LM ACP Centenary 300
Permanent Brevet #242
Ride Date: June 22, 2024
by Patrick Jackman

Patrick had the idea of riding the LM ACP Centenary 300 as a permanent. (Now available as P#242.) After the ride he wrote in with a detailed report that he had not intended for the newsletter. I said other riders will enjoy this. He said putting it the newsletter would be ok with him. Here it is... [EF]

You may notice my leisurely start. In fact I failed the math on what time to set on my alarm. It should have been an hour earlier. Then, as I was rolling my bike out the door, though I had checked both the night before, I discovered the back tire was flat. On to the work stand goes the bike, pull the wheel, extract the tube, plunge it into the sink and …, I can’t find the leak! Turns out the valve core was loose and its 70 mm end was well out of the shallow water. Rene Herse has recently posted a recommendation to check the cores of their new TPS tubes when installing. I won’t make that mistake again. Tighten and reinstall then we depart again, now an hour and a half behind schedule.

Regarding the route out, there is no longer a blue fence in front of the house at Derby Reach Park. So no Tel No. to report. There is a photo though.

Also Derby Reach

I ran into a few complications on the return route:

1. Colbrook Road from King George Boulevard was closed to allow filming of a stunt scene for a movie. No amount of pleading for passage was successful. The road crew directed me to their detour which involved climbing KGB and taking Highway 10 westbound. So I headed in that direction but stopped to check how far the Colebrook Frontage Road went, on the other side of the tracks, and decided it was worth a gamble. I could see a massive drone hovering above about mid way down the road suggesting where the action was. At the end of my road I carried my bike over the two rail lines and after a few tense minutes with a person monitoring the outlet of trails, while she consulted with onsite police and other folks via radio, they thankfully came to the conclusion that I wouldn’t get run over if I continued on from there. It was a lucky break because 131a Street, though it appeared on the map to be a possible route from Frontage to Mud Bay Park, would have been a serious bushwhack if even possible. I lost 25 minutes here but Hwy 10 might have been even longer and very unpleasant at that time of night.

2. Hornsby Drive, alongside Hwy 99, had a barricade and only Authorized Vehicles were allowed. I took another chance and the road was fine including a gravel section where there was no longer a road. Tons of heavy equipment but no security so I was twice lucky. Looking back as I crested the ramp at 96 Street I saw a sign that read Closed To Cyclists. No time lost on that section.

Birchwood Dairy

3. Tim Hortons has changed their front door decor but the gentleman behind counter assured me they are open 24 hours a day and coffee is always available.

4. Oak Street, south of West Kent Ave presented another barricade, this one manned by a stern fellow who didn’t appreciate having to leave his car to inform me that West 77th Ave was closed due to the impending collapse on an overhead conveyor belt structure. I don’t lose much time there as my usual route to the Arbutus Greenway intersected the formal route at Hudson.

5. Breka Bakery at 11:30 pm has boisterous lineups that take what feels like an eternity when you’re tired, sweaty and just want a signature and a timestamp.

Cheam Centre

Mission accomplished. Now I know I can manage a 300.

I was surprised at 7:30 am when my Wahoo Bolt v2 said there wasn’t enough memory to load turn-by-turn instructions for the route. Not wanting to miss any turns meant constantly checking the tiny GPS map. I know that I’m unlikely to get much sympathy from old timers who carried paper maps and cue sheets back in the day. I used topo maps when I guided canoeing trips with Outward Bound in the 80’s and while skiing BC’s backcountry in the 90’s but I now want to trade in my old Garmin 60CSx for a modern bike navigator.

Boundary Bay