And best of all, it was free

On Saturday, Shane and I participated in Bike the Blossoms, another event that's part of the Cherry Blossom Festival here.  The idea was to get people out in the streets, biking underneath the seasonal flowers and making stops along the way to visit local cafes and markets (particularly ones that support local farmers).

We were initially worried that we wouldn’t be able to participate in the tour, since (as I mentioned earlier) it SNOWED on Friday night – big, sticky, white flakes.  Luckily, the precipitation was limited to the evening hours, and Saturday we awoke to (mostly) blue sky and clear streets.  It was a chilly 32 degrees 0 degrees out, but we weren’t about to let a little thing like freezing temperature stop us.  We are still Minnesotans after all!

We headed out from the apartment to the nearest starting point at Kitsilano Community Center.  We needed to sign-in here (along with several hundred other participants), and this was made all the easier by the free bike valet service in effect!  Just like with a car, the attendants took our bikes to secured “parking” spots, and we were given numbers for retrieving them later.  It was awesome.

The route itself ended up being around 25 km, but in total we biked about 33 km (20.5 miles).  We both felt pretty darn sore by the end (stupid hills), but there were plenty of highlights along the way to keep us going.

1)       The friendliness of the participants.  Maybe it was the cold weather or maybe the fact that it is finally spring, but EVERY SINGLE PERSON we interacted with along the route was exceptionally kind and cheerful.

2)      Biking along city streets for the first time.  This was our virgin experience being on the road with traffic; normally, Shane and I drive our bikes to a paved trail where we can bike.  I realized that biking alongside cars – while a bit nerve-wracking – is not nearly as terrifying as I thought.  It certainly helps that Vancouver’s main bike routes are side streets that run parallel to the main arteries (oh yeah, and I was wearing a big bike helmet for once).

3)      Seeing the downtown peninsula from across the water.  Living in the West End means we’re not often on the other side of the bridge(s).  I very much enjoyed viewing the city from “afar” again (with the snow-peaked mountains behind).

4)      Discovering loose-leaf tea stores.  While nothing will replace my beloved St. Paul tea store, I loved finding out about some local alternatives.  We stopped in at both Shaktea and Steeps “tea lounges” (as they are apparently called here) for hot drinks, including one blend appropriately titled Cherry Blossom.

5)      Interacting with the community.  After a week of uncertainty about our financial situation, I appreciated the opportunity to get out and reap one of the no-cost rewards of being a local.  It will take some time (and a couple of jobs) (and probably some semblance of a social life) to make us feel entirely at home, but events like this are excellent reminders of how lucky we are to be residents of this crazy city.