Part 2 of 2024 Holiday Break Challenge

Quick recap of the challenge: instead of Festive 500 from Dec 24 to 31, I challenged myself to ride each of my six bikes a minimum a 50km over the same period.

Part 1 was my old Twenty on Christmas Eve. I took Christmas day off to spend with my partner and pupper. But as of Boxing Day I was back on it, and rolled out of the house on the Hillborne with only a loose plan in place.

I started by crossing over to North Van and heading westward via Second Narrows, generally on the Spirit Trail. The weather was pretty decent; no threat of rain and temperatures well above freezing. I rode in my sweater without a jacket!

I crossed Lions Gate into Stanley Park and took Rawlings down, stopping to explore a couple side quests.

I made my way over the Burrard Bridge and headed west. Passing through Jericho, the water level was as high as I’ve ever seen it – large sections of the park were fully flooded. Great time to be a duck!

I wanted to take my favourite UBC route – Salish trail starting from the base of the NW Marine climb, which follows the east edge of a rather steep and deep ravine to start. I am happy to push up the first incline.

Salish Trail starts in a rather open, exclusively deciduous wooded area before becoming enclosed in towering Dougas Firs. While there was no rain today, recent rains were very evident – I rode though what must have been thousands of puddles.

I continued south through Musqueam Park, a quieter and beautiful bit of green space south of Marine Drive. Working my way around the golf course, I stopped at Deering Island, a favourite spot of mine and some friends for a beer. I sat and watched the sun set while and chatted with a family with two teen daughters whose dad was jealous of my beer, as well as an older lady and her sweet dog. On the way out of Deering there were three bald eagles having a bit of a domestic dispute at close range and we all watched in awe.

I passed through Southlands and visited the horses along the way, then made my way north via Arbutus Greenway.

Route below – a pleasant and pretty uneventful ride, though quite muddy at times.

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