It is time to write

It is time to write. It is time to find a nook and some how document the past 10+ days. At 9 am on a Sunday morning, after a night like last night, finding a quiet space to myself is pretty easy. The kitchen table of a radical bike co-op house will easily provide me with what I need.

The Experience:

On July 20th, after a 4 day vacation/adventure of bicycling around Vancouver with new friends and unloaded bicycles, Rachel and I packed our rigs and headed north. With four+ saddle bags and a guitar each, the weight, hills, and heat were a challenge at first. With winds on the third day we figured out how to work together. Rachel would often draft me on the down hills for more speed, and we began trading drafting/leading positioning on up hills (most oftenRach and straightaways with big winds. It was not only physically easier to have less wind on the drafters bicycles, but emotionally powerful and inspiring to be following my cycling partner or have her relying on me. At the end of the day we were tired. At the end of Day 5 we were the most tired because our ferry dropped us off on Orcas around 6:30 and we still had 15+ miles of hilly riding to do to arrive at our camp site. We also got accidentally split up for the first (and only, hopefully) time this trip. Each night, when we rolled into camp, We set down our bikes, dug out our eating and shelter gear, and went to our roles. I was in change of cooking dinner, and each night my goal was to provide a nutritiously filling meal that tasted different than last night. While cooking, Rachel would be seeking out flat land for our temporary homestead, setting up the tent, putting out our sleeping bags. Over dinner we were both equally stoked to be sharing a completed meal next to a fully set up tent.


Day 1: Vancouver- Porpoise Prov. Park 40+ miles
Day 2: Porpoise to Saltery Bay 40+ miles
Day 3: Saltery bay to powel river and back down to Parksville75+ miles
Day 4: Parksville to San Juan Island via Crofton, Salt spring Island, Swarz bay to Sidney 45+ miles
Day 5: San Juan loop-Orcas Island Moran State Park 45+ miles
Day 6: Our first day off! Hitched/hiked our way to the top of Mt.Constitution 5-6 miles walking
Day 6: Orcas-Lopez 20 ish miles
Day 7: Lopez to Victoria: 25+ miles
Day 8: laundry, showers, explore Victoria 10 ish miles
Day 9: Victoria to Galiano Island 2 miles (+luxurious van ride with family from VI to GI)
Day 10: Cinnabun in Galiano to Vancouver 15+ miles
Day 11: finally writing this post.