Should I stay or should I go.
Should I stay or should I go now? Should I stay or should I go now?
If I go there will be trouble. And if I stay it will be double
So come on and let me know, should I stay or should I go...
- The Clash - "Should I Stay or Should I Go..."
Vancouver – Mission; 84 kilometers, 52 miles; Day 1
Everyone was up bright and early and had their bikes out and on full display… it was a bit like ‘peacocks on parade’ in some respects – everyone showing off their latest in lycra fashion, gadgets, gear, recounting war stories and discussing both the route, their individual and group strategies and the day ahead. The divide between the ‘Hard Cores’ and the ‘Newbies’ was pretty clear and seemed to correlate with age… the Hard Cores were generally the older (above 40s) and the ‘Newbies’ where more or less all those in their 20s and 30s. I am pretty sure I was immediately sussed out as a ‘Newbie’ when I told everyone that my Trek is the one that ‘Neil Armstrong’ won his first Tour de France on… ah hem…
The Hardcores had the best bikes with the most flamboyant gadgets – odometers, stopwatches, heart monitors, GPS, huge panniers, special shoes, designer jerseys, fancy chain-rings, and the cuts and bruises to document the years and years of experience that they had under their belts. The Newbies were quieter, kept to themselves and paced nervously waiting for Bud to tell us when we could go to the first stop, the Anthropology Museum parking lot where we would have our group photo taken.
It felt good to be in the saddle and the ride down to the museum calmed my fears a bit. The team photo was taken very aptly in front of the Anthropology Museum and was framed by two very large totem poles… a lovely setting for a photo and everyone was in good spirits.
It took about 3 minutes for someone to crack the joke, ‘Are we there yet…?’ which was followed closely by ‘I have to go to the bathroom’…
I was feeling nervous and relaxed at the same time – it was good to have the ‘one day at a time’ attitude. As soon as you start to treat the TdC as a ‘race’ then you have already lost. Just in chatting to the others on the trip I quickly realized that everyone was in it for the ‘experience’ – in the sense of experiencing the beauty of the country and its people and the only way that you can do this is to take your time and look around.
After the team picture we headed down to Spanish Banks Beach and ceremoniously dipped our back wheels in the Pacific. We had officially begun the Tour..! As you can see from the picture, I bought the bike to match my cycling jacket...
The weather was gorgeous – blue sky and a chilly wind. As we all started together the group was quite big and we cycled through Vancouver through some of the main streets as well as some residential areas. It looks like a great city – very green and lovely along the waterfront. We hit a few hills up in what I think is an Italian part of Vancouver – the houses were all set back from the street and gated. As the Italians were playing the Spanish in the Euro 2008 football / soccer there was quite a festive ambiance. 
I received my first lesson in ‘drafting’ today so was feeling quite pro particularly since I learned how to ride a road bike today. Look out Lance Armstrong. Basically, drafting is when you cycle behind another person with about 1 foot between your front wheel and their back wheel. When done properly they ‘cut’ the wind for you and you can coast behind them. It is tricky because you have to have a lot of trust in the person in front. Generally you will pick up speed quite quickly and have enough confidence in the lead person to know that they will not suddenly slam on the breaks and also that they use the appropriate signals to warn you of upcoming debris on the road, signs, red lights etc. Sometimes huge groups of people can draft together in various formations… I am not that sophisticated in my riding so have not yet ventured to that level of expertise..! I enjoy looking around at the cityscape far too much..!
Canada is Tim Hortons
We did about 40kms at which point I was not exhausted but I could certainly tell that I was in need of some food… and a peanut butter sandwich wasn’t going to cut it. The Tim Hortons sign was a gift from heaven. Even better, it was a Tim Hortons AND a Wendys!! A sea of lycra invaded the premises and pretty much ate the place clean. I ate a quarter-pounder burger with fries and a large coke plus a peanut butter sandwich. Man, I was hungry..! I am beginning to realize that I am not only going to cycle my way across the country, I may also eat my way across the country. Even the guys in the group were amazed at how much I could pack away in a matter of seconds!
It was good to get out of Vancouver as the stop and starts because of the traffic lights and the intersections made it difficult to put in the kilometers. It is also hard because you have to really concentrate on what is going on in front, beside, and behind your bicycle. Little thing
s like not seeing a car door swing open in front of you can make a simple stretch of road a fatal one. Sitting on two skinny wheels in 3-lane city traffic with sound of huge engines revving up behind you and traffic coming from all directions in front of you is a good way of reminding yourself you are not as invincible as you may feel.
Canada is Cedar and Lumber
The afternoon cycle was fantastic – we went along a very smooth and scenic section of Route 7 for about 10kms. Here I got my first taste of what was ahead. Images and smells which I believe are quintessentially Canadian – the huge lumber mills along the river framed by blue skies and the smell of fresh cedar in the air as the giant 20,000kg logger trucks fly by on the road. It reminded me of “Beachcombers” – a television program that I used to watch as a kid. I’m pretty sure that it was filmed in Canada… It was a really gorgeous ride which I thoroughly enjoyed.
Another feature on the landscape which I enjoyed seeing was the long CP rail trains which seem to go on for miles and miles. You can hear them off in the distance about 5 minutes before you actually see them and feel the road under you tremble as they rumble by. They are usually heavily loaded with grain (I saw a number of carriages which read ‘Canadian wheat board’) as well as lumber and other freight.
We reached the campground at about 3pm – just enough time to enjoy a few more hours of sunshine and lay on the grass along the lake, watching the herons along the bank and the fish jumping high out of the water. It felt good to know that Day 1 was ‘under the belt’ and that I’d survived my first proper day of road biking..!
Tent City
Today was also a first on the tent-front. I bought a ‘Marmot’ 2-person tent just before I left. I took a bit of a risk in not ‘test driving’ it first because when I opened the bag there were a lot more pieces – particularly ropes – than I would have imagined for such a small tent… I tried really hard when choosing my tent to be sensible yet have something big enough that I could call home for the next 72 days. Well, I shouldn’t have worried as my tent is one of the smaller ones in the group..! There are some people that have peg palaces – huge 5 (at least) person tents with fold out chairs, thick air mattresses etc. It was funny to see everyone erect their homes for the first time and then do the tour of the ‘tent city’. It’s so colorful and there are tents of all shapes and sizes. Things have come a long way since the ‘traditional’ tee-pee style of tent covered in animal hides..! Brendan and I strategically staked out the neighborhood, established where the snorers were and then set up as far away as possible from them..!
Dinner was fabulous – fresh trout, salad, and rice topped off with a commerative ‘Day 1’ cake for dessert – delicious..!! Well done to Group 1 for a true culinary experience!
I received my first lesson in ‘drafting’ today so was feeling quite pro particularly since I learned how to ride a road bike today. Look out Lance Armstrong. Basically, drafting is when you cycle behind another person with about 1 foot between your front wheel and their back wheel. When done properly they ‘cut’ the wind for you and you can coast behind them. It is tricky because you have to have a lot of trust in the person in front. Generally you will pick up speed quite quickly and have enough confidence in the lead person to know that they will not suddenly slam on the breaks and also that they use the appropriate signals to warn you of upcoming debris on the road, signs, red lights etc. Sometimes huge groups of people can draft together in various formations… I am not that sophisticated in my riding so have not yet ventured to that level of expertise..! I enjoy looking around at the cityscape far too much..!
Canada is Tim Hortons
We did about 40kms at which point I was not exhausted but I could certainly tell that I was in need of some food… and a peanut butter sandwich wasn’t going to cut it. The Tim Hortons sign was a gift from heaven. Even better, it was a Tim Hortons AND a Wendys!! A sea of lycra invaded the premises and pretty much ate the place clean. I ate a quarter-pounder burger with fries and a large coke plus a peanut butter sandwich. Man, I was hungry..! I am beginning to realize that I am not only going to cycle my way across the country, I may also eat my way across the country. Even the guys in the group were amazed at how much I could pack away in a matter of seconds!
It was good to get out of Vancouver as the stop and starts because of the traffic lights and the intersections made it difficult to put in the kilometers. It is also hard because you have to really concentrate on what is going on in front, beside, and behind your bicycle. Little thing
s like not seeing a car door swing open in front of you can make a simple stretch of road a fatal one. Sitting on two skinny wheels in 3-lane city traffic with sound of huge engines revving up behind you and traffic coming from all directions in front of you is a good way of reminding yourself you are not as invincible as you may feel.Canada is Cedar and Lumber
The afternoon cycle was fantastic – we went along a very smooth and scenic section of Route 7 for about 10kms. Here I got my first taste of what was ahead. Images and smells which I believe are quintessentially Canadian – the huge lumber mills along the river framed by blue skies and the smell of fresh cedar in the air as the giant 20,000kg logger trucks fly by on the road. It reminded me of “Beachcombers” – a television program that I used to watch as a kid. I’m pretty sure that it was filmed in Canada… It was a really gorgeous ride which I thoroughly enjoyed.
Another feature on the landscape which I enjoyed seeing was the long CP rail trains which seem to go on for miles and miles. You can hear them off in the distance about 5 minutes before you actually see them and feel the road under you tremble as they rumble by. They are usually heavily loaded with grain (I saw a number of carriages which read ‘Canadian wheat board’) as well as lumber and other freight.
We reached the campground at about 3pm – just enough time to enjoy a few more hours of sunshine and lay on the grass along the lake, watching the herons along the bank and the fish jumping high out of the water. It felt good to know that Day 1 was ‘under the belt’ and that I’d survived my first proper day of road biking..!
Tent City
Today was also a first on the tent-front. I bought a ‘Marmot’ 2-person tent just before I left. I took a bit of a risk in not ‘test driving’ it first because when I opened the bag there were a lot more pieces – particularly ropes – than I would have imagined for such a small tent… I tried really hard when choosing my tent to be sensible yet have something big enough that I could call home for the next 72 days. Well, I shouldn’t have worried as my tent is one of the smaller ones in the group..! There are some people that have peg palaces – huge 5 (at least) person tents with fold out chairs, thick air mattresses etc. It was funny to see everyone erect their homes for the first time and then do the tour of the ‘tent city’. It’s so colorful and there are tents of all shapes and sizes. Things have come a long way since the ‘traditional’ tee-pee style of tent covered in animal hides..! Brendan and I strategically staked out the neighborhood, established where the snorers were and then set up as far away as possible from them..!
Dinner was fabulous – fresh trout, salad, and rice topped off with a commerative ‘Day 1’ cake for dessert – delicious..!! Well done to Group 1 for a true culinary experience!
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