Bellingham, end of Day 2 – Written by Carly and Bugsy

It’s been a pretty smooth first couple of days, brilliant sunshine (with the concerns that heat can bring), great hosts, free food, smooth border crossings, and only a few wrong turns. Nonetheless, settling into a cycling tour of this magnitude definitely takes some adjustments, and those are reflected in Carly and Bugsy’s updates below! Enjoy,

Shawn Smith

CARLY – The good news is we have 2 days under our belt, the bad news is we have 41 days to go. The first 2 days of this epic adventure have been filled with everything from broken frames, getting lost, flat tires, minor first aid as well as heat exhaustion from the scorching sun. But don’t worry it hasn’t been all bad, we’ve enjoyed a beautiful ride along the seawall, big bbq on The Drive, a gracious fairwell from family and friends, a sunny breakfast at the Whiterock Pier, a game of ultimate frisbee at the Peace Arch, beautiful farmland and developing strong bonds with fellow riders.

For the days to come I worry as tomorrow is apparently “hilly,” now what that means on each person’s scale, who knows. “Just like climbing a ladder” – lies all lies – but I hope by California a mountain will resemble a ramp to us. As we will laugh at Northern California attempting to bring a challenge to our legs, or we will cry wishing we were in a car that day. Only time will tell. I can’t think of any particular stories to tell you, merely that there was cycling and many croissants, bagels and muffins consumed, not on my end of course (wheat allergy). I ate somewhere in the neighbourhood of 27 granola bars, or at least it felt like that – hopefully that changes in the near future. Those who know me well, can already picture me climbing nearby trees and fences to obtain fresh summer fruit as it comes further into my favourite time of year. (Carly)

BUGSY – As for my side of the story, my experience has been dramatically different from Carly’s. For those of you who know me you know that I am the farthest thing from an avid cyclist so lets just say that the first two days of this journey have been challenging. It hasn’t been all bad, I’ve highly enjoyed the flat sections of this journey but I know that hills are and will most likely continue to be my worst enemy. In fact I would like to declare now that “I hate hills”. The most brutal part of that statement is that the worst hills are still to come. Hopefully by chance I’ll be the driver on those days. But alas, I am most definitely enjoying myself and I’m really excited for the upcoming memories and stories the will be the result of this crazy and epic adventure! Love and miss you all!

We have feelings of both fear and excitement for what the next 41 days will bring, but I think all in all there will be memories and friendships created that will last a life time. (Bugsy)