Dossing around in Vancouver

---

I've been in Vancouver for about 1 week and a half and my feet are itching to leave. But that is probably because I've been somewhat lazy since I got here.
The day we arrived sam came and met charli and i at the station. We built up charlis bike, loaded all our panniers on there and pushed it across the city. We decided to grab a little bite to eat and so stopped in at a pizza place. When we walked in I spotted a companion Charli and I met on the train. A surprising and refreshing character, though I forget his name. He looked around 80 years old. He is from and lives in Delhi. He has been traveling on his own around canada and some of USA. I thought it was so amazing that this old guy can travel so much without any help from friends or family. He said hes been to 63 countries and he showed me his passport, it was so fat, actually it was 3 passports sewed together. I know that for me, traveling can be very tiring, i find it especially tiring when traveling in countries that have quite a different culture to my own. I guess I have admiration for him gallivanting all over the place, greyhound busing, hosteling and eating pizzas with a load of scruffy travelers, when a lot of people just seem to lose that energy when they age. Or maybe this is a prejudice, maybe I just presume older people lose a bit of that energy. But I think that comes from that I think age often brings a less mobile body which maybe discourages people from traveling. Whatever, this guy was cool and it was lovely and inspiring to talk with him....even though he kept asking charli and I 'who is Romeo, who is Juliet?" and giggling.

Our first couple of nights we (Sam, Charli and I) stayed a house of a person called Kate, she and her house mates were super nice and it was great to get to Vancouver knowing we had somewhere to crash.
On the 24th we went to watch Cocorosie, it was really fun as our new friend Diane Cluck has been supporting them on their tour, so we got to see her perform too! Her music is really beautiful so if you ever get the chance give it a listen.
After the show I met cocorose and went back stage with Bianca one of the duo. Even though I would of loved to hang out as Bianca seemed really fun I kinda felt like a groupie (which feels weird) and wanted to catch the sky train before it finished, so sam, charli and I decided to leave. But I have a strange feeling I'll meet them again.
After that we spent a couple of nights couchsurfing with some really nice people called Jeff, Brenda and Tarn. We spent our time together having nice dinners, interesting conversations, playing with tarn, eating finger licking luscious tofu chocolate pie, testing out their electric bikes and many other fun things.
Sam bought himself a somewhat dubious bike, but I am sure he'll make it across canada. A couple of days later I bought a bike from Our Comminity Bikes. (if you're ever in Vancouver check that place out for your cycling needs) The bike already had a lot of the things I wanted in a touring bike, double eyelets on the front forks so I can put a front rack,it already had fenders, cantilever brakes, back rack, thicker wheels more comfortable for long distance riding and a frame that fits me well. But it had some really big cruiser handle bars. So I did some work on the bike at OCB. I put on some drop handle bars, bar end shifters, new brake levers and interrupter levers, a new stem and some bright orange grip tape so all them smelly cars can see me coming!!
I spent about 6 hours in the workshop building all that stuff up, with the patient help of charli and the OCB staff. I learnt so much too, so now I feel more confident if(when) I have a break down! 😊
I feel a love for my bike already as you might be able to tell by my bike babbling.

Anyways, soooo the same day I got my new bike we also went to a new couch surfing host. Which we are still at a week later. It is about a 1 and half hour bike ride from Vancouver centre, or one hour on the bus. It is in the rich suburbs.....which feels a bit odd for me. The shops all cost loads but also support a big selection of fresh food in the bins. Our host Clayton is really kind generous guy. But hes actually away for 4 or 5 days and left his house to us! Very trusting and so nice of him, it really helped us not to have to be jumping from one house to another. The perks of it here are, quiet, lots of trees and good views, a hot tub, big kitchen for lots of yummy meals. The down side is that I am often lazy to go into Vancouver and that means I put off a lot of stuff I need to do before my cycle trip starts. When I cycle up the huge hill to the dumpsters/shops i can see the snow capped mountains and the ride down the hill is a very exciting fast one......zoooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooom. I love the thrill of wizzing down hill daring myself not to use brakes (but don't worry, my brakes are good and I wear a helmet!)


Tomorrow I will definitely go to Vancouver, as we meet Anne! One 5th of our cycling group. Yippieeeee. She will be finishing the 4 day train ride Charli and I were on a couple of weeks ago.
I shall also go to see an osteopath for my fucked up wrist, hopefully she can help, i hope so coz it ain't cheap! But for me, health always wins over money even if it takes a bit of arguing in my head.....

Oh I saw some raccoons yesterday, oh wow they are so beautiful!!!!!!!!

I am not sure I have much more to write about Vancouver, just 2 days left, looking forward and a little bit scared to setting off. But I am mentally ready I think.
Hmmm......yeah! Thanks for reading, it feels nice to know that friends distant in miles (not in the heart) still take an interest in what I am doing.

Big Love

Kay

---