Day 1: When i s a day not a day? When it's two.

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As I type this entry it's 34 hours after the time I got up on Friday (5am) and its STILL Friday! We actually landed in Canada 2 hours BEFORE we took off so effectively I figure we were younger when we arrived than when we left. Not sure what that means on the way back but I'm sure it will have something to do with time travel.

The flight over was in a Dreamliner 787. A very nice plan even back in the cheap seats in Economy. The flight was uneventful but 14 hours is still a VERY long time to spend sitting on a plane. We got into Canada at 7:30am. The bikes all turned up safe and sound and we made our way by taxi to a Storage Facility near our hotel where we put our bikes together and then left our bike bags in storage. After that we headed out on the bikes to do a bit of exploring.

Our first stop was at a Phone shop. Jeff wanted to get a SIM card so we could have phone communications between us. Without asking too many questions he signed up for a $30 plan for a month and paid the sales person. It wasn't until after he had paid for the SIM that he realised it came with no Data Allowance and he'd have to pay a fee for phone calls and SMSs he sent AND received. The rest of us thought this hilarious, not so much Jeff. We asked him to SMS us his new number but he seemed reluctant for some reason?!? Tommy actually fell asleep on a chair while Jeff bought the SIM Card so we stopped for a coffee to recharge the batteries before heading on.

While we didn't go all the way into Downtown Vancouver, we did ride along the river overlooking it. What a beautiful city with a majestic mountain backdrop to the north. Our first view of the city came with a harbour jammed full of yachts in the foreground which was amazing. We rode along the river bank and came to Grantville Island which has a great atmosphere and is massive market and also full of specialty shops. We're very much looking forward to getting back to Vancouver after the ride to spend more time looking around this wonderful city.

Back at hte hotel after dinner, the other 3 Amigos are already asleep and there is a cacophony of snoring thundering behind me, thankfully I DID remember the ear plugs.

Tomorrow our trans Canadian adventure begins. We're starting with a short 60km leg along the Fraser River to Abbotsford, and after that, the real fun begins.

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