We're here for a good time, not a long time

After the ride we picked up the bag that we had checked from our friend Wheezy who was kind enough to volunteer for the event.  The timing was perfect: she was just getting off her shift so she joined us for a beer in Olympic Plaza and we spent an hour or two catching up.  It's always nice to see a friendly face at the end of a race.
Checked into our hotel and tried to nap for a couple of hours before getting freshened up to see what Whistler post-race had to offer.
We were sort of on the fence about Trooper since I only really knew their greatest hits, but Michael suggested that we go down to check them out before dinner.  And it was SO MUCH FUN.  I didn't know all the songs, but the older crowd surely did and they were going nuts.  I had a blast.  The band was clearly having a great time and they weren't pretentious at all.  We stayed way longer than we planned to, and as we were leaving they started playing "We're Here for a Good Time" and so we doubled back to check it out and I was singing along with everyone else.
Really.  Rounding out a day where I rode from one of the world's most beautiful cities (and am healthy and strong enough to be able to do so) to another well renowned ski destination, to take in a free Trooper concert, in perfect weather, with the sun setting in the mountains?
I have an unreal life.

Trooper!!

 

After the concert we went to the Dubh Linn Gate for dinner.  Naturally Trooper showed up for dinner adjacent to us.  We kind of wanted to stay to see if they would jam with the house band (also really good), but we were pretty tired and called it a night.
So thus is the story of my first proper Gran Fondo.
Just like when I first considered marathons and didn't think it was something I was capable of, so was yesterday's ride.  It's nice to try new things and to break new boundaries and to surprise yourself with things that you didn't think you were capable of.
And the ride from Vancouver to Whistler is one hell of a beautiful and challenging place in which to do it.