Vancouver continued:
The 2nd day in Vancouver was a wet one. It rained all day with a chance of thunderstorms. So I opted to stay indoors and skip any riding. Instead, I made myself useful by helping with dinner and planning some repairs to Sharon's carbon road bike. The day before, I noticed the chain was falling off and riding on the inner cage plate. She wasn't able to shift properly, and I had to re-install the chain. That's when I found the tension pulley was worn out, there was nearly no teeth left.
Sharon was annoyed that her LBS didn't catch this during the last service recently. Mike suggested a community co-op for parts bin searching. But that didn't yield any donors so Sharon managed to buy a new Shimano pulley kit.
I broke out my tools and overhauled the 105 rear derailleur in her kitchen, managing the mess to a minimum. I realigned her brifters, took care of a FD cable issue, and had it shifting smooth for Wednesday.
Keeping myself amused with my new camera as it poured outside:
On a Rainy Vancouver Day -003 by
WNG555, on Flickr
On a Rainy Vancouver Day -008 by
WNG555, on Flickr
On a Rainy Vancouver Day -014 by
WNG555, on Flickr
Wednesday morning started out cloudy, but the rain had ended. Mike had contacted me that he could meet up for a late lunch in Chinatown's Phnom-Penh Restaurant a well-reviewed local favorite featuring Chinese, Cambodian and Vietnamese cuisine. I expressed interest in sampling Vancouver's celebrated asian eats to Mike, after I found the International Region in Seattle, but my travels didn't allow me to return and indulge.
IMG_8114 by
WNG555, on Flickr
Even though we missed the lunch crowd, we had to wait for a table, it was packed...a good sign. The food didn't disappoint, as we were both hungry and ordered plenty. Their fried squid w/ Vietnamese seasonings was perfectly executed. Best squid I've had, can only describe it as airy in crispness.
Mike arrived with his Ritchey foldable cross bike, fully equipped for urban assault mode. (Bike is gorgeous in the flesh!) A shot of a very full and satsified Mike in front of the restaurant:
IMG_8117 by
WNG555, on Flickr
As Mike already posted about our day, to work off the BIG meal, Mike took me out of the city along the Central Valley Greenway. A nice meandering flat route heading east out of Vancouver to Burnaby. The gravel grinding near the end was a nice finale. I LIKE gravel trails.
The Sun burnt away the clouds and the rest of the afternoon was perfect riding weather. We turned around and headed back to his house to check out his bike cave.
IMG_8118 by
WNG555, on Flickr
His killer view from his livingroom...
IMG_8129 by
WNG555, on Flickr
A @
rootboy plug here! One of his many leather handiwork arrived in the mail. And Mike test-fitted it on his Proctor. Amazing craftsmanship, rootboy! (I'll have that spread-out gear photo for ya soon enough!)
IMG_8124 by
WNG555, on Flickr
Mike showed me his numerous rides and projects, including the Atala he got from @
Drillium Dude , for his girlfriend.
The piece de resistance was his latest, a Ti Hollands road frame with full Dura Ace. Sexy cool and can't wait to see the finished results.
I had a great couple of days of riding and comraderie with Mike and bid him farewell and set off to find my way back.
I recalled passing one of Vancouver's Foodie must-visit spots while riding to Mike's place on Monday. I retraced my steps to find it...