Red means STOP!

We have all experienced it before. You head out for a ride and before to long a motorist has either cut you off or completely ignored your presence on the road, right? This morning was just such a day. I awoke to a brilliant day. I quickly woofed down my new fav, Nutella/Banana Tortillas, with a Green Tea chaser. Threw on my Spandex; and set out on my two wheeled steed. I had a bit of an idea in mind of where I wanted to go. I set out down the road from home; on a route that I take often, and I am no stranger too. Familiar with how people drive in my hometown, and keeping in mind of course to use proper road courtesy and visible signally; for which I pride myself on, I was on my way. A mile down the road I stopped at a well used 4 way stop. I was traveling West > East at the time. I rolled up to the Stop, and came to a complete stop. Not one of those careless "Jersey Rolls", as my friend Ava calls them,  that have become the norm now a days....seems that no one really STOP's at a Stop sign anymore..they seem to all casually regard it as a yield sign; Crazy! Anyway, so I was stopped. There were four other cars at each of the other stops as well. First to go was the vehicle directly facing me. As he went I made eye contact with the driver in the Black Mercedes Convertible to my right who was to go after me. I signaled that I was turning right. I mounted my bike and proceeded in to the intersection. As I was in the middle of the intersection the Mercedes started to leave his Stop line and lunged forward in my direction towards me. Like he was trying to scare me. Honestly though one may have said he was gunning for me. I wasn't frightened though I was upset. 

"What was he doing", I thought. I had completed my left hand turn and the Black Mercedes pulls up along side me with his window down and then shouts at me; as if he had a right to do so. "You're suppose to stop at the stop sign", he shouted and then drove off....I was a gas. ARE YOU KIDDING ME, I thought. If he had been paying attention in the least, and he was, he saw that I was stopped. He saw me signal, but his ego just couldn't take it I guess that a woman, and a cyclist at that had the right of way at that moment. It took me a few minutes to blow off steam and as I was doing that I passed the BIG Yellow street sign that our City kindly put up over a year ago indicating that Motorists are to "Share the Road" in that section with Cyclists....clearly he hadn't seen that sign either.

 

This sign appears both 2 blocks before the intersection,

and another sign exactly the same as this one is on the other side of the road at the intersection. I guess the motorist missed these signs as well. Hope he was on the way to his Optomitrist apt.

Ironically enough as I was taking these pics tonight the Driver in question from yesterday came through this same intersection where we had the issue ysterday...and here again he did not wait and bolted the Stop sign and right of way chasing the driver in front of him's tale end...Geesh!

 

Some links to British Columbia, Canada road laws&safety

http://www.icbc.com/news/2011may26-04

http://www.surrey.ca/city-services/757.aspx

~Cycling Cafe's Diva

"Uniting a Community; one Cyclist at a time"

"RIDE HAPPY"

This Blog and its content is copyright of Cycle Cafe - ©CycleCafe 2011 . All rights reserved

<p><a href="http://www.copyrightservice.co.uk/protect/p11_web_design_copyright" title="Web design copyright">Web design copyright</a> fact sheet from UK

© Cycle Cafe 2011

 a Copia Red Corp

Mud Bay > Boundary Bay Ride

My Saturday Ride:

http://www.tourismsurrey.com/attractions/parks/mud-bay-park-0

The Entrance and only Restroom at Mud Bay Flats. I strongly recommend you use it before the ride!

How to get there: There are several access points to the Dyke. Check  http://www.translink.ca/en/Cycling/Cycling-Routes.aspx  or the the CVG Greenway Pathways Map

http://www.translink.ca/~/media/documents/cycling/central%20valley%20greenway/central_valley_greenway_route_map.ashx    for more details.

Take Hwy 99 South

- west on Colebrook Rd

- south on 127A Street

- east on Railway Rd

- park in Mud Bay Park Lot

- unload and ride west

Length of Ride: aprox. 8.4k one way so 17k round trip

Ride Level: Easy Peasy.

* Good for all levels of riders, and great for the whole Family.

Bike Type: MTB or a Hybrid. 

*This is not a Road Bike Ride!

Restrooms: There is ONE restroom available at the Car Park located at the entrance to Mud Bay. I strongly suggest that you do take advantage of it as there isn't another till you reach Tswassen. Your other option of course would be to let nature take it's call in nature. 

       Mud Bay is a   8.4k stretch of shoreline that flanks Highway 99 leading from White Rock to Vancouver. As far back as I can remember it has been the point, whenever returning home, that I take a deep sigh and take comfort in knowing I am home. A few years ago a Greenway Pathway http://www.localmotion.gov.bc.ca/list.html  was put in so that the beauty of this nature filled area could be shared with the Public; and since then I have wanted to go check it out for myself on my two wheeled steed. Unfortunately plans changed and fell through. Days turned to weeks. Weeks to months, and of course months turned to years; and I procrastinated as well. Finally after having had enough of that I decided with or without accompaniment I was going to go regardless.  

     So, Saturday came. I was bent on not rushing, and enjoying my morning. I got up; made my coffee and  breakfast. I got my water bottle ready, a burrito for the half way mark, and my TORQ gels
http://www.torqfitness.co.uk/index.html (which I somehow forgot at home). Soon it was noon. Then noon quickly turned to 1 p.m. It was now or never...SPANDEX UP!!!!! I was off.
    I had decided to ride to Mud Bay from my place rather than taking the bus to the Park & Ride seeing as it was all down hill most of the way. So , I headed through town to the Semiahmoo Trail, which I love riding.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sunnyside_(Surrey)

 Then from there I hit  the very busy King George Highway, over the wooden bridge crossing the Nickel Mackel River. Then across the over pass over Highway 99 to the turn off and Colebrook road..and here is where the uncertainty came in. I started to follow this one cyclist who soon took a turn, and luckily I realised it was NOT the way to go as he was heading back in to town.

Following this guy was NOT a good idea!

    So, I quickly turned around and headed back to Colebrook road. I was riding against a headwind, and having not been on a long ride since January found it  to be a bit of a challenging. A few vehicles with bikes strapped to them passed me, so I took comfort in thinking I was heading the right direction, and just as I was beginning to question where I was, and how much further it was, a large group of cyclist turned on to Colebrook from the turn to Mud Bay. "Oh sure", I thought "I couldn't find one person to come with me, and here they  had a whole group; nice". Ironically enough just at that moment one of the cyclist recognised me, he was from the Club
"Just Giver", a group that rides for the Awareness and Fund raising for Parkinson's disease http://www.just-giver.com/ . You can also join their Facebook page @ https://www.facebook.com/JG4PD?ref=ts   "Hey" he said, pointing. I said,  "Hi", waved, and grumbled past. Both annoyed, yet happy that I now knew where I was going.

Passed this friendly Bunch on the way to Mud Bay.

    A short ride to the entrance and I was finally there. I had made it. Yay! I quickly took in my surroundings, and my bearings. I had a quick gander at the map, then anxious, I headed off on the pathway. I was just so chuffed to finally be doing this ride, after years of procrastinating. I have to tell you there are few feelings in the world that compare to finally doing something that you have wished to do for a long time.
 Pure Joy I tell you! The Pathway rolls along the seashore stretching from Mud Bay to Boundary Bay and is an easy flat 8.6 k (approximately) ride.

There are information and Map Posts along the Pathway.

...and plenty of points of interest to sit and relax or explore

There are plently of these sign posts with helpful info along the ride.

      I absolutely loved taking in it's beauty and along the way I saw many Monarch butterflies, a few Bald Eagles, some other feathered friends (there is often Heroins in this area, but I didn't see any that day). There were sailboats enjoying the glorious weather and many patrons out on the walk enjoying the day as well. I even went passed a Golf Course, where some very happy golfers proudly posed for a picture for me.

These Guys were so funny and great. They saw me getting my camera out and said "Okay wait wait" and then posed for me...Hams!

       I rode the whole length of the Dyke which has a variation of terrains. Mostly made up of packed gravel, parts of the route is on public road as well. Some of which is paved and a portion which is very dusty gravel. So, please take caution when on those stretches paying attention to any car or farm vehicle that may also be on the road at the time. I stopped and plugged my nose as a car drove past, as the dust was intense.

Parts of the Pathway are open to public traffic. Please use due cation!

    Eventually, if you ride the path to the end it peters out in to Tswassen, at Beach Grove Road and 17 "A" Ave...I casually, again having no idea where I was going, rode on for a bit  on 17 "A" which lead out to
56 th. Now if you do feel so inclined 56th does lead to the U.S.A./Canada Border, and if you happened to have your Passport on you you could let yourself in for another adventure and head out to Point Roberts.
http://www.colleenrides.com/2012/01/point-roberts-circle.html I decided to save that ride for another day and doubled back to the Pathway.

Beaitful Beach Fronts await you on your arrival in to Tswassen.

 Where I took a turn  to toodle along  Beach Grove Road. Low  and behold I came across The Beach Grove Cafe, and their amazing Gluten Free Coconut Cake. WOW! Needless to say my burrito got shoved to the back burner lol.

Beach Grove Cafe was an Oasis for me personally. http://beachgrovecafe.com/

The Gluten Free Coconut Cake BLEW MY MIND HOLE!!!! I came home and started looking for a similar recipe to bake it for myself...still searching. 

       Shortly after enjoying my cuppa and cake I saddled up again and started to head back. This time a wee bit faster with less photography stops along the way.

 I made much better time. Which was good, because all that sea air had tired me out, and it was 'Tea Time'. As I reached the entrance I decided to take one more glance at the Bay that I love so dearly,

and then headed back to White Rock; with the intention to stop at Park & Ride and take the Bus up the hill. Good thing too, because I was shattered. What a great day it was!

One of my Favorite Shots!

   Mud Bay Flats is a wonderful ride and a great way to spend an afternoon. Whether you are on your own, with a friend, family, taking your dog for a stroll or riding your horse I highly recommend you take in this wonderful scenic bayside sometime very soon!

Cheers,
Cycle Cafe :)

Serpentine Fen Sunset on the ride to Park & Ride.

I cheated on the way home. Was absolutely shattered and couldn't handle the ride up King George Hwy. So hopped on the bus at Park&Ride.

P.S. I finally had my burrito when I reached home. I was ravenous. I had a latte, chocolate covered pretzel, and a whole pizza from Emilio's as well lol





   *A wee Note: There are plenty of signs along pathway regarding bylaws, restrictions, and restricted areas; please respect and abide by them. Also please leave the Pathway as you found it. Remember the Greenway Pathway is a 'shared space', so take do care when passing other cyclists, pedestrians, or equestrians. Although this is a 'leashed' walkway, you may still pass the odd 'unleashed' hairy friend; simply ride on with due caution.Thank you




Links:
http://www.tourismsurrey.com/attractions/parks/mud-bay-park-0
http://www.colleenrides.com/
http://www.translink.ca/en/Cycling/Cycling-Routes.aspx
http://www.localmotion.gov.bc.ca/list.html
http://www.just-giver.com/
https://www.facebook.com/JG4PD?ref=ts
Cycle Cafe is a proud supporter of TORQ gels and Energy/Recovery Drinks in the UK
http://www.torqfitness.co.uk/index.html

~Cycling Cafe's Diva

"Uniting a Community; one Cyclist at a time"

"RIDE HAPPY"

This Blog and its content is copyright of Cycle Cafe - ©CycleCafe 2011 . All rights reserved

<p><a href="http://www.copyrightservice.co.uk/protect/p11_web_design_copyright" title="Web design copyright">Web design copyright</a> fact sheet from UK

© Cycle Cafe 2011

 a Copia Red Corp

~Little Italy Espresso Bar~....

Cafe Review:
Little Italy Espresso Bar
Haddenham, Nr Thame. Buckinghamshire, HP17 8EJ, UK

               My Bike club – VC10, use this pretty little cafe frequently, starting or finishing rides here.

 The unlikely place for such a cosmopolitan ‘Espresso Bar’ is next to the forge in a small village, Haddenham, a maze of narrow alleys, thatched cottages and an impressive village green with a well populated duck pond.

Home-made cakes and brownies support your coffee break, where Own-label coffee is not too dark, not too strong and not too roasted and available for purchase as ground or beans, so you can make it at home.

Lunch of interesting salads, toasted goodies and the ever present, ever dry, ever horrible Panini are available, on white or brown, as are some nice sandwiches.

                     I’d like to see more wheat-free things, but that’s perhaps just a personal choice.

 Decking at the rear of the premises allows a sheltered area to grab any winter sun, and, perhaps equally important, the neighbours, with, apparently, one notable exception, are as friendly and welcoming as the staff. I’m of the opinion that independently-owned is almost always better, and Little Italy is one of Britain’s best examples.

Parking is also fairly acceptable for such a small village, with the cafe having an agreement with the local Indian Restaurant (opposite) to use some spaces otherwise not in use during daytime.
Try a ride over Chiltern scarps and through wooded beech lanes, or over exposed hilltops such as Winchendon, or perhaps something quiet and flat across the Aylesbury vale. Access to the area can also be had by train, with a local station at Thame and Haddenham Parkway.

                                          Little Italy has a gorgeous set up...very Scandenavian

*Huge Thanks to our Guest Reviewer Dave Johnson!


http://www.littleitalyespressobar.com/


http://www.facebook.com/#!/groups/39664321723/?notif_t=group_added_to_group

http://www.vc10.org.uk/vc10/

~Cycling Cafe's Diva

"Uniting a Community; one Cyclist at a time"

"RIDE HAPPY"

This Blog and its content is copyright of Cycle Cafe - ©CycleCafe 2011 . All rights reserved


<p><a href="http://www.copyrightservice.co.uk/protect/p11_web_design_copyright" title="Web design copyright">Web design copyright</a> fact sheet from UK

© Cycle Cafe 2011
 a Copia Red Corp

Clementine Cake

This is a fun little Cake to make....

Ingredients

• 
• 
• 

• 4-5 clementines (about 375g total weight)
• 6 eggs
• 225g sugar
• 250g ground almonds
• 1 heaped teaspoon baking powder

Method

Serves: 8-10

Put the clementines in a pan with some cold water, bring to the boil and cook for 2 hours. Drain and, when cool, cut each clementine in half and remove the pips. Dump the clementines - skins, pith, fruit and all - and give a quick blitz in a food processor (or by hand, of course). Preheat the oven to gas mark 5/190ºC. Butter and line a 21cm Springform tin.

The only food procesor I had while in England was our Coffee Grinder...so I improvised...

                              Creaming the butter with the Clemintines got a tad messy

Actually, it all got a wee bit out of hand lol

You can then add all the other ingredients to the food processor and mix. Or, you can beat the eggs by hand adding the sugar, almonds and baking powder, mixing well, then finally adding the pulped oranges.

Pour the cake mixture into the prepared tin and bake for an hour, when a skewer will come out clean; you'll probably have to cover with foil or greaseproof after about 40 minutes to stop the top burning.

Remove from the oven and leave to cool, on a rack, but in the tin.

When the cake's cold, you can take it out of the tin.

This is a lovely Cake and a definete change from traditional Cakes.
However it is a very wet, moist, dense cake. It tastes better the next day and should be kept refrigerated. I didn't ice this cake but a Cream Cheese Frosting with some citrus zest would be nice. Enjoy!

This cake can be made with an equal weight of oranges, and with lemons, in which case I increase the sugar to 250g and slightly anglicise it, too, by adding a glaze made of icing sugar mixed to a paste with lemon juice and a little water.

Cycling Cafe's Diva

"Uniting a Community; one Cyclist at a time"

This Blog and its content is copyright of Cycle Cafe - ©CycleCafe 2011 . All rights reserved "Ride Happy"~C.C.

<p><a href="http://www.copyrightservice.co.uk/protect/p11_web_design_copyright" title="Web design copyright">Web design copyright</a> fact sheet from UK

http://www.nigella.com/recipes/view/clementine-cake-2559

Rabbit Stew

     Before anyone gives me the "Hairy Eyeball" for this post, or any Vegan Activist feels inclined to give me a lecture, let me just say first of all that I am sure that the rabbit had a good life and to be fair the Rabbit was Vegan!....and yes I do realize this is not CAKE! As Cyclist/Athletes I am sure you agree that eating well is a high priority and how often do we grab for high carb empty calorie food; right? So, I started thinking that I would develop a few recipes that are great eats...and really good for you as well...look for more tasty recipes to follow like Granola Bars, Fabulous filling Salads and more!

 While I was in England I had a wonderful opportunity to expand&explore my culinary skills. One of the lovely dishes I decided to make was way out of my comfort zone, but I decided to give it a go any way,

 'Rabbit Stew', a very European Dish, and one personally that I had never tried. This wasn't my first time making a Stew, but it was my first time making it with rabbit and being that I had never tried rabbit before I was apprehensive, but venturing forth...onward! The rabbit had been passed up in the freezer by any, and every other meat that I could find, and it was the only thing left; so here went nothing. I sourced out a recipe online. Found one that seemed easy enough to follow; good ole BBC>>>>http://www.bbc.co.uk/food/recipes/old_fashioned_rabbit_74225 and carried on. As they say "Keep Calm and make Rabbit Stew" well they don't really say that, but there you go....and here is how it went....

Ingredients:

3 tbsp plain flour ( I used spelt flour )
2 tsp dried thyme, or 2 tbsp chopped fresh thyme leaves ( I used rosemary)
sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
15g/½oz butter ( I didn't use any butter)
2-3 tbsp sunflower oil ( I used Extra Virgin Olive Oil..always do!)
1 large farmed rabbit or 2 young wild rabbits, jointed into 8 pieces
6 rashers rindless smoked streaky bacon, cut into 2cm/¾in squares (I didn't use any)
2 onions, chopped
500ml/17fl oz dry cider ( I replaced this with Guinness...thought it went better with the rabbit)
300ml/10fl oz chicken or vegetable stock ( I made my own Veg. Stock)
2 bay leaves ( I didn't use any)
350g/12oz chantenay carrots, peeled
 ( I used carrots...I'm not sure what kind they were, but they were orange )
150g/5oz frozen peas ( I skipped the peas and used potatoes instead)
*I am not sure what it is about the English but they are awfully fond of their 'Peas' they add them to every dish it seems....I say live on the wild side....change it up a bit.

Oh and I also added a garlic clove and a dollop of honey too! 
So basically I changed the whole recipe lol




Preparation method:

1. Place the flour, thyme and a good pinch of salt and plenty of freshly ground black pepper in a large freezer bag. Put the rabbit portions into the bag, a few at a time, and shake well until evenly coated in the seasoned flour. Transfer to a plate

                                     <I put my flour and seasonings into a bowl and tossed the Rabbit in the mixture.>


2.Melt the butter with one tablespoon of the oil in a large heavy-based frying pan over a medium heat. Fry the rabbit, a few pieces at a time, until golden-brown all over. Put all the front and rear leg portions into a flameproof casserole dish.

3.Transfer the saddle pieces to a plate, cover loosely and set aside (these will need less cooking time, so can be added later on). Preheat the oven to 150C/300F/Gas 2 


4.Add a little more oil to the pan and cook the bacon until the fat is browned and beginning to crisp. Add the bacon to the casserole dish.Add a dash more oil to the frying pan and fry the onion for 5-7 minutes, or until lightly browned and beginning to soften. Add the onions to the casserole, sprinkle with any flour remaining in the freezer bag and stir until well combined.

                                                            <Once the Rabbit was golden I added the honey...>

                                                                     <Then I added the Guinness...clearly.>

                                                                                  <..and the rosemary>



5.Pour half of the cider into the frying pan and stir vigorously with a wooden spoon to lift any sediment from the bottom. Simmer for a few seconds then pour into the casserole. Add the rest of the cider and the stock. Stir the bay leaves into the casserole, cover with a lid and cook in the centre of the oven for 45 minutes.


6.Remove the casserole from the oven, add the reserved saddle pieces and carrots, turn all the rabbit portions, ensuring that as much of the meat is covered by liquid as possible. (Not all the meat will be covered.) Return to the oven for a further hour.

7.Take the casserole out of the oven after one hour and check the rabbit – the meat should be starting to fall off the bone when the rabbit is ready. Poke the leg portions and the saddle pieces with a knife and if it doesn’t slide in easily, return the casserole to the oven. Check again for tenderness and turn the rabbit portions every 30 minutes or so


8.When the rabbit is tender, skim off any fat that may have risen to the top of the casserole with a large spoon. Carefully transfer the casserole to the hob. Bring to a fast simmer and cook for 3-5 minutes, or until the liquid reduces to a slightly thickened, gravy-like consistency. Stir in the frozen peas and simmer  for a further three minutes. Season with salt and freshly ground black pepper and serve..

                                
I do have to say.....I did a really great job of this!....and being that it was my first time eating rabbit...Not Bad, if I do say so myself!

                                            "Happy Easter Everyone!"~C.C.

~Cycling Cafe's Diva

"Uniting a Community; one Cyclist at a time"

This Blog and its content is copyright of Cycle Cafe - ©CycleCafe 2011 . All rights reserved "Ride Happy"~C.C.

<p><a href="http://www.copyrightservice.co.uk/protect/p11_web_design_copyright" title="Web design copyright">Web design copyright</a> fact sheet from UK

http://www.hub-uk.com/tallyrecip02/recipe0069.htm


http://www.bbc.co.uk/food/recipes/old_fashioned_rabbit_74225
another lovely recipe by bbc.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/food/recipes/rabbitandpearlbarley_89209..