Critical Lass Edmonton: Highlands

We had a gorgeous day for a ride yesterday, 20-ish and sunny with a crisp breeze.
Unfortunately great weather and short notice meant not many people came out. Oh well, their loss!

Karen wore a beautiful vintage pencil skirt and a summery shirt from a local boutique. 

I wore my new-to-me vintage polka-dot accordion-pleated skirt
with sailor stripes, antique bakelite bangles, and a Tibetan beeswax amber necklace.

Our route to the Highlands: across High Level Bridge and down the bike path to McEwan, then east on 106th Ave to Little Italy, then north on a side street to 112th Ave, which as it turned out was down to one lane with construction, so we rode on the sidewalk away from the frustrated motorists. The whole ride took us about an hour...

...including our stop at the Italian Centre en route for a snack and a cold drink.

 Our destination was the two-block shopping district in Highlands (112 Ave & 65th Street), an early 20th-century streetcar suburb with fantastic Arts-and-Crafts architecture and mature trees. We met Sarah and her beautiful daughter at Mandolin Books & Coffee, grabbed iced coffees and sweets (the date squares and the chocolate cookies are delish), and walked a couple of blocks to the neighborhood playground. When we got a text from Judy, we headed back, said bye to Sarah and her sweetie, then spent a happy hour browsing used books, locally-made clothing, gorgeous yarns, furniture, and flowers.

Sarah and her charming daughter. I love the yarn-bombed bicycle racks on this block.

Karen, Judy, and me after a little shopping and a lot of visiting. The plan (at Sarah's suggestion) was to take Ada Boulevard, then head back to downtown to meet some friends at What The Truck for supper.

A horse-drawn carriage passing us on Ada Boulevard.

The view to the east of Refinery Row.

Highlands Golf Course and the view across the river valley from the spot where we pulled off to snap some photos.

Judy always looks effortlessly chic. Today she was wearing khaki skinnies with pointy-toed flats.

The highway and bridge behind Karen are Wayne Gretzky Drive and Capilano Bridge.

Can anyone tell me what the paper flags on the lawn at Concordia campus were about? 

The view of downtown where Ada Boulevard turns, with a bit of lens flare.

As I had been riding, I had noticed that my egg crate seemed even more rattley than usual, and my kickstand kept needing to be adjusted because it wouldn't stay put. Just after I took the photo above, a lovely fellow stopped us and told me my rear tire was flat. Oh, so that was the problem! I quickly realized I'd been flat since before our arrival in Highlands. The tube wouldn't hold any air at all, so we ended our ride with a walk to the nearest LRT station (along a pretty residential route with a nice tree canopy that the same gent had suggested we take). 

The LRT had to stop for a few minutes on the bridge over the North Saskatchewan River and wait for the track to clear, so I was able to get a shot of the streetcar on top of the neighboring High Level Bridge.

The view upriver through the LRT car's door.

The offending tire, flat as a pancake. When I got home I took a careful look at it, and it seems I picked up a sliver of glass  - probably on 106th Street on our way to Highlands. Amazingly, the rim doesn't seem any worse for wear, at least to my untrained eye. Steel is amazing stuff.

My spoils from the day's adventures: flowers from Sugar Blossoms, a reference book from Mandolin Books & Coffee, silk yarn from Wool Revival, and a top with lace sleeves from Sabrina Butterfly.
After Eliza's repairs I guess that list will also include new tubes and,
since they'll have to take the wheel off anyway, new tires to replace the 70s-era originals.