Zero Avenue after 9/11

While it is fairly straight, the ride along Zero avenue in the Vancouver lower mainland is really quite interesting. Zero avenue runs parallel to and inches from the Canada/US border. I've had a friend and customer who lives on Zero avenue for over 10 years now, so have watched it evolve over the years.
Today is the first ride I've take from one end to the other (176th St. border crossing to beyond Abbotsford) in about 4 years. I've been all around the rest of the Fraser Valley, but have not done the end-to-end Zero avenue in some time; I usually duck up to 8th Ave. since it has at least some curves as it crosses a couple of stream cuts ;)

The day was partly cloudy and hovering around 7C - just warm enough that I could wear my heavier unlined leather gloves without the inner thermal gloves I have. The Western end, at the 176th St. truck border crossing, was sunny. By the time I got to the Eastern end in Abbotsford, I was under a heavy overcast. Along the way the clouds came and went quickly.

I road from home via New Westminster to the Alex Fraser bridge and down Highway 93 to Highway 99 and along it to South Surrey. At 8th Avenue I turned East to 176th and then down close to the border crossing where a left exit leads to the beginning of Zero avenue.

The route follows the border for all but the last mile or so near the Abbotsford airport. Just past this point the border runs into the escarpment of the South side of the Fraser river valley. The fact that there is no fence or other barrier between the two countries is incredible to some people. There are even homes on the US side with their back yards right to the road on the Canadian side and no fence. In other places the US side is swamp with beaver lodges in the middle, or fairly dense bush. Closer to Abbotsford, both sides are raspberry farms with their rows of berry vines tied to stakes. Also in this area there is a parallel road on the US side of a single shallow ditch.

About the only obvious aspect of the fact there is a border other than the ancient marker pilons are a small number of steel towers with obviously high powered TV cameras on them dotted along the US side of the line. I understand there are other ways for the US to notice things like cars or people crossing the line but they are not obvious to the passing eye.

Near 193rd I dropped in on a friend of mine who runs his publishing business out of his small farm here. I've looked after computers for him for a number of years. He has related a number of stories over the years of "large black cars coming up the road, pulling a couple of boards out of the back, throwing them across the ditch and driving over to the road on the other side." Just recently there was a story of someone in a 4WD vehicle doing this and then getting caught by the US authorities before going very far. I picked up a couple of hard drives I'll put Linux on for him and return later this week.

The speed limit on much of the road is 60kph and I like to stick pretty close to it as I've seen police along the stretch fairly frequently. On my way today I was passed by a number of cars going a lot faster than I was, but since the road is straight and not too roller-coaster like, it is easy to see them coming.

At the Abbotsford end I headed North along Highway 11 to Mission and back to home in Pitt Meadows via a couple of back road loops off Lougheed Highway. A happy 3 hours.