First outdoor ride of 2010

Poor Estela is still chained to the trainer. I don't like taking her on bike paths, and the pavement is pretty bad in places on this route home. There is still a ton of grit to be careful of. You saw that map a few days ago, though today I went the other way around the zoo, and the path is open around the south end of Stampede park. It was a beautiful day for a ride, though it got a bit windy toward the end. I took my time, mostly just riding along. The speed limit on the paths is 20 Kph, and that's pretty much my average speed. Some places you're stupid or prescient if you're doing more than 10 Kph. Like going under Elbow Drive at the west end of Stanley Park. The scenery is great already, even so early in the year! I didn't keep track of the time exactly, but it was a hair under 1.5 hours, which is about right.

My kneecaps felt a bit stiff and creaky toward the end of the ride. I think I'm sitting just a little shorter on the hybrid, and I'm pretty sure the cranks aren't quite the same length. Stretched my legs, and decided going for a run isn't the best idea. So far this week I'm down a swim, run, and core session, and I'm tired anyways. I might try to sneak in a swim tomorrow, on what is supposed to be my rest day. Or maybe I'll take the hybrid out for another ride since its supposed to be so nice. Or I might "rest" and do a bunch of stuff with wine bottling. And laundry. And yard stuff. My neighbours are already starting, even though there is supposed to be unspoken agreement that you don't have to do anything to your yard till the May long weekend, since it's still likely to snow again.

What is it with people? Keep right is the standard, yes? About half the people on the paths (runners, joggers, walkers, skaters, and bikers) were on the left side of the paths, shambling along. I thought I was going to have a head on collision at one spot. One geezer scared the crap out of me. He's walking along where he should be, on the right side of the path. I honk the shark (no GQH that isn't some perversion, it's my version of a bike bell) and he looks over his left shoulder while turning left into the middle of the path and took two steps to end up in the middle of the left side. Which was where I was aiming to pass. All the while he had this amiably bewildered expression on his face. It's like he's never been passed by a bike before. Or maybe he doesn't remember it.