Our third Independence Day escape to Canada. Like last year, we stayed cheap and brought the bikes. But, this year we got a three-day weekend out of it, and one of those days we didn't have to ride.

I bought the Naot shoes I was looking for, and they were so immediately comfortable that I just wanted to walk and walk. So we did, until very late, all over downtown, relishing the walking and the aimless choreography of people and lights, which I haven’t experienced since the training rides began.

Oops, her head popped off!

We had late dinner and sickeningly sweet martinis at The Crime Lab. The best part was the scene, which was small but very drunk and made extremely comical by a sticky front door, which no one (including us) could open on the first try.

People trying to get into the Crime Lab pushed and pushed, walked around to the back of the building, returned, pushed again, and then left, even though the windows clearly showed that the place was packed. Sitting next to the door, I began motioning and mouthing to prospective patrons to push harder. Drunk smokers trying to get outside were utterly confused. When they couldn't immediately open the door, they fumbled with the door's two locks, locking themselves in with one then turning both only to lock themselves in with the other, eventually asking me, the apparent door person, for advice.

The table next to us supported a birthday party. The young birthday man tossed back two blowjobs, each of which dumped thick blobs of whipped cream down the front of his shirt.

The next day we managed to ride 45 miles of bike routes through every Vancouver neighborhood and a tiny bit of Burnaby. Skies were clear and the sun’s rays were sharp as needles. The ride was hard for the constant slowing and stopping of navigating and of negotiating traffic controls. But I liked seeing the different classes of neighborhoods and expanding my knowledge of the city.

Afterward, we were the last people seated at Vij’s—Mmm! It’s the only place I know that will keep the restaurant open long enough to serve everyone and provide complimentary chai and appetizers while you wait. The proprietor is charming and omnipresent. Although we were just in from a long ride and scuzzy like you’d expect we’d be (my hair was totally wet with sweat), all of the servers were completely hospitable, which makes it also the only trendy, upscale yet totally unpretentious restaurant I know.