09/04 Feeling a little more sociable today but I was tested early. On the way out of town I stopped at Starbucks for some coffee when some guy just plopped right down at my table and started with the questions. He didn’t even ask. People are insane. I’m getting a little more used to being around massive amounts of people/traffic again so that’s helping with my annoyance level. I’m also getting used to the riding environment on the island which also helps.
The weather has been like this for the last 2 days–mostly cloudy with light rain in the evenings and through the night. It hasn’t rained during the day but I wouldn’t care because riding in the rain when it’s 60 F is a whole lot better than riding in it at 45 F.
Campbell River is a great little city. I heard it used to be much busier but a pulp mill and some other big hiring company closed down so its a lot quieter than it used to be. They still have a lot of big-name stores and traffic was crazy. I jumped on Hwy 19a and rode that south along the water. There were plenty of parks and almost no development on the beach side. I even had a clean and spacious bike lane for the entire trip today. Grazing in the one of the parks along the way were 2 deer. I was so surprised I didn’t think they were real. There weren’t even any trees– just grass. No one was messing with them and they didn’t seem to care about all the traffic. I also discovered that deer squat when they poop. You learn something knew every day. 
Low miles today because I spent a bit of time in Campbell River riding to the bike store and then again in Courtenay. The DQ in Courtenay also delayed me. My quest for new SPD clips is over though. Those are the steel things on the bottom of my sandals that clip into my pedals. The left one had worn out to the point that I barely stayed attached. After a bit of a struggle I managed to get my old ones off and with new ones bolted on I was off. Riding clipped in now requires a bit more care because it’s a lot harder to unclip now. I almost tipped over more than once. If my seat had been a little higher I probably would have. If I get motivated later I might loosen the tension a little.
Staying at a much better CG tonight. It’s called the Grassi Point Farm. No showers but it’s not right next to the road. In fact it is very secluded. They also sell fresh fruit in the store here so I loaded up with apples. $10 for the night. With all the fruit growing around here there are a million spiders. When I laid my tent down about 20 of them went scurrying off into the grass. Hopefully none of them bite. All the bags I have outside are closed just to be safe.
Entries (RSS)