Saturday, June 25, 2005

We got up relatively early (which is still not early by my normal standards – I shall have to mend my ways soon!), and started organizing things. We got some more laundry done, and got routes and maps out to decide the best way out of Richmond. After a great breakfast including homemade muffins, Albert, Rick and I got on some bikes (yes, finally I was able to try my new bike), and rode around the neighbourhood. The roads are very flat and Rick managed to avoid bad traffic areas. The bike is superb, but do I ever have a lot of training to do to get used to it! My legs felt like they weren’t working at all, but my arms and neck definitely knew they were being used. I also have to get used to a helmet mirror again, so if anyone has some advice, I’d sure appreciate hearing it. I used to use one with my hybrid bike, before I got the fancy handlebar mirrors, but my position was much more upright, and relatively constant. I find I’m changing positions a lot now, especially as I get used to the bike, and I haven’t found the ideal mirror position yet. Help!

We came back home, then went out to a favourite Japanese restaurant for some sushi. I had been looking forward to trying Oriental food in the Vancouver area, as that was something I remembered from approximately 30 years ago, which is the only other time I have been in the Vancouver area. We are also going to enjoy fresh salmon on the BBQ for supper tonight; we went to the wharf and bought it fresh off the boat, as it were.

I’m finishing this segment just before bedtime – we had a lovely party with friends and neighbours of Pat and Rick, and now we’re getting ready for bed, as it will be another early morning tomorrow. We have reservations for the 10:00 a.m. ferry to Victoria tomorrow, and we have to be packed and organized. We’ll be picking Adele up at the Victoria airport at 12:30, and then we’ll start getting prepared for the next segment of this adventure. Whew!