It crawls and tingles at the same time.

Getting up and the sun is shining...what a wonderful feeling. The huge trees and ferns let through little sunshine, but we can feel it. Breakfast, of course, is outside. It could always be like this, in the midst of beautiful nature. Anja is making another round of coffee in the camper, Peter takes a quick look at the bikes - he swears briefly - and not a second later, our last piece of butter flies towards the forest, with a cheeky crow attached. Ha, he has been watching us the whole time waiting for his dramatic appearance. It was successful!! We can only laugh and hope he enjoys it. We pack up and continue on Road #4 towards the east, Parksville. At Port Alberni, Anja suddenly makes a hard stop. Okay, everyone is still intact. She discovers MARKS, a Canadian shop that primarily sells work clothes, very affordably. But brands like Levis are not considered work clothing for us. One hour, one pair of boots, and four T-shirts later, we leave the store satisfied. At Little Qualicum Falls, we take a hike to the waterfall and then continue to Highway #19a towards Qualicum Beach. A truly charming small town as described in the books. We get our lunch packed at the supermarket, chatting away, everyone seems to have endless time. A very nice and almost forgotten feeling. We want to enjoy our lunch on the long driftwood beach, emphasis on 'want'... when we want to sit down in the sand, it's swarming with little crabs...uhhh...let's get out of here. They are everywhere. Retreat towards the camper. At the edge of the beach, we can finally enjoy our food in peace. The last night before we enter racing mode for the next 7 days, we enjoy at Miracle Beach Provincial Park. We treat ourselves to delicious cinnamon buns for dinner. Total peace, a huge space just for us. Gradually, a little joyful nervousness sets in for both of us. What awaits us? No idea. Completely new territory for both of us. Peter has rocked Cape Epic before, but this will be different. We start as a team, want to cover the 250 kilometers together, and have as much fun as possible. Tomorrow evening, we will know more. There's an initial introduction, registration, a joint dinner, settling in at base camp. We will keep you updated, but perhaps time won't allow for daily updates and photo stops during the race seem unlikely.