Vancouver’s Secret Beach: Exploring Close to Home
With shoulder season stretching longer these days, and since anyway I won’t be doing much skiing this season, it’s time to look for some adventures close to home. After the cold spell last week and then the pouring rain afterwards, we finally got a break in the weather on Sunday, so we headed out for a walk along the beach.…
Nicaragua: A Test in Attachment and Other Such Adventures
Some trips are different. This was not a cycling trip, backpacking or hiking trip, nor was it a trip to visit family in our homeland. This was simply a trip to get out of our routine, get away from Vancouver in the gloomiest time of year and try to live in a new place for a few weeks. It was…
The Journey of Cherry on a Bike
We are once again in Granada, Nicaragua, where the idea of Cherry on a Bike first started. When you’re on a trip, especially a cycle tour, your mind often wanders. Although we tried to live in the moment as much as we could, thoughts about the future always came up. When we stopped in Granada where Gili’s aunt Peta and her…
How to Make Chocolate Milk, From Scratch
I’m obsessed with chocolate. I guess lots of people say this, but I feel like I’m worse than others. Barely a day goes by without me digging in the cupboard for some dark chocolate, ideally Belgian and 72%. Since I also have a thing for making stuff from scratch, I was very interested to learn about making chocolate, and in…
Vantage (climbing): Basalt Columns Forever
It is sunset. Steep columns of golden rock rise before you like soldiers prepared for combat. Some of them are broken, crippled. Others stand tall and slender. You look carefully, and notice that in between their folds are little creatures, clambering up the columns, attempting to reach the top. When they crest the top of the cliff, they lower themselves down gracefully…
Vantage Peak: The Peak of Summer
There was a feeling in the air that summer was close to its end and autumn was fast approaching. But just before Fall officially started we were blessed with yet another sunny weekend and the mountains were calling our names for one more summer adventure – probably the last one for this season. Jan and Warrick, friends from Vancouver Island,…
The Rockwall: Braving the Storm for Rewarding Sunshine
There is something about beautiful places that draws us back to them again and again. This was not our first trip to the Rockies, and rest assured, it won’t be the last. But every time we make the long drive, past numerous lakes and rivers, across mountain passes, and basically cross the province to reach that beautiful area known as the…
Illal and Spiral: Who Knew There was a Trail?
At 10pm on Friday evening we were still trying to figure out what to do on the weekend. After scanning various maps and trip reports, I somehow recalled a trip we did five years ago to Jim Kelly and Coquihalla Mountain, a beautiful and under-appreciated area up the Coquihalla Highway, about a 2.5 hour drive from Vancouver. After a quick…
- British Columbia (and nearby), Cycling & Cycle Touring, Food, Hurley & Lillooet Valley, Trip Reports
Pemberton: Slow Food Bike Ride Goes Even Slower
Slow is good. Why do we need to rush through life? When you move slowly you observe more, experience things differently, and enjoy the moment. This is why I love cycling, because when you ride you move slower. Last Sunday we joined hundreds of other cyclists for the Annual Slow Food Cycle Sunday around Pemberton. The Slow Food Movement believes that…
South Chilcotin: All About Sheba’s Breasts
When people asked us where we had been on the August long weekend, and we replied: “the South Chilcotin”, none of our friends knew what we were talking about. Clearly we had managed to beat the crowds, once again. But we didn’t choose the South Chilcotin just to hike off the beaten track. Simply, it’s one of those places that you…
