Vancouver to Mission, 82km

We all packed our gear into the truck and left the University of British Columbia to officially begin our ride to Signal Hill, Newfoundland. The entire group left together to take a group photo at the totem poles at the Museum of Anthropology. 

We then cycled to the beach for those who wanted to dip their wheels into the ocean. At the beach I was met with a nice view which consisted of 12 cargo ships all lined up, ready to go back to the ocean and the coastal mountains along the Fraser River, with the clouds low and grey.

Once we arrived at the beach, the group already began to break up as some people wanted to do some errands in Vancouver and others simply wanted to get out of the city. Speaking with past TDC (Tour du Canada) veterans and a member of the tour I learned the first few days would involve getting used to this new environment. As the days progress, each person would uncover which individuals share similar cycling speeds and behaviours and those would gravitate towards one another, resulting in the creation of sub groups within the TDC crew. As such, the riders I cycled with today may not be the ones I would cycle with for the majority of the tour as everyone is testing the waters.

Cycling in Vancouver was a bit nerve-wracking because it was busy in the city. Personally, I do not like cycling through cities because of the traffic. My enjoyment comes from cycling on quiet rural roads or through small towns. Nonetheless, Vancouver has several bicycle paths which are always fantastic to witness in a city.

There were several highlights on today’s adventure. The first involved making a wrong turn. The organizer of the tour provides maps on each day so we can make it to camp. The maps are detailed but in some instances you can get lost reading the map and the traffic signs which happened to myself and the three others I was cycling with. We ended up turning onto a gravel path at a bridge crossing the Pitt River. Although we were not supposed to take this path, it was beautiful with the Pitt River flowing alongside the path and mountains in the background covered in trees with a cloudy grey sky. It was peaceful, a nice break from the traffic of the highway. 

Another highlight was seeing the wood mills along the Fraser River. There were mounds and mounds of wood chips along the river and they gave off a lovely smelling aroma. The Fraser River was also quite the sight. It is a grand, fast paced river as shown through the current. Lastly, the trees stood out to me. The cedars were tall, I never saw cedars that tall before which made me want to see the old growth cedars because they must be absolutely massive. I felt I was in a jungle, it was lovely. And next I knew I made it to the campsite just outside Mission...my first day was complete.

Overall, it was an incredible day. British Columbia had proved itself to be a beautiful province thus far and I looked forward to what I would see in my upcoming days through BC. Unfortunately my saddle was a pain in the rear but, I made it to Mission....that was amazing! :D