Women on Wheels

Vancouver, Day 13

Today's activities began with a swim at Bikini Beach. It was a few degrees colder than for our previous swims and we were the only people apparently prepared to brave the ocean - which somehow made it even more fun! We were, however, joined by some Canada Geese and a cormorant.

Of course the sun came out as soon as we'd dried off... Doh! So we caught the Seabus over to the North Shore and had an alfresco lunch at Lonsdale Quay.

Then it was back downtown to meet Auntie Virginia for a quick coffee before finding a suitable vantage point from which to view the Gastown Grand Prix, Canada's oldest one-day cycling event. It's a criterium race which was first held in 1973 and which attracts international stars as well as Canada's top cyclists.

We were particularly keen to watch the women's race, which consisted of 35 laps (42km) around the Gastown route, and we found a great spot on the hairpin bend coming round from Water Street to Cordova Street. Here's a picture of the leading group of women rounding the turn.

The eventual winner was Tina Pic of the USA.

After the women's race we went back to one of our favourite restaurants, Meet In Gastown, for another delicious meal and a chance to keep an eye on the men's race from our table on the patio.

Another great day!


Today's tune is 'Happy Cycling' by Boards of Canada. They're actually from Scotland, of course, but it was too perfect a fit for that small technicality to prevent me from linking to it... www.youtube.com/watch?v=LRVMPk5twvY