First day of new trip

I am lying in bed on the first day of my new bike tour and figure that I had better document what happened during the day before it disappears into the mists of time and space.

Ok the day began at 1:15 AM (June 3rd) 2009 with me bolting up off of my couch where I had simply been trying to rest my head two hours previously. Like usual, I haven't quite gotten everything that I will need ready, and I need to get out the door by 2:30...

Well, I zip and zoom around the condo searching for and collecting all the nicknacks I feel that I need to bring with me for this summers bike tour, then jump in the car and speed off to my brothers house. My brother, Tim, has said he will drive me to the airport, but first we need to complete his early morning paper route.

This is OK though, after all if I am squished by a bus on my bike trip, I want to make sure that my family has a good last memory of me. So we cruise around and get the papers done, the fly off to the airport.

The bike needs to go through oversized luggage, and it takes a few minutes to get things squared away, but sure enough I find myself only a short time later roaring off into the air on my way to Vancouver.

Upon landing I meet a friend of mine, Kelsey (awesome girl by the way; beautiful eyes too), and we go for breakfast before she drives me out to horseshoe bay off of north Vancouver. From here I assemble my hardware and supplies, and await the arrival of my touring partner (Meagan McAleese).

Now, Meagan is using one of those new-fangled recumbent bikes, and after she arrives, we take our photos while standing in the shore of the pacific ocean. From here it's straight up the hill and along the windy and narrow Marine Drive of North Vancouver. My old faithful Univega Gran Turismo from the first tour is still in great condition and I have no problem driving it in anyway, however, Meagan is still quite unfamiliar with her new bike and there are many stops and starts along the way as she works on it.

Besides a number of pleasant encounters with North Van locals, the majority of the cycling itself was not terribly eventful. I got a number of pretty good pictures, and it felt great to get rolling again (it's been 7 years almost to the day since I started my last major trip) and I am feeling pretty damn slick.

Anyways, we didn't make it out of North Van, and currently we got a hotel room just off of Marine Drive at the travelodge east of the Lions Gate Bridge. Tomorrow the plan is to navigate the balance of the city and make it out onto the highway proper. With any luck we will be in Hope by the end of Friday.

Goodnight