south and west towards South Surrey. We were treated to another staffed control at South Surrey. I filled my bottles and grabbed a banana for the final push to the finish.
We crossed South Surrey on King George Blvd, which is a busy road with lots of traffic lights, but it has a good bike lane. We turned west on Colebrook Road. It is a lovely, straight, flat, paved road with no traffic. The sort of place where you can just wind it up and go fast. Except there was nothing but grass and railway tracks between us and the headwinds coming off Boundary Bay. I was fortunate to have company on this section. Jeff and Mike had passed me, yet again. I stayed with them for the rest of the ride. More or less, but I’m getting ahead of myself. After a short, but enjoyable spin into the headwinds, we came to the steepest hill on the route. It wasn’t a very long hill but the grades were up to 12%. Normally we would ride a trail section to avoid this hill but the ride organizer feared the trail would be a mud bath after a week of heavy rain.
We meandered along quiet residential streets and eventually came to a large shopping centre. “I have no idea where we are,” I commented. “South Delta,” Jeff responded. Somehow that didn’t really help me. Moments later, it started to feel cold. “We must be getting close to the river,” I said. And indeed we were. We rode down a long hill and ended up at the Alex Fraser bridge.
Across the Fraser, the Annacis Channel and the switchback pedestrian ramp that brought us back to ground level in Queensborourgh. Then came a bit of fun on River Road. I was still riding with Mike and Jeff. We were going west into the headwind but we weren’t riding very tightly. Mike opened up the gap. At first, I didn’t notice but as the gap grew, I realized that I was going to have to pick up the pace or let him go. Game on! I closed the gap and sat on his wheel. When I sensed he was fading I would jump to the front. We traded the lead like that for the next 10k. The time and the miles flew by. Before we knew it, we were at the North Arm Skytrain Bridge.
“Where’s Jeff?”
“I think we dropped him.”
“Sorry Jeff!”
But Jeff wasn’t far behind. We could see him coming off the bridge as we heading towards Cambie Street. Jeff caught us at the next traffic light. Not for long. This time it was my fault. One last hill to go. It was time to empty the tank. We reached the crest. Where’s Jeff? Sorry Jeff!
There was a short descent to the finish but my ride wasn’t quite over. I had a ferry to catch. I could take the train to Bridgeport or cycle there. It’s about 10km and mostly downhill. I figured I could get there just about as fast on my bike as I could if I took the train. I didn’t even know where the closest station was but I suppose I could have found that on my phone.
The only quick way to the ferry with a bicycle is the express bus from Bridgeport. I finished the ride at 5:24. The ferry left at 7:00. It seemed like I should have time but I had only the vaguest sense of the bus schedule. I think the bus must have been running late because the bus drove fast. With the help of dedicated bus lanes we were on the highway and practically flying through the tunnel on our way to the one and only stop along the way in Ladner. I kept checking my watch. It was going to be close. The consequence of missing the ferry was a 2-hour wait in the ferry terminal and, more importantly, I wouldn’t get to bed until after midnight. Kathy was picking me up at the ferry terminal in Sidney. It wouldn’t make her happy if I was on the late ferry!
Cars were already unloading as we approached the terminal. Maybe it was a different ferry. But I checked my watch—all the traffic had to be from the Victoria ferry. We had to wait at the traffic light until the ferry was empty. Normally bikes load before the cars. By the time we pulled up to the terminal, cars were loading. I bought my ticket, jumped on my bike and raced to the loading area. The ferry was packed. They finished squeezing the last car in, then let me load. Bikes unload first so I needed to work my way to the front of the line. It’s a long ferry. The cars were tightly packed. There was room between the cars for me or my bike but not both. I pushed my bike from behind holding onto the saddle with my outstretched arm. The handlebars were far out of reach, which meant steering was by balance and the consequence of a mistake was crashing into someone’s car. We, my bike and I, made it the front of the line without harming any cars. The ferry was already under way—I could feel the motion of the ship and the steady vibration of the engines. Whew, I made it! Somehow that victory overshadowed the successful completion of the Early Bird 200.