Whistler

I rode to Whistler today. It was a gorgeous day and the ride along the Sea to Sky highway was pretty scenic. I've come this way a few times by car but of course on a bike there is more time to appreciate it.

It's so different to ride for miles and miles with no interruptions. The shoulders along this route are nice and wide so there's not too much stress. Much different from riding in the city where you're constantly starting and stopping and thinking about the traffic.

Seen on the ride today: two black bears, one of which got spooked by me and ran away. Better that than the other direction.

Today's (incomplete) track.

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Here are the remains of my old brake pads. I thought it would just be a matter of slipping the old ones off and sliding the new ones on, but no,it took about 3 hours and involved much sweat and a small amount of blood. Those things are as stubborn as hell.

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This City is Too Wet

Yes, another rainy bike ride today! I am getting tired of biking in the rain but I can also see the bright side, that the more adversity I face now, the easier it will be to deal with on the trip.

One thing I've learned about the rain is that clothing is critical. Who was it that said "there's no such thing as bad weather, only inappropriate clothing"? Fortunately, I've pretty much figured out the gear I need to ride comfortably in the rain. The last piece of the puzzle was my gloves:

The trick is, don't buy cycling gloves for wet riding. I've tried a few and they all, for lack of a better word, sucked. Get some neoprene paddling gloves---mine were 20 bucks at MEC---and they will keep your hands warm. Having feeling in your hands makes riding way more pleasurable.

Today's track.

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