Day 4

Sunday, June 27
Vancouver to Mission, BC
94km

Today was the last “first day”.  The first “first day” was when we cycled for the first time - to Victoria.  The second first day was leaving Mile 0 in Victoria to return to Vancouver.  Today, as a group of 33, we left Vancouver and rode to Mission.

We started the day with group photos at UBC and then the tradition of dipping our rear wheels in the ocean.  I had already dipped me wheel at mile 0, so I didn't bother today.  It seems a little crazy to put your bike into salt water before riding it across the country.  Then again, it is a little crazy to ride your bike across the country anyways, so you might as well.

I rode with the “fast group” today.  Paul and I almost always stay together, and we have developed a reputation as the pace setters.  I have been riding between 25 and 35km per hour, which is very quick for me.  These first two days have been relatively short and relatively flat, so I don't feel bad about expending some extra enery to sprint along.

We've also been riding with Colin, Roger and a few other new people that weren't on the mile 0 days.  Roger is a long time member of the Ottawa cycling club, and he had us riding in a slow pace-line for much of the day today.  Single file “drafting” is supposed to use much less energy, but it takes some practice to get it right.

The scenery was wonderful again.  We had a great view of downtown Vancouver as we rode around the outskirts.  It reminded me of Hong Kong, with its high-rise towers sitting on the water in front of snow capped mountains.  We had other nice mountain views throughout the day.  The rivers with large floating logs on them were also a first for me.

Our camp site today is on a trout farm, so we had whole fried trout for dinner with rice and veggie stir-fry.  All made from scratch, including the fish that were scooped from the pond just for us.
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Daniel Longo
CIBC Corporate Development
(416) 956-3831