9:27pm
Finding no one on my phonebook that lives close enough for a bike ride, I went out on my own around 8:30pm. Before I even decided to do my usual 7.2 kilometre ride – well, it used to be usual route; I thought of just doing the current usual 3 kilometre ride instead, but after watching an episode of Ah! Megami Sama – Sorezore No Tsubasa where Skuld learned how to ride a two wheeled bike, it reminded me of the time I taught my then 6 year old cousin Brandon to ride his without his training wheels. That itself gave me a temporary renewed motivation to ride the 7.2.
^^ After reaching the turn-around point, I caught some pictures. This image is a bit dark, but what you’re seeing are the Cypress Mountains north-westward.
^^ Between here and those mountains are farmland, the Fraser River, a few bridges that connect Richmond to Vancouver, blocks and blocks of residential areas, Vancouver Downtown, Stanley Park, and the Lions Gate Bridge that lead to North Vancouver..
^^ This is a picture taken back at my turn-around point (eastward). It’s almost one kilometre from it.
^^ And this was taken westward towards the overpass about 1.7 kilometres away.
^^ This is the view from the overpass.
^^ And a shot of the Knightsbridge ‘highway’ northwards to Vancouver.
I’ve lived in Richmond since 1980, though I’ve travelled around and lived in other places like Hong Kong for a few months, Richmond was where I was raised. As much as many Vancouverites believe Richmond will sink when an earthquake hits, there is actually a bigger chance Vancouver would create massive landslides because most of its housing are built on old foundations on slanting hills. Where as Richmond, if you haven’t noticed yet, has extremely good anti-flood controls. This is apparent at every street end-point.
[smirks] Of course, what did you expect? As much as Richmond has turned into a mini-version of Hong Kong, it is still the city I was raised and lived in for most of my life. It is a beautiful, quiet city with natural scenery. We have some of the fastest working civil engineers and is one of the cleanest cities in Canada. In many aspects, we are a lot like our sister city in Japan: Wakayama, full of Sakura Trees, maple trees, and two branches of the same river move along our southern and northern shores.
You can read more about Wakayama here: LINK and an introduction of our sister city by our mayor, Greg Halsey-Brandt: LINK.
Right, so I’ll stop now… 8)
9:41pm
Nice pictures Lee! I like the 3rd picture of the road because of the vanishing point the road makes and the intersecting power lines. It’s nice to get out there and ride eh? Why did you start your ride so late? Riding solo is fun sometimes because you get into a zone and when that happens it’s like everything around you goes quiet. Keep pedaling!
hey li, it’s been a long time i know. i like the 2nd to last picture. it reminds me of home. =)