Critical Lass 5: South To Whitemud Crossing

Our fifth Critical Lass ride was the first on an evening that was threatening rain, after a few solid days of unusually wet and miserable weather, so our group was small but mighty. 

We met at the Bicycle Bottleneck, and lingered there chatting for awhile while some of us finished our chai, lattes, and poutine. 

Spoke cards installed and ready to roll!

Talking about the spoke cards Deb made. 

(They're 2 colour photocopies, sandwiched inside 4mil hot-lamination pouches.)

(No matter how carefully you trim and lay them out, they shift in the laminator - argh!
Next time we'll do double-sided printing on cardstock. Lesson learnt.) 

We're so happy that Selene was able to join us during her brief visit!

Lots of stylish raincoats and cardigans.
Plastic capes in case of a downpour stashed in baskets and messenger-style bags.

Selene's sweet Raleigh mixte - swoooon.

Monie's Apollo with awesome cork-looking grips!

Geneva's made-in-Japan Apollo was rescued after several months' abandonment in a back alley...

... and it has intact Fred Deeley Cycles decals.

Can you believe that Marilyn's fab shoes are second-hand?

When we got rolling, we skirted the U of A campus
and headed south on the multi-user path beside the LRT on 114th Street.

panda self portrait

Stopping to decide which restaurant to head to and call ahead for a reservation
after picking up Miss Sarah en route.
(Click the link to see her photo essay on the ride!)

The official bike path takes a detour into Lendrum that's a bit difficult to follow.
Where the bike path rejoined our route, we were split between street and path for the first block.

We also missed the official (unmarked!) spot where the multiuser path
crosses busy 111th Street just south of Southgate LRT station,
so we ended up single file on the sidewalk for a few blocks until we could cross at 40th Avenue.
By this time the sky was clearing and trench coats were feeling rather warm.

It's so hard to get an unposed photo of Miss Sarah without her camera in front of her face.

Duggan is a pretty typical 1970s residential neighborhood -
large lots, mature trees, lots of bungalows and split-levels.

Traffic was light on 40th Avenue and 106th Street so we felt really comfortable taking the lane.

Monie does mock outrage pretty well, no?
This sign was next to the bike racks we used at Whitemud Crossing.

Our destination. So good we forgot to take photos of the delicious food.
Having a smaller group for the ride meant we had a tatami room
and could indulge in serious girl talk.

Heading north on 106th Street before we all headed our separate ways.
Isn't Geneva's belt-bag the coolest dumpster dive find ever?

After parting ways to our various end points (some took to LRT for speedy home time, others returned to the Bottleneck), myself and Deb rode over to the multi-use path beside 91 street and down to my place in Mill Woods. Google maps says we did just under 20km total that evening. It felt great!

Deb with her '72 Phillips, just before we swapped bikes on the way back to Mill Woods.
Photo without flash.

With flash! WOW! That's a ten dollar Cactus Creek safety sash from MEC. (Note to self: MUST BUY!)


Luckily, it never did rain - not even a drop!
Thanks to everyone who came out for a delightful evening.
Your camaraderie would have made it fun even if the heavens had opened!


Reminder: here are the upcoming ride dates:

Update: Coreen's ride report is up!