Great to have the wheels spinning and day 1 in the bag.

Fuelled with a mixture of excitement and nervous anticipation, I started the day with a giant helping of shredded wheat and then cycled with Darra to Horseshoe Bay – 20 miles north of Vancouver – to catch a ferry to Nanaimo.

The afternoon started well and in less than 3 hours I had a solid 45 miles of Vancouver Island under my belt. But cycle touring is not all plain sailing and my good mood quickly dissipated when i got two punctures in quick succession, one in each tyre.

Caught in the middle of nowhere and in the pissing rain, I wheeled it to a nearby farmers market where I took stock, had a warm meal (desperately needed the morale boost!) and made the repairs. By the time I was done, it was beginning to get dark so, rather than brave another 50 miles to Victoria (on apparently very dangerous mountain roads), I called it a day at the next settlement I came across, Mill Bay, and have made camp for the night at a bizarre looking motel with an extraordinarily odd proprietor.

Tomorrow is going to be a big day. I’ve got a 1030 ferry from Victoria to Port Angeles, which means leaving here at 630 to allow enough time to deal with US immigration. I then need to do about 70 miles of route 101 if I’m to have any hope of sticking to my target. Best get some rest.

Distance: 67.5 milesAv. speed: 14.9 mph