Another Hail Mary
Permanent #18, "Fraser Valley Flatlander", 203 km
Ride date: February 27, 2018
by Karen Smith

Gary and I rode Permanent #18 with a Chilliwack start on Feb 27.
203 km
11 hrs 57 min

Well another Hail Mary Ride, although we did have one more day in February for an attempt, if this didn’t work out.
When I said to Gary that one of us needs to write a ride report, he just said “refer to Feb 2014”. It was fun to go back and read it. [link]
Yes, these winter rides are similar…

We started in 2º C and rain. Yuck! But we were dressed for it. : )
Then we had a mix of rain and snow and plain snow for a short time on Chilliwack Lake Rd.
Probably our biggest factor was the wind! We had strong headwinds and cross winds coming from the south.
You can’t dress for winds.
The rain stopped after 2 hrs, but the winds didn’t.
It was a hard go until we turned north onto 272.

We were chased by a couple of dogs, a couple of times. Nothing serious, more wanting to play with us. Still scary.
I noticed fewer eagles then usual. Maybe they have moved to new area.

The rain started again just after we crossed Fraser Hwy in Aldergrove. It poured on us until we reached Ft Langley, completely drenched.
It was nice to see Deirdre’s smiling face to greet us at Lee’s.
She was joining us for the second half and promised to bring good weather from Vancouver with her. Now that we were inside the rain had stopped.
As soon as we started riding, it started raining again.
But not for long. By the time we were at the top of 240th, the rain had stopped. Deirdre came through with her promise.
Mostly tailwinds from here on in… : )

There was a lot more traffic than usual on Townshipline. We could see the serious backup on the highway from an accident and I think a lot of traffic detoured onto our route.
Further up Townshipline, construction blocked the road. But the Flaggers let us through and we had the road to ourselves.
Sometimes there are perks to being a cyclist. : )

I had our only flat (rear tire), coming off the Keith Wilson Bridge around 1730 hrs.
We had trouble putting the existing tire back on, good thing I brought a spare.
Our fingers were freezing in the cold stiff wind!

Most of the roads’ shoulders were good for this time of year although we had snow in the shoulder, or just beside the shoulder, most of the ride.
No icy spots.

No photos from the ride, too cold and wet!

We finished the ride at our place, where Michel had dinner ready (leftover Carol’s Lentil Casserole and crunchy salad) for the four of us.
A nice way to end a hard ride.

After the January Permanent I vowed to get fitter for my next 200.
I am happy to say that I joined the local fitness centre the day after the Jan Permanent.
Since then, I have been doing spin classes and trying to get out on my bike more.
I felt that I climbed 272 better than January, so I am getting fitter and stronger. : )
But I still felt pretty spent after the ride. It is harder in the winter, and everything takes longer.
I think Gary and I got beat up by the wind and rain in the first part of our ride.

March 8, 2018