January Flatlander
Permanent Brevet #18 "Fraser Valley Flatlander"
Ride date: January 26, 2019
by Karen Smith

I did Permanent #18 with a (Chilliwack start) on Jan 26.
203 km
10 hrs 48 minutes

I don’t like having to wait until the end of the month to try and get a Permanent in and this one was weighing heavy on me.
My January started with a cold which turned into an ear and throat infection and then some antibiotics and a lot of laying low.
Then I found out that I had to have a colonoscopy. Yuck!
The colonoscopy itself wasn’t so bad, (I’d rather do that than dental work) but the special prep diet was hard!
No nuts, seeds, legumes (chick peas, beans, lentils etc), whole grains and very little fruit and veggies for 6 days. That’s very hard for a vegetarian!
The last 2 days were clear liquids only. Needless to say I was feeling very depleted!
Then depending on what they find, maybe no exertion for 7 days. That would take me to Jan 30 - with only 1 day left to do my Permanent.
But my colonoscopist said I had a very boring colonoscopy. Completely clear. Yay!
Now to get that ride in….

I started at 07:42 in 5 degrees, much was warmer than expected and amazing for January! We really haven’t had winter yet…
It went up to 8 and I finished in 6 degrees. So a swing of only 3 degrees.
It was a very grey day most of the day. The sun finally came out at 1345 hrs, in time to get a beautiful view of Mount Baker… : )

There was no rain, no snow, no frosty roads, no real wind.
No mechanicals, no flats.
Not much traffic!
Not much of anything…
Kind of like my colonoscopy…. Sometimes boring is ok. I’ll take it.

February 3, 2019