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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SFU

Today, a quick jaunt up to the concrete jungle known as Simon Fraser University.

While I admire them for following through on their architectural philosophy, I can't help but think that spending a lot of time there would be pretty depressing, surrounded by all the boxy, monotone concrete buildings. And, being on top of a mountain, there's no easy escape, either.

When I first rode to SFU, it was an epic adventure, now it's just a quick ride. Nonetheless, here's a look at the route. In time I should have been spending on other things, I've improved my blogging capabilities so I can now bring you embedded maps!

Today's track

Four days until the real adventure begins!

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Boundary Bay

Yesterday capped off a four day stretch totaling just under 400km. I actually felt pretty good at the end of the day, so this bodes well. I feel more confident than ever that my body will be up to the challenge.

The ride took past Ladner along 64th street, one of the flattest, straightest stretches of road around these parts. The turn-around point was Boundary Bay, not far from the U.S. border.

Yesterday's track

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Headwinds and Tailwinds

Yesterday and today were both beautiful days and I went back to the old standbys: Buntzen Lake and Horseshoe Bay. The only difference from before was that, with the weather being nice, there were a lot more people around.

You might wonder what goes through the head of someone spending hours just pedaling along. Of course, my first priority is staying alive: being aware of traffic, watching for potholes, etc. Then, there is some time to take in the scenery. There's also lots of time to think about the effort that you are making: which parts of your body hurt the most, and the payoff for the effort: how fast you're going.

There is not a direct relationship between effort in and speed out. There are other factors at play, and as you ride for a long time, you become acutely aware of those. Of course, a big factor is the gradient. Going uphill is harder than downhill, and it's pretty easy to tell which situation you're in at a given moment. The other, less visible but no less important factor, is wind.

It's not always easy to tell what kind of wind you're in. You might find yourself riding faster than usual and wonder, "is this a tailwind or am I just in great shape?" Here are a few cues I watch out for:

• an eerie silence (no wind noise)
  
• branches and leaves rustling
  
• pieces of fluff, paper, etc. tumbling along the road
  
• cyclists on the other side of the road with their heads down, struggling
  
• planes taking off or landing towards me
  
• and the most helpful hint: any kind of flag along the side of the road.
  

It's not like you can do anything about the wind, but knowing why you're going super fast or super slow helps smooth out the ego peaks and valleys. And it gives you something to think about.

Yesterday's track; Today's track.

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