Orientation

Today I got up later than normal at 6 am to find that Duncan was also an early riser.  As today there is no breakfast from the truck I made my usual oatmeal and so did a couple of other guys that had bought the instant Quaker oatmeal at the Shoppers Drug mart the night before.

We all met in a class room setting at 9 o'clock for the start of orientation.  The tables in the room were set up in a U shape to allow everyone to see each other and the screen where the power point was projecting to.

Bud, the operator of Tour du Canada, was the presenter for the day.  In the morning he let us know who we would be teamed up with for the galley crews.  Every 5th day we (me, Matt, and Vicki) will be preparing diner and breakfast.  That will be tough at the end of a 180km day.  In the past when I've ridden that far I just want to eat and sleep.

Lunch was served in the classroom.  Massive costco sizes of brown wonder bread, peanut butter, jam (strawberry and blueberry), bananas, apples, and gorp was served.  I made a couple of peanut butter and banana sandwiches and enjoyed them thoroughly.  I have been avoiding eating a lot of peanut butter sandwiches in preparation for the trip as I know that I will be eating roughly 4 a day for the next 72 days (288 sandwiches total that is a lot).  It turns out that one of the ladies is allergic to peanuts and may swell up and start projectile vomiting if she consumes any so we will have to be careful not to spread peanut butter around too much.

In the afternoon we watched a bear video for 45 minutes but it seemed much longer.  I now know how to identify a grizzly from a black bear and how to read the signs from a bear on wether they are acting defensive or not defensive.  We were joking later on the subject that when you are covering your ears and turtling that you would be thinking did I make a mistake and should be fighting the bear off?

For dinner the galley crew liaisons made dinner that consisted of spaghetti and sauce with a lettuce and tomatoe salad.  No meat tonight making me really crave some meat now.  mmmm meat.  Tomorrow we are staying at a trout farm so I will definitely get my protein then.

After diner four of us including Matt (from London England) took the bus to Canadian Tire on Cambie to pick up some camp chairs as we were not aware that we were allowed to bring them.  I pick up a really nice one that was $20 off and a couple of little Canadian flags for July 1.

Tomorrow is a short day (80 km) so it won't be too bad.  The route will take us right through Vancouver, Burnaby, Port Coquitlam and out to Misson.

Today is the official start of the tour.  Day number 1.  I already miss my beautiful girlfriend Jacqueline Pierce who I leave behind in Victoria and regret not being there as she starts her new job and life as I am heading out on a 10 week adventure.  I would like to thank her for her support and understanding as I start my journey.  Thank God for technology as we can talk, text, email everyday very easily.

Matt's first visit to Canadian Tire, Duncan and Arlen in the pic too

Mile 0

Today I awoke at 4:30am because I couldn't sleep.  I was so excited/nervous about the day. The gear that I arranged on the dining room table still needed to be packed before Kerry, one of the tour riders, came by to pick it up to be delivered to Gage Towers at UBC where the orientation would be the following day.

Kerry and I arrived at Mile 0 (the corner of Dallas Rd and Douglas) at slightly before 8 am for pictures and introductions to the 4 other people that were riding from Victoria to Vancouver. The group went to Clover Point for pictures of us dipping our wheels in the ocean.

The route for the rest of the way to the ferry was one that I've done many many many times. And as I was the only person from Victoria in the group I led the way. During this ride it was different though. I made sure to notice the beauty of the ocean and the mountains as I will not be seeing them for 10 weeks. Victoria is so beautiful!

After a quick stop at Maddicks farm we made it to the ferry by 11:30 as it was just starting to rain lightly. I had enough time to have a quick chat with some of the other 4 riders that I hadn't been able to talk too much to. Soon enough it was time to load onto the ferry and headed to Vancouver. This is a trip that I have done many times, by walking on and driving on, but never cycling on.

After locking our bikes up we walked upstairs to find the cafeteria as it was lunch time. We ended up wandering around one deck below the cafeteria for a while until we realized it was one more floor up. I sat with John and his wife Teresa and had a salmon burger and salad from the White Spot.

We landed in Vancouver 1.5 hours later and road our way through the back road of Ladner and stopped in the parking lot of the Delta Town & Country Inn to wait for the shuttle to take us through the Massey Tunnel. It took roughly 45 min to 1 hour for the shuttle to show up and another 30 min for it to leave after the bikes were loaded on it. It was a quick trip through the tunnel and we had unloaded the bikes quickly to continue the ride through Steveson and Richmond.

Over the Aurthur Land bridge took us into Vancouver and around 5pm we arrived at the Gage Towers at UBC where we will be staying for two nights.  After a quick meal and chat with the other tour riders I am ready for a good long sleep as the orientation starts fairly late at 9 am.

I can't believe this day is over already as I have been counting down the days until this day for over a year.  Can't wait to start the official ride on Friday.

Me, Kerry, John, Arlen, Chris, and Kate at Mile 0 aka the Six

John, me, and Kerry dipping our wheels at Clover Point

Loading our bikes on trailer to be shuttled through the Massey Tunnel