Our route from Kootenay to Vancouver brought us through Kamloops. We met a super friendly couple in Yuma this past winter who just so happens to live in Kamloops. We have a lot in common with Ralph and Debra — we both love to travel and appreciate and respect and want to learn about other people’s cultures and traditions. We decided to drop them a message to see if we could park our trailer for a couple nights at their house. What we didn’t expect was the level of hospitality they showed us. We are glad to call them friends and hope we can return the favor if they ever come to Portugal. We stayed at their lake house in Chase and they took us out for a great boating tour of Lake Shuswap with a stop for dinner on the lake — so cool to drive a boat to a restaurant. Then we spent the next night at their Kamloops house and they took us to Sun Peaks ski resort town and on a barge ferry across the Thompson River. Brought back memories of the Canby Ferry in Portland 🙂 I really hope we keep in touch because it would be cool to see them again and maybe even travel with them in the future.

Vancouver is one of the largest cities in Canada. It had been a long time since we had been in a really big city like Vancouver. Definitely intimidating to drive in. Our RV park was in Surrey, a suburb but even the Surrey city center felt congested. The park was nice — Peace Arch RV Park — many long-term residents but very clean and good amenities including a heated pool. After setting up the trailer, we had to go to the Trek bike shop in Burnaby to drop off my bike for service before the big ride coming up in a couple days — RBC Gran Fondo Whistler — 75 miles and 7000 ft elevation, one of the most challenging I have ever attempted.

On our first full day in Vancouver we met up with our good Portland friends, Jessica and Scott, for a hike just north of town — Saint Marks Summit. We were advised by Debra’s daughter, that this was the must-do hike in Vancouver. It was challenging, mainly because of all the exposed tree roots that created uneven footing and large steps up and down. We made it to the overlook and the payoff was so worth the effort — incredible views of the Pacific Ocean and Bowen and Vancouver islands along with several other smaller, uninhabited islands. The only issue at the overlook was the critters — chipmunks and birds intent on stealing your food 🙂 Never seen such aggressive animals 🙂 After the hike we got stuck in rush hour traffic — as worse as Seattle traffic. But we finally made it to a poke spot for dinner which was excellent and tasted especially good after the long hike. Followed by a beer to celebrate the day and re-connecting with friends at Studio Brewing Company.

Our old, little 4Runner has taken a good amount of punishment with all the tow miles over the past year. It is crazy how often a vehicle needs a transmission flush when doing so much towing — almost as frequent as the oil changes. Since we were in a big city with access to a plethora of services we decided to do another transmission flush and it was definitely due if not overdue.

We rode the light rail from Richmond to downtown Vancouver. This was our first time being on public transit since COVID. Not necessarily because of a fear of COVID, just because we have not been in big cities very often. Vancouver has a great public transit system so it was fun to ride the train and explore areas around our stops that we would not have experienced in a car.

We visited the Central Library which may be the best library I have ever seen. The architecture is incredible. The books and services with so many areas to sit and read or work. And the rooftop garden is the cherry on top. Even if you are not into libraries, this one is still worth checking out.

After the library, we met up with our cycling friends from Portland, Jessica, Rod, and Geri, to pick up our packets at the Convention Centre for tomorrow’s big ride. We walked to an Italian restaurant for dinner and shared stories of the past year. It was nice to catch-up.

After a 4:30 am wake-up, we loaded up and headed to Stanley Park so Emi could drop me off for the start of the ride. She would then drive up to Whistler to meet us at the finish. The ride was a complete shit show. It was the most expensive event ride I have ever done, yet the worst support. I have more support on my solo rides with a sandwich stuffed in my jersey pocket than we did on this ride. Every rest stop ran out of food before we got there. Call me crazy, but I need fuel to complete this type of ride — just water isn’t going to cut it. I knew I was in trouble after the 2nd rest stop where again, no food. 3rd rest stop, again, no food. I didn’t make it to the 4th and final rest stop. I had enough — I wasn’t going to jeopardize my health for a ride that yes was scenic but probably not even in my top 10 for all the jaw-dropping rides I had completed over the past year. I bailed and called Emi to come pick me up. Even that was a shit show. The highway was reduced to 1 lane each way creating super long delays. It took an hour before Emi could get to me and then another 30 minutes to get to our hotel which was only a few miles away. At the hotel, I talked to a few other riders and they all agreed they would never do this event again.

Despite the ride experience, we had an amazing time in Whistler. Whistler Brewing Company had great beers. And COWS ice cream which we also had in Banff may be the best ice cream in Canada. It was our first time staying at a HI (Hostel International) location — would definitely like to try them in other countries.

The next day in Whistler, we hiked the Train Wreck Trail which goes over a suspension bridge over the Cheakamus River to the train wreck site. Eerie to see mangled train cars rusted out and painted with graffiti in the middle of a forest. The trail continues to Cheakamus Falls. The trail is not well marked but still very scenic. After the hike we went to the Upper Village Farmer’s Market. For a small town, it is an impressive market. The highlight was the wine tastings and the baked samosa’s with rhubarb chutney. So good, we returned for a 2nd samosa 🙂

Back in Vancouver for a few more days, we hit up the Granville Island Public Market and Artisan District. The market was incredible — I think it is even better than Seattle’s Pike Place Market. And all the talented artisans including blacksmiths, glass blowers, and woodworkers. We sampled some small bites from about a half dozen different vendors at the market — all very tasty. Lee’s Donuts is a must — so fresh they are still warm.

For our final full day, we biked the Seaside Trail. In my opinion, this is the crown gem of the city — the world’s longest uninterrupted waterfront path. A multi-use trail that circumnavigates the entire downtown area including Stanley Park. It is wide enough to have a path for walkers/runners and a path for cyclists. The views of the ocean and the cityscape from all different parts of the trail made for one of the most beautiful rides we have done. The ride around Stanley Park offers two different bike paths, one alongside the road and one along the seawall, right next to the ocean the whole way around. We did the seawall route. Since it was getting late in the afternoon and we try to avoid driving during rush hour, we stopped at Craft Beer Market English Bay which had a great happy hour and 100 beers on tap. Excellent!

Vancouver is a big city with lots of traffic but as long as you avoid traveling during AM or PM rush hour it is manageable. Beautiful, but expensive city 🙂 Nice spending a week here to explore parts I have never been despite probably visiting Vancouver close to a dozen times over my lifetime.

Good bye Vancouver…next stop North Cascades National Park, back to the USA and our final stop on this crazy, year-long journey around the US and Canada.  Stay tuned…