The JUNKeteers Ride Again

I am in Vancouver for a couple of days – primarily to see off my friends Marcus (of the JUNK raft) and Anna from the Algalita Foundation, as they set out to ride their bikes from Canada to Mexico to raise awareness of plastic pollution in the oceans.

The plan had been that I would join them for a presentation at the Vancouver Aquarium last night. I was due to land from New York at 2pm, leaving nice time for me to check in at my hotel (big thanks to Fairmont for the comp room at the gorgeous Waterfront Hotel) and spend a couple of hours hanging out with Marcus and Anna, plotting ways to save the world (!) before heading over to the Aquarium for the event.

As it turned out, my flight from Newark was delayed by 3 hours, so I missed my connection in Seattle. The next flight was cancelled. The next one was full. So eventually I had to fly via Portland (south) to get to Vancouver (north). It was 11pm by the time I got to my hotel. The event I had flown across the country to attend was long finished, and my carbon footprint for the day was just horrible. That will teach me to take environmentally unfriendly forms of transport!

But on the bright side it was useful practice at being zen in the face of adversity – a useful refresher course before I set out again on the ocean next month.

I finally managed to catch up with Marcus and Anna in time to see them off from the Aquarium this morning. Safe travels, guys – and to all my “left coast” readers out there, please keep an eye out for the JUNK bikers, coming to a town near you!

You can follow their progress on their blog.