Before the ride: Seattle and Victoria
Seattle, Washington -
June 22-24
Picture: Experience
Music Project in Seattle, WA
Late Thursday afternoon, I boarded a plane in New Hampshire. Nine
hours later I landed in Seattle (oh yeah, there were a couple of hours
spent in the Pittsburgh airport). The return trip is going to be much
slower, and won't have a stop in Pittsburgh.
I came to Seattle to visit friends and wander the streets of a city where I worked for nearly a year. The big event in town this weekend was the grand opening of the Experience Music Project. It was built by billionaire Paul Allen, one of the founders of Microsoft. The building looks like something a 5 year-old would make with Play-doh. It's supposed to look like a broken guitar. You be the judge. The purpose of EMP is to "explore and celebrate musical diversity -- blues, jazz, hip hop, funk, punk, country or rock 'n' roll". With the hands-on exhibits, workshops and historical reviews, it's remarkably similar to the Rock-n-Roll Hall of Fame Museum in Cleveland.
There were dozens of concerts, big and small, going on throughout the weekend. Tickets to the major concerts and to the exhibit hall were all sold out. I satisfied my musical side by wandering through the park outside of the EMP. It was like walking through a musical sampler. Within 100 yards, you could hear Alanis Morissette doing a sound check on the main outdoor stage, a Jamaican steel drum band on a big public stage and a Cuban group on a smaller public stage.
Except for a little rain Saturday morning, the weather was beautiful --
75-85 degrees and sunny. There really is a non-rainy season!
Victoria, British Columbia
- June 26
Picture (left): Jon at Mile 0 in Victoria, BC
Picture (right):
Karl at Mile 0 in Victoria, BC
I drove from Seattle to Vancouver on Sunday, crossing the border with only a 30
second delay. All the man asked was the purpose of the trip (vacation),
what was I bringing into the country (a bike and clothing), and how long was I
planning to stay (2 months). He didn't seem to react to any of the answers.
Either he didn't listen or he's had a ton of people cross through on 2 month
holidays.
After settling in at the University of British Columbia and meeting some of the others, two of us headed off for Victoria. Jon Witmer from Toronto, Ontario went with me. The reason for going to Victoria, if we really needed one, was to see the beginning of the Trans-Canada Highway. The eastern end, also labeled Mile '0' will be in St. John's, Newfoundland. Jon mentioned that it was odd that the sign designated Mile '0' since Canada is on the metric system. It seemed like a good idea to make the trip since we were so close.
Jon and I met at 6:30 a.m. and began the long trek down and back. The city is at the southern end of Vancouver Island. To reach it from UBC we had to ride across 2 bridges, take a shuttle bus through a tunnel, and then take a 2 hour ferry through the islands. The biking portion was 100 miles and took about 6 1/2 hours. The total trip was nearly 13 hours start to finish with perfect timing for the ferries and the shuttle rides. We arrived with less than 10 minutes to spare each time.
The day was beautiful, sunny and 80 degrees. Sunscreen was slathered thick and frequently (this is for Mom & Mark). Oh, to have this trouble the entire trip!
Tuesday is going to be a goof off day, then we'll begin with orientation on Wednesday.
onward >> The Riders: Brook's group