Mother Ship & HB to me

It started as a normal, routine day. Up at 5:30am and off to work before 7am. Since I don’t have to cross over any bridges or transverse any tunnels I have my choice of 3 routes to work



There is the fast route which I have abandoned because of the nature of the fast flowing traffic which emulates an Indianapolis speedway complete with tailgaters and speeds in excess of the posted limits. After a while you recognize the same aggressive vehicles which use cars as slaloms for their own purpose, only to catch up to them at the next light but it is nice to be able to get into 6th gear on the commute



There is the slow route which is great if you like to stop every block or so. The city, in an effort to discourage vehicular traffic, has installed traffic lights on nearly every intersection to keep the traffic from moving too fast. Also, they are not synchronized. It is nearly impossible to avoid a red light. This was my preferred route for a few months until last month I got rear ended by an inattentive driver who had been following me for a few miles. A group of cars (of which I was 3rd) were stopped for a red light and we had been stopped for a while when I heard a faint squeal and then a THUD. Luckily the damaged was only confined to the bumper cover, but still, it cost over $1,000. to have it repaired and the inconvenience of paperwork and insurance claims.



Naturally I gravitated to the 3rd route of choice which is a mixture of urban and arterial speeds which parallels our Skytrain, which is a light mono-rail rapid transit system. I snake my way through surface streets to end up on Lougheed Highway. It is not really a full fledged highway but rather an arterial route with speeds up to 70 kmh with signal lights every mile or so as I may my way to Coquitlam / Lougheed Mall area . If you are lucky and live close to the Skytrain line then your travels will be faster than using a car. A typical trip from New Westminster to the waterfront in Vancouver Harbour (downtown) will take 29 minutes (by Skytrain), or over an hour by car. The Skytrain route is nearly elevated the whole way so is not slowed down by vehicular traffic. If you do not live by a line, then you will probably still have to use your car as there is no parking anywhere near a Skytrain Station, and the few lots that are available or very prone to vandalism and theft as evidenced by all the broken glass on the ground.




The Mother Ship:

I finally arrive at work after a commute of about 35/45 minutes and park in my usual spot just outside of my window. Like Troubadour I can keep an eye on my bike but being in a 27 acre private complex there are no transients here and our spaces are at the end of a long driveway which leads to a dead end. You would need a purpose to travel down our private road and visitors cannot escape the sharp eyes of our staff who notice every vehicle that doesn’t appear belong. Like a busy hive, commercial trucks are buzzing in and out of our complex.



Another view of the office from my chair and my assistant Alisa sits just outside of my door to be available at my “beck and call” . Our job functions rely on our quick communication abilities so that while we each deal with specific customers, we both know details of each other’s accounts in the event of vacations, holidays and other absences.



Today my SV is alone. There is usually Harley parked next to me, but not today. I have the whole area to myself





And my bike gets to keep an eye on me working, through my window.



It’s too bad that I have to work on my Birthday, which is today, July 9th when I would rather be riding, but I suppose that it is better than the alternative .