Solstice Permanent
Permanent #216: "Chilliwack Flood Route", 200 km
Ride Date: December 21, 2023
by Karen Smith

Permanent #216
Thurs, Dec 21, 2023
200 Km
11 hrs 29 min

I really didn’t want to ride my 200 on the shortest day of the year, but that’s what happened!
It was forecasted to have little to no rain, but that's Not what happened!

I had off and on light rain, or misty rain MOST of the DAY… So I guess you could say that there wasn’t a lot of accumulation, but almost everywhere I went, it rained.
When I got back for my 2nd home control, Michel said: “No rain now, right?"
I said: “No, it rained as soon as I hit Vedder Mt Rd (1 km from home), and then off and on, all the way to my Sumas turn-around, and back"... But it hadn’t rained at home..

But I have good rain gear and I wore it:
7Mesh Gortex rain jacket, Gorewear Gortex pants. Worth every penny!

And I tried my new Vessi boots. The boots are not meant for cycling, but they were perfect!
They were designed in Vancouver, and are waterproof.
I can’t wear clipped in pedals anymore, not since 2015, due to a painful ankle. I just can’t clip in and out, hurts too much… So I have platform pedals.
The boots kept me warm and dry! They didn’t slip at all on my pedals.
I would highly recommend them for cycling in inclement weather.
And you can just hose them off, or throw them in the washing machine...

I didn’t see any swans or snow geese this ride, only 3 eagles.
Two eagles on one tree, and 1 on the adjacent tree. It’s been about eight plus years since I would regularly see 13 eagles on one tree and 12 on the adjacent tree.
Where have they gone...?

Nothing much else happened on the ride.
No mechanicals, no flats.
I felt pretty good at the end and Michel remarked that I didn’t seem as tired...

:)
Karen