{Pictures Day 2} Fort Langley - Koffee Kettle Motel

Just Cruising. After playing picture leapfrog

Super Sketchy near-death road. couldn't stop where there was no shoulder, but you can see where the shoulder starts. The truck doesn't even fit in that lane! such blind corners!

Got away from traffic into a forest!

The mountains are getting closer

Day 2: 73.7 km

May 8,2012
Fort Langly- Harrison hot springs (almost).

Wow I can see that I was tired yesterday when I wrote that entry! So many mistakes! Today I woke up to beautiful sun. Dad had went to the cafe already, and I was up when he left, but I didn't want to move yet so I kind of hid out in my tent. Then, I heard Matt up, so I thought I should probably get up. It was so beautiful this morning. The warm sun on was on my back as I wrote in my journal. Matt and Dad fixed my bike this morning. Turns out I was fighting my brakes all day, because they were too tight to the rim of my tire. Not only that, but my tires were at 40 PSI when they should be at 85 PSI! Fixing that was a huge help, but I still am far behind Matt and Dad up hills!

We went to the same cafe that we had dinner at the night before for breakfast. As we left it started getting cloudy. The ferry we had planned to take across the river was closed so we had to make up a new path. As we were trying to find our way along the transcanada trail Dad was playing leapfrog with us, sprinting ahead to take photos and then we would pass, and he would sprint ahead again. It was pretty funny. The map online for the TransCanada Trail is terrible. We got pretty lost. A lot of today was spent looking at maps. The website for TransCanada Trail abandoned us on this main road for a long time. This main road thoroughly terrified me. There was no shoulder, the lane was barely big enough for a pickup truck, but delivery trucks and dump trucks were ripping around on that road! The whole road was a double yellow center line because it was super curvy and up and down super steep short hills. There were so many almost accidents when people passed around us. The cars would rip by us about a foot or two away. It got to the point that dad was trying to think of the nearest hospital, and, being Bruce, made me go first to protect me, though I wanted to do the same to protect him. Which led to a discussion of who should get hurt first. And I thought I was stubborn. Now I know where I got that from.

Finally, we got off that road back onto the trail in the woods. That took us to Mission, an we stopped at mr mikes for dinner. I got a free Caesar because I asked for a virgin ceasar but she accidently put alcohol in it. Booyah. Free drink. I needed it! After mr mikes I didn't want to move. A 30 km day felt pathetic but after getting spooked I didn't want to go on a main highway and I was so so so tired. My legs were actually stuck. My muscles were so tight that they Wernt moving at all. But we got on the bikes and pushed. I am so proud that I got here. We pushed almost 50 km down the road to koffee kettle motel. We are super close to the Harrison hot springs for a morning soak! I realized a lot in that little push.

 It was the first time I just got to think about things other than finding our way and surviving traffic. I realized that I have been struggling and searching for what I want and who I want to be. This is my fresh beginning in life. This will be the most difficult thing I will do. It will, and already has begun to, show me who I am. I am very excited. Well, right now I'm tired, but I am very excited. But yes. There are Definately moments where I am struggling, exhausted, frustrated with my bike, or embarrassed that I'm not as fast as the guys. There are Definitely moments I want to quit, and when I'm on the easiest possible gear an it still feels like I'm putting all my weight into every peddle, and I struggle knowing I have the pass to look forward to, but every night, and morning, it's amazing to see where I started and where I am.

{Pictures Day 1} Vancouver - Fort Langley

 

Leaving the airport

Dipping my toes and rear tire in

Matt grabbing some water

Stanley Park

Hotdog time!!!!!!!

Geese use the walkways too. and they don't like bikes

Just in case you hit an owl!

So beautiful, until you have to bike them!

Just outside Langley

Day 1: 89.79km

May 7,2012

Vancouver (Stanley Park)- Fort Langley

 I am crazy! Holy that was a long day! We woke up this am, and went to have breakfast with my uncle Brian. We ended up grabbing last minute things, like my pannier part and forgotten headphones until about 11:00 am. Then we went and parked the car at the airport so that dad could fly right back to it from Calgary. After putting our bikes and everything together we were off (about 12:30 pm). First thing we come to? A giant over pass. I'm struggling up this, and I look up, and dad had to have been 50 meters ahead of me just motoring along! I swear these boys must have hidden motors on their bikes, because the majority of my day was about 50 meters behind them! It was good, I gotta catch up. I feel terrible when they wait for me, but then I get up to them and then they go, so I guess it makes up for it in that sense. They get a quick breather and as soon as I get there we continue. But that's good it will get me stronger!

Today we toured around west Vancouver a bit. Went into Stanley park, had a hot dog from a really friendly hotdog stand guy, and then tried to stick on the transcanada trail out of Vancouver. I LOVE Vancouver! It's beautiful, the people are nice, it's full of life! But getting out of it is difficult. We got a little lost. The the highways were under construction so we made up a route. Both mine and my dads phones, or "maps" died, and so we were following randoms who graciously showed us the way. I was starving, cold, and wanted my bed!

By some miracle we made it to Fort Langley at 9:30 at night. We ate at a cafe, and found our way to an awesome little campground with showers!!!! We set up our tents, had a shower, and may have to fight some raccoons during the night. We will see. I hope that soon I will be able to fully keep up with these guys! But at the moment I can hardly walk! My legs are dead! It is so amazing to have my dad with me at the beginning of this adventure. Words cannot even express how thankful I am that he is here. I don't even think I would have made it today without him. He is Definately a blessing! I can't figure out how to put pictures on tonight but I will as soon as possible! I'm pooped. I hope that my legs aren't too dead for tomorrow!

May 1, 2012

I have to practice blogging from my phone, sooo I will tell you all about my training day today. It was a crazy day! I picked up my bike in Cranbrook (thanks boys at Favorit cycles its all tuned up and ready to go!) and I may have only biked about 10 minutes with my panniers (bike bags that go on racks which make the bags straddle the tires of your bike) on when I went over a bump and my front pannier broke! I leave in 5 days and now I'm one pannier short! These panniers were said to be the "best kind money can buy"... Yah right, it broke the first day I used it! So I bike back to Favorit cycles and they said they would try and glue the plastic attachment back together. Then, I finish my errands and I realize as I start my bike trip home that I had forgotten my full water bottle on the counter at home! But fear not, for I have jam packed my panniers with a bunch of random stuff so i can train with weight, that I had an empty water bottle! So I stop at Napa Auto parts and they let me use their culligan to fill it up. I had not yet put my water bottle holders on my bike, so I locked the water bottle to my rear pannier rack so that the nozzle of the water bottle pointed away from me. After about 30 minutes of biking I stop and go to have a drink. MY WATER BOTTLE NOZZLE WAS OPEN!!! My bike had been trailing all the water behind me as I went! So, dehydrated and starving (I had forgotten about lunch in all the chaos) I put my foot on the peddle to keep on going. What happens? My chain fell off. I just sat down on the pavement and thought "who's idea what's this!!!! I'm honestly a crazy person!!!" but then I got up, fixed the chain, and then biked home. What a day. The quote I will always remember when things are tough, or are not going quite as planned for this trip is "there is always moments when I want to turn back but I have to remind myself that I had chosen to be there and the rewards would far exceed my pain. I know that within all of us there is the ability to do something extraordinary" by Ray Zahab, an adventurist who quoted this after his trek across the frozen Syberia. I cannot wait for this crazy, amazing, emotional, tiring, life changing trip!