Dwagenheim

I got up early and cruised around town looking for a hot breakfast but nothing was open. The best I could find was a bakery. I got an apple fritter and a coffee. To kill some more time before stores started to open, I went to Cow Bay to get a latte at Cowpuchino’s. I enjoyed their comfy couches as well. On my way to the post office I broke my chain. It was definitely time for a new one. I sat in the parking lot and put it back together. This should get me to the post office and bike shop. I was happy to find my rear derailleur waiting for me in the general mail. I also expected my bikeforums jersey, but it hadn’t arrived yet. I went over to the bike shop and took my bike upstairs to the shop. Right from the start, Rick impressed me with his openness and experience. He let me get right in and watch as he took apart my rear wheel to figure out to eliminate some of the problems I was having. Basically, it was like he was putting on a clinic for me. It took a while to solve a chain skipping problem that arose after putting on a new chain and derailleur, but we finally fixed it by replacing the bent rear cassette. I met another touring cyclist from the US who had been on the road with his wife for about 3 years. He had some good recommendations for me. They’d traveled just about everywhere in the world except South America and were at the tail end of their trip. I gave John my email info and he told me he’d keep in touch and follow my trip. After spending half the day working on my bike with Rick, the job was finally done. I thanked him and took to the city streets on a beautiful sunny day, first one in a very long time. I got some snacks and food at the supermarket and then sat in the parking lot with a half unpacked BOB trailer to dry my things out in the sun as I caught up on some writing. I rode by the laundromat and noticed a touring bike parked outside. It belonged to a female cyclist I had seen earlier in the day but hadn’t spoken to. She was on her way to the Charlottes. I hoped to catch her during the day, but she wasn’t anywhere near her bike. A guy named Andy started up a conversation with me. He told me he was a fisherman and we chatted for a bit. He also gave me a couple cans of food, chili and soup. Andy invited me to spend the night on his couch instead of camping and gave me his address. I thanked him and moved on. I had seen someone earlier walking by with a Frisbee. It reminded me that I should get one to replace the one I lost. I asked him where he got it and he told me he bought it at the bike shop, which is also an outdoors store. So I went and picked one up, which by the way wasn’t cheap. I rode over to the civic center area where there is a large field. I had hoped to see people throwing around the flying disc, but no such luck. I guess it was better off that way since my back was bothering me. I met a woman named Jacqueline who was waiting for her softball team to show up for a game. She saw how much pain I was in as I bent over to unpack my stuff to hang on the nearby fence to dry. She reminded me to stretch. We chatted for a bit until her teammates started showing up and then I walked into the grass to stretch out. My back has really been bothering me for the last few days. Sharp pains originating in my low back are shooting through and at times causing me to double over. It’s quite frustrating. I can only suspect it is from the work I did on the Charlottes. I guess I’m not used to lifting heavy stuff. Maybe tomorrow I can find a massage therapist. After a nice stretch in the grass, I rode through town to search out a place to eat dinner. I settled on Herby’s Vietnamese restaurant. I stuffed myself on seafood soup and pork and shrimp noodle stir-fry. I had a pleasant conversation with a native fisherman who sat nearby. After dinner, I went to the library for a little email check and took to the road to decide where to bed for the night. I went to Andy’s after a little searching, but he wasn’t there and the couple that were weren’t very welcoming so I moved on. I ran into Andy shortly after while riding around and he was drinking with a couple native friends, Norm and Harley. I sat and chatted for a short while and then we said goodbye and I went to my camp spot from last night. It was a clear starry night as I set up my tent so I decided to go without my rainfly tonight. (14 miles)

Peace

Dave