December was a little more quiet, not the least because I caught COVID either at my work holiday party or the following workday which kept me off the bike (and in the house doing nothing) for ten days.
It started out wet but mild, and pretty much stayed that way. On the 6th I got out for a funky Burnaby loop because I had been wondering if it was possible to follow the powerlines along south Burnaby, and indeed it worked – kinda awkward, but fun.
We took Sunny and Leia to Charleston Park one evening, which was very muddy. We were there because the little ferries that work False Creek were performing a “ballet”, though they were on the other side of the inlet for the performance so we didn’t see a lot. Sunny sure enjoyed just watching the bay, though.
On the 8th I had a bit of a creepy encounter with a coyote in the community garden after dark, Sunny was quite agitated and I got a bad feeling so I picked her up – and found that the coyote was trailing us by just a few feet. Yikes! Also a random beer photo from earlier in the day, a nitro stout with a portion of barrel-aged beer blended in.
The 12th was our company Christmas party, held at a hotel banquet room in Richmond. I multi-modal’d my way there with the Twenty, which I locked up outside the hotel. I did the same last year as well, though I wished I’d kept my Brompton as I could have brought it in with me.
The next day I spent outside on the Bombadil, riding out to West Van and cruising around trails both familiar and not. It was a bit warmer than usual so I even brought my hammock and spent a little bit of time creek side.
Some dog content to break up all the bike stuff – Sunny had a bath and Leia was very sweet with her afterwards, checking to see she was okay. Leia knows how stressful bath time is! Also, they are a united front against squirrels – they both make quite a scene every time. It’s low key embarrassing.
Below is a photo from a short evening ride on the Twenty on the 15th, and my Hillborne commute on the 17th, the final commute of 2025. I didn’t know it at the time, but it would also be my last ride until after Christmas as I tested mildly positive on the morning of the 19th. Boo! I didn’t get very sick at all, but it lingered and I kept myself locked away to avoid getting Aimée sick too. At least I succeeded there!
The next few days were spent in the bedroom binge-watching Taskmaster; I’m glad there was so many episodes I hadn’t seen yet! Leia did a great job of keeping me company as well. I got out for dog walks to keep my sanity but otherwise existed here.
Aimée made me some nice meals over my time in captivity, which helped keep spirits up – no small feat for her as well, as food prep is always a tag team effort and I do all the clean-up usually.
Boxing Day I got out for a slow paced (as if I go any other pace) ride around Deer Lake – I meant to keep it to around 25km but ended up over 40km because I just missed being out on my bike too much!
I also took my new WZRD slingshot with me and tried it out over the Brunette river, checked out the progress on a new pedestrian overpass in Burnaby (which I’ll get a lot of use out of!) and had a smash burger and beer too.
The next morning was cold but clear, and I enjoyed a morning walk with the girls – a daily routine, but this was prettier than usual. We have a few established routes ranging from 30 to 60 minutes, usually ending with some time at the off-leash park.
Again I got out for a bike ride, and just about every day this week I was able to thanks to good weather and a free schedule. This time I took the Bombadil on a two-bridge loop with a venture up to Murdo Frazer and some time spent seeking out old growth trees in Stanley Park.
That night I watched Listers, a bird-watching documentary that I highly recommend if you haven’t seen. It isn’t likely going to turn me into a serious birder, but it did make me want to go to Jericho to see if I could find a red-winged blackbird – we have them in limited numbers here but I’ve only seen them in Ottawa. I was not successful, but I did spot a bunch of spotted Towhee’s which I had not identified previously! As well as some sparrows and other Little Brown Birds. I will admit I did download Merlin and eBird, and am now keeping a Life List on the former (currently at 26 species as of mid-January). Maybe this’ll be the excuse to start bringing a “real” camera on rides again. It’s a nice way to slow down and experience the woods more deeply, I just don’t want to get competitive about it hopefully.
On the 30th I took the Evasion around Deer Lake again, this time stopping at a tree I used to sit in regularly but haven’t been back to for at least a year. Its branches create a surprisingly comfortable perch, on which to gaze over the lake. There was a light fog over the lake that never fully dissipated, and it created a beautiful hazy sunset.
The last day of the month, and year, I rode the Bombadil out to the far end of West Vancouver with Tay to see about a trail that I’d studied on maps – it had no cycling heatmap activity, but that doesn’t always mean it’s not a gem to ride! Getting to it required riding almost to Horseshoe Bay along the higher / hillier route.
I started out the ride by going to pick up a pair of tires off Marketplace in Lynn Valley, then just slowly noodled through some forested areas westward. It wasn’t efficient, but I saw lots of cool stuff!
The trail was mostly unrideable, but very pretty, and it was really fun to find such a hidden little trail in a new-to-us zone. By the time we were out the sun wasn’t far off the horizon, so we opted to skip any further exploration and just point ourselves back east.
I finished the month at 12 days on the bike and 383 km – much of which was in the last few days. As for the year, I rode over 6000 km again and almost 73,000m of elevation. Plenty, I’d say! I drove less than 3000 km, which I’m quite proud of. I only car-commuted a few times the whole year, though I only commuted once a week anyway.
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