Mini Yikes

Where are the police when you really need them though? On Christmas day we saw the speed trap. When we returned from Nanaimo it was much later at night, and very dark.

We took our time getting home, and on the final highway stretch we were glad to be home. Until I looked over at the mini van that just merged onto the highway just south of Thetis Lake. The van had a couple kids in it, yet the driver was using both hands to text! Yikes. I wanted nothing more than to get away from that van.

It was so obvious at night too since their whole cell phone and slideout keyboard were lit up.

Police Trap

I saw something interesting, funny, and awesome on our drive to Nanaimo on Christmas. As we were pulling out of Victoria we saw a police car parked at the side of the highway. Figuring a speedtrap I checked the speedo and I was fine.

As we passed the car, Sox and I were baffled when we saw noone in it. The car just parked there sure made everyone slow down.

A little ways down the highway there was another police car parked in the middle median that was also empty. A third one was by the Costco exit in Langford, also empty.

Figuring the next one we see will be the actual speed trap I made sure I wasn’t speeding. We got out to Goldstream and hadn’t seen any other police cars.

Just North of Goldstream in the Southbound lanes is where we saw the trap. There was one police car, yet at least four officers. There was also at least a half dozen cars pulled over getting tickets. All on Christmas day.

Maybe they were getting warnings? I can just see the police driving out parking their cars strategically, then car pooling in the last cruiser out to Goldstream.

Entertained Order

I am a little late in writing this up, but Christmas this year was a lot of fun. The kids were the centre of focus, and they certainly had a great time opening presents. This year Sox’s mum was with us on Christmas morning, then when she headed home, we loaded up the car and headed to Nanaimo to my mom’s place. We were there for a couple days, then it was back in the car returning to Victoria.

This past weekend we entertained more of Sox’s family. It has felt like a very busy time, but it sure has been wonderful to see everyone.

I had one regret this year though. I switched photo printers. I was using Kodak Gallery, but they have had a few issues as of late, so I though I would give @shutterfly a shot. I’ve heard they have excellent picture quality, and outstanding customer service. I placed my order on Dec 10 which was a little late, and the prints were sent on Dec 12. This should have been plenty of time to get them to me. I was going to use them to make calendars for my family. Unfortunately, I never got them. I called today and they are reprinting and resending the entire order. I am very dissapointed in this, and will likely just use Costco for time sensitive items next time since I know they are quick and their quality is fine. In the next couple weeks we will see if I am happy enough with Shutterfly to give them more of my non critical business.

For Christmas I got a couple DVD’s, a new sweater, some socks, a cool tshirt, and more that I can’t remember right now. Sometimes I feel old when I get excited about new socks, but Sox’s mum knits the most awesomest socks ever.

In all it was a lovely Christmas full of fun, family cheer, friends, food and drink. What more is there?

Switchbacks Blocked

This could have been incorporated into my last post, but I wanted to make it separate. I need to vent.

SIMBS has done it again. Another trail at the dump is drastically changed, and in my opinion, not for the better. Snakes and Ladders has been a favorite trail of mine for a very long time. It is a downhill trail full of switchbacks. There have been a couple Dh races on it, and I know that trail like the back of my hand. It is my go to trail when I want to show new people the dump, or I am just looking for a fun trail to ride.

Today I was railing the trail grinning like normal when all of a sudden the trail turned left when it should have went straight. A new trail had been cut and the old one was blocked off. The bottom half of Snakes and Ladders is gone. SIMBS was revamping a trail called Torpedo Run, and I think they rerouted Snakes and Ladders as a byproduct.

The new section links to an older trail, and makes Snakes and Ladders way shorter. Also, the new section is not nearly as fun. Finally, I am left wondering what happened to the old school trails called Shar’s choice and the Gay Terrace that lay below the blocked off section. I’m hoping they are reachable from Torpedo Run, but I fear they are no longer able to be ridden.

I know SIMBS must maintain the trails, but it angers me when something this drastic is done. I’m hoping there is a sound and scientific reason for the changes. I also know that unless I get involved in SIMBS, I probably shouldn’t complain too much, but I really felt the need to vent. One of the reasons I no longer join SIMBS is that I don’t feel they represent my interests as a mountain biker. This is just another example of that. No, I don’t want to join SIMBS and try to change them from the inside. I know it is a difficult thing to do because of their relationship with the CRD.

Snakes Muddy

Today I got out for a wonderful wintery mountain bike ride. Boy am I out of riding shape! I need to ride more.

I took my time heading up hill, and ended up walking way more than I am used to. Once I figured out where I wanted to go, I chose the route there. I should always do this before I start riding, otherwise I stop and every intersection and wonder which way I should go. I ponder about which trail comes after the intersection, and I consider several trails beyond that decision point. This makes for a very stop and go ride.

Somewhere along the way I decided to head up the switchbacks then decide on which end trail. I settled on Snakes and Ladders.

The ride was pretty typical winter ride. A little chilly at the start, but I warmed up pretty quickly. The rocks and roots were pretty treacherous, and I likely should have let more air out of my tires. Getting back in the winter riding groove is hard. Slithering down rock faces is pretty easy, but climbing up wet off camber roots when you haven’t done it in a year is tough.

Overall I had a blast. It wasn’t a terribly long ride, and I walked a fair amount, but I still worked up a good sweat, got some fresh air, and more importantly got myself and my bike muddy.

Also, my new brake pads are now bed in nicely and have dramatically changed the control I have over my bike. The read pads are likely a little low too, and I might pick up some more the next time I am near a bike shop.

Coffee Lottery

While cleaning up my work office, I found a pile of Starbucks cards hidden amongst the mess. Today I found another couple in my wallet. In all there were 8 cards, and I had no idea if any of them had anything on them.

I was at a @starbucks wanting a coffee anyway, so I asked the nice clerk to check them. Turned out one of them had over $6 and another over $4! Almost like winning the lottery.

Carnage House

Oh the carnage! I went out to do some grocery shopping. I was only gone from the house for about an hour, and this is what I came home to.

Yoshi managed to get into some recycling and shredded an orange juice container, a soup container, and a cream container. That wasn’t enough though. He also ate a gingerbread house. He left the wet sticky candies on the floor, but the whole house got eaten.

The bad part is that when I was starting to drive away I remembered that I needed the grocery bags. When I returned to the house Yoshi looked very guilty but I didn’t see anything amiss. If I had thought a bit about it, I would have just brought him with me. I could have prevented this mess.

Park Fog

We were in Nanaimo over Christmas, and we took the kids to a playground at Beban park (awesome playground by the way). Yoshi needed a spin so he and I walked through the trails at the adjacent wooded area (a participaction park).

We walked a ways, but I started to get cold so we headed back. Along the way I was struck with how the fog looked through the trees. Of course these cell camera pics don’t do it any justice, and if I had my real camera it would have looked totally awesome and spooky 🙂 Still, you get the idea.