Day 30 – The Road Is Long and Narrow - 125.10 km
In the morning I quickly packed up all my belongings in the hostel and proceeded downstairs. Here I begged people for a ride to Whistler village. I left my bicycle there the day before, thus I had no means of transportation. I would have walked to the village, but with all my belongings it would have been quite a difficult feat. Luckily I managed to find someone who was going to the village, so I packed into their car. It would have been really tough trying to hitchhike with all my junk!
I picked up my bicycle when the shop opened at 10 AM without any problems. Everything was in working order and it didn’t cost me an arm and a leg to fix. A $28 well spent if I may say so myself! Afterwards I waited around for about thirty minutes to get my picture taken for a paper in Whistler. It was 11:15 AM and time to hit the road!
The road from Whistler to Vancouver wasn’t exactly tough due to the fact that it consisted of many hill climbs, but it was tough due to the fact that there was construction almost throughout the whole road. This meant that there was nearly no shoulder, yet I still had to squish in there on the side with a semi truck passing me on the left. Quite scary when a big car like that passes you with mere inches to spare, yikes!
Closer to Vancouver the road basically turned into a major highway, yet it was still the official bicycle route! This meant that at every exit and entrance ramp you had to stop and make sure there was no cars coming in order to avoid being hit and becoming flat as a pancake. Within the city of Vancouver itself things are really well organized for bicycles. There are specific lanes and paths dedicated solely for use by bicycles, however these are not always available. There were quite a few occasions where I had to squish in between cars and busses, as my bicycle is wide with all the bags in the back, not the easiest task! I would say that bicycling in downtown Vancouver was similar to bicycling downtown in a city like Toronto, you really have to be careful!
Without getting lost or making too much hassle I made it to the famous restaurant that I was told has a two pound hamburger which you can get for free if you manage to finish it. I of course ordered the mythical beast; the waitresses asked me two times if I was sure I wanted it! I found out there was a catch, I would have to finish the burger in 40 minutes or less or pay $27 for it. Not being one to back down, I accepted the challenge either way.
This burger was absolutely massive, I didn’t think it would be this big. The picture is posted in my photos, you really have to see it to believe it. The bun for this thing was basically a loaf of bread cut into three parts. This came accessorized with two burger patties of one pound each topped with cheese and mushrooms. Don’t forget the tomatoes, lettuce, and a lot of sauce! Armed with a fork, knife, and pitcher of water I was good to go!
Things went quickly at first, then gradually slowed down. Needless to say I wrestled with the beast for quite awhile. I was both determined to finish it and I really didn’t want to pay for it! Ultimately, I both succeeded and failed. It was a success in that, although with great difficulty, I managed to finish the burger in a still quite impressive 46 minutes. It was a failure in that I went over the time limit, and thus had to pay for it. In my training for this feat I didn’t realize there was a time limit, arg! Still not a total failure, since I got my name and picture up on their wall of fame. According to this wall only two people have finished it in 40 minutes, and one other in 45. That puts me at number four on the list, not too bad at all!
After taking a detour to the bath room, I hopped onto my bike and headed off to my CouchSurfing host for the night. Yes, even after finishing a two pound burger I was able to continue riding my bicycle! Luckily it was only about two kilometers away from the restaurant and not too hard to find. My host for the night, Gerald, was absolutely great! That night there was actually two other couch surfers staying with him, so I was the third! No worries, we all managed to fit, and all great people of course!
One of the other couch surfers, Boris, is a musician from France who is currently touring Canada and America. He was doing a show today in Vancouver, so when I was invited to attend I could not turn it down! He was playing at a coffee shop in downtown Vancouver, which is an absolutely beautiful and awesome place. Overall it was a great time filled with of course, great music.
The show was followed up by a party put on by actors and musicians in Vancouver. They have a warehouse where they make sets and props which they turn into one mean venue for a party every once in awhile. They were actually serving free burgers and hot dogs there, but I could not even bear the smell of another burger. Those last few chews of burger I felt as if I was chewing paper. Once again it was a really great time with an excellent crowd of people.
Most people would retire at this point, but not us! We had to visit the best twenty-four hour restaurant in Vancouver to try some excellent Vietnamese cuisine. We tried a soup made from tripe and intestines which although it may sound discouraging was very good. We were also educated on how to eat Vietnamese food properly. Armed with a spoon in my left and chopsticks in my right I tackled this soup, I assure you it was no easy feat after that two pound burger! I specifically found it interesting that you dip your chopsticks into your tea then wipe them off on a napkin to clean them.
It was quite the busy day indeed, but it was a great time! My host for the night as well as the other couch surfers staying with him were absolutely great, and the city of Vancouver really is quite the city to behold. But alas, time to get some sleep, I’ll be headed into the United States once again tomorrow!