So. 11am on a gorgeous Saturday (May 8th), and the girls are off on the ferry to Vancouver Island. Surprisingly, there was no panic, and there was even time for a relaxed breakfast with extra coffee. All that preparation paid off. They will cycle to Victoria and then catch the 4pm Black Ball ferry to Port Angeles (any idea why they call it that?)....final destination, somewhere more south. I (mike) was not allowed to go on the trip - you may hear me complain about that more in the next month. Instead, I get to stay with the dog, and work on some of my own projects. I checked my horoscope today: "Your busy schedule will be difficult to juggle. Try not to let your professional goals interfere with your personal promises". Well - that's darn good advice. Lee's horoscope: "As long as you do as you say, you won't face complaints"; and Merryl: "There is no challenge you can't handle". All pretty auspicious if you ask me for the first day of an amazing trip.

Ed, the owner of Mighty Riders, the bikeshop where we spent a lot of time recently, gave some parting advice to help ease the knee pain. It seems that if you peddle with your knees not perpendicular above your feet, but rather, keep them inwards slightly towards the cross bar, the knee pressure is reduced. We tried it and it works. So, that explains the funny peddling posture of all those guys in the Tour de France.