This morning after doing a little reading at the dock while enjoying a light breakfast, I paddled over to Hay Island to investigate the shoreline and see what’s happening on this part of the lake. Yesterday, on our walk to the point, Shirley and I discovered that there had been some activity with the power line and a new submarine power cable had been layed out from out point. Well, it turns out that the destination is this area on Hay Island. As I went down the west shore I notices a short 3′ metal pole near the waterline which is typical for an electrical cable coming ashore. A closer look shows new cable similar to the one laid off our point and it loops from location to location on this part of Hay Island, where there are lots for sale. The weather was good with a light breeze. At the start it was overcast but clear off on the way back for a nice sunny paddle, a total of 7.7km for the trip.

I think I’ll spend the rest of the day working on the kayak rack. This amy involve a trip to town for supplies/parts so we’ll see how much gets done today. After all, there is always tomorrow.

My normal answer until today was no. In fact it was a little worse that
no, I’d ignore the person, as if they didn’t exist. I’d just walk on
by, perhaps I’d shake my head, but generally I’d not speak to them or
acknowledge them in any serious way. If you walk around in any major
city, you will be approached by somebody asking for something, money,
food, shelter. I’ve always been torn about this issue. Should I give
them money? Will it help? What would it be used for? How could some
spare change impact or help somebody, so I ignored them, until today.

I recently listened to a man speak about inclusion, and how the most
difficult thing for a homeless person begging for money on the street
was not that you wouldn’t give them anything, but the fact that you
wouldn’t even acknowledge that they existed! He admitted that the money
may not help there situation very much, but the act of giving them
something meant that you had to stop what you were doing, think about
the other person, acknowledge the other person and take some sort of
positive action. This really struck a chord in me, and I’m going to try
and do something about it. Generally, I do have some change to spare,
and even if I don’t at the time I think ‘ll try to stop and acknowledge
them as a person, a person who is valuable and important.

Today, I had two opportunities to put it into practice. On the way out of the
library after picking up a book, I was approached by a man who was
perhaps in his late 20’s early 30’s. Instead of asking for money, he
asked if I appreciated a good joke. Without waiting for much of a
response, he launched into a Texan joke as we walked up the street. It
was a fairly long joke and a good one as it turned out. At the end he
said he was raising money for something and I gave him some change. As
we parted company, he offered another short joke. This encounter
certainly exceeded my expectations. Within another block, a second
gentleman approached me with the more traditional request, money for a
bus ticket. I gave him my remaining change. He seemed quite surprised,
and happy. With a big smile he thanked me and we parted company. I felt
good about the whole thing. I have no idea about what purpose the money
will be used for, but it felt right acknowledging them as fellow human
beings on this journey of life.

Flat Changing Competition
Originally uploaded by Big Dadoo

My Stats

A good ride again today after missing last weeks ride since we were at the lake. Today was the annual picnic, so there was great food and drink post-ride. Conditions were windy and as usual, coming up 206 was pretty hard for me, especially as I found my self at the front just as we’re starting up on of the hills.

The temperatures were hot, in the high 20’s and into the 30’s. I drank a lot of fluids on the ride, and inhaled a water and 3 soft drinks at the picnic. The flat tire changing competition was fun to watch. The fastest time was about 1 minute and 30 seconds, and the longest a very respectable 6 minutes.

FOG Riders
Originally uploaded by Big Dadoo

My Stats

Today’s ride was a little longer that typical due to taking the Cooks Creek route option. The weather was very fine with temperatures in the mid-20s and a clear sky for the ride as you can see from the picture that I took during the ride. The photo was a little tricky, but now I have my own photo’s of the group.

It was a very large group today and at times quite unruly with people riding 4 across, some cutting into the line, and a near bump on River Road, but nothing compared to what happened at the end.

We’re just coming up Henderson Hwy approaching the Legion, just a few minutes from finishing the ride, and two riders go down right in front of me. I manage to brake without getting rear-ended and put off onto the grassy shoulder and avoid getting tangled up in the crash. Wow, do these things happen fast!

From what the riders involved said, the first rider to go down had his front wheel bumped by the rider in front of him as he moved over a bit. This started a nasty wobble for the first rider to go down that he couldn’t recover from, and the second person was just unable to get out of the way. It may be a little harsh, but this was a self-inflicted crash, as the first rider to go down must have been overlapping wheels with the rider ahead. I’ve been cautioned on this before and now I’m quite careful to avoid overlapping for just this reason. Perhaps in a race, or the Tour de France the pro’s will ride in this position, but on a group ride of amatures, it’s a receipe for trouble. Well, both riders seemed physically OK, but bike damage my be another story. Being that close to a crash gave me a new respect for the issues of riding in a group in a tight formation.