As a result of crossing the international time zone, after leaving Melbourne Airport at 7 am and then at 11.30am a turbulent 14-hour flight from Sydney across the Pacific Ocean, we arrived in Vancouver at the same time we left home, tired but excited.

The friendly mechanics at Bikes For All put our bikes back together and even fitted a new pair of organic disk brakes, that I had as spares, to Therese’s bike (organic pads tend to wear a little better than the steel ones- It’s always best to go organic Man!) They also gave us some good advice and raved about the cycling Mecca in Portland Oregon. While they worked on our bikes, we spent the day checking out downtown Vancouver and acclimatizing. Vancouver is easy to navigate and very bicycle-friendly.

Our Warmshowers hosts Joey, Catherine their son Manu couldn’t have been more welcoming. They are friendly, knowledgeable, and proud of their “East Van” community. We immediately felt right at home.

After 30 hours without sleep, we finally hit the hay at about 9 pm last night and we slept right through the torrential rain waking up refreshed. We had another day exploring the city. It’s spring here so it’s great to see the flowers blooming while the trees are still bare. We met some friendly folk while visiting the funky shops of East Van, which is a lot like Footscray: Multicultural, edgy, and great tea and coffee. Spoke to an Indian guy in the $2 shop about cricket, a barista about the difference between a flat white and a latte, and an Australian waitress from Perth. Sure we got a little wet today, but hey that’s cycling!

I am cooking a Spanakopita (cheese and spinach pie) for our hosts tonight.