On your marks, get set...

It's just about time for us to get on the road and start making some progress. We've revised our first few days' schedule to accomodate some extra riders after Andrew and I somehow managed to convince Donna to come on the first leg of the trip with us (as far as Hope, about 160km). So our plan right now is to get far enough out of Vancouver today to set up our tent and camp, and then get to Hope by tomorrow. Immediately after Hope is one of the single worst climbs on our trip, which is why Donna has very rationally decided to turn back at that point. Unfortunately, we don't have that option, so Sunday will be our first major physical challenge of the trip. I'll try to post from the other side of the climb to let you know how it went.

For a graphical representation of terror, see below.