Brandon on a Bike

Day 1: Vancouver to Gibsons - Sep. 24th Today's Distance:  33 Miles Total Distance: 33 Miles Well this is it, my first real day of riding!  Got a later start than I expected partly because I stayed up so late last night but also because I had to keep adjusting all my equipment.  This was my first time fully loading up my bike and wow what a difference it makes.  Because there is so much weight in the back, any time I lift up the front end the bike wants to pop a wheelie or fall over on its side. Not cool man. I started to get a little worried that maybe this was a bad idea to not practice at all beforehand. After a coffee and a bagel I was off and getting a little more used to the weight on the bike.  My original destination was Roberts Creek Provincial Park where I would be camping but as you can tell from the start of the post I didn't quite end up there; more on that later. I started with a nice ride along the Seawall which is basically like a boardwal...

Got up today and walked down the street to grab a coffee. There's like 2 coffee shops per block here but for some reason I couldn't find the particular one I was looking for, so I ducked into a nearby tea shop. I normally like my coffee black so I can taste what the cup is all about, so I don't know what got into me ordering a latte.  I think I was just trying to be fancy.  Tasted like a cup of warm heavy cream...should've just had a tea.  I walked around for a bit during the day just waiting on my bike to be ready.  I didn't really see much worth noting because I wanted to stay near the bike shop but I did get quite a bit of people-watching in.  Some observations: I'm the only one wearing shorts. Lots of Asians...but not like Chinatown Asians, more like Irvine Asians (I'm part Asian so I can say that). Every one here seems fit and active; just as many pedestrians and cyclists as there are motorists.  Canadians are like Americans but goofier. So my ...