Reasons 584 - 1098

Okay, you’re thinking, ‘Whoa that’s a big jump. How did they ride that far in only a couple days?’

Well, we kind of cheated.

On Monday, by the time we got to Blue River we hated life. Both of us did our best to keep our composure for the sake of the other guy, but it was rough. I will say though, about our treacherous trek to that tiny town, Collin was my hero a little bit. That slow (and then eventually quick) leak I had was so depressing. Every time I had to stop to fill it up again just broke me a little more. There were a few times when Collin just didn’t say anything, but got out his pump and let me stand there and watch as he filled up my tire. I needed that guy to be kind to me that way. So solid.

So, we threw out our ‘rule’ of not paying for accommodation and found the cheapest motel in Blue River. It was the most miniscule room with one double bed and barely enough floor space to fit our bicycles and panniers. We shared that one double, mostly because there wasn’t enough room for one of us to sleep anywhere else. And, we ended up informally taking shifts with our nodding off because of my drastic snoring and our close proximity.

When I woke up because of Collin rolling over in the middle of the night I lay there and thought about Death Cab For Cutie’s ‘Brother’s on a Hotel Bed,’ which is quite easily one of their most depressing songs. And, that’s what that day and night’s stay were like, depressing.

On Tuesday we went to the Husky station, wrapped our bikes in tarps and killed time in the restaurant while we waited for our Greyhound bus.

This is a picture of me devouring the King of the Road burger, you know, because I'm the King of the Road.

We weren’t exactly dishonest with the guy who we bought our bus tickets from. We just neglected to mention that we were not only bringing along multiple bags, but two large bicycles. When we eventually showed the driver all our stuff he definitely made a fuss and kind of threatened us with the idea that we weren’t going to make our connection in Kamloops and therefore not make it to Collin’s extended family in Abbotsford. We were a little nervous. But, the driver let us stick our bikes in his courier trailer and we were on our way.

Collin hasn’t had any real Greyhound experience, so once we were on the bus I did my best to reassure him that things would work out. But, I was actually pretty scared that we were going to be stranded in Kamloops and have to hoof our bikes around town with my broke-down back wheel, trying to find a bike shop. I was especially nervous because our driver actually took our tickets from us and crossed out our destination of Abbotsford and penciled in ‘Kamloops.’ I doubted that he was allowed to just cut our trip short, but who knows? So, I did a lot of praying that God would draw kindness out of our driver and any other Greyhound employees that might have a say in what happened to us and our bikes. We really didn’t want to have to pay an arm and a leg for transporting all our stuff.

It totally worked out. Our original driver only charged us ten bucks as an extra baggage fee, and he ensured that the trailer with our bikes was transferred to our second bus. We were so relieved.

When we arrived in Abbotsford, Collin’s uncle, Scott came to pick us up in his pick-up truck. We loaded our bikes and bags in the back and hopped in. He was so smiley and friendly right off the bat. As he drove us to his family’s home, Scott was thoughtful and inquisitive. It was really encouraging to have someone really care about us and our tour. When we got to the Visser’s house I got to meet Collin’s aunt, Angela and cousins, Jenna and Brendan. They were all so sincere and friendly. They showed us to our real beds and told us we were welcome to any of the food in there fridge and pantry. Then Scott gave us the keys to his truck for the next day and told us we could use it to get to a bike shop or do whatever we needed to.

Seriously, my heart just did a 180. It felt so fantastic to have a family I had only just met welcome us with open arms and treat us so well.

This is us with Jenna, Scott and Angela. Some of the best people around.

Wednesday, we slept in, did some laundry and lounged around. We went to a couple bike shops in town. Props to the Life Cycles bike shop. They know what they’re doing over there, were really helpful and had great selection.

We got a hold of my good friend, Erik who interned at The Mustard Seed this last summer. He’s currently studying at Trinity Western University in Langley, so he’s only a couple towns down. Erik came and picked us up and the three of us went for some proper, west coast sushi. It was delicious. We caught up and had some great chats. Afterward, Erik came back to the Visser’s with us and the three of us had such a solid time of prayer and encouragement. It was seriously so incredible. God just showed up in a way that was so vivid and real. We were all really stoked.

Thursday would have been the day we left for Vancouver, but because we skipped ahead several days in our riding itinerary our plans for someone to stay with in Van fell through. So, we did some social network scrambling, and tomorrow my old, YWAM friend, Courtney is going to host us. I’m pretty pumped to catch up with her. We haven’t seen each other in years, so it’ll be good.

We’re also looking forward to catching up with my friends, Joel and Bethany who happen to be hosting my friend, Lori and her BF, Bretton. I’m so, so, so excited, because Joel, Lori and I used to live together and had some of the best times together, so it’s going to be a Roommate Reunion. Roommates For Life!

On Sunday morning we will be cycling to the Horseshoe Bay Ferry Terminal and take a little ride to the Sunshine Coast where we are going to meet up with my good friend, Will. Will just got married this last summer, and I had the privilege of being in his wedding party. I love the guy so much. And, while I was visiting for the week of the wedding I bonded a whole lot with his wife and her family, so I’m SO excited to see them and share in their Thanksgiving. We’ll be enjoying Thanksgiving dinner with them on Keats Island.

We might stay on Keats for Monday, and then after that is kind of up in the air. We will most likely make our way through White Rock, hopefully visit my old friend, Carrie, and then make our way to the border. If you think of it, please pray that our Canadian/American border-crossing excursion will be without issue. I’ve never crossed an international border by bike before so it could be interesting.

All in all, we’re encouraged and ready for more. The next number of days should hold some really quality times with friends and we are so entirely grateful.