walking

 

Friday morning I walked our 3800m (2¾miles) loop over Mt. Tolmie and back thru Finnerty Gardens.

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On my way up The Grind> I took a picture of the ongoing, house construction.

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Once over the mountain it was down to Rattenbury to Henderson Rd.

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Labels: finnerty, tolmie, walked

 

Cycling Nanaimo Parkway Trail 5-minutes 

It took me over a decade but I finally made the ride 19.3km from McKeown Trailhead to Mary Ellen Dr. in Nanaimo along the Parkway Trail.

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Besides my own tenacity, much of the thanks goes to my adult grandson who willingly cycled with his aging grandfather.

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The younger, provided his vehicle and handled the driving and navigation along the trail.

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Believe it — one needs a navigator with a keen eye to follow this paved trail.

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The Nanaimo Parkway Trail intersects and crosses several road and highway intersection.

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Many of these intersections are also intersected by other trail: i.e., E&N Rail Trail and Trans Canda Trail.

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Confusing? You bet. But not to the keen eye of a skilled navigator!

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Labels: DelSol, ebike, izip, nanaimo

 

Wednesday morning I cycled an 18km loop Henderson/Foul Bay (University/Downtown Cycling Route) outbound and the Galloping Goose Trail/ Lochside Trail inbound to home.

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The impetous for this outing was to pay-by-cheque our monthly homecare bill.

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Vancouver Island Health Authority (VIHA) is one-of-two homecare services we have under contract to care for my wife

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Also, I wanted to stop in at Budget Car Rentals to check on units with 2" trailer hitches — they have several models.

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Right now, our cycling plans for this Saturday to Nanaimo are up-in-air.

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BTW, it's still colder than Hades out there while cycling at 26km/hr.

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Labels: downtown, ggt, izip

 

161st Victoria Highland Games & Celtic Festival  

Saturday morning, I cycled a 17km loop over to the 161st Victoria Highland Games & Celtic Festival (VHGA) site at Topaz Park.

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My main purpose in taking this bikeride was to checkout the roadway/cycling lanes one could take to attend using one's bicycle for transport. Fortunately for me, Finlayson Road's eastern terminus is very near our home.

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From my home the shortest — and hopefully the safest — route was: South along Richmond Rd. using the sidewalk (there are no north-south connectors currently available for Gordon Head cyclists)/ West down Knight St. at St. Michaels University then south at Aldbridge/ then west along North Dairy which (with a name change) becomes Finlayson Rd..

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From Aldbridge at N.Dairy it's 2300m to Topaz Park beside Finlayson Rd. Total route distance is 4100m (4.1km/2½ miles).

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The selfless volunteer VHGA members had set up an area for bicycle parking. Security guards were posted nearby.

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After getting my two-day pass, I bought tickets for my two grandsons who arrived shortly after.

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The younger brother was in Highland Dress and looked quite striking. He is awaiting the arrival of his Irvine Clan kilt from Scotland.

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After getting the lads introduced to the VHGA President, James Maxwell, I left shortly afterward to get home to my invalid wife.

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The bikeride to the Games was only 4km so I took the long way home — 13km along the Galloping Goose/Lochside to home/ I got onto the GGT at Selkirk Landing, located at the western terminus of the Finlayson Road Bike Lane (Finlayson changes name to: Jutland Rd.)

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So . . . it was a noble experiment which turned out favourably for all concerned. Amen.

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Labels: games, izip, kilts, scots

 

To the uninitiated, it appears some octogenarians within the Victoria Scottish Community may be remiss in their actions and lack of participation in some current Scottish events. Perhaps, after they too, have given over two decades of their time to just such endeavours, they will have a keener eye as to what that participation actually entails.

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Today, I took a reconnaissance drive over the 161st Victoria Highland Games & Celtic Festival (VHGA) site at Topaz Park. Such an event is a monumental undertaking and requires the work and expertise of many willing souls. While doing my walkabout to measure their progress I took a panoramic photo to show the magnitude of such an undertaking.

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As I was leaving the VHGA site around 10:30am, I saw VHGA President, Jim Maxwell entering on another gateway to the grounds. We did not speak because one can appreciate all the important things he has on his mind this day-before-the-event.

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My main purpose of making this visit was to checkout the roadway, cycling lanes one could take to attend using one's bicycle for tranportaion. Fortunately for me, Finlayson Road's eastern terminus is very near our home.

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From my home the shortest — and hopefully the safest — route would be: South along Richmond Rd. using the sidewalk (there are no north-south connectors currently available for Gordon Head cyclists)/ West down Knight St. at St. Michaels University then south at Aldbridge/ then west along North Dairy which (with a name change) becomes Finlayson Rd..

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From Aldbridge at N.Dairy it's 2300m to Topaz Park beside Finlayson Rd. Total route distance is 4100m (4.1km/2½ miles).

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Labels: highlands, scots, topaz

 

I hiked a 3800m loop, clockwise through University of Victoria and over Mt. Tolmie.

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It was a beaautiful, sunny morning at a balmy 10°C (50°F).

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I stuck to the designated pathways for the most part.

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I'm a little shaky but didn't fall down.

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My left leg rectus femoris has experienced a numbness since my illness. The leg control is still functional but limited by the numbness on the muscle's surface.

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It's almost like the symptoms from a stroke.

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The rectus femoris muscle is one of the four quadriceps muscles that sits in the middle of the front of the thigh. The rectus femoris attaches from the pelvis to just below the knee (on the patellar tendon). It is responsible for knee extension and hip flexion.

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Labels: finnerty, tolmie, walked

 

 

 

Thursday I rode 8km roundtrip to Cadboro Bay beach and back home. The tide was way out (0.03m) so I rode my bike along the sand next to the water. It was surprisingly rough riding so that didn't last long.

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Labels: cadboro, e-bike, izip

 

Times Colonist May 4, 2024 A new e-bike share program that started this week in Nanaimo with 16 central locations could expand to nearby ferry terminals by summer.

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The bike share is a partnership between the B.C. Automobile Association’s Evolve (Evo) E-Bike Share program and the City of Nanaimo.

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A total of 100 e-bikes will be available in zones including downtown, the Old City Quarter, Maffeo Sutton and Bowen parks, plus commercial and residential areas. Plans call for the program to eventually include Vancouver Island University and Nanaimo Regional General Hospital

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. Users can get access to the bikes through the free Evo app

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Labels: e-bike, nanaimo