| Teaching a child not to step on a caterpillar is as valuable to the child as it is to the caterpillar. -Bradley Miller, activist (b. 1956) Hi Pat: Being an unranked amateur when it comes to numerology, I don't get the significance of 101.33 (Is it perchance related to how Rock 101 chose their broadcast frequency (actually 101.1)?) Nor do I get the significance of the number 5, although I understand it to be important to some followers of Wicca. Is there some kind of spell you chant as, entranced, you cross back and forth over Lions' Gate 5 times? I'll join you at Science world for one circuit of Stanley Park and the Lions'Gate-Dundarave loop. Please let me know how long that would be so I can decide how much Sky train to include in my travels - I want to be sure to hit 42 miles exactly. For an interesting discussion of the significance of that number, see: A few 42 tidbits to encourage further exploration: The jersey number of Jackie Robinson, which is the only number retired by all Major League Baseball teams. Rule Forty-two in Alice's Adventures in Wonderland ("All persons more than a mile high to leave the court"). [Because of this rule, I have, on occasion been compelled to leave the court...] Messier object M42, a magnitude 5.0 diffuse nebula in the constellation Orion, also known as the Orion Nebula And a request: Please don't convert my miles to leagues - that would be just plain bad karma.8^) cheers, Mark Patrick,Just an FYI with respect to the Johnny Walker debacle alluded to - you obviously have your wires crossed.Even a drunken camel boy knows that it's Red Label to positive, and Black Label to negative. If you had hooked things up properly, you would have found your battery charged, not drained. 8^) cheers, Mark Hi Guys, Had a power outage last night due to wind I guess so kind of slow to get communications up and running again. I could meet up with you guys this morning at science world as Mark suggested and perhaps ride for 70 -80- angstroms. Having to get Jake out the door to school,will converse soon. Al    Greetings O Mighty Burnaboids and Non-Riders! I trust you both made it home without me to guide you through the park! I assumed you would follow me to Prospect Point, after oooing and awwing over view from bridge, so I "circled", for just over 2K, and then decided you'd probably taken the sidewalk along the Stanley Park Causeway. Was this the case? Abandoned, once again, I proceeded to follow my intended plan of "attacking" the bridge three more times. (For your information, Dear Reader, we, (Marcus Aurelius, Big Molly and I), rendezvoused near Terra Breads at Olympic Village at 10:45am before making our way to Stanley Park and up and over Lions Gate into West Van, (bumping into Famiglia Martini again!), as far as 31st Street/Travers Avenue/Marine Drive, (The Lazy Lads, à la Ferdinand the Bull sniffing the flowers, stoped to venture down to the ocean at the bottom of 31st, probably trying to skip pebbles, when there were miles yet to go, while I popped a few Gravol), before turning around to ride back to Vancouver. Once again, Marcus Aurelius "raced" ahead so that he could position himself at the crest of the bridge to digitally capture his companions as they made the long haul up the west pedestrian/bike path. He had complained, earlier, that when he took pictures on the south to north crossing, the camera was set on "video" so he did not manage the winning action shots he had intended! (Thanks so much for Dropbox snaps, Marcus! Great record of ride indeed. Just curious about first picture. Are the horizontal lines a result of taking a still from video? I gather that the extended sequence, on return leg, featuring Big Molly is related to the snail's pace he was making, as opposed to my speed of light, 50 parsec pace! Please provide more numerological information on the esoteric significance of "50" by reply post! With respect to the Johnny Walker Black/Red debacle, even a "drunken camel boy", as you so poetically put it, knows that one never blends a blended whiskey! It's quite obvious that you've been drinking in far too, too much of Big Molly's para-normal mumbo-jumbo! Balderdash!!!) Three loops were more or less uneventful, (other than having to dodge numerous Japanese tourists, either on bikes, wandering all over bike path, or telephoto-lens toting types, oblivious to anything around them other than their giggling compatriots), but I did enjoy the changing vistas, (Coal Harbour, the cityscape, the magnificent North shore mountains with their shining white crowns), and the lap of the wind ruffled waves against the Seawall itself. Bit of "feet almost touched the ground" excitement at intersection of Wardance St and Taylor Way, near entrance to one of the parkades for Park Royal, where traffic was backed up, (almost two short blocks of vehicles waiting to turn right onto Marine Drive to head over Lions Gate), necessitating some very dextrous dipsy-doodling, not too mention derring-do, on my part, Dear Reader, weaving in and out of road rage filled commuters, to make my way to sidewalk leading to bride deck. Was at Second Beach by 4:10pm and only had to add another 2K, (by heading to underpass beneath Georgia and back), to log 91.25K on odometer before making for the haven of Harbour Terrace. Felt rather exhilarated as I zipped along, knowing I had laid the building blocks for at least one aspect of my proposed Granfondo, (I hope to be able to ride in the Penticton event in July 2012), training regimen, particularly since it involved an almost "Stop Free Zone", Dear Reader! Back home at 4:55pm with 101.33K on the unforgiving odometer! Hot mug of java with a slab of Clarisse's almond Christmas loaf and I was ready for another 100+K but decided to have a lengthy hot shower instead! Changed and did the dishes which The Sisterhood had so kindly left for me in the kitchen sink and as soon as Cora Lee returned from her busy day downtown, working in the the Friends' office, we dashed up to 4th, just before 7:00pm, to a tasting at Kitsilano Wine Cellar. The wines of Stoneboat Vineyards, (Chorus White $23.99, Pinot Noir $29.99), a family run artisan winery from the lower Black Sage Bench, near Oliver, and those of a second label, Calliope, from Burrowing Owl Vineyards, (Riesling $ 21.99, Calliope Red $24.99), were being featured. Was motivated to go, in particular, because I have found, from tasting at the winery itself, the Stoneboat Pinotage to be one of the few of that varietal that I enjoy. While the Pinotage was not poured, I still wanted to taste some of their product. With respect to Burrowing Owl, I'm not really a fan but was curious about their second label. I quite liked the The Calliope Riesling but Cora Lee was not as keen. In addition to the wines listed above, we tasted the Calliope 2010 Sauvignon Blanc, 13.5%, and found it an extremely pleasing expression of this varietal. Loads of fruit and a dazzling mineral finish. Went extremely well with the polenta and cod with cream cheese we had for dinner once we made it back home after tasting. Clarisse came over and chatted with us as we ate. When she left we watched Helen Mirren in a re-broadcast of the original Prime Suspect series. As it turned out it was an episode we had not seen before so it was an unexpected treat. All in all, a wonderful end to a wonderful day with wonderful, (though persistently wayward friends), cycling on a glorious day in an unbelievably beautiful city. I've said it before and I hope to say it again, many, many times, "'Ain't Life Grand!" Thanks and Cheers, Il Conduttore! Snapolas for benefit of Non-Riders only!    Gents I wont' be able to make it tomorrow. I apologize for the late notice but I was just offered tickets to the Grey Cup game. I did read Panicking Ralph though so it's a shame I won't be able to share my thoughts with the rest of you. Cheers,..Dave Hi Lads! Since Whirlygig, Generalissimo and Titanium Man will not be able to make it, and Marcus Aurelius hasn't read Panicking Ralph, perhaps we should postpone. Let me know your thoughts and we'll plan accordingly. Cheers, Il Conduttore! Hi Pat Thanks for the invite . we would love to come on the 11th. I have been pre-occupied with baby sitting and renovating a bathroom with Tom this week, hence my tardy reply Mick Hi Mike! Delighted that you and Polly can make it on December 11th, anytime after 6:30ish! Take up cycling instead of renovating, especially someone else's bathroom!!! Here is a copy of message I sent to Mark and Al after yesterday's ride. Funnily enough, bumped into Julie and Richard on last two of these excursions! Cheers, Patrizio! Fw: Wine Critic John Schreiner Blog Post - Intersection wines Please find below the blog posted today by John Schreiner. (One thing I can tell you is that I rarely see 90-92 ratings from him) Vancouver businessman and angel investor Bruce Schmidt has just opened the Okanagan’s newest winery, Intersection Wines, by hand-selling its two first releases to restaurants and wine enthusiasts. Bruce is hardly a stranger to the British Columbia wine industry. He was the national marketing manager at Calona Wines in the early 1980s when Schloss Laderheim became the best-selling domestic white wine in Canada. In the early 1990s, he ran a company that helped raise financing for the start of Blue Mountain Vineyards & Cellars. He remained a Blue Mountain shareholder for 18 years and regards that winery as an example of how to do things correctly in the wine business. In his non-wine life, he has run start-up life sciences companies. He is currently chief executive of Carrus Capital and plans to continue in that business as well as run the winery. “I have way too much fun in science to give it up at this point,” he says. “Also, the winery can tolerate that now. We don’t have such a large production now.” Intersection opened with about 1,000 cases of wine and is targeting 2,500 cases when its vineyard is in full production. Bruce, who has a silent partner in the winery, began looking for Okanagan vineyard property in 2002, buying a former orchard, with a packing house, at the intersection of Highway 97 and Road 8 in 2007. The location inspired the winery’s name, along with the bright X on the labels and the website, which is www.xwine.ca (still under development). The property now has 20,000 closely-packed vines on four hectares (10 acres). Half of the vines are red varieties (Merlot, Cabernet Franc) and the other half are whites (Sauvignon Blanc, Viognier, Marsanne, Riesling). The wines are made by Summerland wine consultant Philip Soo. The wines released so far are good and quite fairly priced for their quality. “At this point the wines are only available directly from the winery,” Bruce says. “As I am back and forth from Vancouver on a regular basis, I can easily arrange to get people some wine. Once we have a bit more inventory, we will certainly seek some private store listings.” The current telephone number for ordering wine is 604.760.0160. Here are notes on the wines. Intersection 2010 Mile’s Edge White ($20). This is a blend of Sauvignon Blanc and Viognier (the blends may change from vintage to vintage). Fermented in stainless steel, the wine begins with appealing floral and fruity aromas (apricots, pineapples). On the palate, there are flavours of green apple, melon and citrus, with the defining mineral spine that Viognier brings to the party. The finish is crisp and refreshing. 90. Intersection 2009 Unfiltered Merlot ($25). Bruce believes that his vineyard delivers quite unique terroir notes in the Merlot. This elegant wine’s appeal begins with its lovely dark hue and its smoky aroma, mingled with aromas of blueberry, black currant and black cherry. These are echoed on the palate, which is bold and concentrated. This wine deserves to be cellared for a few more years to reach its full potential. 90-92. Hi Ginette! Congratulations to you both on Bruce's wine! Well done!!!
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Saturday 26 November 2011
IIDD, Nov 26th
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