Ride my bicycle farther, longer - increase my range and rely less on buses

I already bike everywhere with an almost-maniacal devotion. Is it my very strong desire to avoid being crammed armpit-to-armpit in one of Vancouver's over-heated buses, or the fact that I don't have to wait, and parking is easy? I sold my car when I moved to Vancouver three years ago and have been a bike nut ever since!

...or so I thought! Now I realize that my range is quite small - from my home near Fraser and Broadway to downtown, west to Alma, east to Renfrew, and south to 41st. That's it. I've never biked, say, to the North Shore, east to Burnaby or New West, or further south than Marine Drive. I'd like go on significantly longer bike trips some day (Seattle? Portland? California?) and that means getting used to having my bum planted firmly on a bike seat for longer than 30 minutes.

So, I'm going to ride farther and longer and expand my cycling range both physically and - probably even more importantly - mentally! I'd like to start in the next week and ride the new Greenway route from Vancouver to New West. Can't wait!