CCCT 2012 - May 24th

Cross Canada Cycling Tour 2012 - Thursday, May 24th
Well I'll have another go at trying to get this day in our CCCT posted. I typed it up last night and then tried to add a photo and the Notebook froze up on me and I lost it all. So here goes again.
After getting off the ferry in Tsawwassen and fixing my flatted rear tire we were not much in the mood for cycling any great distance in spite of the flat landscape. We cycled as far as Ladner and found a motel for the night. The next morning we were up early and set off for Abbotsford at 8:00 AM. We had to stop at the first Timmy's along the way for breakfast. As we were having breakfast it started pouring. By 9:00 AM the rain had eased off to a steady drizzle. We put our rain covers on our panniers and got our rain gear on and set off once again for Abbotsford.
We stopped in Cloverdale for insoles at a Shopper's Drug Mart for Bev who had forgotten to pack her orthotics. We also got some groceries at a Market Place for snacks and lunch. The lady at the deli counter made up a fresh sandwich for us with ham, cheese, lettuce and mayo. She even dried the lettuce so our sandwiches wouldn't get soggy. We had a granola bar and some Greek yogurt before setting off again.
Our next challenge was negotiating a 12% hill. We both had to get off our bikes and walk a few hundred metres to get to the top. We found a shady spot and had our lunch and shared a bottle of Gatorade.
Somehow we managed to miss the turn for Abbotsford but luckily hadn't gone very far before Bev felt we were heading in the wrong direction. We were able to get directions from an elderly lady just pulling out of her driveway. She told us we just had to go back about 1/2 km and take 40th Street to get back on the Fraser Hwy. We soon arrived in Aldergrove and stopped at a McDs for a much needed Smoothie and took the opportunity to top up our water bottles.
We arrived in Abbotsford around 2 PM after cycling 66 kms in 4 hours. We decided to find a camping place and stop for the night. The Aloha RV camping ground looked very inviting and was only $20 for the night. Although I was a little miffed about the fact that it was .25 cents for the ladies shower and $1.00 for the men's shower. When I said this was discrimination the camp ground manager said that when the ladies shower  breaks down it to will cost $1.00. We were shown to a nice green patch of grass with a picnic table and lots of cedar trees for privacy. We unpacked and set up our tent, etc. We had to go back down the road for groceries and when we got back found out that the laundry facilities would be locked up shortly. We quickly got out of our sweaty cycling gear, gathered all our other washing and managed to get a load of laundry done. I decided to go for a shower while Bev was dealing with the laundry. She must have used up all the hot water because no mater how I turned the tap and how long I waited I could not get any hot water. I ended up having a very cold shower. I was not a "happy camper".


Our 3-person tent in Abbotsford



Serbio tucked in for the night

Bev, being the expert camper that she is, setup the camp stoves and proceeded to prepare a gourmet meal of chopped up red peppers, celery, tomato and boiled hot dogs. We washed it down with some Peach Nectar and herbal tea. No wi-fi or TV available so it was off to bed rather early. I had trouble sleeping. I was quite cold from my shoulders up and kept sliding down on my memory foam mattress. Somehow, in spite of all the highway traffic noise, the creatures rustling around outside our tent, I did manage to get some sleep until the birds woke me up at 4:30 AM!!! Meanwhile Bev was sleeping soundly all wrapped up in her "mummy" bag. So much for my first night of camping on the CCCT!!!