Windy ride on Thursday

I watched the wind through the school windows in North Vancouver on Thursday, and fretted just a bit that the ride home would be one of those when I have to dismount and push my bike across the bridge. The gusts felt strong enough for that, but as it turned out, the wind direction made all the difference, and the ride was a good one after all. I took a couple of pictures from the road below the bridge, trying to capture something of the dramatic sky.

This crow has snuck into the post. I think I saw it on Wednesday. It was sitting on the school fence.
Back to the ride. I stopped on the Lions Gate, and looked a long way down to see these birds. I had to brace myself to take the pictures. It is amazing how much force the wind can pick up over open water. I'm going with Double-Crested Cormorants, after quite a search through my bird book. They did seem like larger birds than cormorants, and I was surprised to see so much white in the one bird. I think, after doing some reading, that it may be a juvenile. I wondered at one point if they could be a kind of albatross, but came back, finally, to my first choice.
This one struggled when it left the rock.
It smashed into the water, I think caught in a wind gust. I worried for it..
..but it finally righted itself and flew under the bridge.
I continued on my way, making my next stop at Stanley Park. The gulls were incredibly entertaining to watch. They do appear to love windy days.

Just a tree blowin' in the wind.

The mallards were sticking close together.

The last stop was my favorite bicycle shop, Ride on Again, mentioned at great length in my last post. On Sunday, we had agreed that my chain and back cogs needed to be replaced sooner than later. I rode home, feeling absolutely spiffy with shiny new workings. Once home, they gleamed from my balcony, the perfect touch to conclude an exhilarating ride.