We headed out to one of my all-time favorite rides in the Vancouver area today. I call it the Happy Valley Ride, or the Lakes and Rivers Ride, or the Lakes, Valleys, and Waterfalls ride. But really, take your pick, because there's all of that and more. It was a bit of a late start (2PM), made later by essential stops at the Laughing Bean, Tim Hortons, and the finally the drive out to our favorite parking spot beside Whannock Elementary (park back in Maple Ridge to make this a +100km affair).
We got rolling without much ado, and freewheeled down to Stave Lake Dam. There we stripped down for the climb up to, well, the very well signed landfill site. Fortunately, there was a lone hiker at the bottom ready to cheer us on… and probably wonder at what the hell we were doing out there… and where our husbands could have disappeared to (at this point, I'm counting).
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| Miracle Valley, Mission, BC |
At Cascade Falls we ate our Tim's sandwiches, stretched a little, basked in the sun with cold rocks on the backside, and then continued on. The entire day was a little chilly and overcast, and faffing about was kept to a minimum. With what seemed to me a perpetual tail-wind and setting sun, we finished up the last 30km's zig-zagging down to Lougheed Hwy and back up into the hills of Mission to visit Silvermere Lake and Whannock Lake, getting back to the car at 6:45.
No ride is complete without a discussion on post-ride food. There is only one thing to say on this topic: I did not get my A&W onion rings! Oh, and a piece of sage advice. If you're making a post ride salad, and you are faced with the decision of adding chicken breast or Scottish kippers for protein. Please, please, please… don't add both. It really doesn't work.
