Week 2 and a half - we made it through Canada!

Total distance cycled to date: 1129 km

Nights spent stealth camping to date: 12

Number of flat tires to date: 1

Number of wasp stings to date: 1

Number of blackberries picked from ditches to date: incalculable 

Just minutes ago, we crossed from our homeland of Canada into the United States of America.  After learning that bicycles are not considered vehicles, and that the phrase "we would like to go..." works better than "we are going", the border crossing went fairly smoothly.  They let us in.  They believed that we can make it all the way down.  One country down, just 14 left to go.

Our last week of riding was full of many surprises - many of them were good surprises, and a few, inevitably, were not.  

We were surprised at the generosity of strangers that we met along the way.  The response that so many people have to our trip has been very uplifting.  Before leaving a lot of people asked us about safety and security, and while we have been traveling so far only in Canada, we have been reminded countless times that there are many great people out there.  From being given leftover fruit and juice boxes from tour groups, to paying our tab at dinner, to being given more fresh fruit along the way, to giving us straight cash to buy ourselves some Argentine wine once we reach our destination - it seems that everywhere we turn, people are wanting to help us out.   We even spent our last night in Canada, in Abbotsford BC, with a relative that we had never met before.  We were treated to amazing, all-you-can eat meals, and a much needed shower and clothes washing.  (One statistic that we didn't want to mention yet is days-without-showers.  If you're interested in that one, just let us know.  We think it will be pretty impressive by the end of this trip!).

Another fun little surprise came as we pulled over on the Trans-Canada highway near Chilliwack to take a quick bathroom break.  Looking into the ditch, we discovered that it was full of blackberry bushes!  Completely full!  We initially started picking and eating, as fast as we could, devouring the delicious berries.  However we soon realized that we could be picking these for later - for lunch, and for supper!  So we emptied all of the ziplock bags that we could and went to work, battling the thistles and thorns, picking an endless amount of blackberries.  We came out of the ordeal with mountains of blackberries, and purple-stained fingers, partly from the berry juice, and partly from the blood that we shed while those thistles waged war on our fingers.

As life goes, some of our surprises weren't quite as fun.  Our first flat tire of the trip was awarded to Jeff, as he was rocketing down the Coquihalla Pass.  It came, quite luckily, just in time for a road-side pullout where we were able to unload everything, search through all of our bags for the necessary tools and parts to fix it, and load the bike back up - all under the beating sun.  (We now have repacked our bags to be a little more efficient when it comes to a flat).  I had my own surprise as I was flying down a hill earlier in the week, and felt a large bug ram into my neck and bounce off, or so I thought.  I had already forgotten the bug when a minute or two later, as I was already climbing up the next hill, I felt a sharp, painful sting in my side.  This bug had managed to bounce off my neck, into my collar - and sting me!  I wasn't too impressed as I pulled over, and looked at the very sore, swollen lump.  

Our final surprise, however, was much more slow and painful than the first two.  As we biked into Kamloops, our altimeters displayed our current altitude of just under 400 metres.  We knew that it would be a steep climb out of the city, and as we switched highways onto the Trans-Canada, and pedaled past the "Bicycles Prohibited" sign, the climb began.  It kept going, and going.  We reached the end of the city, stopped for a break to eat and drink something, and then, thinking that the hill must be over, continued on our way to find a camp site.  As it turns out, the hill didn't end where the sprawl of the city does.  It kept going, and going.  Every corner, we would think that the hill would have to end.  As we turned those pedals, crawling along at 10 km/h along the narrow, gravel filled shoulders with semi-trucks rumbling by, and cars zipping by, it became a frustrating experiment in tenacity.  But, with no real option except to keep going, we just did it.  Slowly, we rounded corner after corner, until we finally saw a sign reading "Surrey Lake Summit, 1444 m".  We didn't even realize that we had to climb a summit that day!  So much for taking an easy day before tackling the Coquihalla Pass.  Once we reached that one, at a mere 1244 m, it hardly felt like we had worked that day.  

To be completely honest, I think that it surprises both of us that we've made it this far already.  We have never had any doubt that we would make it - turning around has never crossed our minds - however, every day that we complete feels like such a milestone.  Every day leaves us feeling great.  

Now, our training period is over.  We have spent 2 and a half weeks in our own country, learning how to be touring cyclists.  We've learned a lot, we've gotten into much better shape, and I think that now, we're ready for this trip to really begin.  This morning we begin our journey in a foreign country, albeit a good starting one compared to the more-foreign countries that we will soon be encountering.  It's a big step, and it's a bit scary - but most of all, it's very exciting.  We made it to the USA!  We're looking forward to every day of it.

We hope you'll get a chance to take a look at our updated photo album.  We've got our best from British Columbia for you!