November 16th (Afternoon)

Not much to report on this ride. Taryn had ballet this evening, so Corrie and I decided that I would meet them there and we would go together to the office that Corrie cleans on Tuesdays and Thursdays. So, I took off down my usual route, but instead of veering off down to the creek on the Billy Minor South trail, I continued along the Tom Moore trail. I followed that trail along the western ridge of the valley until the end where I met up with my previous route on the Billy Minor North trail which I followed down to the creek and then continued onto Columbia street, Valleyview drive, and then dropped over to Kamloops Dance Academy.

Riding my old route in the dark was a blast. It is so much fun to ride a regular route in the dark as it’s like a new trail all of a sudden. I also had some fun pushing a hard, fast pace along Columbia. Riding that narrow road (parked cars on my right, not much room for two lanes of traffic, especially with me in the mix) is nerve wracking, especially now in the dark. I have to be constantly watching the approaching vehicles, do they see me? Are they giving me enough room? I also have to be vigilant in surveying the parked cars too. Is there someone in the cars? Will they suddenly open their door in my path? If so, do I have an escape route? And then, of course, there’s the side streets where impatient motorists are trying to get onto the road. Do they see me and if so, will they wait or just go because I’m “only a bike”? Needless to say, that is a nasty stretch of road and I breathe a HUGE sigh of relief once I’m finally through that section. Valleyview drive, on the other hand, is nice, as it at least has a bike lane for me to ride comfortably in. I still need to be watching, but at least I can ride a decent pace, not pushing 120% the whole way.

By the time I got to where Corrie and the kids were, I was tired but it was a good ride. Funny how a mostly downhill and flat ride can still take that much out of you! I guess street commuting is an entirely different animal…