The big bike trip 2013!

Not as big as the last adventure but thought this epic cycle through at least five countries was probably worth a little blogging. Today started in Leicestershire, train to London, included a scary ride between two London stations and several frankly bizarre train delays. My favourite of these was "ladies and gentlemen, this train has been delayed at Chelmsford by a passenger trapped in the toilet." I'm sure very frightening for the individual in question, who was no doubt relieved to have their problem shared with the whole train. 

Anyway, eventually got to Harwich for the ferry to Hook of Holland, not far from Rotterdam. It is pretty cool having a cabin on the ferry, feels a little like being in an Agatha Christie novel. It will be even more exciting to wake up and arrive in  another country. For now, It's getting late and I need to learn at least please, thank you and sorry in Dutch before bed, so more updates another time. 

Bear-necessities

British Columbia is bear country. There are lots of signs that say this. I read (parts of) a book about bears. It was not too cheery. Some is the advice was a little confusing. There are 2 types of bear here, black and grizzly.

Generally black bears like berries, and do not pose much of a threat. If you see one, you make yourself big and scary and shout in a low voice. If the worst happens and it attacks you, fight back in any way possible.
If the same happens with a grizzly, the book advises playing dead- the opposite.

So far so good, simple instructions to follow. Until... In some situations even experts may not tell the difference...

I am certainly not an expert, and it seems like the bears are doing their best to keep the non-expert on their toes. For example, I have now seen 4 black bears. 2 of these were brown. Confusing eh.
Luckily, only 2 were from the bike, and one was on a downhill so going fast! Also the bears were far more interested in eating foliage than even looking at cyclists with silly flags.
There's lots of awesome wildlife here, deer, elk, gophers, beavers, raccoons and I even saw coyote pups (cute) whilst pedalling the other day. Still on the 'to see' list are moose and marmots. Think I'm ok to skip the grizzly bear though...