Canada Day - My First Century Ride

Today I hit a milestone in doing my first (metric) Century Ride. 109.63 Kilometers in total.
After having one of the roughest roller coaster month I've had in a long time, there was only one way to top it off, by riding for 100+ Kilometers on my bicycle!  And on Canada Day to boot!  Happy Canada Day to everyone!
As mentioned, quite the roller coaster month of June has passed with so many highs and lows, ups and downs, that it has become emotionally draining.  With the toughest work month I've had in a while, the ups and downs of the Canucks on their Cup run, along with the advent of the hockey riots here in Vancouver, and personal lives getting in the way, I've become very drained.  It was as if there was a grey cloud over me these past few weeks that I couldn't shake.  Was also the reason for the severe lack of blogs lately..  I just didn't feel like writing.
Well today gave me that chance to do that epic ride I've been longing for.  Something that would allow me to relieve some stress.  I will say it once again that cycling is a great form of medicine, it has helped me out once again.

On River Road with the Alex Fraser Bridge on the backdrop.

GPS tracking of the whole trip. Using Everytrail app on my iPhone.

The above map shows the whole bike ride from start to end.  Please see http://www.everytrail.com/view_trip.php?trip_id=1167160 for more details.

The bike ride started off from Burnaby to Tsawwassen, from Tsawwassen to Westham Island, back to Tsawwassen and then back home to Burnaby.  My good friend Ian, who lives in Tsawwassen, joined me from his home to Westham Island and there we visited the Reifel Migratory Bird Sanctuary in the Alaksen National Wildlife Area.  It was nothing short of a relaxing bike ride, the weather was perfect, it wasn't hot, it wasn't cold, just perfect.  We got to travel on a mix of pavement and gravel and we saw many wildlife including beautiful eagles and huge cows!  The ride ended off with me rushing to get home before it got dark as I did not have any lights on me on my bike.  I made the 2hr trek home from Tsawwassen with plenty of daylight left.  This bike ride I can say was truly Epic!

Tsawwassen Road overlooking the Ferries.  Very low tide!

Old chapel with an old boat beside it. Random

Some of the many eagles and birds we've seen today. So awesome.

These cows were the biggest cows I've ever seen!

Reifel Migratory Bird Sanctuary

Crossing the narrow bridge into Westham Island

Checking the GPS for directions. No, I wasn't playing with my crotch.

Parting ways from my good friend Ian.
edit - I just noticed the nasty farmer's tan on my arms and legs. Or is that dirt??!

Total Kms for the day.  This is a great accomplishment as it shows I can do it. A great start for future plans.

I'm feeling much better now.


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