I went to Parksville

... not last Monday, but the Monday before. I guess this post is a bit late.

It wasn't really a very good ride. There were good sections, but I think I only remember my attitude towards the end of the ride.
I didn't take Jake, but borrowed a demo bike from the shop. It's a 48 cm 2008 Specialized Dolce in yellow and white. It looks like a frickin daisy.

I probably didn't leave the shop until about 10 am. It was sort of raining when I left, but not really. There was a bit of wind, but nothing much. It started to get chilly around Ladysmith, but the rain held off until Nanaimo. I stopped in at Mum's and Dad's for a bit of tomato basil soup, and when I went outside to leave it was pouring down. The only place I stopped in Nanaimo was at Chapters to pick up a couple of magazines.
Why do cyclists have to dismount for everything. I'm safer on my bike than off. And you clear the tracks much faster on a bike.I only saw one other cyclist on the bike path.I narrowly missed loads of these:This one wasn't as lucky (though it wasn't me that ran him over - he was already squashed when I got to the scene):I got my first flat somewhere between Nanaimo and Parksville - a rusty pin! I stuck another tube in and carried on.
The rain started to get pretty bad. There was standing water on the road in places and I really started to feel the wind once out of the trees. I forked left when I should have forked right and went past Parksville up a climb. I think I liked the climb more than the decent though, and it was freezing.
The billboards are never-ending:
The giant gnome with unrealistically large hands:
Once in Parksville I headed to the bike shop as I wasn't sure what time they closed (it was about 4:30 I think). When I asked the gentleman in the shop for a tube and some more air in my tire, he took the bike from me with two fingers so as not to get too dirty, and said, "We've got fenders too."Then to Tim Horton's for Hot Chocolate and a doughnut.When I stepped outside it became apparent that I was going to freeze on the ride home. It had stopped raining (I couldn't tell you when though - road spray and rain are indistinguishable), but the wind was blowing people over. I was stood outside a grocery store for shelter, and people were coming out of the doors and getting their breath taken. I put the long sleeved thermal on over my (wet) jersey, then put my jacket back on. I put my fluorescent yellow rain coat over that. My feet were frozen, so I went and bought an apple (double bagged) and used the bags on over my spare pair of socks. Because of the black clouds, it was already getting dark leaving Parksville, and because of the wind I was having to pedal downhill. I think I actually said out load "I should be coasting!" Then it started to rain again. REALLY rain. And it got very dark. Every car headlight was mirrored in every droplet of water on my glasses. My feet got colder still. I felt better once I realized I was entering Nanaimo. I took the bike path through town. I saw more people in the dark than when I rode the path earlier in the day. I came very close to hitting a pedestrian, who swore at me. i was wearing a fluorescent yellow jacket and ankle bands, and had a 200 lumen front light and a rear blinky. He was wearing a dark hoodie. Why was it my fault?
I stopped in at Mum's and Dad's for a cup of tea and carried on. It rained on and off. My feet came closer to turning into blocks of ice. I got a flat in the parking lot of the coffee shop at Ladysmith. Fixed it. The coffee shop (that I always stop at - Esquire? I might not now I know it's called that) was closed (photo taken on the way). Carried on. Feet got colder. Hands went numb. I got a flat just before the gas station 4 km from home. My hands were so numb that I couldn't undo the quick release. I phoned a taxi.


Time: ??? (about 9-10 hours on the bike, 13 hours total)
Distance: 189 - 4 (in taxi) = 185 km = 114 mile
My first century! It was horrible, but that was the worst day of weather we've had since last winter. It would have been a good ride in better weather.

I took loads of pictures (with my old camera) with the intention of geotagging them and making a Google Earth map with photos, but my GPS receiver was set to "wrap tracklog" mode, so it over-wrote the first 1/3 of the journey, which was the bit I took the photos on (the bit in daylight). I'll make it work eventually.

Thoughts on the bike to come in another post.