Day 2

There is nothing quite like the luxury of waking up in an actual bed after a day of being "sick, sore, and slow". Yesterday I felt like I was holding everyone back, but today was a complete turnaround. We remapped our route to Fort Langley via the south side of the Fraser River, and while it started damp, the sun eventually made a very welcome appearance.

Then we hit 104 Ave in Surrey—the hill. It was massive, steep, and absolutely too much for towing trailers. We ended up walking the first sections, but I managed to bike the final stretches in third gear. Looking back, it was just a "baby" compared to the mountains waiting for us, but in that moment, conquering it felt like a massive victory. The reward was a long, beautiful downhill run all the way to Fort Langley.

At the campsite, I was moved to find a handwritten note from Poesy, who had scouted the area for us—it’s moments like that that remind you how wonderful friends are. We had an amazing dinner at The Fort Pub and Grill (food always tastes better after a day in the saddle) and then met up with the Vancouver gang to see Mission Impossible 2 at the Colossus. Sharing that movie with a group of friends felt like being back in university, and it was the perfect way to truly start the trip on a high note.

It is raining again. Having a shorter ride than we expected, we wake up at a leisurely hour and head out. We automatically resume the same formation we were in yesterday: Wendy's friend is in the lead and slowly pulls away, Blue is second with me close behind, and Wendy is right behind me.

Around 11:00a, our friend stops ahead and waits for us; he has a staple embedded in his tire tread. We stop underneath a large suspension bridge to make our first repair—changing a tube is much easier with four pairs of hands.

We face our first large uphill climb on 104 Street. It is so steep we soon dismount and start pushing. As we are climbing, the rain stops and the sun begins poking out. We eat lunch in a park and spend a few minutes drying off in the sunshine before continuing east. To the north, I can see the tree-covered bases of mountains off in the distance—it is an awesome sight to see these mountains slowly slide by us, giving me a sense that we are actually getting somewhere.

While riding, I stop to help a woman rescue a bird that had been hit by a car and fallen into a deep ditch. I manage to scoop the poor, stunned thing out and give it to the woman who knows of a nearby animal hospital. We eventually enter Fort Langley and find a Trans Canada Trail marker. We cross over to McMillan Island and set up our first camp site. Our friends from Vancouver show up and we go out for dinner and a movie.