Update 13:

Quick on the heels of Update 12, and likely there will be a 14th fairly soon as well.

Most of you know my immediate plans, at least those of you who have seen me, and those that I have had the fortunate chance to talk to by phone in the last few days. For the rest of you however…

I arrived in Vancouver almost two weeks ago. First thoughts that ran through my brain as I stepped out of the international arrivals at YVR:

1. Wow the air is so clean here, it smells like… trees, and rain, and flowers, and no black diesel fumes. Wow.

2. Why oh why didn’t I grow enough kahuna’s to give that wretched KLM flight attendant my number.

3. That I get to see my friends and family very soon. With Karny and not Fat Todd picking me up at the airport.

Since then I have visited a whole lot of amazing friends. Watched three sets of the Celebration of Light fireworks, played “Pitch’n’putt”, went the old companies company BBQ, got soaked on my bike, biked from N.Van to W. Van to English Bay, to Strathcona, not sober, another bike trip from Main to English Bay and back, again not sober, had many dinners, breakfasts, sushi, and coffee “dates.”

All in all, I am again left questioning why am I leaving again? Yet I know very well the answer, and look forward to the next set of adventures, that start tomorrow.

I have kitted up my motorbike with hard cases, a windscreen and new exhausts so that I can talk a wee road trip across Canada. Luckily for me the two events that I most wanted to be back in Canada are happening around the same time, Mr. G and Ms. S are getting hitched in Vermont in the middle of the month, and my sister is having her second baby towards the latter half of the month.

I figured what better time to hop on Yvonne and go for a ride. So, I have intentions of visiting family in Calgary, Chicago, Southern Ontario, and then Montreal. If you are on the way and want me to swing by, or if you have a friend along the way that has a free lawn that I could camp on for a night, hit me back. I was supposed to leave today but had a few technical difficulties and will be leaving first thing tomorrow morning.

I intend on doing about 600km/day. Roughly two tanks, tomorrow night I should be somewhere in the BC interior, Thursday night Calgary, then somewhere in Saskatchewan for Friday night, Manitoba Saturday. I will try and keep a fairly regular posting along the road, for a few reasons. My Vancouver mobile phone will accompany me should you need to contact me urgently.

The beginning of September I plan on getting back on the bike and heading back to Vancouver via the Eastern USA seaboard, then along the south and finally up the west coast hopefully arriving at the end of September, just in time to do another mission with MSF.

Let me know if you know of any great scenic roads as I am not partial to the TCH for the whole trip.