gugie 

Neal's a college professor in Boston. A few times a year he attends conferences, which is how I first met him in person 5 years ago. Of course we got the PNW gang together and did a ride, which @Andy_K and I now call the Neal Lerner Invitational route. I got an email from Neal at the end of August, looks like he's up to his old tricks - getting someone else to pay your way out to a great riding area. This time it's Vancouver, B.C. for another conference. Flights from Boston are a PITA, so he says, but bicycles can cross the border fairly easily now that we've been in a COVID lull for awhile. Why not fly into Seattle and ride up?

Well, I'm still a working stiff and don't have a lot of vacation time saved up, so we work out a play where we meet in Seattle on a Friday night, stay a couple of days in the city and do some of @northbend's favorite rides, then head north. Some of the usual suspects were contacted, and a dual-Capo scheme is proposed. I'm planning the Seattle bit (got a sweet AirBnB reserved), which takes us from Friday, Oct. 21, leaving Monday, Oct. 24 where I pass the planning to Neal. He's got hotels and a house reserved for the 3 day trip from Seattle to Vancouver.

We've got a gaggle of BFer's signed up to come with. Some will come just for the weekend, others will do the weekend routes plus ride to Bellingham and peel off to get back to Seattle, a few will follow Neal all the way to Vancouver.

Neal is usually a lucky charm to keep the rain away, but as of today it's looking like his streak may be over.


Fenders. Raingear. Chain lube.


First two days on the weekend are blue and red. From there it's head north using Washington State's excellent ferry system to keep it interesting.

Here's the lineup:
@Andy_K Weekend in Seattle only
@SquireBlack Weekend in Seattle only
@VRJAKE all the way up to Bellingham
@rccardr all the way up to Bellingham - Doc is flying in from back east Friday
me up to Bellingham
@nlerner, full monty - flying in from back east Friday
@northbend will commute in from Northbend, Washington to lead us out on some of his favorite rides, then head north all the way to Vancouver. At least that's what I think his plan is.

There'll be planes, trains and automobiles used to help get us around. As usual there's a lot of moving parts. It's the height of audacity to plan a ride for late October between Seattle and Vancouver.

As usual, I encourage those along the route to join in even if only for part of the day.

Charles Wahl

Very ambitious! Maybe my favorite part of this country! Wish I could be there. Hope you won't run into too much smoke.

northbend 

Well, here's what it looks like right now:
Fresh air moves in! by Matthew Pendergast, on Flickr
The wind picked up this afternoon and cleared things out nicely. I won't be too disappointed if the weather pattern does change to a normal seasonal pattern of wet-ness. Better on the lungs anyway.

rccardr 

I suspect fenders will be required.

rgvg

I probably don't need to say this but I'll say it anyway. If you're coming up to Vancouver on your nice bikes, be sure you have a place to secure them as we have a fairly high rate of bike theft. Of course some spots are hotter than others but even out at UBC you hear stories of bikes getting stolen. Even new buildings with secure bike parking find out it's not really that secure. Those angle grinders really make short work of any lock.

stardognine

Have fun kids!!! 😁

I've only been up to Bellingham once, working as a mover's helper, so didn't get to look around much. 🤔 Been through Marysville & points South pretty good though.

Are youse going through downtown Seattle? When I was up there last December, they were making pretty good progress on that waterfront bikeway. It's always gonna be crowded there, but should be a lot better now, if it's done. 👍

squirtdad

That is a bunch of C&V.... have fun guys. Any ferry rides involved? should throw one in for the fun of it

Duke7777

If you are going to be doing any riding around Vancouver, I would be interested in joining you. We have a vintage ride every Saturday, and any of you still in town by then are welcome to join us.

rccardr 

Ready for the rain. Hopefully it will move off before we arrive.
I mean, a boy can dream.
IMG_6338 by Doc Mertes, on Flickr

randyjawa 

I ride in Canada all the time (during the warmer not snow covered months) and love it. I live in Northwestern Ontario, in an area covered by the Canadian Shield. The Canadian Shield is a huge area of land that is the Earth's crust bare. Yup, lots of areas of solid earth's crust not covered by dirt, or grass, or bush or trees, although there are a lot of lakes. I ride through gorgeous scenery and love every minute of every ride...

VtwinVince

Being a native Vancouverite, I wish you well. I moved out of town to Vancouver Island a couple of years ago to escape the god-awful crowding and congestion in the Lower Mainland, and the terrible traffic. Of course I was usually cycling and managed to avoid the traffic jams. We've had a crazy drought which is set to continue until the end of next week, then we'll probably have biblical flooding.

davester

Hmmm, I'm not so sure about that. I suspect that the TdMIL during the last week of December trumps that on the audacity scale, at least as far as the weather gods are concerned.

Sounds like a fun, though wet, trip. I'd love to join in the fun but my schedule's a bit full. I'll provide a burnt offering to the weather gods to see if they'll stave off their wrath until after the ride.

Kabuki12

Yea, I have family on Vancouver Island up around Sooke . After the end of August all bets are off. It is some of the most beautiful country , but……

northbend 

Brian,
nlerner is the only one that will be around on Saturday - he's taking the 5:45pm train to Seattle that evening. It would be really cool you two can meet up and Brian can show you his basement bike collection.
Neal, look at Duke7777's signature line and you'll have some idea of you'll see in the basement of wonders. I bought my Hobbs from Brian back in Nov 2015 and was fortunate to see his collection when I travelled to Vancouver to pick it up..

nlerner

@Duke7777, I’ll send you a PM to see if we can arrange something. I have to admit, however, that I won’t be on a vintage bike:

mhespenheide 

I'm interested, but [1] I'm ashamed to admit that I don't have a fendered C&V bike set up at the moment and, more importantly, [2] have family duties with a three-year old. So maybe only shorter segments and if this unseasonable weather holds.

I am near the airport, though, if anyone needs help with logistics. I have a fair tool collection and bike stand, but not many of the specialized bits.

Dfrost might be interested, if he's in town.

Mr. 66

No ride for me, I'm in out of town celebrating 30 years of having a Mrs. 66.

Good luck with the weather, I would think there is a good chance of lightning storm if it rains. It's been so dry there is a lot of static after dry periods.

semroc

Have a great ride everyone. I live in Port Townsend. I could meet up and ride with you for a ways.

nlerner

We'll be there on Monday, 10/24, staying overnight and then heading to Bellingham the next day. You can ride with us on the way in, on the way out, or just drink beer with us Monday evening.

VtwinVince

Since July we've had 6mm of rain, a tiny fraction of what we normally have, and air quality is in the crapper right now due to multiple forest fires. I haven't been out for a real ride due to the air conditions.

rccardr 

My understanding is that The Deluge will begin right about when we arrive.
You’re welcome.

VRJAKE 

https://www.wunderground.com/forecast/us/wa/seattle

Keeping track o d forecast. Couple days minimal rain (well, we in PNW consider anything less than 0.2" but a trace...). What's in your rain kit?

gugie 

Rain jacket, waterproof mitts, booties, and jacket. Got me through the 2021 TdMIL deluge.



Based on what I'm seeing, I'll probably ditch the SPD pedals, go platform, and wear my waterproof Chrome mid-tops, which is my go to shoes for winter commuting.

If it's just light showers I'll typically wear wool knickers, long sleeve wool jersey, and whatever gloves make sense.

nlerner

I'm borrowing my wife's fancy gortex rain jacket. Woot!

etherhuffer 

This is a lovely route. Vancouver is actually easier to get around by bike than car, as some have noted. And yes, be very careful of your security, especially near Hastings Street. Our hotel let us bring bikes to our rooms last time, its worth asking