A season of Randonneuring
=========================

I suppose I should start this season with the Canada Populaire, even though it isn't a brevet...
2015 was supposed to mark a transition for me from the distance world of randonneuring, to the world of racing, as I am young and can 'bounce' back from the crashes easier now, rather than later...

Unfortunately, my run-in with a car in late November 2014, combined with a couple of early-season crashes in the Lower Mainland 'Spring Series' races meant that my racing season wasn't to be too successful. 

## Canada Day Populairventure 2015

But then there was the populaire!! Some distance goal I could embrace and enjoy, as lots of folk I knew would be riding, volunteering and organising, so it seemed a perfect opportunity to turn the summer around. Of course I had to take advantage of the training I had done, so the goal was for a *faster* CanPop than last year. Which meant to me something around 4:20. Which was going to be fun on the same route as last year, +1km. So I enlisted my friend Wilson and we set out to do something quick. Which, to my and his surprise we did. We set out to ride a certain pace, and we rode exactly that pace, riding exactly to a sustainable pace for the both of us. Rotating well, pushing ourselves when we needed to, resting when we could.

The first section we rode mostly with a small group, eventually whittling down to 4 of us: myself, Wilson, Ben Auxier who I've rando'd and raced with before, and the retournee to the rando scene Mike Hagen, who I did not really know at the time. As this was still under 200kms, we soon left Mike behind, and somehow, Ben afterwards, so that by the time we were plugging up Sumas, it was just Wilson and I. 
As we had "chosen" a later start time (good ole' Wilson somehow 'forgot' to pre-register :sigh:), we started promptly on time, and arrived pretty much as each control was setting up. By the time we re-entered the Langley/finish area, we were *just* getting warm as the sun was approaching baring down on us - so we were thankful, and **very** happy to collapse at the finish, achieving our time goal.

###### "Whatever you do, don't drive into the States!"

So my mother (Karen) had also decided to ride that day, along with my girlfriend (Debbie), and her sister-in-law (Belinda). But of course, being ambitious and stubborn, neither Debbie nor Belinda had been riding much, if at all, this year. So combine this with the unpleasant heat mid-late afternoon, and it was a long day. Karen Hossack follows in the tradition of Hossacks where we don't like the heat very much (see Étienne's VanIsle experience in 2014). So as Wilson and I were packing up our stuff to return to Vancouver, we get a call "I think I'm going to abandon, can you meet me by the Birchwood Dairy?", along with some cheerful banter from Debbie and Belinda. Of course, I think in my head, "By the time we get there, she'll have changed her mind, and be on the road again", and convey this to Wilson. Still, we both agree that the comfort of somebody around is a motivator, and decide, "We didn't get our ice-cream, let's go!". So off we drove back to the dairy. And yes, we had delicious icecream milkshakes:
![alt text](https://github.com/adam-p/markdown-here/raw/master/src/common/images/icon48.png "Yummmmmmm!")

So of course, we pass the Karen, Debbie, Belinda trio, and, lo-and-behold! They decide to continue. We all knew they could do it. So with some water and a send-off, Wilson and I head homeward... ish.
So I recall that at some point (maybe 4 or more years ago), you could drive all the way back to Whiterock on 0. But of course border improvements have changed that. But stubborn in my beliefs, we head towards the Aldergrove border crossing.

It becomes apparent that you can't actually turn onto 0 ave soon after we pass the first area towards the border. We stop, enter the duty-free shop and ask the lady, "So, uhhhhh, what do we do?". "Oh no problem! This happens all the time! All you have to do is drive up to the border guards, pick **any** lane, and they'll just turn you around and send you right back into Canada!". Meanwhile we're thinking "You have a gate right there... Can't you just open it and let us drive away?". So we proceed to listen to her advice.

Nope. Doesn't work that way.
Guard: "Why are you in this lane?"
Us: "We were told to come to any lane, and you'd turn us around."
"Why are you going to the states?"
"Uh, we're actually not, we just want to go to Canada."
"Let me see your passports."
"Uh, we don't have them. Just our licenses." (*we hand them over*)
"Have you ever been arrested?"
... *conversation proceeds rather interestingly* ...

"Okay, here's what you need to do. You're going to go out that gate, you are going to turn left, and you are going to join that line. If you turn right, the border police will be on you. You will not be going home, and things will be very serious. Do you understand?"
"... Yes"

And back to Canada we went, waiting about 40 minutes in line, while the 2 lanes open proceeded very slowly, and another pickup-truck, doing the same thing, got walked to the front of the line. **Grrr**.

Word of advice reader: Don't accidentally go to the states...


## Miss Golden Pitt

In which [Craig](https://database.randonneurs.bc.ca/member/72) and I proceed to accidentally ride fast and get a good time.

The night before I'm out at a party. I wake up the next morning, not super excited to be riding, a little uh, hung over I would say, but off to the start I go.
We all listen to Kevin introduce the route/complain bitterly about his love of organising rides (thanks Kevin!), and we're off!

I'm immediately feeling gross, so the best way to overcome a hangover is to ride it off right? Right? So I push on ahead of the group, until we all manage to regroup near the base of the Barnett Highway as I figure I might as well not kill myself at the start.
But everyone is slow again, so apparently I'm at the front all of a sudden, not going fast enough to sweat off the night before, and then we're all of a sudden at the end of the road, turning onto St. John's. Except that that seems to be a problem and I think it is Chris and Mike that go down, or maybe some others. I'm not sure, as at this point I'm around the bend with Ilan and we're wondering what happened. So we slow and wait, and eventually they catch up, and it's go time again!

Except that it ends up being go-time for just Craig and I, as everyone else seems to vanish... But whatever, let's enjoy the day :smile:
So we're cruising along the old Dewdney Trunk/Lougheed back-route and it's really looking like it might be a decent day. The weather called for a bit of rain, but so-far, so good. Craig is also motoring along with me, so I've got fingers crossed we're going to make it out dry.

Our first loop out to Stave lake is really pretty (always for me as I grew up in Whonnock), and we whiz along, and then zoom down the hills towards Control #1 with Karen and Michel waiting with chips and bananas. After some momentary indecision on what to eat - yes, real decisions folks, "Chips? Hmmm... Banana? Hmmm... Both??? Hmm.... But I already have banana bread!!" - we continue on. 
Our stop at the Shell is as brief as we can make it, and we're off again, slowly ascending up the gorgeous Wilson St climb. A road I never even knew existed!! Part way up I get the ""