While a lot of stuff has already happened, I'll get right to the crux of the matter - namely that for a biking trip not only has there been very little biking, but there currently is no bike.

The first inkling that something was wrong was when I asked the bus driver to let me off right before Victoria so that I'd be closer to the ferry terminal I needed to catch the 11:45 am ferry to San Juan island.

He said : Fine
I said: and my bike too -its in freight.
He said: there is no freight on this bus.
I said: Well I'm not sure how its classified. Maybe its baggage?
He said: There isn't a bike on this bus.
I said: Its in a box.
He said: There isn't a bike on this bus.

I give up, thinking that we're using different terminology and it will all be clear once we reach Victoria - and I should still have enough time to catch my ferry.

So on we go to Victoria where I discover that there is in fact, no bike on the bus (nor BOB - whose 'boxing' was its own little comedic sideshow in Golden involving two differently sized boxes, a lot of shrink wrap to bridge the gap between the boxes, and two teenage boys)

In the bus station I go to the counter and I explain that I'm MISSING MY BIKE which is the KEY COMPONENT to why I'm here in the first place. They give me a number to call. I call it, I give them my waybill number and they tell me the number doesn't exist. Its 10 digits and they only issue 11 digit waybills and am I sure I'm reading it correctly. I'M SURE, I tell them, that I'm only counting ten numbers, and not eleven, and yes, I'm counting zero as it too is a number. They find this all very confusing and give me another number to call and to ask for Cheryl. So I call. Cheryl is on another call and so I'm on hold. I sit on hold for about 10 minutes before someone asks me if I want to leave a message. I do NOT want to leave a message, I want to know where my bike is. Unfortunately Cheryl is still on the call and has a conference call coming up.

I ask: is there anyone else in all of greyhound who can help me find my lost baggage? Nope. Only Cheryl can. Fine, I say. I'll hold. What else can I do? I'm on a bike trip WITHOUT THE BIKE.

Back on hold. MEANWHILE a women walks out from behind the 'employees' only counter in the bus station, looks at me and asks: 'are you holding for Cheryl?' I answer yes, before registering how weird of a question that is from someone you are not on the phone with. Next time I see her I ask - Is Cheryl here? behind the counter? Oh no, she tells me, she's upstairs. Well do I have to be on hold then? Can't I just wait in front of her office or something?

She takes pity on me and sends Cheryl's secretary down. The secretary explains that she thinks that it may have just missed being transferred in Vancouver (despite the fact that I asked about it in Vancouver) and that with any luck it will be on the next bus from Vancouver arriving at 11:20. I ask the secretary if there is anyway - by taxi, whatever, anyway that I could still catch the 11:45 ferry. Oh no, she's says, that's impossible.

I must have looked pretty devastated because she pats my leg and goes 'oh so disappointing for you, I know.' Which made me rally a bit, because as much as I wanted to start my trip today and you know, START CYCLING, I also like to think I can handle greater disappointments than this with grace and aplomb. Although I have noticed that being awake for 36 hours straight does not tend to increase my maturity and/or coping skills.

Regardless, my bike is not on the 11:20 either. Now I get to talk to Cheryl.
She explains: Cargo (which my bike and Bob HAVE to be classified as) are dealt with differently then passengers or baggage. They are routed differently, with different priorities. Also cargo isn't always dropped off at the passenger depot but rather at a cargo depot 30 or so blocks away - it depends. So in other words, not only does Greyhound not guarantee your cargo will arrive at the same time as you, it doesn't even guarantee that it will arrive at the same destination as you. I point out that is very problematic for cyclists who depend on their bike for their transportation. She agrees, and that she doesn't recommend taking bicycles on the bus. GREAT.

She'll call me/email me when my bike and Bob show up. So far nothing.

Meanwhile, realizing that I'm going to spend a night in Victoria waiting for my bike, I find the nearest HI hostel, map it on my phone, and step out of the bus hostel asking the first person I meet which way is north so I can orientate myself. I ask a mature German lady who I will call 'Klara'. Not only does Klara tell me which way is north, she escorts me to the hostel and helps me carry my bag (all 38 lbs of it*).

During our ten minute walk (with frequent breaks to put the bag down) she tells me stories of her travel adventures in a caravan years ago. How they slept in ditches (no tents), and carried around shower heads with sink attachments so in restaurants they would take turns dashing off to the bathrooms to have a quick shower. "Traveling doesn't have to be expensive if you're thrifty. Showers in hotels? Bah. Just keep your eye out for a nice looking lake, grab your soap and go!'. She also used to do canoe trips - transporting her 16 foot canoe on her VW bug 'it looked a bit ridiculous', and agreed that traveling solo was better than traveling with the wrong travel partner.

Anyway. Now I'm in Victoria doing tourist stuff waiting for my bike. I actually ended up having a pretty good day. Klara helped cheer me up immensely - and then after an hour 'break time' ie. nap I headed out to the BC Museum - which was awesome. Spent three hours there and loved every minute. Had all sorts of thoughts which I won't bore you with but entertained me and fell in love with Charlie Chaplin. Those films are genius. So clever and silly at the same time - I can't express how brilliant I thought they were. Totally inspired. Those silent films are so close to animation its almost uncanny. I could have watched them for HOURS. Also found a new artist who's work I really liked. Carol Christianson. I'd link to her but she doesn't seem to have a presence on the internet that I could find in the 30 seconds I spent looking for her.

Now off to bed early and hope my bike and bob shows up. I'm actually rather worried about whether Bob's boxing job is going to hold up for an extend trip. It was pretty MacGyvred.

Good night!

* 38 lbs??? how did that happen? Clearly, somewhere, some how I've committed a massive packing faux pas. Am going through it again tonight. Although the 1 kg of Oat Bran I packed might not be helping.