Cycling the seawall….. and half marathon

Saturday 5 May 2018

Cycling the seawall…..

Another lovely Spring day in Vancouver had us out cycling. We started the day by visiting a coffee shop that we had seen on passing the day before. It proved to be a worthwhile visit – so much so that we visited again on the way home.

Most of the bicycle hire places are near Stanley Park, near downtown Vancouver. Luckily, we had spotted a bike shop along 4^th Ave that had recently started renting bicycles – much better bikes and price than others we had seen, and closer to home. After being kitted out with locks and helmets, we set off – across the Burrard Bridge again. Hoping to cycle the length of the seawall, our first priority was Stanley Park, so we set off in that direction.

Stanley Park is one of the great urban parks of the world, with 400 hectares of rainforest, manicured lawns, gardens, sports fields, beaches and trails. It also provides stunning views and houses a number of cultural attractions. The seawall in Vancouver is a stone wall that was constructed around the perimeter of Stanley Park to prevent the erosion of the park’s foreshore. Colloquially, the term also denotes the pedestrian, bicycle, and rollerblading pathway on the seawall, one which has been extended far outside the boundaries of Stanley Park. The entire seawall goes for about 30km.

Through the morning, the wind built up, making it tough going at times, and a bit cool. But that did not detract from the experience. After our Stanley Park visit, we followed the seawall under the three bridges towards the Rogers Arena, the home of the Vancouver Canucks hockey team, as well as venue for some of the biggest concerts and shows in the city. The path circled past Science World towards the Olympic Village. The Vancouver Olympic Village, is an Olympic Village built for the 2010 Winter Olympics and 2010 Winter Paralympics. There are over a thousand units, ranging over a million square feet, that was able to accommodate over 2,800 athletes, coaches, and officials.

There was a huge dragon boating event taking place, so we stopped to absorb the atmosphere and have a bite to eat from Terra Breads, one of the popular Vancouver bakeries with locations all over town.

After dropping off the bikes, we stopped off for coffee and headed home to cook our pasta – carbo loading for our half marathon the next day.

Sunday 6th May

The day arrived with fantastic weather and we both had a great day out running the Vancouver half marathon. Glenda in particular did really well given she has not been able to run for 3 weeks after a minor operation. Time to pack and head off to Vancouver Island.