they came from THE UNDERGROUND

No photos survived.

Which is a hell of a shame, since last ride we found ourselves in one of the coolest destinations yet - a network of interconnected tunnels and multilevel parking garages (extending deeper than I'd have ever thought) under the downtown core of Vancouver.

This is something that I was vaguely aware existed, but had never really considered. Since the forecast for the night was 'A HELL OF A LOT OF RAIN AND WINDS UP TO 100 KM/HR,' Maitland suggested that we find ourselves somewhere dry to ride - specifically underground. We cruised from grandview towards the downtown core, skimming under BC place to take advantage of the covered section that used to be a part of the indy track. We then looped into downtown and dropped beneath the city's surface through a parking garage entrance next to pacific centre. Down and down we went, playing tag with the security guards before popping out above ground. We headed towards the courthouse and dropped down again, this time passing by where the cops secretly unload dangerous criminals for trial. Tunnels extended from here deeper underground (we did not check this part out - maybe next time?) and also connected back into the pacific centre complex. Back to the security guard. Back above ground after a laugh. How far does this network extend? How much of the guts of the city are avaiable to see for the intrepid explorer? Thats up to you to find out.

From here we cut towards stanley park, but decided to skim by lost lagoon instead of looping the entire park. Probably a good idea - as all of us have no doubt seen the photos of the wreckage that night's storm unleashed on the trees in the area (what I saw in the paper made me feel ill and sad - extreme weather: one more reason to fight fossil fuels). From there it was back to the classic Twenty-Pho hour noodle shop where we gorged ourselves on hot pho before hitting the streets to return home - pushed by delicious 100 km/hr. tailwinds. FASTFASTFAST.

My photos were lost due to borrowed camera kaffufles. THIS WILL NOT HAPPEN AGAIN, as I have procured myself a dandy new digital, which I'll bring to tonights ride. Our favorite photographer Oker also attended this ride, so should some of his photos become available, I'll update here with some evidence of our underground adventures.

Be sure to come out and ride with us tonight - DEC. 29th, 11:45 pm at Grandview Park (commercial drive @ charles st.) Bring your lights, bundle up, and bring something warm to drink! See y'all there.