The Great Outdoors

I did a lot of cycling this weekend. It was really sunny every day (I even have a little colour on my cheeks to prove it). I didn't ride bikes a lot growing up. I'm super clumsy, and my family can tell you a hundred stories about me riding into fire pits while camping, into parked cars, and falling down hills. It wasn't until I was in my early 20's that I really became even remotely comfortable on a bike (read: I rode on the road for the first time [but only when there was no traffic]). When I started dating my bf I found out that he had a love for cycling, so I started doing some longer rides with him. Last spring I bought a great Trek Hybrid bike, and let me tell you, it's a major improvement from the supercycles I'd been riding up till now.

Anyway, yesterday the bf and I headed over to a place called Deep Cove in North Vancouver. This means we had to cross the Lions Gate Bridge from Vancouver into North Vancouver. Here's me at the top of the bridge in full cycle regalia:

Yeah, this is right before a super scary downhill coming down the bridge. I look tough there but you should have seen me about 2 minutes later. Luckily there's an off-road bike lane, but I still ride my brakes the whole time. Going down hill freaks me out big time. Once in North Van we took some sketchy routes before finding a good path that took us all the way into Deep Cove. I had heard this place was beautiful, and I heard right. Here I am taking a break:

Overall, it was a pretty sweet 50 kilometer ride and I would definitely do it again. Next weekend we have bigger hills to climb, though, and I'll try to get some more shots of that too. I also got my bike hooked up with some snazzy fenders and a rack on Friday, which you can see in the photos. I was super sore when I got home last night, but surprisingly this morning I felt great!