Wednesday, April 18, 2012

Windy ride!

Stiff winds overnight brought warmer weather to Tuesday's commute.

The wind was from the south and came gusting over Lake St-Louis. My Vespa was buffeted by the wind all along the lake and well into the city as well.

The expressway miles I've racked up have gotten me used to wind blast, particularly the intense buffeting and cavitation that 18-wheelers leave in their wake. So the blustery weather wasn't a concern.

The silver lining was the way the weather altered the landscape. It painted the lake a heaving mass of silvery grey, frothy chop, punctuated by angry shots of spray where the waves met the rocky shore.

I was tempted to stop and attempt a photograph a few times, but chose to continue riding.

When I got to the foot of the lake in Lachine, the scene was so captivating I couldn't resist taking a few minutes to share the scene here.

I took the opening photo for this post while waiting for a business associate for an early evening meeting. I rode my Vespa to the meeting. I was pleased to find Costanza parking, as usual, with the added bonus of another Vespa to share the space with.
I believe Vespas don't attract parking citations because they invariably add to the beauty of the urban landscape. At least that's my theory. Maybe I've just been lucky.

3 comments:

SonjaM said...

This first picture is an architectural gem. Where is it?
I love a choppy sea, and can understand that you were drawn to it. Hard to believe it is 'only' a lake.

And the two Vespas in yellow and red remind me of a serving of Ketchup and Mustard in a diner.

Trobairitz said...

They don't dare ticket something so colorful and cheerful......

I agree with Sonja, that first pic is a gem.

David Masse said...

Sonja, Trobairitz, that's the lobby of the Quebec Caisse de dépôt et placements the government agency that holds the investments for provincial public sector pension funds. In B.C the equivalent is the British Columbia Investment Management Corporation. They lost a small fortune in asset-backed commercial paper when those derivatives melted down. They own the building so it's an investment. Maybe one day they'll have to sell it to pay my pension.

The copyright in all text and photographs, except as noted, belongs to David Masse.