April 30th - Vancouver, BC

After a 21 hour train ride to Seattle and 3 hour bus ride I’ve finally made it to my favorite country that I’ve never been to.  The Amtrak ride was difficult to find sleep on due to a cabin mate that snored like a Mack truck. Around 2am I finally slipped down to the empty cafe car and drifted off for a bit before they started to reopen around 5am.  The older gentlemen I was sitting next to in my proper seat was riding up to Seattle from his home in LA only to turn around and head back on the south bound train the next day. A testament to the gorgeous scenery this inland route has to offer - and thankfully inland as to not spoil anything coastal for me. 

Following a customs check at the border the bus dropped me off a couple of kilometers away from my hotel so I set off in the brisk Vancouver night to find it.  Notttt a great part of town to traverse at night but as far as I could tell there was no reason to worry just a lot of homeless folk. Checked in at 1:30 in the morning and passed out the second my head hit the pillow. 

Woke up around 8am and was deadset on having my first Tim Hortons experience.  I don’t have any statistics to back this up, but I think Timmy’s are more common in Canada than McDonald’s are in the homeland. As such, within a 5 minute walk I was inhaling a TH breakfast burrito that was magical after an Amtrak pretzel dinner the previous evening. 

Post-breakfast I showered, grabbed the bike, and headed out for a mini tour of Vancouver.  My budget friendly hotel while basic had the enormous perk of being just slightly east of downtown.  I pedaled around the bike-friendly city for an hour before beginning an amazing 10 mile loop around the famous Stanley Park.  Breathtaking views of downtown and North Vancouver were available here.  Now back at the hotel to quickly post this before walking around to find a good dinner spot and some Canadian pals.  Tomorrow it begins.

A New Adventure - Vancouver, BC to Lake Tahoe, CA

Nearly 6 years ago to the day I completed my first bike tour across the Southern portion of the US.  It was an incredible experience that I knew back then I'd never forget.  It's always nice to read through the old blog here and try and relive some of the magic that is cycle touring - definitely glad that I chose to chronicle it like I did.  

Fast forward to 2018 and here I am on the precipice of diving into a whole new adventure.  During the first trip I ran into quite a few touring cyclists whom were not on their inaugural trip.  I distinctly remember hearing about how, if the trip was enjoyable to me, I'd plan another one down the line.  I suppose they knew what they were talking about.

When in the planning stages of this new tour I quickly decided that the preference was to see as much of the West Coast as possible having moved out to California last year.  In researching Adventure Cycling's map offerings for this region I was excited to see that the Pacific Coast is widely considered a world class cycling route.  It begins in Vancouver, BC and with only a few exceptions has you riding right along the ocean all the way to San Diego, CA.  I immediately knew this would be a part of the route, but the two concerns were that I'd already been through San Diego on the last trip, and that at roughly 1,700 miles the tour wasn't going to be quite long enough to fill the gap of free time I'd carved out.  My goal was to have the tour end in Lake Tahoe, CA in early July as a I have a family vacation scheduled there.  To not end up cycling back the same way I'd came I pieced together some other routes that will take me East once I reach Los Angeles.  From there I'll make my way to the Grand Canyon before looping back Northwest via Utah and Nevada to get back into California.

The idea for this trip was hatched back at the beginning of the year, and I can't believe how fast time has flown since then.  In just 5 days I'll be boarding the train that'll take me to the starting line.  So many hours have gone into preparation and planning, but soon it'll just be time to pedal.  I'll be trying to update the blog as frequently as possible, although on my last tour I chose to bring a netbook with me which made the blogging easier.  This time I'll just be rolling with an iPhone, so we'll see how that goes.  Please feel free to comment on the entries as extra motivation is always welcomed.  The trip will officially be underway on May 1st!

Gear breakdown (loosely from left to right):  Sleeping bag, tent poles, tent, sleeping pad, towel & wash cloth, inflatable pillow, rain suite, rain shoe covers, cycling shorts, camelbak, spare tubes, lifestraw filter, cleaning wipes, cycling gloves, shorts, underwear, t-shirts, maps, passport, socks, long johns, toilet paper, mess kit, stove, fuel canisters, bike light, head lamp, sunscreen, vitamins, caffeine pills, bear mace, air pump, chain grease, chainlink tool, tube repair kit, bike muli-tool, tire lever, duct tape, camera, kindle, solar power bank

It all packs pretty neatly into rear paniers, a handlebar bag, and a couple compression bags
Weighing in at just over 35 lbs

The noble steed packed and ready for the journey