The first day of a trip is always a slightly exhausting leap into a new world. Jumping from the security of home (even borrowed homes, as I’ve been aggressively couch-surfing for three weeks) into another life of bags and gear and rope and bicycles and buses and ferries - it’s an exhausting prospect.

Luckily, some happy gnome from Travel Heaven decided to smile upon me, and I was blessed with gorgeous sunshine, helpful souls who pointed me in the right direction when I was lost, and a pretty happy transition into my new nomadic universe.

Part of this delight was due to starting my trip in Victoria, where  an incredible series of bicycle routes link the ferry terminal on the Saanich Peninsula to the city. Honestly, I felt as though I was in some kind of bicycle paradise, where the terrain was flat THE ENTIRE WAY (I had to shift to a lower gear once on a minor incline leaving an intersection). The bike path (mostly Lochside Trail from the ferry, which connects to the longer Galloping Goose Trail) is mostly bicycle only, or on quiet rural roads with very few cars.

After I left the ferry, I celebrated the invasion with some sun-warmed, ripe Himalayan blackberries (Rubus laciniatus), a hardy plant introduced from Europe in the nineteenth century and now a constant companion in southern BC. What could be better: pondering colonial imports while navigating the wilds of “genteel Siberia” (Malcolm Lowry’s nickname for British Columbia)?

P.S. sorry for the small file size of the photos - I have to figure out how to re-size them on my camera.