As a result of crossing the international time zone, after leaving Melbourne Airport at 7 am 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 that is Portland Oregon. While they worked on our bikes, we spent the day checking out downtown Vancouver and acclimatising. 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 meant we did finally hit the hay about 9 pm last night and we slept right through the torrential rain waking up refreshed. We had another day exploring the city. Its spring here so it’s great to see the flowers blooming and the trees are still bare. We met somefriendly 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 met 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.