August 19th, 2008
I haven't had any of those Epic Rides this year so far, and with us finally hitting the hot part of the Summer here in Vancouver I thought I'd go for a spin on my trusty steed. The thing about this town is that there is always something pretty close by, whether it's a mountain or a beach, a pretty little cove, even some nice flat areas to really open it up and fly ... so I wanted to squeeze in as much as I could in one day.
Big Day Part I
First thing was Cypress Mountain. It's one of the three local mountains you can get to within the hour from Vancouver. I stopped at the lookout about halfway up and got a picture or two:
You can see Vancouver harbour (world's largest inland natural harbour) and Lion's Gate Bridge leading to Stanley Park.
A nameless elderly Dutch tourist was happy to oblige me and take my picture while I stood behind my Ninja:
Then it was back on the road. I stopped near the top to take a picture in the run-off parking lot:
At the top I met up with a couple of other bikers, Justin and Yoshi, who were too shy to have their pictures taken, although they let me snap their bikes, a ZX-10 and a Yamaha ... R1? (Ninja 650 behind). What you see in the background is one of the ski hills at the top of Cypress.
Big Day Part II
Then it was time to hit Deep Cove. I went back down Cypress Mountain, and found Dollarton Highway to take me (slowly) to Deep Cove. Here I stopped to take a pic of the inlet that Dollarton follows:
I stopped at a friend's ($2 million) house to see if he was home, but he was out in one of his boats, so I just snapped a picture before carrying on:
And when I got to Deep Cove I parked and took an obligatory pic. I didn't stick around there long, though, too many tourists with a death wish ("I know, I'll just walk in front of this moving motorcycle ... c'mon kids, follow me!")
But on the way out of Deep Cove--and if you ever find yourself in North Vancouver--you MUST stop and grab a burger and cold beverage at the famous Raven Pub (I did):
Big Day Part III
Why stop there? Just up from Deep Cove is the road that climbs Mount Seymour. I got onto the road and started up:
About halfway up Mt. Seymour is a small pullout and a viewpoint to see down to Deep Cove from a height of a thousand metres or so. You can also see out to Burnaby, Surrey, and the Fraser Valley beyond:
And from there on to the top of Mount Seymour. Here is my bike next to a pathway that leads to some hiking paths (Summer) and ski hills (Winter):
A friendly Chinese tourist indulged me his time long enough to take my picture next to my bike:
And then it was time to head home. Here I am at the end all sweaty and hot and happy with my Big Day:
I hope I don't have to wait another year to have another one!
Read more rants
- 
-
Comment on this rant -
Email me