Day 2 - Hope (springs eternal)

The route today felt like it was all downhill thanks to a generous tailwind.

I rode most of it with Chris, a recent engineering grad, and Isabella, a retired phys ed teacher.

Despite an underinflated tire, she had no trouble keeping up with two guys whose combined ages are still well less than hers. Inspiring!

I forgot to pack sandwiches today but that didn't matter because we had a great lunch at the Oasis in Agassiz.

After the ride, Ilan, Bill and I checked out one of the old tunnels of the Kettle Valley railway. That would be a nice spot to explore more another time.

And here's a look at the whole group before the roll off yesterday.

Psyched for a serious climbing day tomorrow!

Today's track

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Day 1 - Mission (accomplished)

First day on the road, starting in familiar territory. We took the scenic route along False Creek, got a dose of reality along Hastings and then followed one of my training routes to Port Moody.

What a beautiful day to roll off.

For me, the theme of the day was absent mindedness. I left locked my key in the residence building and had to get a temporary one from the administration building in order to retrieve it, while the rest of the group is rolling off. I forgot my plastic cup somewhere. For several minutes I thought I had dropped the case containing my glasses along the route (they were on the table by our tents). I took a shower and then realised I had forgotten my towel.

But aside from these little mishaps it was a great day. A fairly flat, short and slow ride, so a good way to get started. The campground is at a fish hatchery, so we were treated to some delicious fresh halibut. Quote of the day from Chelsea, the cook: "I have the feeling it's going to be expensive to keep you fed." That might be an understatement.

Today's track

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Day 0 - Vancouver

The past two days are a blur in my mind, maybe because the past two nights I've had a total of about 6 hours of sleep.

I packed up my apartment, and found that I have a surprising amount of stuff;

moved everything worth keeping into a barely adequate storage locker;

performed the ceremonial pre-trip leg shaving (the picture is halfway through - TMI?);

cleaned my apartment and left it for the last time;

met the motley crew I'll be traveling across Canada with, and watched the Canucks lose game 7 of the Stanley Cup finals with them. At least the food was good!

Now I'm ready to hit the sack and hopefully get off on the right foot early tomorrow morning. I can't wait to get rolling!

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Tsawwassen

Last training ride today, and it was a little more epic than yesterday, down to the Tsawwassen ferry terminal and back for a total of 125 km. That puts my grand total since early April over 2500 km, which is right where I wanted to be.

And here's my post-ride celebratory snack:

Today's track

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