Survived November

17 days of straight rain and now snow on the ground.

The first half of November was extremely wet, however I did not miss a day of my cycling commute [apart from holidays]. The combination of wet weather and darker nights has made things interesting on the ride home. One night specifically I was wiped out three times by inattentive or plain aggressive drivers.

Equipment wise I am going through brake pads like crazy, I was told to clean the rims every night and that seems to improve things a little. According to the bike tech here on campus bike couriers go through brake pads weekly !!! I invested in a new battery for my 10w BLT headlamp, this really works. I even had cars pull over well ahead of me to let me through, of course the inattentive nuts are still out there.

In an interesting sideline my neighbour Kate relayed her sad story of how she was hit by a car at the local intersection at Rupert and Adanac. This is a particularly dangerous spot for cyclists as the stop signs on Rupert are at the bottom of a creek bed, as a result there is a steep hill for cyclists in both east and west directions. Kate was hit here in 2002 and still has not returned to cycling. I am lobbying city hall to install a set of flat speed bumps at the stop signs at this intersection. The flat speed bumps recently installed at Adanac Park seem to be working well and allowing buses to move over them.

This week the Prime Minister announced the date of next federal election. The big news here is that I will be running as Green Party candidate in Burnaby Douglas. My election web site is http://voteforian.com I intend to run this election campaign using bike power and public transportation only.