Ten Cruisers plus Angela, Alex’s wife who walked solo on North Road, turned out for the Monday evening run on the best night of the year; moderate temperature, some breeze, great visibility. Nine month-old Damien brought his Mom and Dad, Val and Richard, all fresh from their three weeks in Ontario and Quebec where grandparents, relatives and other hangers-on spoiled Da
mien according to Val. It was great to see Norman and Shiraz whom we haven;t seen for some time, Norman experiencing p
ain issues in his back, and Shiraz who surfaced from child-minding their twin boys, now two months old. Alex, Debra, Edie, Larry, Laura, Norman, Sherian, Shiraz, Val and Bobtoc ran the Forest Grove route starting from Beaverbrook, over the pedestrian overpass, west onto Forest Grove Drive. Val and Shiraz returned from Underhill to the Centre. The remainder continued north on Underhill to Shellmont, south on Meadowood to the right-of-way leading to Broadway, then continued on the usual route back to the Centre. Distance, 8 km, time for the seven, 1:05 to 1:11.
Bobtoc was presented with, to him, the familiar Faller’s Trophy by Sherian, to commemorate his fall three Mondays ago on Willoughby Avenue. Sherian had something for all: rice krispie squares, and for Bobtoc her famous matrimonial-maternity squares from her kitchen oven. RA Edie presented Bobtoc with a coupla beers from Oregon. Life is good.
Berry report from Rob Stagg, a gem of a report!
“Aaah. Summer at last!
Thought I would update you with the latest report on the status of local wild berries:
Salmon Berries: alas, the salmon berries are truly over and done with. It was an excellent year with yellow, red, and purple berries all sweet and in abundance around Burnaby Lake and in Mundy Park. Nancy managed to stretch one hour training runs into 70-80 minute taste testing meanderings.
Thimble Berries: red, ready, ripe. Lots along the eastern edge of Mundy Park and other areas. Yes, they look like thimbles – only red.
Huckleberries: also red, ready and ripe. A bit small and fiddly to pick but worth it. A great mid run snack – tart and sweet at the same time. Best eaten by the handful. Look for them in shady areas growing around and out of old stumps and rotting fallen trees.
And of course – Blackberries: it’s looking like a bumper crop this year. It’s expected that Nanc
y will extend the one hour runs to 90 minutes or longer. Early berries are ripening now but the main crop needs another week or two.
Happy picking and remember the first rule of wild berry picking: never pick berries below the leg lifting zone of the tallest dog in the area. Rule #2: never try to compete with bears over picking rights. Chances are the bear is going to win that argument.
Rob (and Nancy)”
And here endeth the lesson.
Six Cruisers: Alex, RA Edie, Larry, Laura, Rod and Bobtoc ran Wednesday evening to Underhill Avenue for minor hillwork, 3x for Alex and Larry, 1 or 2x for RA Edie, Rod, Laura and Boboc, then
ran back to the Centre via Forest Grove Drive. On the way to the entrance to the Gaglardi overpass, Staggs please note, Alex tested a few blackberries, high ones, again please note, and formed the opinion that the berries needed another week to fatten up, become black instead of green, and sweet instead of sour. Time out, 1:07 to 1:11, distance a tidge under 8 km. The six enjoyed another best night of the year.
PS: Bobtoc and bride enjoyed Sherian’s matrimonial aka maternity squares last evening. Mmmm Good! Our thanks Sherian.
Saturday morning’s report courtesy of Sgt Maj. Christina with our thanks:
Ross, Flora, Laura, Larry, Sherian, Alex, and I met at Rocky Point at 8:00 am. Before hea
ding out for our run, the group assisted Flora and Ross to scope out a picnic table in the shade that they would use for their picnic after the run. Ross then started his walk, while the rest of the group headed out for their run. Larry, Christina, Sherian, Alex, and Laura planned to run 16km by going to the Ioco Refinery gate and back. Flora planned to run for 25 minutes before turning back to meet Ross. Laura and Sherian decided that they would keep Flora company while Larry, Alex and I continued on our route to run to the refinery gate. On our way back just before coming to the Alderside Park, we saw Sherian and Laura running towards us. They decided to turn around and head back to Rocky Point
Park with us. We opted to take the paved trail back to the park and ran to the end of the pier
. As the distance was only 13.2km , Sherian, Alex, and I decided to continue running while Larry and Laura said their good byes. The remaining runners retraced their steps east along Guildford towards the
Shoreline Park soccer field and returned back along the pedestrian trail to the park. Total time out was 2:08 and the distance was 16.8km. We met up with Ross and Flora, who were now dressed in their picnic attire and hats and were heading over to the ice cream stand for a mid-morning treat. Meanwhile, I sauntered through the water park, amongst the toddlers, to enjoy a refreshing shower. Beautiful weather, fantastic scenery, and good company. It had to be the best day of the year!
Sherian’s Sunday Report – Just finished crossing off one of my Bucket List items– to bike Stanley Park seawall. Christina and John Saremba and I rode our bikes from my place to Science World …. used False Creek seawall to get to Stanley Park from the west…. circled the Park — then back the same route– probably 35+ kilometers. These are some of John’s photos from that day.
We saw harbor seals– the photos shows a mommy teaching her two pups how to fish. They were very playful and stayed right up at the seawall for all of us to observe. Lots and lots of walkers and bikers stopped to see them. It was a great day.