Today we rode to Vancouver and it was a gorgeous and fun ride. Before kicking off, we took a team picture in front of the sign at the awesome church which fed and put us under a roof in a bed for the night. Thanks again Matt for putting Rich & I up!

This is just a taste of the weather we experienced today.

After about 40 miles, our sags helped us get DQ donations; we used our last bit of cheap cell phone service to call our family one last time, and our iPhoners GPS-ed where we were. Look how close we were to the border!

The rest of the ride to the border, I spent with my buddy Max. There are a few things you need to know about Max. 1) he is one of two Russians on our team. 2) he is a great friend with a kind heart. We got to chat about our lives back home, and he shared his past and such as we were biking to the border.

Once we reached the customs station and were interrogated, however loosely, we crossed the border into British Columbia!

We made it to Canada!!!

To finish the day, I stayed with Max and we picked up Julian as we biked onward.

560 – ride buds for the day max and Julian

You know you’re in Canada when…

Coming into Canada was a bit more tricky. There was no designated direct bike lane, so we had to navigate via a paper cycling route map. It took us nearly 2 hours to ride 10 miles, which is particularly long on a bike. Nevertheless, the ride was gorgeous—Canada has some amazing views.

This is our team crossing the bridge. However in the taking of this picture, I got a little scrape.

No biggie, really… Eventually we made it onto the bike path and did a takeover of the lane.

Upon arriving at our host Sharon’s house, we were greeted by a group of international exchange students as well—turns out Steven found Sharon on Craigslist and she frequently opens her house to travelers passing through. After settling in, our team headed out to get some Chinese food, b/c that is just what you do in a city where Asians make up 60% of the population.

We got… chicken & salty fish fried rice, yang zhou fried rice, Chinese greens, XO scallops, chicken w/ mixed veggies, and beef flat noodle. It was a delicious meal.

When we returned, Sharon took us all to watch the “Symphony of Light,” an annual fireworks competition between Canada, South Africa, China, and Brazil. It was fantastic.

We then ventured to downtown Vancouver and bumped into one of the largest crowds I had ever seen in a downtown center.

After taking us along Granville Avenue & Robson, which are the two big commercial streets downtown—Granville with a great nightlife and Robson with more chic upper end items—we headed to a nearby pub for my first birthday drink. I ordered a red pale ale of some sort. It wasn’t too bad—a bit bitter.

Great day so far in Vancouver . Tomorrow, I turn 21… what to do? Julien, Sharon’s son, will be going to the beach—that could be interesting…

We shall see. Until then, I hope you all are doing well—take care!