Bath to Vancouver

Bikes boxed, panniers packed, off to Heathrow for our flight to Vancouver.

We’re staying with friends in the rather beautiful Deep Cove, part of North Vancouver. It’s on Indian Arm, which is where you get to if you pass through Vancouver Harbour and keep going up the inlet. It is water-sports heaven.

We’ve spent the time since we arrived reassembling the bikes and making a few last-minute purchases. Our friends are keen sailors, and have a lovely yacht, so they took us out sailing around Vancouver. While we were out in English Bay, just outside the harbour, we came across these guys staging a mock sea battle.

This orca statue is at the new convention centre at Canada Place in downtown Van.

So, we’ve had a test ride and we’re ready to roll tomorrow morning: destination, Nanaimo on Vancouver Island !

We were supposed to go two days ago, but we decided to stay to watch the Vancouver Canucks, the local much-loved ice-hockey team, play in the finals of the Stanley Cup against the Boston Bruins. They play the best of seven games alternately in Boston and Vancouver, and the series is tied at 3 games all. It all comes down to tonight’s game in Vancouver. Things are tense: Vancouver haven’t made the finals since 1994, so there’s a lot riding on tonight’s game as well as much beer to be drunk !