Brandon on a Bike

Ah Vancouver, what a lovely place to be. I was able to restore an otherwise frustrating and wasted day by going on a little night time adventure. I wanted to check out this spot Alibi Room that's on the edge of an area called Gastown. Because I was bikeless, I decided to use their public transportation. I know it sounds weird, but getting to know a city's metro is something I look forward to.  It's a great way to people watch and get a feel for where everything is in that particular city.  NYC has the Subway, London has the Tube, Paris the (stinky) Métropolitain, Buenos Aires the Subte, Munich the U-Bahn, and Vancouver the SkyTrain.  I've never met a metro I didn't like...except maybe Brussels'...but that was probably just my fault.  The SkyTrain is clean, roomy, and compared to others I've seen, much more mellow...although I didn't get to see it during busy hours. I took the millennial line to downtown and got to really see the city for the fir...

Ugh. Didn't really expect to be writing anything negative this soon. But, ugh. Today was rough...and this is supposed to be the "vacation" part of the trip!  As I wrote in my previous post, I didn't sleep a wink last night because of my epic struggle trying to pack my bike. I got an hour or so of shuteye on the way to Seattle, which helped a lot, but then my flight to Vancouver got delayed a couple of hours. Got another hour of sleep on that flight and was happy to see that my bike box made it to Vancouver in one piece!  It did go through an inspection, but it didn't look like things got moved around too much so that's good.  I maneuvered the oversized box to a quiet, less busy part of the airport and my goal was to put the bike together and ride 53mins to the house I'm staying at.  What a wonderful and cheap way to see the city right?  The problem is that apparently I can't put a bike back together. I was good with the pedals, handlebar, and back rack...

Well, not quite. I'm still at the SD Airport on my way to Seattle in about 45 mins.  I am sleepless though.  In typical Brandon fashion, I waited til last minute to pack.  I was up all night battling to fit my bike into a cardboard bike box. It's not as easy as one would think!  First of all, I'm not very gentle when it comes to packing. I usually just stuff everything in with no regard for the items being packed.  Then add in the fact that I've never taken apart a bike before and you got a STRUGGLE.  Regardless, I figured out a way to tape that sucker shut and it is currently making its way into the airplane's cargo (I hope). I'm extremely pessimistic about my bike making it to Vancouver in one piece. And even if it does, I wonder if I can put the bike together once I get there.  Oh, did I not mention that I have very little cycling experience?  Well yeah. Wish me luck!