"famous frances"

Greetings from Powell River, BC-

Dave and I packed up our soaking tent at 5:30 this morning and left our otherwise (for the pouring rain) beautiful, majestic treed campsite and made a 20mile dash for our 8:10 ferry. We arrived at the ticket station just to hear our boat's departing horn (which means it was already pulling out of dock). So we're waiting out the next 4 hours in a cafe until the next big boat leaves for Comox. If the weather stays dry- they're calling for sun- we'll attempt to ride another 50 miles to this evening's campsite.

This is our third day of riding and we've been having a blast. Okay, time is limited but here's a quick recap:

Day 1- we rode out of the city along the seaside bike bath. Despite threats of rain, clouds parted and a beam of sunshine followed us the entire day. We meandered past commercial loading docks, lush green parks, and the most unbelievable glass high-rise buildings. I've never seen so much glass - really impressive. Turning north, we made our way through the bucolic Stanley park- great views of the city skyline, horse-drawn carriages, and totem poles. We crossed an enormous steel bridge out of the park, on to North Vancouver, made a lot of turns, got a bit lost, and ended up on a long stretch of road winding through hills, along the coast. Dave thought it was the San Marin County of BC- big houses, fancy cars; Dave almost t-boned a Rolls-Royce(?). All around, a great ride to our first ferry at Horseshoe Bay. - Oh yeah, I saw my first black squirrel- jet black. I almost ran over him.

Day 2 was a burly day with intermittent rain showers and a lot of hill climbing. We stopped at a roadside grill and put down some disgustingly delicious burgers, fries, rootbeer, and heaping icecream cones. It seems we're burning calories faster than they can be replaced. We ended the day with another ferry ride to Saltery Bay (south of Powell River). By the time we were off the ferry, the rain was coming down, and we had to set camp in unfavorable conditions. Under a dripping tarp we prepared dinner- avocado, tomato sandwiches, two cans of tuna, and a family-sized box of Annie's mac and cheese. It could of been Mom's tuna casserole; Amazing how good everything tastes after a day of riding, even in the rain.
It rained through the night; my tent couldn't handle it. Water seeped in through the bottom seams, forming small puddles on the floor, and the ceiling dripped through the night. Without bothering to change clothes from a sweaty day of riding, we crawled in our sacks and hoped to fall asleep before we noticed how wet we were about to get.

Stay tuned.