Monday 7 September 2009

On getting to Vancouver

Well, here I am, sitting at Margo's computer, of Wanderings fame, waiting for my laundry to dry. I got here some time after six after the usual crossing from Victoria. It took place later than I had originally planned as I had lunch with Edward, Stephen, Margaret, Sandy, David and Anne. The last is Edward's great-grandmother, the previous two are his maternal grandparents. Anne still remembers when I very jokingly tried to bar her from Stephen and Margaret's wedding reception on the grounds she was "riff-raff". At first I thought that it might have been the first time I had had a meal with four generations, but later I decided that I probably have been to a family function on Pappy's side with the same generational attendance.BC Ferries have added bike racks to their ships since the last time I took them. They are quite nifty and leave the ropes of Washington state ferries behind. Unfortunately, the demand for bike parking space was at least twice that of the supply! There was another DeVinci in the rack. As the ferry was approaching the dock, I asked the owner what variety of DeVinci it was. It turned out to be a 2009 Caribou. We ended up chatting. She was a UBC student from Fredericton who was on a weekend trip to Victoria with some friends. She and her friends out accelerated me on there lightly loaded (1 bag apiece) bikes, however, I soon caught up with them. For a while, I was content to hang in their slipstream, but eventually, I decided I wanted to go faster and the flat road, with the wind behind me was too much of "bring me that horizon" moment to pass up. I ended up arriving at the bike shuttle terminal a good ten minutes ahead of them.

I was disappointed in that the older Sikh man wasn't driving the shuttle today. Instead, there was youngish man who looked rather bored. (In all fairness, it was the end of the day.)

My bike computer stopped registering between Stephen's apartment until the North End of the Fraser river tunnel when I fiddled with something and it started working again. I am a little worried about it.

It feels a little weird being here without Margo being present, or for that matter any Orams as Louise is off at some orienteering event well to the East and North of here. I have heard both Kamloops and Canmore being mentioned as her location. She is supposed to be home tonight.

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