Furry Creek

I challenged Highway 99 today and went to Furry Creek. It’s only few kilometres away from Squamish. Took almost an hour to get there. Beautiful big houses are built there, at both sides of the road. Some looking at the Ocean and the other ones on a little higher land looking at the mountain and jungle from one side and the Ocean's rush from the other side. There’s a golf course just by the road and it was busy as I was passing by. The houses should be expensive as it’s only 1 hour to Downtown Vancouver. There’s no shop or any other services but people obviously get all their needs from Vancouver or if don’t want to drive that much, Squamish is only 20 min. drive. But X was saying something else when I was talking to him a few min. ago. He was saying that most of the people don't live in those houses. They use 'em as their second house. On the other hand the house that is only used on weekends or for vacations. He also mentioned that the houses are very expensive because of a high cost of development. One more interesting thing he added was that many of the people who live in these houses could be foreigners, mostly Americans. I noticed that I haven't seen anyone in one of the houses up the road and he said that they are people from Seattle which is only a few hours from here and they come and visit not very often.
Basically what’s happening to Canada and British Columbia is they are destroying the nature and building highways, houses, golf courses and other pieces of shit! When will it stop? My answer would be never. Furry Creek itself has biking trials as it’s said but I didn’t try any of them. I needed energy to go back! I didn’t see anything though. I will stop by and ask the little office in there in a weekday. The whole ride including looking around, photography and a little hand-set game(!) I played, took 03:15 hour. It's not something very interesting that I want to write about it.

(Photo: I always like to take photos of my travels and rides and all the events that I write here which shows the uniqueness of that. Here you see a kind of, I'd say fruit which is very much like grape but it's not it. I took it in Furry Creek where there's a gravel road goin' up and that's probably for construction or something like that. Definitely not a biking trial! But you might find it anywhere else. I even tasted that and is not too bad. I didn't take any photo from the houses or the golf course)

Squamish Valley Road

I decided to go for a ride although I was very tired as a lack of enough sleep. I have already said that there’s no bridge to cross Squamish River and when I asked the Adventure Centre guys, I was told that a boatman should be hired for that purpose. I had a look at a map and saw a B. C. Hydro cable car in the mentioned road and decided to go and see if it’s still working.
There were scattered showers when I was closing and I got to the road. The road was a little busy as it leads to a campground in 14 KM as a sign says. Besides that it was Sun. afternoon (I started at about 02:40 PM) and people usually get out for a motorcycle, truck or bicycle ride. I stopped by the road after an hour of ride, at about 03:40 and looked at the map. There was a kind of gravel or better to say muddy road and I decided to take that. It was still raining and there were big holes of muddy water in the way. I once saw a four-wheel driver coming toward me and pulled over and waited until the bastard passed! Got muddy and wet on my legs and feet and finally reached were there was no way to go. The road was covered with water because of the too much rain we have been receiving since Mon.
There was a broken old car and looked like an abandoned tepee with a picnic bench beside it. Nobody was around. I think that tepee would be used by the native people when it’s practicable and that destroyed car was their work. I took a few photos and turned back. I guess I saw big pelicans on my way back to the road. I guess that’s what I saw. They flew away when I was approaching, glided and left. I didn’t have a damn chance to take a photo. I also I guess I saw a baby bear when I was goin’. I’m not sure if that’s what I saw. It was pure black and small but baby bear are usually by the side of their mother. I don’t know. I should have stopped to explore but was a little scared of it attacking me! I have no photo of that either.
Then as soon as I hit the road there was another cyclist right in front of me with a race bike. I tried to keep my pace and not fall behind and I really worked hard for that. I never was more than 5 meters away but at the end when we were closing to the three-way he had a good run. That was a good exercise and a real challenge as well and made me really exhausted. I got home at about 05:20.

(Photo: The tepee and picnic bench are seen in the back. Looks like the fallen tree is used as a fence. It is not possible to get to the tepee unless you go through the water and you don't know how bad and sticky the mud is. You might get trapped. The scene reminded me of the movie Southern Comfort)

Sat. Night Fever

I went to see S. G. in a cafe called True Confection in Downtown Vancouver and got so pissed off. There were not a single fucking place to park and I knew it. I asked her to meet me in North Vancouver but she insisted on Downtown because it’s closer to her place.

I finally parked in a Permission Required parking and got in. It’s a small cafe with the table so fucking close. S. G. was sitting at a table and didn’t seem happy especially when I told where I had parked! Said that we had to leave because tow trucks are everywhere. It took at least hour and 25 min. to us to finally get to a fucking kind of restaurant. Gosh! That was horrible! Load, noisy just by the street were vehicles were passing by and the damn pouring rain! I barely could hear so I went and ask the guys to turn the fucking radio down! We had something and talked until about 11 something and had to leave. I wanted to talk more but I was told that the bedtime had already passed!!
She’s such a smart girl and I’ve never seen someone like her. I only have to give her a hint and she follows all the way to the end. Her body is not bad, I mean I should consider the physique too but she doesn’t were something that shows a lot. But she probably as tall as me, round thighs and good upstairs, I guess. The good thing is she said that I could see her again but may be not so soon because she’ll spend her time with her family for the next few weeks.
But my drive back to Squamish was a horrible memory! There were only 3 or 4 cars in the entire road and visibility was so limited. That was not only because of the darkness but also as a presence of fog. I sighed when I got home shortly after 01:00 AM! Called her and woke her up because she wanted me to do that. I think I should consider her for marriage. I know that it’s not really easy to find someone like her. Not possible at all. The only question is would our cultural differences make any problem? I’ve told her everything so far about what has happened to me but didn’t have enough time last time. I think I should have asked Mom, who called me a min. ago. Wanted to know what she thinks. Because there’s also F. F. Whose I’m supposed to meet with. But maybe it’s a little early to talk about S. G. to Mom. I think I should ask her first and make sure that she wants to go out with me as a date not a friend any more. Two very important inherent quality of her which attracts me is her intelligent and decency.

Suicide

The mental stress is sometimes so hard on people that pushes them to commit suicide. That’s a simple fact which everyone is aware of. I have no access to the statistics in that regard in Canada and it’s so hard to understand the condition of the people who take their own life. I’ve never had a serious issue that drives me to suicide before my immigration but here in this civilized, developed country which people just hate you because of the colour of your hair and size of your nose, I, at times, thought of the people who do that to themselves. And the only reason you think of them is because you want to know why they do that and whether or not you’re in their shoes. I thought of that a few times but never got close because I think of my family who depends on me and is goin’ to join me soon, hopefully before we finish ’07.
Anyhow I brought this preface, if it can be called, up to say what happened last night. I was goin’ to meet with S. G. and actually had invited her to a supper but when I got home, showered and changed, she told me that wasn’t feeling well and cancelled it. So I went to the rental movie place in the town, for the first time, and surprisingly the Caucasian people in there were nice and didn’t show any hatred and honestly I’ve met so many people like that here in Canada, I must confess. I rented The Last King of Scotland and bought a used copy of Fahrenheit 9/11. The rental one is expensive for a week compare to the big franchises like Rogers and Blockbuster but the movie, I only paid $3 something for that. I watched The King and Forest Whitaker is amazing. I only had watched one movie of him before and that’s Panic Room. He plays a thieve and he’s amazing in there as well but in The King he’s brilliant and that’s why he won the Oscar last year. The story is not so attractive that keeps you sat but I did. I went out to get the mail out of the van after the movie and saw Ed, the nice gentleman who lives across the street, was coming toward me. RCMP cruisers were parked in front of his house when I got back home yesterday. He waived at me and I said hi and asked what had happened. I was shocked when he started talking about the incident. His long time partner of 18 years, Val had committed suicide! She was such a nice lady but Ed and previously A. J. had told me that she had been fighting with a type of cancer for 8 years and got a little better just recently. Ed was obviously devastated. I could smell the alcohol while he was talking to me and he was upset and excited, cursing at the physicians, blaming them, saying he would take them all to a court and sue them because of trial and error kind of method they used as treatment.
So that was my Fri. night!

Favorite Weather

We have been having scattered showers since Mon. this week. It’s great if you’re not working outdoors. Has been great for me because it was so sunny and h0t in last 2 to 3 weeks. Just got a little cooler last week. I was going back to work from a short break or something yesterday and took the above photo from Squamish River. Looked so nice and looks nice here too. And also a little mysterious! Didn’t have much time to do anything else. May be this weekend. At least try to enjoy the beauty of the nature.
(Photo: Squamish River bank where it's called Eagle Run. If you have a good binocular you can watch eagles right there, of course not in a rainy day like that. I haven't tried it yet as don't have a big binocular. It's in my shopping list! Brackendale Eagles Provincial Park is located at the other side of the river but there is no bridge to cross! When I asked a girl in the Adventure Centre about the possible ways of crossing she said that the only way is hiring a boatman!)

The Plain Truth

This is what I wrote to F. J., the girl I used to talk to for a little more than 2 years and just stopped that a few months ago because first of all I was sick and tired of the way she was talking and then I was not in a good situation (Like I'm not now but worse!). She e-mailed me the night before, inviting me to a kind of dating web site like all the other stupid ones and I put a finish on everything:

Dear F. J.

First of all I’m sorry for what happened between us a few months ago. I apologize for that. I’m not just a guy who’s able to get married easily. This is me. I’ve met many girls in last 6-7 years and no relationship lasted more than a couple of weeks! May be a little longer! I’m surprised how we talked for more than 2 years! That’s probably because you kept it going. Just like now!
So I’m not really interested in any kind of dating site or chat or messenger anymore because I realized there's something wrong in me that keeps me away from girls. I don't know what it is but I know it exists and I think it's too late to find a remedy for that. I think I live like this forever. The only reason that I might get married one day is my Mom because all mothers want to see their married child one day. I think I can sacrifice for her and pretend that I’m happy because a marriage without love is worse than one night stand and unfortunately that's what most of the marriages all about these day. Don't make it about yourself though.
Finally I wish you a happy life beside a nice, handsome, wealthy, young, smart, lovely man and hope you achieve that soon. You deserve it.

Dazed and Confused

I think I should see a psychologist as soon as I can. My mind is so ruined and I think that I’m not that Tough Guy any more. I’m very moody and feel lonely and insecure. That’s all because I, the idiot, couldn’t find a damn job that both feeds my financial needs and provides job satisfaction. I, perhaps, didn’t try as hard as I should have. That’s what Keiv once told me almost three years ago.
I can blame it all on lack of a good partner but why it happens to me? I, myself, made them all ran away! That’s why I’m stuck here now. I’m at times happy and full of hope and optimist, in an hour I turn to a depressed guy. Joblessness is another problem. When I’m working, I feel fine when I’m not, I feel terrible and by working I don’t mean sloppy stupid work, I mean something that I can use my talents and abilities. Once I e-mailed A. J. that I could design and run a small but efficient Inventory Control System for his tiny epic company he said: Let’s see what you do and the other time didn’t reply back. So maybe I do it and present it to him. It would be a good challenge and experience.
Something that made me happy today is I called CIC after having a look at the status, online which says the application has been started in June.05 and I was told that both Mom and F. are in the file. At the beginning I thought that it’s only Mom who’s being sponsored but then the agent said that Mom is the applicant, I’m the sponsor and the applicant has a dependent who’s F. So the application is in process and it takes no time longer than 6 months and they are able to get here together.
Then F. F. called me after a few failed attempts by me and we talked for a few min. and that means we’re still on track! After all this song by Coldplay describes my current situation a little:

Oh brother I can't, I can't get through

I've been trying hard to reach you, cause I don't know what to do

Oh brother I can't believe it's true

I'm so scared about the future and I wanna talk to you

Oh I wanna talk to you

You can take a picture of something you see

In the future where will I be?

You can climb a ladder up to the sun

Or write a song nobody has sung

Or do something that's never been done

Are you lost or incomplete?

Do you feel like a puzzle, you can't find your missing piece?

Tell me how do you feel?

Well I feel like they're talking in a language I don't speak

And they're talking it to me

So you take a picture of something you see

In the future where will I be?

You can climb a ladder up to the sun

Or a write a song nobody has sung

Or do something that's never been done

Do something that's never been done

So you don't know were you're going, and you wanna talk

And you feel like you're going where you've been before

You tell anyone who'll listen but you feel ignored

Nothing's really making any sense at all

Let's talk, let's ta-a-alk

Let's talk, let's ta-a-alk

Midnight Caught

It was almost after 01:00 AM last night when I decided to have a late night ride. The main purpose was to get rid of the garbage bags that I have in the van since Thu. and they stink really bad! I should have got a trash bin from the recycling company and I didn’t. So that’s how I get of the garbage but never did it late at night!
So I got in and drove to the job site at the other side of the town and dropped one bag on my way back at a PetroCanada gas station. When I stopped there for a min., the pump near me was beeping and looked like someone had got gas and had not paid because the massage on the screen was Please Pay Inside. There was something wrong, I guess, because the store was closed so I just drove away and decided to go to Rose Park for a walk which is close to home. I passed the green light at Industrial Way and noticed a car behind me. It was close. I was doing 50 which was the construction site posted speed and said: Just go! And was goin’ to use a gesture to make him understand that I let him go but that was late and we got into a single lane road. Then I suddenly noticed the car behind me: A police cruiser! I was just waiting for him or her to turn the lights on and was ready to pull over while at the same time had an eye on speedometer carefully. I got to Cleveland Ave. and turned my left signal on to go to the park and was expecting him to go straight or turn right but none of them happened! He was right on my ass. I parked in the Rose Park parking by the Inn on the Water, grabed my camera and climbed down. The cruiser stopped behind me, the driver got off and asked me to stay in the vehicle. I asked him if he was chasing me and he repeated his request. I got back to the car and the officer came and asked for my driver’s licence and the vehicle registration. I gave them to him. I thought someone must had reported on me when I was in the gas station. He asked me a few questions like whether or not I was coming from work, my name and last name, date of birth and if I had a drink or not. Those were just typical questions because he easily could say that I didn’t have even one single drink. He went back to his cruiser probably to check the information he found on me in the data base and then came back apologized and wished me a nice walk in the park!
It was too dark and I barely could see anything with the few lights in the park. So I walked toward the Adventure Centre to take a few photos. Actually it didn’t turn so bad. You see one of them here. That was my Sat. night fun! Could it be replaced by a nice dinner in a quiet cool restaurant with the one whom you love so much? Or a few drinks and dance in a club full of pretty, sexy girls? Or lying down side by side the girl who really loves you passionately? Or may be a relaxing massage by a hot girl? Which one do you prefer? All I want is everything! That’s a song by Def Leppard and I’ll write about that soon.

(Photo: A side view of Squamish Adventure Centre at the right side of Highway 99 just meters after Cleveland Ave. The original size is much brighter and more beautiful. This one is not so bad though! Stop by for everything you need in the town)

Howe Sound

I had a little ride on Thu. evening. I went to Howe Sound. That’s marvellous. The world Sound has different meanings in English. Apparently I’m not writing this for the people whom the language is their mother tongue but one of the Sound’s meanings is a long, wide body of water, larger than a strait or a channel, connecting larger bodies of water. In another word you may use the term Sound instead of inlet. Being safe and free from defect and also the most popular and spoken one a distinctive noise are the other meaning of the word.
But the one I’m talking about right now is the first one. Howe Sound is practically Squamish’s water terminal. The only log sorting mill in the town is located there and the log boats load the trunks in there. I don’t think the terminal is used for the other commercial purposes though. The district of Squamish has a development plan for this part of the town. As there’s a cool and kind of permanent wind in the Sound, it’s a perfect place for wind surfing. And also a trial has been built around the oceanfront which I took last Thu. and enjoyed the cool breathe, the ease and beauty of nature and everything. Unfortunately I couldn’t find my way to the point that the wind sports are performed but will try that one another time soon. CN Rail has also a station in Howe Sound and I believe residential properties are coming as a part of the development plan, although I’m not sure about that yet.
So if you want to have a nice ride in a quiet and easy trail while a cool breathe is creasing your body and also if you want to see the beauty of Squamish, including the Chief Stawamous, Shannon Falls, the oceanfront and do wind sports, it’s a perfect place for all of that.
(Photo: Chief Stawamous the almost 700 m. height rock who looks at the town is seen here from the inlet. Abandoned all logging equipment is seen at the other bank)

Appetite for Destruction

It's almost 12:20 AM now and I'm barely able to keep my eyes open. I'm so damn tired and should have been slept at least 2 hours ago. A. J. called me in the morning and asked me to rent a concrete saw and a hammer drill. He said that he wanted to cut a strip out of the wall to reveal the re bar which have been used. Then gave me one of his quotes(!): It's working day today! I didn't tell him that everyday has been a working day for me since I started working for his little stupid epic company! After all he's a nice guy if you consider every aspect. He's just a little slow!
Anyhow I rented the damn things and by the time I got the extension cord and all the other tools, he was there. He started cutting the wall from the top and damn! the saw was good. Just the way the rental guy said: Cuts the concrete wall like you're cutting butter! He didn't say it Cuts Like a Knife just the way Bryan Adams used to shout. He kept cutting and I used the hammer drill to basically demolish the wall, inch by inch! That was I guess harder than cutting. I know that when you're cutting, you not only inhale all of the concrete dust if you don't have a mask (and A. J. didn't as usual!) but also your hearing is getting damaged. But that hammer drill is something. My shoulder and chest was soar and I was breathless at the end. It feels like someone continuously kicks you in the trunk! And if I didn't were a safety glasses, I'd be blind and not able to write this story. My hair was full of dust too. But it was fun at the same time! I know it's not nice but I felt like I'm shooting a machine gun! Just like a M60 in Operation Flashpoint that I sometimes used to take and got always shot shortly after because didn't know how exactly to aim at the enemy! But here I was good and my appetite for destruction helped me and after almost 4.5 hours we cut and demolished enough of the wall that is ready to be presented to the inspector.
I'd better go to bed because my shoulder and chest is still hurt! Thanks to the numerous hours of workout, cycling, hiking and ... that I have done so far! I'll write about the nice little ride I had Thu. night.

(Photo: This is the part of the wall that got ripped off in order to make its horizontal and vertical re-bar steels visible)

Capitalism Finally Digs himself in (1) - Chinese Products

There’s a flood of fucking Chinese products to North America every day and every fucking thing that you buy is made by this pieces of crap, motherfucker animals! (I have no fucking idea why that makes me so agitated!) I remember when I came to Canada first; I went to a Sportscheck and asked for a bike. The guy showed me a few models, all made in fucking China! I complained and said: How could a (motherfucker) Chinese manufactures a quality product? The guy didn’t like it and I left with a bad feeling. Dr. Rad, the gentleman whom I met in KEC and stayed in touch before my immigration, also stated in one of his e-mails the high volume of Chinese products in Canadian market.
The fact is capitalism is very dependent on cheap labour. That’s exactly why you see loads of Afghans, Africans, Vietnamese, Punjabi and Latino guys in Canada and a little different in the US. (Labour work in the US is mostly supplied by Mexico and the rest from the other poor Latin American countries). For the products that the plant or factory is not located in the North American continent (Mostly have been relocated to South, South East and East Asia) that the cheap foreign labour who, for example makes a pair of jeans affordable for many American or Canadian teenagers.
This cheap labour market has been recently the source of problem for lovely North Americans! Tons of Chinese products have been recalled recently. Items from kids’ toys made with lead based paint to poisonous toothpaste which causes kidney failure. So you idiots pay less money to get cheap products from China, and that saves lots of money. How? That fucking kills you, so you save thousands of dollars of years of living! Now the stupid Americans and also the Canadians are facing a big problem.

Live Earth

Al Gore the former Vice President of the US organized a 24-hour live music concert in 5 continents to raise the awareness about global warming last Sat. which was 07.07.07. The day was considered a lucky day by Westerners, the civilized people who claim that they are the wisest and smartest people in the world!
Someone should ask these animals what is special about this day which makes you fill lucky assholes?! It’s just a series of the numbers that come one after another and means nothing but a date!
Anyhow I watched part of the concert in Wembley Stadium in London, England and a few other minutes in Giant Stadium in N. J. That was very entertaining. Red Hot Chilly Peppers, Madonna and Alisha Keys were amongst the artists that I watched and liked. Also Roger Waters performed his The Wall with some Black kids and other artists as well. I could sit in front of the TV and enjoy all the show all day long but that was too boring for me.

Metallica was among Rock bands that performed as well. What happened to the lead vocalist, James Hetfield is extremely funny! You know Rock stars usually dress up or do their hair. Hetfield grows a long chin beard which makes him look like Taliban, although he got green or blue eyes! So what happened is when he got to Heathrow International Airport, the airport authorities stopped them and started interrogation! Nobody recognized or knew the famous Rock star and probably took a long time to him to prove to them who he really is and what he is there for! Luckily he didn’t miss his performance.

Eventually whatever happened made a few thousand people who attended the live concerts, happy but how much that affects people’s view and understanding toward global warming is unknown. According to what the superstar and one of the performers, Madonna, says probably not much. People go to enjoy the live music performance in a concert regardless of the fact that what the ultimate purpose of the concert is. Just like what Cyrus, my friend who resides in Cologne, Germany said today when I was talking to him on the net. He said that there was a Guy Pride Parade in that city a few days ago and he didn’t go. But when he was there three days ago, he saw families and kids watching the Parade which might not set a good example for them. Nevertheless if they are goin’ to be homosexuals, they will be eventually as that’s they nature and I don’t think that’s preventive or corrective. But he was saying that the Parade is not suitable for younger viewers because they kiss each other and do all that stuff that adults do. But they are there for just the music. The example might sound a little different from Live Earth concert but the bottom line is these type of action doesn’t help much while we only have 10 years to do something serious to stop the catastrophic impacts of global warming.

(Photo: James Hetfield yelling a song in Live Earth concert in London)

Brain or Boobs?

I met a girl whom was added to my Skype list a few weeks ago, yesterday. S. G., I’d call her ever since. She is a very nice, smart and understanding girl from an Egyptian mother and Libyan father who has been living in Canada since she was 14. I first added her through search and thought she was either Persian or Caucasian. She didn’t respond for a long time but surprisingly we had a long chat last Sat. evening. I met her in West Vancouver, a nice girl with curly hair, small lovely lips and beautiful ear lobes and attractive lovely eyes behind glasses!
It happened so fast and easy, may be because I said that I was looking for a friend. She knows a lot awful about Persian culture because she has some friends. That's why I several times doubted that she was Persian! We went to White Spot for a supper and she talked and talked and talked, mostly about the current situation in the world! I thought she just wanted someone to pay for her food and spend money for her but she paid her share and didn't let me. She wanted someone to listen to her, I guess. Then we went for a walk at the beach and we talked or better to say she talked most of the time and I listened! She's a very nice girl but a little religious. She said that she was goin' to San Jose for a religious conference or something like that to listen to a lecture. The way she dressed was nice but covered from toe to head, not with a head scarf of course. I'd never go out with her in that case. She offered help to find a better job. I never thought that I, one day, have an Arab as a friend but she's an intellectual girl with brain. She doesn't bullshit you with cloths or furniture or this and that and she has a job in network administration.
Anyhow it seemed that she doesn't wanna go home and it was almost 10:00 PM and we were still on the pier, looking to the ocean, taking photos and I was listening to her. I was a little worried because I received a call from A. J. at about 04:30 when I was on my way to West Vancouver, somewhere close to Horseshoe Bay. We finally said goodbye and me with the hope that I meet her again and I think I will. I had three missed calls, I noticed then, probably from A. J. and I drove like crazy back to Squamish! I'm lucky that I'm alive now! I could have killed myself but the damn van is good!
So I got home around 11:15 and found it too late to give A. J. a call. Then I noticed that he was there! Gosh! I saw empty coffee paper cups of Tim Horton's! I called him at about 07:00 in the morning and left a message as he didn't pick up. He called me back soon and I was getting ready to make up a story but he was not mad at all. I told him that I was to a hike around the town and he said that I did a good thing! He said that he was there with his former partner, the Punjabi guy because a guy who used to work for them, had died of cancer just one week after he was diagnosed! That was sad because I met that guy once. I gave him a call and asked him if I can borrow the lawn mower which belongs to the Punjabi guy, D. M. And he brought it to my door. Nice guy and he's gone now! What a fragile life!
So I think that I have a good friend now. She also could be considered for marriage. I have to talk to her more and more and know her better. But she’s still to her Arabic cultural restrictions. She said that her sister wears head scarf. And she’s someone who flies all the way to San Jose to attend a religious, probably Islamic conference! May be that’s one of the reasons she’s still single. She’s got the brain and a little beauty but that wouldn’t be the issue, the cultural discrepancies would for sure be, which I think there are many.

Sunday Morning Ride

I had a plan to go to Garibaldi Provincial Park again yesterday all the way in to the park where actually I can see the mountains and pick so be able to take photos. So I started at about 09:20 while I was tired because I went to bed late the night before that. Sometime around 01:00 AM and was not able to sleep for an hour, I guess. The reason is a girl who’ll be written about in the next post.
So I went and luckily it was not sunny and not so hot. I took the same trial, crossed Ring Creek Footbridge, passed the University and got to Garibaldi Park Road. Then at about 10:10 I felt so exhausted that I had to mount down and rest for about 10 min. I followed the road and had another break for a little longer where the route turns left and you see the park’s sign. There was only one cyclist on the way and he was the one who started in the road. A fake cyclist, I’d like to call him!
It was not so bad for the rest of the road and I felt better but started to get hot and I was sweating like a pig! I had frequent stops for photos and once I saw small snakes, something that I didn’t expect in this area. Unfortunately I lost the opportunity and couldn’t take a photo. I had another break in the parking lot and then I entered the park. The trial is a narrow one, no motorized vehicle is allowed and only cyclists and hikers take that. It’s much easier for hikers obviously and I was tired. So just after only a few hundred meters I turned back.
I was riding down very carefully and had my both hands on the breaks and saw a girl passed me so fast that I couldn’t believe that! I think I’m coward! I don’t risk as much as I used to do. I, then, soon reached her but didn’t catch up with her. She took Mamquam Road and I went back through Powerhouse Road.
It was a good ride eventually but if I want to go to West Vancouver or Whistler or I want to do next year’s Test of Metal, I have to lose weight, first and then have more and more practice.
(photo: Just a few min. before you get to the parking lot, there's the spot that you can see part of the town, Howe Sound and mountains. I took this picture in there and I know it's not good but that's all the damn digital camera gets. After that it will be all trees until you get to a higher elevation which was my goal and I didn't reach it!)

Flashback (12): Z. B.

The first class I attended in SAIT was statistic and the first person who started talking to me which led to a not so firm friendship was Z. B., a petite East Indian girl from Guyana. Z. B. was not pretty and attractive but was very nice and friendly. Born in that little South American country, she was fluent in English as that's her mother tounge and had a good secure job. She told me, though, that she had been addapted. We used to talk or do the homework assignments together and she used to call me.
I never asked her out because for whatever reason I was not in that mood at the time. Also I knew she had a bf and once invited me to have dinner with them. We then had an argument shortly before the final exam and I didn’t go to that dinner thing. I guess she was not happy with her bf and was testing me but I proved that I’m an idiot! She kept calling me though until the time that I got involved with the other girls and lost them all, as well.
She, I think, broke up with that guy and we were not in touch for a long time. That was until the time that I didn’t have any girl (Like right now!) and was trying to get one, didn’t matter who! Anyone! So I called her and asked her to join me in Talisman and that was the time I found out that she was committed to someone. That was a guy from out of the city and she used to go there to see him or he used to come to Calgary for sleep over. They were serious and one day she wrote me or told me that they would soon have their wedding somewhere in the Caribbean, where she's from and may be also him!
I, only tried her e-mail address one more time and the mail bounced. I guess it meant that she quit her job and they cancelled her account. We had two more courses in the second semester and stayed friends, I forgot to mention. I hope she lives happily forever with the guy she was goin’ to marry. She deserves it.

Garibaldi Provincial Park

I had a plan to go to Garibaldi Provincial Park today and to accomplish that I geared up and started at about a quarter to 11:00. I took the same road, Powerhouse Road, that I did last week and went all the way up to where the rental cabins are. I got tired but not so bad. The owner who gave me some water told me that it was only 6 km to the parking, where’s actually as far as the drives go. He, too, mentioned the difficulty of the route because of its slope.
I found myself not able to finish the damn road after the first 3 Km and had to walk it! Also the damn camera was out of the battery. So when I got to the parking lot, decided to go back. The return was not easy too! I had to hold the break every single second and my wrists and palms were sore! The rear break got ripped off on the way back and fortunately I was close to home. I have to take it to a bike shop and have it fixed. I pull it all the way back and there’s just a little resistance.
So that was the trip. I was so tired when I got home. A. J. and the family, his sister and his tenant all came over for an afternoon tea. We sat for few minutes and chatted. Had a good time. My next time to the park would be fully equipped and I go inside and discover.
(Photo: This sign is seen at the beginning of the Garibaldi Park road, right after the University but I didn't feel a wind, not even a breathe!)

Happy 140th birthday

I woke up around 10:00 today. I can really not have a good sleep in this damn room because it’s all bright at around 05:30. So sometimes I wake up early and then go to sleep again and sometimes wake up and can’t sleep again. Today, fortunately, I was able to sleep a little longer.
Then decided to go to Canada Place in Vancouver to see Canada Day parade. I bought almost $25 gas and drove down the road. I saw a hitchhiker while I was leaving Squamish and decided to pick him up. The stupid moron stank like shit! The guy from Windsor, ON told me that he cooks for a restaurant in the town. It helped me not to feel the long drive to the city but the smell bothered me until I dropped him in West Vancouver. Then I went for a little shopping and then to Ambleside Park. It was very busy and people were celebrating Canada Day, flying Kites, playing with the dogs, sampling foods or simply lying down on the beach and enjoying the sun.
I, then, went to North Vancouver shore and visited HMCS Vancouver and the Pier. Unfortunately it was a little late and couldn’t get on board. Sea Bus gate was just a little far away from there and I could get it to Downtown but didn’t. Seemed a little crowded to me as well. I just took a few photos and then crossed over Lion Gates Bridge to Stanley Park. That was very crowded as well and also downtown. So I turned back home.
Canada Day was celebrated at the other side of the country as well, I saw in the morning news. Harper and Jean, the Prime Minister and Governor General were in Ottawa, shaking hands and waving at people in Parliament Hill. Jean left after that but Harper, his wife and the two kids stayed and watched the singing and dancing performances. Everybody looked happy.

(Photo: This totem pole standing in Ambleside Park in West Vancouver and looking to the Pacific Ocean with wide open arms, is said, has been presented to the people of West Vancouver by the First Nation people of British Columbia)