Carless in Vancouver

Downshifting and De-Growth how they Relate

2011-10-09T16:34:00.000-07:00

Downshifting and De-Growth how they relate

Ian Gregson

You may well be asking yourself what is this de-growth thing ? How does it relate to me ? How can I be a part of this de-growth phenomena ? The answer lies mainly within the syntax - de-growth applies to a societal concept, whereas downshifting is the practical application of de-growth principles. Looking at Wikipedia - we see the differences between the two are more apparent; de-growth has a more philosophical and academic leaning, whereas downshifting is the day to day reality of de-growth. Downshifting is the practical application "what can we do about it in real terms" within the concept of de-growth. Comparatively, downshifting is to de-growth as unions are to socialism or the G20 is to conservatism.

Six years ago I started my own personal journey of de-growth by selling my car. This marked my first step toward "downshifting" my lifestyle - it was a drastic first step, I had not lived without a car since 1982. Little did I realise at the time I was taking part in a world-wide phenomena now known as "downshifting". Turns out millions of people around the industrialised world were doing the same thing. According to Wikepedia anywhere from 20-25% of the population in the USA, UK and Australia is taking part in some level of downshifting. I continue to hear amazing stories from people who have taken on downshifting as a personal philosophy and have found happiness within its simplicity. Stories from people that work less and therefore require less need to "escape" and take vacations; stories from people that consume less and lead healthier lives, growing their own vegetables and from people that have gotten out of their cars and enjoyed the sunshine, wind, rain and cold weather on their daily commute or trek to the grocery store. One practical consequence of my downshifting is a community garden with 50 plots in a nearby park.

However, over the years I have come across a marked resistance to downshifting from people who would benefit the most from it. I have been called " pretentious", "self-interested", "irresponsible" and "selfish". All from people who cherish the ability to go to work everyday, to drive their car wherever and whenever they feel, to take vacations in distant locations and buy more things than they will ever need in ten lifetimes. My personal choice to downshift was not without consequence. In my own example I alienated my own family members, no longer was I a traditional father figure who provided to four children, I became this bike riding guy who didn't work and earn to his full potential, given his education and skills. This is a tough road to travel, in my heart I know what I am doing has benefits for my children and their children, but this is hard to explain to a teenager who doesn't get the christmas present they want or can't afford the $400 eyeglasses. However, a stronger part of me shrugged this off with the hope that one day my children will recognise what I do and why.

The consumerist lifestyle has its appeals, as does a glass of wine to the dry alcoholic. By our very nature we consume every day, we eat, we drink, we recreate, we use power, it is impossible to avoid consumption. The strength of downshifting comes in the choices we make in what we consume. Consuming locally grown organically produced food is one way to go, if your store does not stock such things, you need to find a store that does. Consuming less food of a higher nutritional value combined with less car use is the equivalent of the group session for the said alcoholic.

Whilst many of us are taking action on a personal level, we are often inspired due to a lack of action from governments at all levels. Our political choice is no more clearly defined than at the voting booth. In political terms the majority of political parties stay well clear of the concepts and notions of de-growth and downshifting; preferring to stay within the traditional political ideologies of economy, taxation, military, education, healthcare etc.. Their root philosophies have changed very little over the decades. The left push for more taxation to benefit social spending, the political right push for cutbacks and benefits to industry - Marx and Engels would still be proud. And whilst the political parties have acquiesced to some degree by shifting to a middle ground philosophy, there is very little evidence of de-growth or downshifting within them. We need to pressure the existing political structures to recognise de-growth as a political reality. For now our level of downshifting is a personal choice. One day in the near future there may come a time when that choice has less freedom and that harsh government regulations to not drive a car become reality. Why wait ? Let's adjust to that lifestyle as we see fit rather than being dictated to.

As we know there has been a societal shift towards "green" values. However, we have seen those values watered down, stolen and modified to suit traditional political and commercial philosophies; hence the proliferation of "green" products, "green" jobs and overly simplified "greenwashing". We have to recognise that greenwashing is now part of our daily lives at all levels and from all angles. We know "greenwashing" works to a significant degree, particularly on tv, where we see ads for the Alberta Tar Sands and BC Salmon Farmers confessing their unique environmental sustainabilities. Greenwashing is dangerous because it confuses those of us who are starting on the road to downshifting. To a significant degree greenwashing says its ok to consume as long as what you consume is "green". Downshifting says otherwise, a green product still takes resources from the Earth, is still dependent on traditional methods of manufacture; downshifting say’s "you don't really need that product". Owning a Toyota Prius might make you feel green, but at the end of the day the vehicle still consumes finite raw material as part of its manufacturing process.

Within the political arena greenwashing is most prevalent. The traditional left has made strong attempts to adopt green-like policies but at the same time has been restrained by their traditional socialist philosophical structure that has little room for "environmentalism" and thus falsely attracting many down-shifters. As with other forms of greenwashing, downshifters should not be fooled by political greenwashing in the same way they are not fooled by the Alberta Tar Sands.

The Green Party whilst incorporating a significant amount of de-growth policy, lost much of its original momentum and inspiration due to the failure of voting reform. The Greens have had to revert to a more centralist approach in order to continue as a political entity. However, the terms de-growth and downshifting are equally scant from Green Party policy.

Vancouver has more than its fair share of downshifters; we simply have not assigned the adjective “downshifting” to what so many of us are doing everyday. The philosophy of de-growth is the next logical step from realistic and applicable green values that have not been not co-opted by a consumer based approach such as socialism or conservatism.

Downshifting is not the total rejection of consumerism, but the adaptation of consumerism to de-grow economies and societies in order that they be sustainable at a rate that increases longevity indefinitely.

International Downshifting Week's Spending Tips:

Making a list of weekly purchases and eliminating non-essential items

Cutting up a credit card

Not buying impulsively for instant gratification

Hand-making items

Donating, recycling or reusing old items

Buying quality secondhand goods

Political necessities in order to facilitate downshifting:

True Tax Shifting - increasing taxes and corresponding decreasing taxes on products and consumables

Co-Op Housing - affordable housing as annual income levels continue to decrease

Removal of gov't subsidies to large corporations

Increase in subsidies to small scale farms within 100kms of large population areas

Critical Mass, De-Growth and Downshifting

2011-06-05T13:44:00.000-07:00

It's that time of year again when the sun is out 'til late and the roads are full of cyclists and oh yeah I have a blog that I've not written on for ages !

notice how people are smiling

A number of things of interest - The Adanac Community Garden that I planned about three years ago has finally come to pass. The ground was broken in February and over the last few weeks with the good weather boxes have been constructed and the plants are in the ground. I was proud to be the first person to put something in the ground - it was an old Bay Tree that my x Heather had carted across the country, funny to have find its final resting spot in ADANAC Community Garden. Check out the garden blog at or the Facebook group

It was heart warming and reassuring to see people at work at something that was just an idea that I had in my head; good things can happen if you hold your breath long enough. I had to pass the process on to Angela Kenyon and Nancy McRitchie two fine gals with far more knowledge and patience with the City of Vancouver than I, they got through the red tape and turned it green. As a result we now have one of the largest community gardens in the city, soon to be bearing fruit and an official opening, especially with an election looming in November.

This weekend I recharged my batteries at the 2nd Annual De-Growth conference in Vancouver. I was totally inspired by two presentations this year both presentations were as different from each other as humanly possibly yet still interconnected. The one skype based chat was from sustainable eco chick Tracey Smith who lives in SW England. It was great to hear how just regular folks are making it work in the bread basket of England. Check out Tracey's Page at http://traceysmith.info/

The other presentation was from Nora Bateson daughter of Gregory Bateson, Nora's documentary on her father was personal and profound. Not only did she present a personal account of her father's approach to life she managed to convert some rather abstract concepts in to something everyone could understand. There was one point were Gregory Bateson used a tightrope analogy that hit the nail not only on the head, but down through my spine. Bateson's general concept of inter-connectivity was amazing, I'm sure he'd love the concept of the Critical Mass. Many thanks to Conrad for putting it all together once again.

May's Critical Mass was a fairly low key affair - about 200 riders made it out, a fairly low turn out for May, however one would expect much more for June, July and August. Of course we have the World Naked Bike Ride coming up real soon, I hope to take part this year also. Last year was awesome, much fun and more naked bodies than you could 'er shake a stick at ! Hopefully, it won't be the 10C and rain it was the first time I did the WNBR. Check the WNBR wiki for a location near you

The Vancouver movie and tv industry has practically dried up over the last few weeks. Apparently, Toronto has stolen most of our work. I made a ride out to Nat Bailey Stadium for two days on the USA Network's Psych, which seems to be surviving. So many shows have been cancelled including EndGame, V, CHAOS, and Human Target, we certainly need a more rewarding tax credit system for the shows to come here.

Hellcats Ep21 Land of 1000 Dances

At the moment I have a 1992 Plymouth Acclaim sitting in my parking spot, it's for sale. My g/f Lisa is selling it, she bought something smaller, a Toyota and she has a bike too. After having my son Nick live with me for the past year I thought it would be a good idea to have Lisa move in and of July 1 [Nick moved to Europe for the summer] Lisa will be here under the same roof and sharing life as we know it. Here's a picture of Lisa and I on the recently cancelled "Hellcats"

Finally, I want to share this video of me riding a fixie through the streets of Neuvo Vallarta on a recent family vacation - the road is bumpy, the bike has no gears or brakes and I'm not wearing my helmet but I seem to be enjoying myself nonetheless.

Commuting as a background performer in Vancouver's TV & Film industry

2011-01-02T14:06:00.000-08:00

Human Target @ UBC

Things have been fairly quiet on cycling front over the last few months, however a few issues have surfaced that are worthy of some note.

I've been working in the film industry since August 2009; I originally worked on and off in the industry when other work was short, mainly throughout the 90's. Currently it seems no one is willing to respond to, let alone hire anyone fitting my qualifications, gender or age. However, the BC film industry seems to like me as they hire me back on tv shows on a regular basis. I've been in all the locally shot shows, V, Psych, Human Target, Hellcats, Smallville and two shows that will be airing in the spring CHAOS on Fox and End Game on CTV. I've also worked on a number of feature films including A-Team, Diary of a Wimpy Kid and Caesar: Rise of the Apes.

Of course my chosen method of commuting is my bicycle. There were a few fellow background performer commuters over the summer but they seemed to have disappeared, there are a number of crew members who commute on the bike as I always see at least one or two bikes on sets, particularly at the studios. However, for the most part there are very few cycling commuters amongst the many, many background performers in the Greater Vancouver area.

One of the major obstacles to cycling, other than the usual weather or traffic related is the need to carry ones own wardrobe to the location. Vancouver extras are required to provide their own wardrobe for the most part, unless it is a specific role such as a cop or firefighter. Even if you are an FBI agent you need to supply at least three changes of wardrobe, which can pose a problem for any would-be cycling commuter.

On the set of "V"

First of all it is a necessity to have adequate panniers. My MEC panniers are totally waterproof and huge [56l each], more than enough for what I need and if I can get away with just the one I try to. However, keeping my clothing wrinkle free in my panniers has been a challenge. The key is to pack the bag just before you leave and roll the various items together and then at the end of the day takes the clothing out hang it, especially if you are continuity for the next day. On a good day I can pack two jackets, 3 shirts, 1 pair of dress shoes, numerous ties and two pairs of trousers in my panniers. If I am continuity [meaning same character, same day] over several days, all I need to pack is my continuity wardrobe.

Getting to the various locations can also be challenging. I have set up a perimeter of where I can justify a bus-bike commute, based on the bus routes and frequency of the bus and distance to the nearest bus stop etc. I have commuted out to UBC, Park Royal in West Vancouver and eastward to Riverview Hospital. Since most of the locations are in the downtown area of Vancouver, it is just a matter of a 25-40 minute ride in to the city. Even when the weather is foul and it is an early morning call at 6am I can be down to the "circus"[where the crew trucks are] at 1st and Ontario or even Stanley Park reasonable dry and ready for the cameras. I've got my changing in to my wardrobe down to a fine art and can be ready for camera in about 10 minutes. Often a short van trip to the actual location is required and so I end up locking my bike at the circus location. Only once when there was a screw up on Fringe did I needlessly go to a parking lot, then have to hoof it over to the actual location with my bike in a van.

me n ma panniers in action

I have commuted home at 3.30am from a night shoot on Human Target at Park Royal in the rain in the middle of December, heading over the Second Narrows bridge is interesting at that time of night. I have been up at 4am to get to set at 5.30am in Stanley Park for Psych also in the rain; so having the right rain gear is also essential. I recently purchased a Sugoi [Vancouver based company]Hydrolite rain jacket $130 Its an amazing piece of fabric that has kept me totally dry in some pretty nasty conditions. Because it is designed as a shell to go over existing clothing I even managed to fit it over a puffy down jacket and on camera clothes for a short but wet commute down to Bridge Studios, which is 10 minutes away. Initially, I had bought it to cover my existing Sugoi jacket that was getting a little raggedy, but I'm finding it works well just over a fleece vest or top. To complement the jacket I also re-purchased some MEC Cyclone Tights for $69

Mayor Gregor Robertson

One of the conversations I overheard whilst working on set the other day was how much the city of Vancouver had "wasted" on their cycling infrastructure. As we were working at Hornby and Hastings sitting on a bus with not much else to do except watch people go by, we got in to the conversation about the city had spent $20 million on cycling upgrades only because the mayor was a cyclist. I didn't waste much time in commenting about the billions spent on expanding the Sea to Sky Highway and the current expansion of the Trans Canada Hwy between 200th Street in Langley and the Cassiar tunnel. Turns out the Hornby Bike Lane has been costed out at around $3.2million, the city is spending almost $16 million on left turns on Knight Street in comparison. I take it for granted that a city the size of Vancouver needs a better cycling infrastructure, I often forget there are 1000's of motorists out there that have never been on a bike or a bus and would never contemplate doing to in order to get to work. Vancouver has certainly become more bike friendly since Gregor Robertson became mayor and the province banned the use of cell phones whilst driving. My only concern is that Gregor has supported cyclists too much and has lost a lot of his non-cycling supporters, we'll find out later this year in the Vancouver civic election scheduled for November, I for one would like to see him re-elected, along with Andrea Reimer.

Lastly, I came across a fellow Vancouver cyclists' blog here at Average Joe's Cycling Blog - great fun.

Vancouver Island Circle Route Tour

2010-10-03T14:38:00.000-07:00

This is a map of the route we took, except for the Malahat

A few weeks back Andrea and I took a bike tour of southern Vancouver Island. We are fairly new in to our relationship and yet decided it would be a good idea, Andrea didn't hesitate for a minute at the suggestion of the tour and that is always a good sign.

DAY 1

An early morning rise [4am] got us out to pick up Andrea's car mechanic Walter, who was going to work on Andrea's van whilst we were going to be away. We arrived at the ferry terminal with a slight drizzle for the 7am 90 minute trip to Swartz Bay.

Having made this trek previously a few years back I knew of the various places one could get lost, so we made the our first stop at Sidney by the Sea. The rain gained a little in strength as we left Sidney causing us to pull over and put on rain pants. As we got closer to Victoria the rain let up somewhat and by the time we hit the Blankinsop Trestle it was dry and sunny again. We had a short stop over for lunch at hippy-ist cafe in Victoria before making a short trek around the BC legislature and the back over the Johnson St bridge on to the Galloping Goose Trail. Before heading east ward to Sooke we stopped off at the Community Bike shop near the junction of Lochside and Galloping Goose Trails and found a fender for Andrea's front wheel. [I had foolishly left my back fender at home] but could not find one to fit. The Lochside trail had given us a layer of mud already.

Heading out toward Sooke on the gentle slope of the old trail bed was easy enough. However, as I expected I found the going somewhat slow in comparison to the road, but we were in no rush at all. The Galloping Goose Trail winds outs of Victoria and then passes through Colwood and Langford and through some really nice country around Matheson Lake. Around this point the drop off got a little steep, fine for trains in the day but a bit daunting for this cyclist. The GG does take a significantly different route than Hwy 14 or any other road for that matter thus giving us some quiet cycle time.

Coming in to Sooke the trail obviously had lost a few trestles from it railway days. The steep gravel inclines and declines are well marked however, after spending so much time on the flat it was a little too much and I stalled out on the incline and flipped myself over on to my right side. Nothing was broken or even bleeding, but it did remind us of how remote we would be going and not to take chances.

Finally arriving in to Sooke we rejoined the highway for a brief time. The road between Sooke and Victoria is well used by commuters and the road was busy with little or no shoulder, a sharp contrast to the previous hours spent on the Lochside and Galloping Goose trails. A warm bath awaited us at the Welsford B&B and our hosts Gail & Ray graciously gave us a ride in to town for dinner and we walked our tired bike riding muscles back to the B&B for a good night's sleep.

Total: 66km

DAY 2 Route

DAY 2

Starting out at 9.15am this turned out to be the best weather day of the four days, it also turned out to be the steepest and somewhat unexpectedly so. The trek from Sooke to Jordan River was most pleasant despite being on the highway with little or no shoulder. The only drawback was the first big hill of the trip at Shirley, for some reason this hill just about killed me and Andrea was up at the top waiting for me. I think I had my pacing all wrong or something, my heart felt like it was exploding and my head was all mental. But having my love waiting for me pulling me up the hill was a major plus. The stop at Jordan River was much needed and the juxtaposition of some big guns firing over on the American side was not lost on the otherwise tranquil setting. After climbing out of Jordan River, and regained my hill climbing cadence; Andrea's hill climbing was excellent and I found my spot just ahead of her just perfect physically and mentally.

Jordan River

Some amazing views awaited us giving us a sense of how high was had climbed. As we got further away from Jordan River the country got a little wilder; some of the areas had been logged as far back as 1902 and some as recent as 1980's and a few were planted in 1962 and 1963 and were the same age as Andrea and I; nice to meet trees your own age. The road had been recently paved and was not as rough as expected and the road was pretty well our own after Jordan River, with no logging trucks and just the odd motor cyclist.

From my scans of Google streetview I knew we had at least one steep climb ahead however, it was the second drop and subsequent climb out of a creek that caught us off guard. The road was so steep at this point we had to dismount and push the bikes up the hill, no wonder we had not seen a logging truck all afternoon !!! The weather was at least in our favour and as we had expected we swore at the hill - here it is from google street view. Shortly thereafter we were blessed with recently paved [last few weeks] smooth blacktop all the way in to Port Renfrew. The ride in to Port Renfrew was long and steep and thankfully downhill, made all that much safer with the new surface. We cruised in to Port Renfrew at 5pm.

Port Renfrew has just 300 residents and is the southern gateway to the West Coast Trail. The host of our accommodations Connie turned out to be an above knee amputee just like me. Our spartan hiker hut was adequately comfortable and we dined in fine style across the street at the Coastal Kitchen Cafe. In the evening we walked out on to the pier at the Port Renfrew Hotel and sipped a Bailey's n coffee on the pub deck only to have rats run over our feet, I felt that much closer to mother nature. We did try to rescue a snake from the middle of the road in Port Renfrew but it was too far gone and when we looked for it the next day it had died peacefully at least.

Not to be confused with the
Northern Soul classic

Total: 74kms

DAY 3

We knew day 3 would be the most remote and steepest of our days, turns out we were wrong on both accounts. Based on the premise if logging trucks can navigate it so can we, the hills on day 3 proved to be less challenging than those on day 2.

Given we had a 60km trek we set out a little later at noon after breakfast. The road out of Port Renfrew is pleasant enough, however after a few km the roughness of chip set was irritating to say the least. The drizzle started up as we got closer to the mountains but it stayed light enough to be with out any rain gear.

The logging trucks were heavy and noisy but easily avoided by pulling over out of their way - the drivers seemed courteous enough, slowing to down to pass us. Certainly way more traffic on this road than highway 14. We estimated there was at least a 400 meter climb on this route, which is basically the same as riding up to SFU and down again. The major incline is two switchbacks at around the 20km mark, turned out they were easy enough to climb and once over them there was a narrow climb to the peak and then the start of the descent to Lake Cowichan.

amazing mountain climbing woman

This area has been decimated by clear cutting with little or no replanting, vast areas on the eastern side are just nothing but bush. No doubt this area was in accessible in the past is now open to public viewing, particularly urban cyclists like us who consider clear cutting the blight on the landscape it is. Nonetheless the views of the Robertson Creek valley were marvelous. The descent was long and in some parts resurfaced with what we later found out was a surface from the Lake Cowichan Hwy that had proven nasty for car windshields - always good to recycle !!!

As we approached Mesache Lake the road took a detour due to bridge repair. We did not like the look of the dirt road so we headed over to the bridge anyway and were able to cross the creek without the bridge, saving us some serious detour nastiness with trucks, gravel road and added kms at the end of our day, there are some true benefits to owning a bicycle.

a scene from "The Stand"

On our later than expected 6.45pm arrival at the Lakeshore motel in Lake Cowichan we found our "reservation" had been given to some German tourists. This was initially kind of irritating after such a long ride. Andrea and I had recently watched the episode of Seinfeld with the car reservation scene.

However, our errant hostess graciously found us other accomodation, gave us $20 for our trouble and we talked the new hosts down to $80 for the night. Turns out it was in our favour to be transferred over to Kidd's B&B. Our new host was excellent and their basement suite was luxurious in comparison to our previous night. We made our way in to town for some excellent grub at the D&D Irish Pub irony would have it that we sat next to four German tourists; it was then back to the B&B for a bath a good nights' sleep.

Total: 60km

DAY 4

Our final day on the tour had us starting off with a tasty breakfast hosted by the Kidd's. We had a number of route options for the second half of this day and it was good to get a map with some level of detail to see the best options. By 9am we were back on the road passing through the small town of Lake Cowichan and then on to Cowichan Lake Rd which was suitably scant of automobiles and had a gentle decline towards Duncan.

finding the road at Kidd's B&B

We saw some beautiful farmland through the Cowichan Valley and as we got closer to Duncan the traffic increased accordingly. Even for urban cyclists that deal with cars all the time, being on the road for two days with out hardly any cars makes for an even more irritating time in a town like Duncan. We decided to take the more westlerly route south towards Mill Bay, turning at Craig Street in Duncan then on to Allenby Rd along the river then on to Koksilah Rd back in to the farm land.

Andrea finds a new friend

Timing was of the essence for this day as we needed to catch two ferries. After taking the scenic route through Cowichan Station, where the only hill climb of the day rose to say hello, we took the Trans Canada Highway from Koksilah Road to Mill Bay.

After the slow going of the back roads, the Trans Canada was an easy 25k with lots of shoulder and gusty wind assistance from passing vehicles. It was about 230pm by the time we hit the village of Mill Bay. We stopped off for a Chai Latte in the local strip mall only to notice the rain coming across the bay toward us. By the time we got to the 410pm ferry the showers were doing a good impersonation of rain.

The trek from Brentwood Bay to Swartz Bay was the most unpleasant as the rain came down hard and the road seemed never ending. The hill out of Brentwood Bay seemed overly long and the traffic seemed overly eager to knock us off the road, but we eventually made it back to a soggy Swartz Bay by about 615pm to catch the 7pm ferry back to Tsawassen. We had dried off enough on the ferry to pleasantly meet up with Walter the mechanic and head back in to Vancouver to conclude our trip. The rain was coming down hard by this time.

Total: 77km

In conclusion, this was an amazing tour. We saw some wonderfully beautiful things and he feasted on what nature and humans had to offer. The really amazing part was doing it with Andrea, who turns out to be a bit of a mountain goat bike rider and a more amazing person than I had I already thought so highly of. This trip had a real potential of being a breaking point in our relationship, however we were both up for the tour and more importantly both up for the tour together, the experience has brought us that much more closer together.

Here's to many more kms and adventures on the road together.

See the Facebook photo album and check out the video we made

A CM Virgin No More

2010-09-11T12:04:00.000-07:00

I've been doing the Critical Mass for about 5 or 6 years now. I'm not a regular attendee anymore, the novelty has worn off just a tad - but when I meet someone who is interested in taking part, I kinda get inspired all over again.

So it was when I suggested to my g/f Andrea that we take part in the August Mass, one last good weather chance to to take over the streets of downtown Vancouver and take part in one of the world's most successful mass protests.

The August mass generally does not have the bulk of the June or July event; however the mass amassed enough mass to be massive. Our first rendezvous was the Lions Gate Bridge - now a staple of the Critical Mass diet.

Taking over the streets with one's bicycle really is something else - maybe I had forgotten how thrilling this detail could be. Certainly Andrea felt and showed it. Once off the bridge we headed off around Stanley Park along Denman then up the traditional route on Robson. It wasn't until we hit Burrard and Georgia did things start to get messy, but not for long and we then headed down to Hastings and east towards Main St.

At Main we peeled off the mass and headed eastward to home, with a required call in at the International House of Gelato, we arrived back at my house with the light of the waning day still upon us.

It was around this time I suggested to Andrea we take a more serious look at long distance cycling. I had my eyes on completing the southern Vancouver Island Circle route and without hesitation Andrea agreed to give it a go.

Talking about long distance cycling - one of my cycling heroes Ted Shredd turns out to be a friend of Andrea and by some small coincidence had lived a few blocks away from me on Adanac Street. Ted is currently riding from Summerland, BC to Los Angeles CA, a mighty ride if ever there was one. You can see his updates at http://www.funresearcher.com

On Sept 2nd Andrea and I celebrated my 48th birthday in grand style by cycling to the Vancouver Museum for a talk on local organic farming then off to Aphrodite's Restaurant at West 4th and Dunbar to chow down on some locally grown organic grub.

On Monday Sept 13th Andrea and I are heading over to Vancouver Island to complete a four day trek around the bottom end of the island. Our first day we will travel from Swartz Bay to Sooke; Day 2 Sooke to Port Renfrew; Day 3 Port Renfrew to Lake Cowichan; Day 4 Lake Cowichan to Swartz Bay via Mill Bay ferry. This will be the furthest cycling trip for both of us and it will be a blast. You can read more on the Pacific Marine Circle route HERE

Celebrating Five Years of Car Free in Vancouver

2010-07-25T15:26:00.000-07:00

Well folks it has now been officially five years since I posted my first blog entry here. It was five years ago I took my tenuous first pedal strokes in to the world of the car-free lifestyle - looking back it all seems kinda fun - well for the most part!

When I first started commuting to work on my bike little did I know it would be the first steps in to a whole new phase of my life. Little did I know where the pedal strokes would take me - Powell River, Vancouver Island, my second marriage ?

To semi-celebrate my five years I took myself and my new g/f Andrea on a bike trek downtown to watch the Celebration of Light. We had a rooftop view of the whole event and took lots of pictures. Andrea is re-introducing herself to her Peugot bike after a layoff of a few years, this was our third ride together. One of our previous rides included a luvly kiss that knocked Andrea off her bike at the crosswalk at Rupert Skytrain. It was kinda funny to see, but poor Andrea's elbow and knee took the brunt of it. Next time she promises to take her foot out of her pedal cage first b 4 any bicycle oriented kissing.

There are certainly pros and cons of living a car free life. Is it any easier than it was five years ago ? Well no it isn't, are we still oriented to the automobile as our main method of transport ? - Well yes we are, even more so I think. Government still see freeway expansion and the subsidisation of the automobile as de facto policy - when we people start to realise the true cost of the automobile ?

Here are five pros of why I still ride:
1. Guilt free commuting - No claustrophobic commuting - seriously bad
2. No clue as to gas prices
3. Awesomely fit body - at least compared to the avg dude my age
4. Appreciation of everything outdoors - weather patterns particularly
5. Reduced my consumption level to bare minimum

Here are five barriers as to why people don't take up the life:
1. Usage of time - readjusting your life to accommodate
2. Safety concerns - even with the cellphone ban - much improved though in Vancouver, not so much in Burnaby
3. Weather - can't do much about this one
4. Social acceptance - still regarded as brave and yet odd
5. Not in good physical condition to begin with

Mid to late spring is the best time to give up your car, you at least have the summer months to get comfortable and buy some decent rain gear that might be on sale.

In a recent post I seemed to be rejecting the car free life and yet a few weeks later I feel more driven and with more purpose to continue it. Maybe something to do with having a hot new g/f who likes to ride :-) It's always fun to share your experiences with someone who appreciates them.

And just so we keep things less than serious here is my main reason for not owning a car - this will never happen to me....

Football, Nakedness and other good times

2010-06-15T11:51:00.000-07:00

There are many fine aspects to cycling in an urban environment - passing through neighbourhoods otherwise unseen, the feeling of wind whistling by and of course the 250 other naked people who like to ride their bikes in the buff once a year.

Last weekend I decided to venture out on Saturday to several events, the important thing was to not get them mixed up in any way shape or form.

So it was with the England v USA game for the first round of the World Cup on Saturday morning. My goal was to get to the Blarney Stone is Gastown at around 11am, however I with my England flag trailing behind me I was too late and the Blarney was full. So my next port of call was the Lamplighter around the corner, was just enough room to squeeze me and my flag in at the back. The game was great, the audience was mental and everyone loved my England flag.

The game wrapped up at 1.20pm or so, then it was off to my next event over at Bute and Pacific, the annual World Naked Bike Ride. Started by my good friend Conrad Schmidt the WNBR is now in its 7th year with rides now occurring in 20 countries with 70 cities taking part. Earlier in the day cyclists in London, Edinburgh, Amsterdam, Manchester, San Francisco, New York Canberra, Melbourne and many others had doffed their gear and gone starkers on their local by-way.

My biggest decision of the day was of course should I go the whole way ? The last time I completed the WNBR was in 2008 and it was freezing 10 C and raining, never had I been so cold; but it was still fun, this time it was sunny and warm.

Admittedly, I was a little shy to doff my cycling shorts in front of so many cameras. So after we got started and pulled over we had the opportunity to strip down away from the recording devices, with a deep breath off the shorts came and on the bike I got and yes that was a new feeling right there.

Off we went up Denman, Robson, Burrard Pender, Richards, Georgia, a stop at the Art Gallery, Granville, Granville Island, Burrard bridge and back to where we started 90 minutes earlier. It is a truly amazing sight to see all those naked bodies of all shapes and sizes rolling down the streets, jaws dropped all over the place, some even turned away in shame, some never got off their cell phones.

Then it was back to world of being fully clothed and off to my next event a BBQ for the volunteers and performers of the In The House Festival where my band had played the weekend before. Of course I had to recall my WNBR experiences to them, no one seemed to mind having a recently naked England supporting man in their presence, so after a few veggie buns I headed home for the day.

In checking the mainstream media there was lots of "coverage" of the WNBR, mostly passed off as a bunch of naked nutters protesting once again - but of course there is far more to it than that.

Total round trip approx 31kms

65km ride through Suburbia

2010-05-25T00:15:00.000-07:00

I usually save my long ride until the end of the good weather season, but this year I surprised even myself by taking a 65km or 40 mile trek early on.

Last week I missed an organised ride to Barnston Island, a small island in the Fraser River, linked to the shore by a small ferry. I lost a spoke the previous night and could not get to the repair store in time in order to get it fixed. I had the spoke fixed later; turns out another spoke was ready to pop.

From Adanac Co-Op it is a 1.5km trek to Gilmore Skytrain from there I took the skytrain to Columbia, swapped platforms and landed in deepest darkest Surrey at the King George station. Luckily I had picked up the Metro Vancouver cycling map when I was working as a bike valet in March.

It took me a while to get oriented and I was pretty close to connected to the bike path through the Green Timbers park area, but I missed it and travelled east on 96 Ave until I came to 148th. This was not too bad as I took a paved sidewalk away from the road on the north side of the street. At 148 st and 96 Ave I proceeded south for approx 100 meters and connected up with the east-west bike route.

The path is well made and follows a gas pipeline and with a strong tailwind I made good time eastwards. My only complaint at this point is where the bike route crossed the various streets the ramps where a little severe - still having a little lip on to and off the roadway. The path ends suddenly at 164 Street then you head back over to 96 Ave. There was supposed to be a bike path at least according to the map, I didn't see it, not very well marked if at all. However, it was at this point on a short incline that my rear wheel popped a spoke and then I decided it best not to take in the Barnston Island loop and head straight for the Golden Ears bridge. 96 Ave at this point had no shoulder to speak of however the vehicles were courteous enough to move over and give me enough of room.

The route along the Golden Ears way under the Trans Canada is new and in perfect condition. However, there was a diversion at 186st that sent cyclists back over to 96 Ave. However, I was soon directed back to the Golden Ears route and the over to Telegraph Trail, back on 96 to make the left turn on 201 St. However, in hindsight taking the north side of Golden Ears to 96A ave then 197st the 101 Ave would have been a more pleasant route to the curly wurly entrance on to the bridge deck. It also turned out had I been reading my map I passed a cycle shop on the corner of 96 & 201, where I might have got the wheel fixed.

The ride across the bridge was fun, lots of room and great views. At mid span I stopped and took a few pics and called my mum. A jogger stopped and told me about his 14 year old son who had lost his leg to cancer and had a rotationplasty, small world. He was very interested in how I had adapted my bike, which I haven't. Once on the Maple Ridge side I ran in to 3 gals and asked them where I might get the wheel fixed. They directed me over to Experience Cycling on Lougheed Hwy - a most unpleasant experience with long weekend Saturday traffic. The bike store was too busy so I wound my way back to the west side bridge entrance off Hammond Road and the veered off west towards Joyner Place then south on Bonson Rd toward the river. The houses in this area are huge !!! At the south end of Bonson Rd I took a few pics of the Katzie nation boats and the bridge then headed off road and on gravel along the dyke path that forms part of the Trans Canada trail.

It was a major relief to get away from the cars and the path was well-packed and in good condition even with a bit of a head wind the going was good. The trail had a few people on it but surprisingly quiet for a Saturday afternoon. I passed one jogger who called out "nice to see you again". She explained she was one of the cyclists that had given me directions earlier. Turns out they were in training for a half triathalon in Oliver and this was her jogging route. By the time I got to the new Pitt River bridge it was time for a drink and some granola. I made another call to my mum, letting her know I was on the way.

The unfinished area under the bridge is a bit messy still. It would be very difficult in wet conditions as this area consists of sand mostly. There is an unfinished path under the bridge to the north side to have access to the west. It was a bit tricky but I managed to scramble up the incline and get on to the deck. The Pitt River bridge is a smaller version of the Golden Ears bridge and from then on I was heading along Lougheed hwy to through Port Coquitlam mostly on the sidewalk as there was no lane for cyclists at all.

I made a turn north on Westwood heading for Caps Bikes, which likewise proved useless as they were "scheduling" for next Friday for my repair. I was thinking more like half an hour ! Regardless, I head off up Westwood to Glen the west to Lansdowne then over to Guilford and past the hospital to Ioco Rd then to my parents on Avalon for tea and biscuits.

I was tempted to stay longer but I was soon off eager to complete the trek under my own steam. The route between my parents and my home in Vancouver is very familiar having ridden it countless times over the last 25 years, however I have only ridden home westward only 2 or 3 times - mainly because of the hill at Kask concrete. The last time I did this hill I had to stop at the bus stop for a rest only to have a bus pull over. However, this time I had no need for a bus or even to stop I completed the hill with stopping at all, I barely broke in to a sweat. If you count the hill at Kensington this is the last hill before entering Vancouver and it is an easy general downhill after taking the Frances Union bike path at Fell Ave and Hastings.

Even after just seven hours of riding coming back home feels different. I felt like I had been on an adventure and been places and talked to folks I would never have otherwise. It was a rush to get home and post the photos on Facebook and tell the world all about my 65km suburbia trek.

It was at this point I made a serious error and that was not to have a large enough meal to replenish the calories expended during the day. Whilst I did not feel it until Sunday morning I cycled over to Commercial Drive only to find Dream Cycle likewise busy and not able to repair my spoke due to the long weekend. I got home exhausted and ate a big meal as soon as I could make it.

Five years with out a vehicle and the Jevons Paradox

2010-05-05T12:03:00.000-07:00

This July marks five years with out an owned vehicle in my driveway!

My original plan was to stretch it out for a year and now here I am five years later.

Back in July 2005 I calculated I was spending $552 per month to lease, fuel, insure and maintain a vehicle. Had I kept the vehicle or exchanged it every four years I would have poured over $6500 per year in to vehicle or $33,120 over five years. And that was at 2005 gas prices !!!

In the last 12 months my good friend Conrad Schmidt introduced me to the Jevon's Paradox. Jevon's basically tells us that efficiency is a myth, that for all the efficient vehicles or contraptions we simply compensate by doing more in the same amount of time. If applied to my situation, I simply spent that $33,000 on other things much of which I didn't really need, thus keeping the wheels of capitalism rolling along. The fact that I leased a GM vehicle that was a piece of crap and to have GM fall in to so much debt is of course a mere coincidence.

However, with all academic theories there are always exceptions; I could have invested the money in my children's education, donated it to a worthy cause or other similar fashion. Reality is, it all vanished in to thin air and I cant remember what I spent it on. I did spend a lot of it on the Vancouver Auto Co-Op and still owe them about $600 thanks to their little read small print where a partner's bill gets automatically loaded on to mine if she refuses to pay. I do have some nice guitars :-)

I lost my job in June 2008 and have not been gainfully employed since. It's hard to find those $28/hour union jobs with healthcare benefits, strangely no one wants to give them up or get fired from them. For a while I lived the life of Riley on EI benefits and when that stopped I ended up on BC social assistance. Last week that stopped because I was earning slightly more from casually working as a background performer in the local tv and movie industry. I still had to borrow $100 from my mum to make rent.

Because along with not having a vehicle has come a lot more than being car free. When my x Heather Cameron moved up to Lasqueti Island I would have been perfectly happy to move up there with her. I was ready for the big jump to an island without power and telephones. It may have been dull in winter, but the opportunity to excise city life out of my system would have been perfect for me. At least that is how I think of it today.

When I look back at the last five years and ask myself "did I do the right thing by giving up my car"? I have to tell myself I DID do the right thing. But at the same time I have been called "irresponsible" and "lazy" and I have had to depend on a lot of people to get me about. My life has slowed down by giving up the use of a car, however from my point of view everyone with a car lives too fast, too much pointless running around that I simply don't do anymore. In the last 12 months particularly I have had a lot of time on my hands and have enjoyed most of it And I now I can't afford to get a car, even if I did want one.

For a short time I was with a person who told me I could live my life with out a car and I did and have continued to do so in her absence. For I am a healthier man, fitter and stronger and more in touch with the outdoors and all its moods - for that I am grateful. But it is too hard to be a one man show - with no one to support my good intentions, I just get looked at as being a rebel and a nutcase and I am afraid I might just be both. It is very difficult to be a part of society and then at the same time be apart from it.

So this summer I will get a job, save up some money and buy myself a car, probably a junker. I have spent the last five years without a car, saved so much and yet all I have is the feeling I might have done the right thing but at the same time might have done a silly thing. I need to re-plug myself back in to the Matrix and re-join everyone else heading for the cliff.

I did my bit now you should do yours.

Dunsmuir Viaduct gets a facelift

2010-03-11T11:06:00.000-08:00

I've been riding over the Dunsmuir Viaduct once a week since last September. At first I took the very narrow pedestrian pathway, this was barely wide enough for two pedestrians to pass let alone two cyclists. A few years back I had a nasty scrape when taking the Georgia side, this little accident took the skin off my leg and ripped my panier from its moorings.

Last week I once again made my weekly trek in to downtown, thinking the viaduct may or may not have been open since the Olympics were in the process - however, I was most pleased to see that the right lane of the Dunsmuir viaduct now separated from traffic with concrete and a two way bike lane in place EXCELLENT ! Finally there is a safe route in to downtown from the east side.

Thanks to the work of the Vancouver Area Cycling Coalition in tandem with a bike friendly city council we are now seeing some excellent cycling infrastructure improvements in the city - however we need to continue to separate cars from cyclists where ever we can.

Read an article Mike Howell in the Vancouver Courier here.

As mentioned in the article Councillor Geoff Meggs' was recently involved in an accident in which he was knocked to the ground and thankfully due to wearing a helmet received non-life threatening injuries even though he was made unconscious as a result. See this article in the Province Some of the awful comments on that page are truly sad and pathetic. I've not been a fan of Councillor Meggs, I never knew he was a cyclist however. But for people to make such comments about him and cyclists overall just tells me how people who drive cars are threatened by people who ride bikes.

As momentum builds it is great to see a better solution for the Arbutus rail corridor, since we obviously will not be getting rail transportation, why not make it in to a cycling route ? It will be away from traffic and on an easy slope up towards West 45th Ave. See the Facebook group.

Looks like it will be a busy summer....

The 2010 Olympics and Bicycles

2010-02-15T12:03:00.000-08:00

This weekend the 2010 Winter Olympics hosted by Vancouver started up. Now many people know I have been a vehement opposer of the Olympics via the web site at 2010watch.com however there is one aspect of the games I have supported and that is the Bike Valet.

Bike Valet's are not new to large scale Vancouver events, the folk Festival, the Jazz Festival and others all have a Bike Valet of some scale.

A few months back I caught an ad on Craigslist looking for people to work at the Bike Valet, so I signed up, went to the orientation and last night I completed my first shift at the Pacific Coliseum.

Given that it was a wonderfully sunny Sunday, perfect conditions for a spring ride, we had a dozen bikes for the evening event of ice skating; not a lot of bikes for a capacity crowd in the Coliseum.

Interestingly enough ticket prices ranged from $56 to one ticket I saw for $458, the young kid from Denver had it signed by some Canadian skaters, a VIP perk maybe.

I have a number of evening shifts and I will try and report on the success of the venture as it goes.

On another note - the Nazi inspired Olympic flame relay passed by my house on the day of the opening ceremonies. Interestingly enough it was carried by a chap on a Rocky Mountain bike, with enough black coated security to make even Joseph Goebbels smile.

Great bikes do not a great relationship make

2009-10-02T11:24:00.000-07:00

As many of you will no doubt be aware I have been in a "relationship" with a woman from my neighbourhood since early May. Sadly, that relationship has come to a close, despite the very positive cycling aspects, it was just not the right time for us apparently.

Cristal H is a stunningly great cyclist, she took to the bike after a 25 year hiatus and within days was off on 50k plus rides. I helped her chose the bike, took her to the various bike stores around town and we chatted extensively about the bike she finally ended up with. At the end of the day she chose to drop some serious cash on a custom Soma Fabricating bike from Dream Cycle on Commercial Drive. We also took long rides throughout the city and beyond, the longest we took was from our neighbourhood out to Steveston and back a total of 63kms or just over 30 miles - riding with someone like Cristal was always a pleasure - she never complained and was always ready for the next part of the ride.

However, a mutual interest in cycling does not a relationship make. Despite our mutual love of cycling we had many differences in our lifestyles, our approach to life was polar opposite. I had my life and she had hers and there was very little room for compromise in there and at the end of the day it did not matter how much we cycled together, we butted heads too much on the other things.

In tribute to our relationship and to show the world how hot Cristal looked on her new bike here are a few photos taken by me prior to us going out on a date down to Commercial Drive.

The other day whilst working out at the gym I saw Cristal ride by, just that image of Cristal riding her bike was a sad comment for me on our relationship - the image of Cristal and her white Soma bike will be forever etched in my head.

Happy riding Cristal - may your road be forever smooth.

Three days under the stars in Sechelt

2009-08-25T19:46:00.000-07:00

For the last three nights I have lived without a roof, other than the stars above. Three years ago I completed the "Circle Route" see blog entry # This time around I decided to just stay around the seaside town of Sechelt, camping at the Porpoise Bay provincial campground.

Day 1 - was the trek in from East Vancouver to downtown to catch the 257 Express bus to Horseshoe Bay. Best to catch this bus at the Dunsmuir Street turnaround point, before the bus fills on Georgia. I caught the 1.35pm ferry over to Langdale and once in to Gibson's via the lower road, over to Gower Point for a photo over the Georgia Straight.

Following my previous route back to the 101 and the a left down the Lower Road in to the heart of green-ness on the west coast in Roberts Creek. After quick bite and some text messaging, it was off to Sechelt to catch up with my buddy Colin MacKenzie who had left earlier in the morning. Our original plan wa to stay the first night at the Robert's Creek campground but it looked awful and too close to the 101. Colin suggested Porpoise Bay campground approx 4km outside Sechelt.

I finally arrived at the camp and was happy to see it was a cyclists section with bike racks aplenty. Lots of other cyclists including a tandem couple from North Vancouver, were hanging out and swapping stories.

My first night under the stars was an adventure in comfort. All I slept on was a tarp and self inflating mattress and then my sleeping bag, which kept me more than warm. I have not slept under the stars since 1979 on my very first holiday to Canada, it truly is an eye opening experience. In my younger days I used to fall asleep with the headphones on listening to music. I reckoned this was the best way to get to know the music as one fades in and out of consciousness in the process of falling asleep. It was the same here - staring directly up at a clear night sky with 1000's of stars is an other worldly experience.

Poor Colin sleeping close by in his tent, had to put up with my eventual snoring, evidenced by two pairs of shoes that had been lobbed my way during the night, apparently with little affect on my snoring.

DAY 2
It was up and out of bed and then a decision to break the camp and head off for breakfast. On arriving at the Sechelt Wheatberries bakery. Colin decided he would head out on his own in search of his own path. I stayed a while longer and chatted with the tandem couple over coffee; they in turned headed off up to Halfmoon Bay via Red Roofs Road.

With the Smuggler Cove camp site as my general goal, I too headed north to take the Red Roofs Rd 11km route to Halfmoon Bay. This route is a lot of up and down, typical of the roads in the area, mostly deserted and as usual hard to get in to grove with the constant up and down. Finally, I arrived at the Halfmoon Bay store to meet a 67 year old former East German named Hans. Hans was on a solo three month trek of the pacific northwest and was heading south for his Sept departure from YVR. Hans was in incredible shape and put men 30 years younger to shame.

After a break I headed back on to the 101 for a few km to the Brookes Rd turn off and out the 10km round trip to Smuggler Cove. Smuggler Cover was a dissapointment since it was originally my intended second night camp site. It DID say wild camping, but in reality two clearings next to a stinky outhouse does not qualify as a campsite at the longest stretch. So it was back down the dirt road for 2km and back towards Halfmoon Bay then back down Red Roofs Rd on my way to Sechelt. As I was getting tired and somewhat cranky at this point I took a snooze on bench at Coopers Green Park. Then it was back on the road to Sechelt; I kinda forgot the 18% incline leading back to the 101, this was impossible to ride up, so it was a slow slog up the hill. I was back to the Porpoise Bay camp by about 6.30 and ran in to Hans and the tandem guys again, plus a couple of dudes from Seattle heading north and couple from Columbia who had walked in from Sechelt. Hans had made it up the Red Roofs 18% grade without pushing !

Another night of star gazing and recognising the constellations as the rolled through my field of view, lots of meteor showers.

Day 3
I headed back in to town with the intention of exploring Sechelt itself. After breakfast I cruised around visiting various business' and establishments including the local employment office. Sechelt is a nice small town, flat for the most part, very friendly folks. Fort he afternoon I headed back to camp for some lunch then a swim in the inlet, which was a little cold. It was just warm enough to lie on the beach and soak up some rays and fall asleep. Dinner was at the camp and then I headed back in to town to hang out at the Gilligan's Pub for a few hours. No sooner had I walked through the door a fellah named Peter introduced himself and I found myself sat at a table of locals of various vintage. The discussion topics ranging from the end of the world to internet dating - somehow connected maybe ?

It was then back to camp, thankfully my purchase of a brand new Shark headlight a few weeks back paid off in the total darkness of rural Sechelt.

This night was not so pretty, clouds moved in and it was kind of boring. I was awoken at around 3am with a loud noise that sounded like rain and wind but of in the distance and creeping ever closer. It did spit a little but other than that the clouds eventually parted and the stars appeared once again.

Day 4
Up at 8am, packed up and headed for town and some breakfast. After chatting with a local art gallery owner I relented and caught the bus back in to Gibsons and the 10.30am ferry. Given the bus service is fairly reliable, it would not be inconceivable for someone to live car-free in Sechelt.

I was back in the metropolis of Vancouver by 1pm and back home in East Van by 1.30. At least my cat was very happy to see me.

Translink Cycle Bridge Opening

2009-08-14T16:05:00.000-07:00

This morning I headed out from my place at Cassiar and Adanac to the the opening of the new bridge at Kent Ave and Ash Street. The 50 minute trek took me along the Millenium Skytrain route to Victoria, along East 10th to Ontario and then south to Kent Ave. and then west a few blocks to Ash.

Having recently riden this area last weekend with the "Shetland Pony", it was interesting to come back during the week to see the amount of very heavy traffic along Kent Ave. Anyone that is familiar with the street knows the area as being heavy industry, the vehicle traffic is excessive for such a small street at this time.

Thankfully, the time spent on Kent was only between Ontario and Ash, approx 3-4 blocks. The city of Vancouver really need to make the connection between Ontario and the new bridge much safer and preferably separated from the heavy truck usage.

On arrival many local bike advocates and elected politicos were present. Likewise, there was an excessive police presence, I'm not sure of the purpose of such a large RCMP presence on the Richmond side. The Vancouver police were present along the Musqueum Bike Patrol, the latter were friendly and acted as true "ambassadors of the land".

The opening ceremony took place on the Richmond side with many of the official looking types looking like they could do with a few bike rides over the bridge themselves. Various users of the bridge were present including cyclists, runners, walkers - always present was the constant drone of aircraft and the rumblings of the new Canada line overhead, the latter often scaring the hell out of those present.

The bridge itself is a fine piece of municipal infrastructure, well lit and protected from the easterly elements with an overhang. It is somewhat open to the south and west, but many of us who ride Second Narrows or Lion Gate in winter know how nasty/dark/windy bridges can get; this one will be an easy ride.

Eventually the bridge will provide some needed bike route infrastructure between Vancouver and Richmond. Until now the only route north or south was Knight or Oak St bridge. However, both cities need to speed up the development of connecting bike routes at either side of the bridge in order to create a much safer environment due to the industrial nature of the area at each end.

There can be no question of the importance of this bridge for cyclists and despite the very legitimate concerns of all along the Cambie Street corridor, this bridge, as one example, shows some good use of taxpayers dollars.

More photos from the opening can be seen HERE

Critical Mass gets critical blast

2009-08-01T13:32:00.000-07:00

I have been a participant in the Critical Mass event for several years now. For the first time in these years I have seen an incredible amount vitriolic nastiness spew forth from the Vancouver Sun pages on the subject of the CM = why all of a sudden ?

This week the Vancouver Sun posted a front page editorial on the evil's of people organising themselves in to a critical mass, in this case cyclists. The amount of anger and fear mongering this editorial has created is amazing. Yet on the CM this month [last night] we saw far less confrontations and far less people acting aggressively on the city streets. Where are the articles today about how peaceful the ride was ?

Reading many of the comments - it seems many simply are pissed off about inconvenience, many are pissed off about cyclists not abiding the law, some even suggest creating a critical mass of drivers - I think they already call it "rush-hour"!!!

Cyclists are fighting for their rights to be on the road - everyday we go out amongst the sleep deprived, radio tuning, cell phone calling automobile drivers. We dodge them, spank their hoods for inattention, shout our curses and still we get hit and taken to hospital. The bad habits of automobile drivers do far more damage to the insurance rates and general economy than a few errant cyclists. Yakking on the cell phone, whilst sipping a latte, slipping through a stop sign, first thing in a morning is an accident waiting to happen - pity the poor cyclist or pedestrian that ends up in hospital because of your inattention.

Once a month, for a few hours, cyclists get to claim the road as their own. Nothing can replace the freedom of riding down the middle of Burrard or Broadway with 1000's of other like minded people on bikes. YES at the expense of drivers, but you get to rule the road for the other 30 days of the month - once a month you get to turn off your engines and wait.

The Critical Mass is not responsible for how you feel in your car - the automobile environment is inherently designed to cut you off from the outside world, whereas the bicycle is the complete opposite, it reconnects you to the outside world. How many times have you screamed at other drivers for cutting you off ? Why do drivers assault each other, often fatally from road rage ? You never hear of cyclists doing the same thing to other cyclists.

Vancouver is still seeking its own a identity, it is still making the leap from hick logging town to urban pleasure dome. Cycling has much more of a prominence in the 21st century North American urban environment. Part of the responsibility lands on governments at all levels to create and fund infrastructure for bikes , however much of the responsibility lands on us as individuals to act appropriately to the inevitable changes that land on our doorstep. Like it or hate it we are moving away from an automobile oriented urban landscape - it is only in the last 70 years have we seen the rise of the automobile, people still remember the streets without them.

The Critical Mass bike ride that occurs in 300 cities around the world on the last Friday of the month is a statement to all those who continue to oppose it as much as it it is for those of us who support it. As the automobile is inherently designed to divide and conquer people - the bicycle is inherently designed to unify people - the mass will continue to grow until one day it will be the majority.

On a final note - as mentioned from my previous entry, my g/f bought herself a new bike from Dream Cycle on Commercial Drive. Her custom made bike suits her very well, she loves it and has been riding as much as she can; 25 years of not riding a bike can create quite a thirst for the road, on her 3 rd ride she completed 56km.

Being Lured to the Dark Side

2009-07-12T13:14:00.000-07:00

As mentioned last month, I started up a great relationship with a great gal, we are still going strong. However, the lure of the automobile, namely her dark blue Volvo, is getting to be somewhat hazardous !

My lady [Cristal] is a single occupancy commuter, she drives to and from Oak and Broadway five days per week. In her favour she is strongly leaning toward commuting to work on her bike, opposingly I am starting to like being driven around in her dark blue Volvo. Now I'm not going to capitulate and fall under the lure of car ownership any time soon; however I am strongly reminded of how convenient and how impulsive car ownership can be.

Take the following example: a few days ago my g/f wanted ice cream - so she simply got in her car and drove to Safeway and bought some. That trip really drove home the need for restraint on my part, so much so I went along for the ride in the most contradictory fashion. Now I don't particularly like ice cream and I'm certainly no fan of Safeway, but the lure of the impulse was very strong. After all, Cristal works for her pleasures, pays her taxes, why not have some ice cream reward from time to time ?

Having your sole mode of transportation being self-propelled really does make you stop and think. I could easily walk or ride to the nearest corner store and buy ice cream or any other impulsively inspired product, sure it might be melted by the time I got it home, however resisting the impulse is key. Others might say "why punish yourself"?

Has bike ownership stopped my impulsive lifestyle ? I jumped on a plane to London in February on an impulse, I didn't even go with the carbon credits option. So whilst I may have stopped certain impulses from coming to reality, particularly around the automobile, I have not yet restrained myself in other areas.

I will say getting someone on a bike for the first time in 20 years is a major accomplishment. Cristal was an avid bike rider before she had her kids - and as the life often dictates the bike riding lifestyle was closeted until very recently. Our first major ride doing the two main bridges [Second Narrows/Lion's Gate] in Vancouver covered about 35km. We completed it leisurely, however it was completed non the less. Now she is almost at the point of commuting to work on her bike, about a 40 minute one way trip. She is also contemplating a major bike purchase, as she currently uses a borrowed bike that is a too big.

Although, this morning we had a minor set back in the new commuter plan - DOROTHY, Cristal's recently adopted boxer decided to eat Cristal's Bell helmet at some point in the last 12 hours. Dorothy is not much of a trouble maker, usually very well behaved, however as the evidence presents, she has obviously stated her case and wants to be part of the commuter solution in her own way. This little scenario conjures up the notion of "please sir I can't ride my bike to work today - the dog ate my helmet" !!!

Almost four years auto-free and a new relationship as a plus

2009-06-18T22:35:00.000-07:00

Some months ago I wrote about trying to get a relationship started in a car free environment - well the relationship did not work, not due to the lack of a car though.

For the last month I have once again tried the relationship thing, this time things seem to be working out much, much better. Yes, she does have a car and yes she does commute to work in it every day - but that is ok ! One of the things I did learn from the relationship that failed is that I was too preoccupied with how other people lived their lives. I have come to the conclusion I can only be responsible for myself; as a result I do what I can do, I advise others but I don't get too fanatic about it or freak out too much.

My new relationship is full of positive energy, full of vim and vigor and did I mention the energy ?

No longer am I trying to change people, my life is that much better for it. In January I made the decision not to run for the Green Party in the May election. It is somewhat ironic that I was asked to not run for the party at about the same time. So I have left the political arena behind, supposedly to concentrate on my band, well also to get my social life back in order.

I am involved with a beautiful, energetic woman who lives about five blocks away. We have known of each other for many years yet never formally met. It was during our second date we know what had something going on, the second date was at the Old Admiral Pub in Burnaby. In the last few weeks we have seen some great bands there, highly recommended for those 40 plus or anyone in to good old soul tunes.

The band is coming back together, looks like this time we will have some pedigree in our new singer, who's name I cannot announce as yet, but he comes from a well known family of Vancouver soul singers - things are looking good band wise as a result.

My only major beef with anyone at the moment is with the Vancouver Auto Co-Op. Little did I know when my x-wife split a year ago she would leave me hanging with her bill with the auto co-op. Because I am the major share holder I got lumbered with her portion of the bill. something I did not read in the small print when I signed up in 2006. I have not used a co-op car in over a month, yet I ended up with a $500 plus bill this month thanks to this little clause in the agreement - so watch out for this people.

So with the summer on us and nothing but blue skies and flat smooth roads ahead I enter my fourth year living the car free lifestyle. So much water has passed under the bridge in the last four years I could probably qualify as a private hydro development with the provincial government - enough to power Adanac Village at least ! I have a feeling a smoother path approaches - I have never so proud of myself as I continue my life without an automobile.

$10 billion to save GM - the Titanic has set sail yet again

2009-06-01T14:07:00.000-07:00

As many of you know the government of Canada has decided to bail out GM Canada to the tune of approx. $10 billion.

Whilst I recognise the largest corporate bankruptcy for what it is, there is no way on this Earth, the gov't of Canada should be parting with our tax dollars to the amount of $10 billion !

And today Prime Minister Harpers announces

"Clearly taxpayers will get some money back when the day comes that we begin to sell our equity share, but to be frank we are not counting on that,"

Harper said. Google News

If there was ever a time an international corporate megasoar was to bring down a government, surely that time is now. The numbers are mind-bogglingly large, the concept of so many dollars being thrown at essentially is a dead duck company is so bizarre and freak-ish, it does all but confirm the end of the world is just around the corner.

Why not just give the employees a simple pay out ? Why not create a new company that creates a decent product, not vehicles that are gutless and prone to break down ?

The Calgary Herald's Mark Milke concludes the cost of the bailout, if added to the average cost of a GM vehicle would be $14,705; Calgary Herald Now I'm not a great business leader by any stretch, but even to me this makes no economic sense. Even if sales remain constant, there is no way Canadian taxpayers will ever recover from this.

If anything this gives Canadians an excellent opportunity to look in to the corporate world and see how it directly influences government policy. I wonder how many phone calls and back room meetings it took for Stephen Harper to bend to the wishes of his buddies at GM Canada ? I wish I could have that kind of influence on the prime ministers office !

The loss of 10,000 jobs in Canada would eventually be dealt with, especially if that $10 billion was invested in retraining and some entreprenurial programs. You can bet some of the 10,000 have some excellent ideas on how build a better wheel or how to build a better vehicle.

For the record my last vehicle I ever owned was a GM vehicle. It was a leased vehicle and it had a really bad habit of not running at all on hot days, I finally gave it back to GM with a curse attached.

The taxpayers of Canada should not be shouldering the largest ever corporate bankruptcy. If Harper believes it necessary, his reasons must be related to avoiding a complete and utter economic meltdown. If this is the case, then bailing out GM is not going to stop such a meltdown, in fact it is going to perpetrate such a disaster even more. Harper is so entrenched in the corporate world he simply cannot see this reality. This bailout could have been stopped by the NDP, Liberals, Bloc and Greens, had they all joined together to stop Harper at some point in the last six months. Instead, we the tax paying citizens of Canada have been pushed to the brink that much more by an ineffective gov't and mutually beneficial sad and pathetic opposition.

If there is any true opposition left in Canada, surely they must call for a vote of non-confidence in Harper's gov't and take us to yet another election - do it quick before the ink dries please !

As a society we have to recognise this a positive sign the days of car ownership are starting to run short. The symbolic place the automobile has in our society is changing; the personal freedoms we associate with car ownership are changing. Stephen Harper recognises this and by investing such a grand amount of tax payers dollars in to the sinking ship of the automobile industry, he too has announced the day in the life of the automobile has reached its sunset.

VANOC has Parking issues....

2009-04-17T11:00:00.000-07:00

You know some days having a bike is 100% pure benefit - like yesterday.

Yesterday I had to visit Active electronics on the corner of East 1st and Boundary Rd, turns out I had to go back to the store three times to get the right parts.

On trip #1 I notice some of my neighbours had put out these signs on their front lawns

VANOC is located on Gravely Street in the old Glenayre building, they have a lot of cars at their immediate disposal, apparently with inadequate parking, so the VANOC staff have been parking in front of residences and then walking through Charles Park to the office.

On trip # 2 I took my camera and snapped some pics of the signs and the cars parked there. Some obviously from out of province with Quebec licence plates. I talked to a couple of my neighbours having the parking issue with VANOC. No change in the situation even after a few complaints had been made to VANOC. Being the helpful sorta guy I am, I would see what I could do to help.

On trip # 3 who do I run in to ? None other than John Furlong CEO of the 2010 Olympic Games, strolling through Charles Park. Well opportunity strikes more than once - I go do my thing at the store. On my way back I run in to Mr Furlong again - this time I stop and have a conversation, which went something like this:

Ian: Excuse me Mr Furlong, I live in the neighbourhood and some of my neighbours are having problems with your employees parking in front of their homes. Can you do something about it ?
John Furlong: confers with person he is walking with - er yes we shall look in to it and have it sorted [or words to that affect]
Ian: Thank you Mr Furlong, your neighbours would appreciate it.

Obviously many of the VANOC employees have not heard of the bus service we have in Vancouver. Judging by the Audi's and BMW's and assorted larger SUV's floating around my neighbourhood, I think taking the bus for VANOC employees is a bit too green for their tastes. Their location is serviced by the 28 route that runs from Kootenay loop to Joyce Station and their location is only a 10 minute walk from Kootenay bus loop. If the 2010 Games are supposed to be the greenest ever Mr Furlong might want to remind his employees of it from time to time.

Now I don't know if Mr Furlong would even remember talking to me by the time he got back to his office; do you think we will see some positive results ?

I'll be back in a week to let you know....

Ah when Spring calls = the wheels are set in motion

2009-03-29T16:52:00.000-07:00

Today has been the best biking day of the year so far, so much so I felt the real need to get out and make the most of it, the rest of the week does not look so promising :-)

Recognising it has been four months since my last entry - it has been a really crappy winter with endless rain, no job, no woman to speak of... winter blah's all around - NO MORE.

Winter's like this are not good for bike riding morale, but days like today make the long winter of discontent worth it. I am still car free and that is a good measure, although I almost caved and bought a small truck at one point. I ended up spending the money on a quick trip over to the UK - only to land in the heaviest UK snow fall in twenty years. I was contemplating some London bike riding, once the snow was down though pretty well ended that plan.

These last four months have seen me bow out of politics completely. I am no longer involved with the Green Party; around January I was asked not to run in the May election and whilst I am still puzzled as to why, I know where I am not wanted. I also bowed out of the STV campaign, also scheduled for May 19th. I reckon being around the Work Less Party showed me the GPBC had become too much part of the political process and less of the activist process - too much for my liking at least. I gave Green politics eight years of my time, attended 7 or 8 annual general meetings; saw a lot of changes, especially in the last 8-10 months that questioned my support.

Since losing my job at SFU in June 08 I have been ambling along courtesy of the federal gov't and I even qualified for the Stephen Harper five week extension. Inevitably, this has come to an end and with no real job prospects in sight things are looking somewhat lean. It is ironic I don't qualify for the job I did at Rogers 20 years ago [I applied at Shaw as tech support]. I get the feeling I am on some sort of journey, no idea where it will take me or the source of its energy - but certainly feel the push. I do have an interview at the Vancouver Auto Co-Op this week maybe that will be fruitful at least; I have been a member since 2006.

Today, I took a three hour break from all of the above and I never left East Vancouver. I took the partially completed Central Valley Bikeway from Boundary Rd to Clarke Dr where it kinda disappeared, headed up Commercial and Victoria over to Powell; then over to the Seaside route in to New Brighton then on the Trans-Canada trail to the Burnaby/Vancouver border and back along the Cassiar route back to my house. At one point at Cassiar and Hastings as I waited to cross the street, three single occupancy SUV's pulled up to the light and it occurred to me the battle for the streets is ongoing; competing with single-occupancy SUV's is an ongoing thing. Maybe it is time to make a switch in that respect.

What a beautiful day - the first of many I am sure. The bikeway along the Millenium route is a much needed route of access for cyclists. It is relatively flat since it follows the Still Creek/CN railway for the most part. I'm not exactly sure what happens to it at Clarke Drive, it seemed to fizzle out with no signage present to tell you otherwise. The trek out to Burnaby and beyond would be well worth it; I have seen the work going on around Burnaby Lake and that will be a really nice stretch of the route.
as you can see from my photos I made a circular route over to the Seaside/Trans Canada trail path and snapped a few pics under the Second Narrows bridge, followed by a nice little hike back up to the base of Boundary Rd North. Here is the map of the route and I thoroughly recommend it for all skill levels.

Civic Election Analysis - not unlike my big toe

2008-11-24T12:17:00.000-08:00

With the Vancouver Civic election now put to bed, time for some analysis and afterthought.

My decision to run in the election was a good one, no regrets at all. In fact it opened me up to a whole other world of "true" activism; something that seems to be currently missing in the Green Party of BC as it becomes more and more like the other two political parties in BC.

Hanging around people like Conrad, Betty K and Chris Shaw [the three people who inspired me to run] has taught me a few things. No longer can we pretend everything is business as usual. We have evidence of the 2010 Olympics affecting the direction of governments at ALL levels. The $100,000,000 in-camera bail out that pretty well caused the downfall of the NPA and Peter Ladner [and somehow left VISION unscathed] tells us the obligated parties will even sacrifice their political careers in order to maintain olympic level secrecy. The IOC indirectly has power over government policy, there is no better example of this than what recently happened in the Vancouver elections. Do you think VISION will do business differently ? We shall see !

The city of Vancouver has some hard realities to deal with. The issues rising from the downtown eastside need to be addressed from the ground up and not from the top down. The solutions to the major problems there are within the community already, the city needs to support those solutions and help make them happen and NOT get in the way. We can put a halt to crime by providing the drugs for people to use. If we reduce crime we no longer need an increased police force and can replace those numbers with mental health workers that deal with addictions and its related issues. However, my guess is the majority of people are not ready to accept the connection between drug addiction and crime, Drug addicts break in to cars and property in order to provide an income in order to financially fulfill their addiction needs. We simply break the cycle by refocussing our attention on prevention rather than crime. Too long have we used prohibition in order to further legitimise the need for more police.

For the rest of us who do not live on the downtown eastside we have to come to terms with the issues of the area. We have to recognise the problems in the downtown eastside have to be addressed in a constructive manner, simply throwing people in jail and telling them they are bad people is not going to work.

At the recent Green Party of BC AGM in White Rock, one of our guest speakers was Dr Gabor Matte. Dr Matte spoke on the root causes of addiction, mainly childhood sexual abuse and how this manifests itself in to drug addiction in later life. Too long have we failed to connect the these two blights on our society. If we dedicate more resources to eradicating sexual abuse of children, we simply reduce the number of drug addicts later on in life. However, I'm not about to suggest any course of action, other than we have to be more aware of the connection between the two. No longer can we afford as a society to blissfully push childhood sexual abuse aside without recognising the consequences of it years later; too often we treat the symptom with little or no attention given to the root cause.

In many ways the results of the Vancouver civic election came as no surprise. A very low voter turnout supported a VISION sweep of the school and parks board and city council with the precentages being split thus. Why voters gave Raymond Louie so much support baffles me, he was one of the main perpetrators behind Olympic-Gate, for some reason the voters neglected to connect him in the same way they connected Peter Ladner.

On a final note, it was with much regret I missed the last three days of the campaign, including the election night party for the WLP. Sadly the Thursday before I broke my big toe helping my friend Gretchen Elsner move from Gambier Island. I got my foot caught under the ramp roller that allows that ramp leading to the dock to move with the tides and waves whilst lifting something on to the ramp. It pretty well put me out of action for about 5 days. Not a pretty sight... but it does remind me of the civic election and many of the issues we now face in Vancouver.

So onward with the STV campaign, no bigger issue is facing the whole province of British Columbia right now. We have to change the way we vote in order to effect change in this province. We have to elect more opinions and more voices to Victoria, no longer can we rely on the voices of the NDP and Liberals to echo the diversity of opinions in British Columbia. Please support the STV vote on May 12th and get involved with the campaign.

Finding New Love in the Autofree World

2008-10-21T10:24:00.000-07:00

There are many benefits of being car-free, a lot of them revolve around $$$ savings from not having a hunk of metal in my driveway, I have a clear conscience around pollution, I generally feel I'm making a difference. However, in the last few months it has come clear that there is one major downturn of not having a car and that is impulse.

Recently I met a new woman in my life, like me she is car free, rides a bike, takes transit and often walks to work - what a catch ! However, since she does lives some distance away the logistics of the car free relationship have become apparent. In the past I have always had a vehicle when starting a new relationship; it was easy just to jump in the car and be there in a matter of minutes. Without the car, like most other things without the car, our social lives need more planning; this has not been an issue until recently.

My new partner has not been without her car for very long, in fact she is contemplating buying a car in the spring. On closer inspection her reasons for being without the car are not the same as mine, less environmental impact, more financial. However, the impact on our relationship is more than apparent. Like many people from Vancouver's more westerly locations, we over here on the eastern border may as well be in Coquitlam or Mission. Needless to say the logistics are compounded during the week when it is back to work in the AM of the next day; the growth of our relationship seems to be hampered by our car free lifestyles.

I have had more time to adjust to the car free life, my partner, because it was a financial choice more than philosophical, seems to be fighting the change more aggressively. She misses the ability to simply jump in the car and go some place on impulse, I have pretty well dealt with that issue, up until now.

So how do we deal with this ? One of us has to relent, either I have to buy a car or she has to buy a car OR she has to become accustomed to riding the 135 bus or grabbing a $10 taxi ride to my house. Had I lived around Commercial Drive this might be only half the issue, since that area is about halfway between us. Out here on the Burnaby/Vancouver border maybe quieter than the downtown eastside. Right now it looks like I am the one trekking regularly in to Vancouver, which I don't mind at all, after all that is why we have Ipod's and cell phones [both recently purchased].

Early stages of relationships are often dubious and it is where insecurity comes to light, add a dose of logistical car free lifestyle and could be just one more thing to dampen ones enthusiasm. Yet we are highly resilient individuals, we are full of ideas to circumvent inconvenience and general bad weather, surely two mature, intelligent, hot for each other individuals can overcome this.

Running for the Work Less Party

2008-10-02T00:17:00.000-07:00

At the end of August I was cornered at a social event by some of my heroes, Betty Krawczyk, Chris Shaw and Conrad Schmidt. Since it was Betty's 80th birthday party how could I refuse their invite to run for the Work Less Party in the upcoming Vancouver civic elections ? It was at this same party I saw Rafe Mair [radio host former Socred] informally bantering with Charles Boylan [radio host and Marxist-Leninist]. Well I thought if those two political worlds can meet in appreciation of Betty K, I certainly would be amenable to running civically.

I have run in elections before, notably the 2001 and 2005 BC provincial elections. I did reasonably well, the first time I ran I got scores of media attention, the second time I ran I hardly got any. This time around I am unlikely to get much in the way of media, although Betty [who is running for Mayor] and Chris [who is running for council will probably garner the most media scores.

The WLP are an interesting bunch of people. Started by Conrad Schmidt, the party has run civically and provincially, 2008 marks their first run federally. Conrad is a great philosopher and his book "Workers of the World Relax" is a great read and highly recommended. This civic election see's the party with a stunningly "green" platform. Written by Chris Shaw [who wrote the Green Party platform in 2005] and Geri Tramutola; the platform runs the gamut of practical advice for downward spiraling economies, natural disasters whilst at the same time how to put the "fun" back in to Vancouver.

There are numerous issues within the WLP platform that other parties simply will not touch; such as moving towards a self sustaining city that relies heavily on community gardens that pushes out big box stores. The platform identifies five areas of importance: waste management, arts and culture, transit, crime and housing. Each area receives detailed analysis with specific suggestions on how to deal with the various issues that have arisen in regard to them.

One of my favourite sections is the "community gardens" section. The WLP emphasis on community oriented gardening and the removal of red tape opens the doors for increased food safety via locally grown, organic food production across the city. The more community gardens we have the safer we will be.

So it is my pleasure to run for the WLP. I would be great if some of the recently rejected candidates from VISION and COPE would take a look at the WLP, the WLP is far more green than any other political entity on the Vancouver civic scene and for this BC Green Party candidate that is a whole lot more green for all of us.

Blair Wilson the first of many....

2008-09-01T11:23:00.000-07:00

I have been involved with the Green Party since 2000 and Elizabeth May never ceases to amaze me. Finally, the Greens get their own Member of Parliament, the first one ever using our ancient first past the post voting system.

Is this a reason to celebrate ? In most ways yes. Finally, breaking through the barrier in to Ottawa has been a long time coming. For many Greens this will mark the end of a long wait and the start of something new. We are now entering uncharted territory, it's a little scary to think we can do it, but do it we must.

As for the Blair Wilson the man, I do not know him other than what I read in the news. There is something vindictive about an anonymous tip to Elections Canada, in politics you can piss off people just by being yourself. I'm sure the issues are complicated and personal. Regardless, this is a symbolic gesture of grand proportions and Canadian political history has been made in this gesture.

The voters of British Columbia now face the daunting possibility of three elections between now and May 12, 2009. This will stretch all political parties' resources to their limits, particularly we Greens who still like to get involved at all levels. Possibly, we may see an influx of volunteers and interest due to the Blair Wilson addition, it would be nice to have a few more constituency offices and people to sit in them.

Today I'm off to the Green Party open house down at Hastings and Cambie. The modest office space is home to both the federal and provincial party offices, the food is good and I have good idea what the main subject will be around the water cooler today.

Watch the videos here... http://watch.ctv.ca/news/latest/green-switch/#clip87109

Three Years of being Car Free

2008-07-28T20:02:00.000-07:00

This weekend marks my third year of being car-free and I'm still with the program and still don't have a big hunk o' metal in my drive way.

Who would have thought three years ago I would have given up my lease to GMAC and handed back their Chevy Venture van ? Three years later I am probably in the greatest physical shape of my life, can handle any hill and have travelled as a far away as the Queen Charlotte's and Japan in search of a good ride.

I have met so many like-minded people who have given up their addiction to the automobile, yet I see so many of us more addicted than ever. My overweight neighbour goes in and out at least a dozen times per day in his Rav 4; these are the people who need to give up their car the most.

Let's face it not everyone is brave enough to give up their car. So many people equate car ownership with prestige and social status. I see so many so tough looking hombres splurging for a $35,000 Harley, if you really want tough go self powered ! I mean all that leather and darkness, surely a self powered vehicle is more prestigious.

I have discovered the joys of the month Critical Mass. This when faithful bike riders that have discovered the bicycle as a political tool take to the streets and generally ride around downtown and from time to time they go naked; which was cold and yet still fun.

Things have not always been rosy. My wife Heather took a tumble from her bike about a year ago and ended up in Royal Columbian for a month. An indirect repercussion of which I lost my job in June. I really could not work with people so shallow and mean spirited. Thankfully, Heather has almost recovered, however our marriage has not and whilst we remain friends our short lived marriage is pretty well toast.

One aspect of bicycle culture I had totally missed out in the past is the notion of a babe on a bike. OMFG ! Has there ever been a better time to be a cyclist ? There are so many beautiful women out there on bikes, it's amazing I keep upright [er so to speak] bicycle wise. I've often been told due to my physical limitations I am an inspirational cyclist, well let me tell ya what inspires me !

Today I spent a fair amount of change on my bike, pretty well replaced the transmission down at Dream Cycle on commercial. Good bunch o' lads down there, good place to swap stories.

With three years under my belt and no serious sign of giving in I'm proud to move in to my fourth year of living with out an automobile. Anyone can do it - really ! And let's not be totally in the dark here, having an automobile allows me to do certain things like move guitar amps and musical equipment, for which I use the Vancouver Auto-Co-Op. I reckoned I spent about $2000 on the co-op last year, still way less than owning.

It can be done, you can do it, I can help.

Carbon Tax will be the bane of the BC NDP in 2009

2008-06-04T23:35:00.000-07:00

OK so the Liberals are evil, Gordon Campbell is a crappy premier, Kevin Falcon is the Transport Minister from HELL. However, the Liberals have to be at least patted on the back in some small way for bringing in their version of a Carbon Tax.

Is this Carbon Tax the best it can be ? NO Could the Liberals do it better ? YES. However, since this is the first of its kind in North America, who are we to complain about the why's and the wherefores ? Bring it on !

What could do be done much better is sell the tax to British Columbian's is to highlight the carbon tax's revenue neutral benefits, which are lets face it somewhat fuzzy in the legislation. The idea being that British Columbian's see the benefit of paying more tax on their carbon emitting devices, reduce their use and pay less tax. The Liberals are promising to give us all $100 as they rake in millions from the tax. British Columbia's tax payers need to know where the money is going.

Paying off the debt or paying off the 2010 Olympics is simply unacceptable. The point of the Carbon Tax is to change behaviour in order to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, if the revenue is spent on other things, then this is not a Carbon Tax at all.

Needless to say the BC NDP have totally dropped the ball on the Carbon Tax issue. Instead of dismissing the tax, the NDP should be taking leadership by suggesting amendments in order to garner support with the BC legislature. Once again, as with the Gateway Plan, we see Carole James and the NDP true colours and there is little or no green to be seen.

Carbon Taxes DO work when implemented correctly and the revenues are directed to reduce carbon emissions - hopefully the leaders of the Liberals and NDP will figure this out sooner or later.

GREEN PARTY CONVENTION MAJOR SUCCESS

2007-10-23T14:56:00.000-07:00

Last weekend I had the pleasure of attending my seventh Green Party of BC convention. This time around Royal Roads University played host my political party of choice. The event was attended by about 150 delegates from all over BC, California and Ontario.

Recharging ones own political batteries is the name of the game at this event and mine were in serious need of a boost. Given that I live in prime NDP territory, Green support in East Van is minimal between elections. Add to the fact I get in trouble at work for telling people they should recycle more, turn off lights and double side their printing and you can see why I run out of steam. [I work at SFU].

I had the pleasure of staying over at the Sterk residence for the weekend and was treated to a great dinner on arriving Friday night by the Sterk's. It turned out my bike trek from Swartz Bay to their house in Esquimalt took twice as long as I originally expected. A 32km trip for some reason took over three hours, which is slow even for me. I took the Lochside Trail south from the ferry terminal; I got lost twice and there was far more dirt and mud on the trail than I expected. Once I got in to the Greater Victoria area the trail was paved and I got up to more speed and the near flatness of the route was a breeze. In summer this would be a great trail to completion all the way out to Sooke.

The convention itself was well done, apart from the usual organisational glitches. Jim Harris [former federal leader] did his great rousing speech routine, which always inspires no matter how many times I hear variations on it. Whistler Mayor Ken Melamed spoke on the the challenges of being Green and being the Mayor of an Olympic host venue. Originally Ken stood against the Olympics in 2010, so it was interesting to hear how he came to terms with it. His hope is to make the Whistler portion of the 2010 Olympics as green as possible and from what he said he seemed to be happy enough with the results so far. Yet he did acknowledge the limited scope of his own powers in respect to the IOC in particular.

The highlight of the weekend was the election of my good friend and colleague Dr Jane Sterk as leader of the party. Since this was the first leadership race since 2000, at which Adriane Carr took over from Stuart Parker; this leadership was contested between five worthy candidates ALL capable of accepting defeat graciously. It was literally a heart thumper to hear interim leader Chris Bennett announce Jane as the new leader. I know she will be the best leader to take us in to the 2009 BC election. She also has a great partner in Walter Mayer Zu Erpen as party chair, Walter also lives in the capital region and together they will forge a Green team unlike any before it; force to be reckoned with in 2009.

If the media attention given so far is any indication both the Liberals and NDP are in for a rough ride in 2009.

Can We Buy Our Way Out of Global Climate Change ?

2007-06-05T13:54:00.000-07:00

IAN GREGSON

Vancouver seems to be playing a central role in the movement towards developing consumer-driven solutions to avoid global climate change.

Two recent events of note were the EPIC (Ethical, Progressive, Intelligent, Consumer) show at Canada Place and the publication of a new magazine "Granville" from the publishers of BC Business magazine. Both these not so distantly related events promoted spending our way out of the global climate crisis - a solution that is doomed to fail.

The principle of spending your way out of a recession is all too familiar: a government pours millions, often billions, of taxpayer's money into projects that provide employment and thus stimulate the economy - a sort of jump start for a run down economic battery. This principle has been used by many levels of government in the last century, from the work projects of the 1930's to the hosting of the Vancouver Olympics in 2010.

This same principle is being applied to the environmental crisis that faces our planet. Some would have us believe that we can spend our way out of global climate change. We see strong messages from the private sector that claim to address the problem. The messages range from "ethically produced coffee" to "environmentally sound homes" to "cars that run on virtually no gas". All marketed at the consumer that has some level of global conscience and the deep pockets to make an investment. Sometimes the marketing is just plain ludicrous.

At the EPIC event we saw the Porsche SUV, one of the most environmentally unfriendly vehicles on the road today, being touted as a solution. A leasing company was offering as an incentive the planting of trees in Mission to offset the carbon emissions of the vehicle! Yet the marketing did not address the manufacturing process of the vehicle, the thousands of kilograms of metal, plastic and unrecyclable material in the vehicle. And while this was an extreme example, there were many similar "guilt reduction" strategies being employed at the event.

Similarly the new magazine "Granville", published by Peter Legge* (see footnote), is attempting to profit by marketing solutions to the upcoming environmental catastrophe. The magazine's mission is to inform and entertain, while providing a medium for their advertisers to flog "green choices" to readers. The message is that your lifestyle doesn't have to change a bit, just keep on spending! Ads for Toyota and other large manufacturers abound in the magazine. Even the most carbon reducing car is still a car, its manufacturing process still requires vast amounts of raw material -an issue most people neglect to consider in an environmental footprint.

Taking environmental issues at face value is not going to stop the impending climate change. People have to start taking into consideration all the factors that bring products and services into our lives. How far did that tomato travel to get to your kitchen counter ? What manufacturing processes did that knife go through in order to be in your kitchen ? How far did your kitchen counter travel to be in your kitchen ? Until we start looking at every single item we consume in a more responsible way, we will continue to rape the planet of its resources and in time we all will have to pay the price.

While at first glance the task of tracking all our consumables seems onerous, if it is made part of a more transparent manufacturing process via the manufacturer's web site then the onus rests with manufacturer not wholly on the consumer. However, it will be the consumer who ultimately decides on how transparent the process is and who will use his or her buying power to decide which products meet the mark.

We cannot allow ourselves to remain passive consumers any longer. We all need to take some responsibility for the products we consume; starting with their use of raw material, manufacturing, employment standards, transportation, packaging and ultimate disposal after use. What we will find is that all of a sudden we do not need as many products as we once thought, and we will consume less.

Footnote:
For more than 40 years, Peter Legge has embodied the gutsy spirit of the entrepreneur. A savvy businessman with an uncanny ability to identify opportunities, Peter successfully developed what began as a small-circulation television listings magazine called TV Week into the foundation of a top Canadian enterprise. As President and CEO of Canada Wide Magazines and Communications Ltd., Peter leads the largest independently owned publishing company in Western Canada, producing more than 30 titles, with annual revenues in excess of $25 million. (from http://www.peterlegge.com)

The Road to San Francisco [and back] Part 1

2007-05-07T12:49:00.000-07:00

A few weeks back my family and I took a five day trip down to San Francisco. Being the enviro types, we decided on the Amtrak train as our main method of transportation - turns out it was a pretty good trip all around.

Due to various economic and geographical factors getting around by train in North America has long been a challenge in comparison to air travel. However, in talking to several people it sounded like the train was an option in this case. The price was $89 one way for adults, this did not include the sleeper car, which is at least double the price. Having grown up in the UK and travelled the length of the island by train I was looking forward to the 24 hour plus train trek.

Starting in Vancouver in the early Monday AM [5.30] we took the bus to Seattle in order to catch the 9.45am Amtrak Coast Starlite Express from King Street station. The Seattle station is in the process of renovation, its roof needs help. Soon enough we were on our way south out of Seattle. Once out of the downtown area the train sped up. The various stops throughout Washington and Oregon saw the train eventually fill up to near capacity.

The train itself had comfortable seats in the E Z Boy style; you are free to walk up and down, take in the views in the viewing car. My only quibble with the train itself was the physical reality on being on the top deck of a double deck - the constant to and fro was disconcerting for several hours. The problem was far less noticeable on the lower deck, which can also be booked.

As the scenery flew by one could spy wildlife along the south end of Puget sound, however once the line turns inland the land stays flat, sheep cows and horses abound. It was not until climbing the 8000 feet in to the Cascades did the scenery become truly breathtaking.

Sadly it became dark just about the same time we entered the higher regions of the Cascades, however on the return trip we caught much of what was missed. By about 11pm most of the coach was sleeping, some loudly. I found one was able to catch enough sleep to still be functional the next day.

By sunrise at 6am we were already just outside Sacramento. Getting off the train in Sacramento was a needed break. Checking out their new transit extension was cool. Turns out they have only just linked the seven blocks from the last tram station to the Amtrak station, nineteen years overdue.

The trek from Sacramento in Emeryville saw an increase of industrialisation particularly around Martinez. My camera caught a familiar sight to Eagle Ridge Bluffs protestors at the south end of the Benicia-Martinez bridge. However, that was contrasted with the stop we had just south of Fairfield and north of 680 where this photo was taken, in the far distance is a large windfarm.

Our arrival in to Emeryville and subsequent bus ride in to San Francisco got us to the Opal hotel at Van Ness and Geary at around 11am on Tuesday morning.

The Stealing of a Flag....

2007-03-12T14:34:00.000-07:00

The Stealing of a Flag....

Whilst not a major crime on the usual scale of things, depending on the flag, its location and the symbolism of such a gesture.

Last week the media, practically fell over itself with a focused attention on the corner of Cambie and 12th; for once not exactly at city hall over a faux pas, but at the theft of the Olympic flag.

Later in the week a group of native youths declared they had stolen the flag in the name of Harriet Nahanee. The media attention was not as hot to that story, as it was so for Harriet's death a few weeks back.

The audacity and bare faced cheek of stealing such a prominent symbol of the Olympic flag captured the attention. No Quake 3 puns intended, but capturing the flag could be a new olympic sport.

Now there will be more security - on the same day the Globe and Mail announced the 2010 Olympics will be the largest "security sic military" operation in Canadian history. Not since the NDP debacle at Gustafsen Lake will we have tanks, anti aircraft guns, even more helecopters [why does a helecopter fly over my house every night between 11 and 11.30pm anyway], military personnel, foreign advisors, FBI, CIA, MI5. Don't these people know we are home to some of the most savage and aggressive great grannies in the world ? The heightened security at Betty's sentencing on 5th was a shape of things to come.

So what to do with a stolen Olympic flag ? I suggest cutting it up in to 5000 pieces and sell each one for a dollar and send the money to Betty K in Alloutte Pen. If some kid can make a million selling pixels on his web site, surely this can work. Betty K needs your money, $2 for a simple phone call.

Although it is a rather tactless image, I see us standing on the edge of a toilet bowl looking in, down there at the bottom is the 2010 Olympics, beyond it is an endless vacuum of nothingness. It's not the vision I expected for my children, nor is it you expected for yours. Nonetheless, its all about I can see at the moment.

People tell us the Olympics are coming regardless. Whilst this is certainly true, it does not give the Liberals or their cronies free reign to exploit the people and land within the boundaries of this province. It does not give them the right to throw people in jail for protesting whilst ignoring the environmental consequences of their own actions. It does not give them the right to spend billions of dollars in our name when the vast majority of people fail to benefit directly from this "project".

We need to remember all of this on May 19th, 2009. The downfall of a government started with the theft of a flag....

Remembering Harriet and Pierre

2007-02-26T11:52:00.000-08:00

Last week the BC environmental movement lost two of its foot soldiers in the shape of Harriet Nahanee and Pierre Rovtar.

Harriet was instrumental in the Eagle Ridge bluffs protest and at 71 had been sent to prison for 14 days for simply not apologising to the construction company at Eagle Ridge Bluffs. Along with fellow protestor Betty Krawzyk, Harriet took a stand on the bluffs overlooking West Vancouver, like Betty she was arrested for breaking the will of a judge who simply issued a piece of paper.

It is a statement of our times to see pictures of Harriet on the blockade holding in one hand a piece of paper originally written 200 years ago; the other hand in hand with a West Van RCMP officer. Our court system refuses to acknowledge such an old document, even if it was written in the King's hand. Today a court order can overrule the word of a long dead king with a simple signature.

Betty and Harriet as great grandmothers have memory of the days when Madam Justice Brown never had the opportunity to sit in her current position. Justice Brown is in her position today because women of the past suffered, got arrested and sometimes died to fight for the right for her right to be recognised. Today a construction company has more right to make a buck than people have the right to protest said companies immoral activities.

Make no mistake, Harriet Nahanee died in her attempt to save Eagle Ridge Bluffs, she maybe the first casualty of a new war in the woods.

I knew Pierre Rovtar from his time running for the Green Party in the BC election of 2005. Unlike many GP candidates Pierre did not dissapear from the radar after the election. In fact Pierre raised his profile significantly by raising a Surrey based fight to stop the BC Liberals Gateway Plan; ironically set in motion by Kevin Falcon, who Pierre ran against in 2005.

Pierre's stand against the Gateway Plan would certainly not have been an easy one. The vast majority of residents south of the Port Mann were originally in favour of the plan. However, thanks to Pierre [and others] hard work and dedication to the realities of increased traffic, Surrey, Langley, Cloverdale residents and their local media are now questioning the logic of the Gateway Plan; particularly in light of the Liberals green speech of several weeks back.

As far as I know Pierre Rovtar and Harriet Nahanee never met, yet their commonality is obvious. From each end of the freeway expansion these two warriors fought the fight of so-called "progress". We shall remember them both as such.

Surrey fashions are different from those in East Van

2007-02-10T10:41:00.001-08:00

Surrey fashions are different from those in East Van

In the BC election of 2005 you would be hard pressed to find a would be MLA south of the Port Mann speaking against the Gateway Plan and the subsequent twinning of the bridge. On the televised leaders debate all but one leader spoke in favour of the Gateway Plan.

However, times change and now there seems to far more opposition to the Gateway Plan in Victoria than ever before - or is there ?

As a candidate in the 2005 election I often found myself the single opponent of the freeway expansion, particularly in several televised debates on Ch 10. [NOW TV] with Doug Kooy. [May 17th, 2005] In that debate candidate Bruce Ralston of the NDP voiced his support of the Gateway Plan. Jagrup Brar was quoted in the Surrey Now in support of the plan and even leader Carole James voiced her support for the plan both in the Surrey Now and on the leaders tv debate.

However, that was way back in 2005 and political winds doth change. At the 2005 NDP convention Vancouver Kensington put forward a motion [I have a copy if you want it]

THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED THAT the NDP oppose unilateral plans for the expansion of Highway 1 & the twinning of the Port Mann bridge in favor of assessing the most effective means for lasting solutions to traffic congestion that are consistent with adopted local and regional policy including but not limited to:

introducing improved transit options
increasing use of HOV lanes and introducing HPV lanes
introducing new rail options
implement congestion pricing and ramp signals
implement transportation demand management
[R2005-02 Lower Mainland Transportation]

The NDP in Abbotsford Clayburn put forward a motion:

THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED that the BC NDP press the provincial government to implement a comprehensive public transit strategy for the Fraser Valley which gives serious consideration to the utilization of existing rail facilities in the Fraser Valley on the south side of the Fraser River.[ R2005-04 Public Transportation in the Fraser Valley]

The reality of politics is that had the NDP had this policy in place prior to the 2005 election it may not have elected as many new MLA's. Policy changes tend to be a reflection of the current fashion of a political party - they can remain in the closet but never get worn out in public.

So it is with great interest we now observe a step up in the political rhetoric around the Gateway Plan. One begs to ask the question, how many Surrey NDP MLA's will be wearing their transportation policy out in public, particularly south of the Port Mann bridge ? What transportation policy fashion will the NDP leader be wearing in 2009 ?

As a resident of East Van who lives a mere 50 meters from Hwy 1, I am well aware of the NDP opposition to Gateway; but then just about every politician of every stripe is against the Gateway Plan in East Van, [as they should be]. However, it is those politicians over in Surrey, where support for Gateway is fashionable, that I am most concerned about. We never hear from Messrs Brar and Ralston on the issue; we never see them out in public wearing their NDP transportation policy suits and ties.

The logical question arising from this ambiguity [flip flopping] is: Should we trust the NDP to hold the course and wear their policy in public, leading up to the 2009 election ? History tells us political parties will do just about anything to get elected, including pushing their fashionable attire back in to the closet to gather dust, only to brought out when politically expedient.

Many of us have worked hard and long on opposing the Gateway Plan. To put our eggs in one political basket, namely the NDP, is risky. They have a long history of turning their backs on the people who supported them in the past. Maybe it is time for the NDP to wear unfashionable clothing at election time and damn the consequences, you never know people just might follow suit.

2007-02-08T12:22:00.001-08:00

The Rights and Wrongs of being Betty

Today environmental elder Betty Krawczyk returned to court to face a yet another jail sentence. Without knowing the predictable outcome, Betty has garnered more and more support for causes, specifically the need to amend the law so that protestors can be charged under the criminal code.

As it stands environmental protest fall between the cracks in the justice system. If, like Betty and the 20 or more protestors of Eagle Ridge Bluffs, you are charged with "contempt of court" then your legal rights are severely diminished compared to a straight criminal court case.

The intention of which is to completely dissuade protestors for becoming inspired in the first place. Imagine if you knew you would have a fair trial for your protesting activities, wouldn't that inspire you to go live outside for 30 days in a tent beside a busy freeway ? Of course not !

It is interesting to look at the perception of public protest in BC over the last twenty years. Under the BC NDP government, environmentalists were labelled as the "enemies of progress" by the premier of the day [Glen Clark]. Under the Liberals, protests have become more common place, yet more marginalised. The Liberals have not taken on the protestors in the media but in the court rooms. Yet, in East Vancouver particularly, the notion of protest has never been so prevalent has never been so strong, yet how far are protestors willing to go for their cause ?

Are we willing to go to jail to stop the freeway expansion ? Are we willing to risk a strip search in order to protest against the 2010 Olympics ? Are we willing to risk rough treatment from the VPD in order to stop the gentrification on yet another DTES hotel ?

Everyone has their limit - Betty K's limit involves going to jail in order to protect our future. However, not everyone is a Betty K in the making. Betty's age and demeanour is directly related to how successful she has been in bringing attention to her causes. Would a twenty year old have the same success ? Would a twenty year old get the same treatment by police ?

We should not let an unfair justice system stop us from acting, in fact we should seek inspiration from such a system to act even more; like Betty we must risk our personal freedoms in order to save what we value most.

MORE WINTER RIDING IN VANCOUVER

2007-01-16T14:06:00.000-08:00

Composite photo inspired by the 2010 Olympics

These past few weeks have seen an incredible variety of weather in the Lower Mainland. We have ran the gammut from 10-12 C "pineapple winds" to -15C windchills. We have had snow on the ground for over a week, which is almost unheard of and cycling is proving to be tricky.

Not only is there lots of snow, but students and staff at SFU were stranded on the Burnaby Mtn campus for several hours on Weds Jan 10th due to a freak snow storm, not that there was no warning....

The local velo related lists are abundant with tips on how to ride through the crappy weather. Anything from lowering tire pressure to driving screws through tires seems to add a bit of stability in ones two wheeled ventures. Me, I'm far more stable on two wheels than I am on one good and one prosthetic leg, so even if I don't actually ride far, I try and take the bike to work still.

So far I've only had one wipe out, lots of odd looks from drivers and pedestrians though. I can see them saying "why" ? Of course you probably know why. Riding in treacherous conditions is fun, it makes for a bit of a chemical rush at the end of an other wise blah work day.

The end of this month see's the Velo Fusion folks hosting my good friend Betty Krawzwyk for a fundraising event on January 26th at the ANZA. This event is made even more special because my band "Mr M and The All Nighters" are playing at the event. Betty keeps on fighting and with inspiration like hers Mr M keeps on playing.

Rumours are flying of a soon to be federal election, yet again. The provincial NDP are positioning themselves as the environmental do-gooders once again. It's so predictable they start hosting events that make me cringe. Good lord I bet Shane Simpson [NDP enviro critic] has never ridden a bike since, well my guess is never. How can you preach it if you don't live it ?

There is also some jockeying around Vancouver municipal politics. Former coucillor and Green Party guy Fred Bass looks to be positioning himself as a mayoralty candidate. According to Tim Louis COPE have put some distance themselves and the provincial NDP, leaving VISION Vancouver to be the NDP farm team. Aligning themselves with the Vancouver Green Party give COPE far more street cred than with the NDP. Now only if they can rid themselves of their gun toting school board trustees :-)

The next twelve months looks like a meteorologically inspired political topography map inspired by the farmers almanac.

Photo by Ray Henderson

Doing the Circle Route - Sunshine Coast/Vancouver Island

2006-10-01T22:22:00.004-07:00

On September 26th, 2006 I took a solo bike tour on the "Circle Route" from Vancouver, Sunshine Coast, Vancouver Island and back to Vancouver. The route consisted of numerous ferry rides, encounters with several cops on bikes, the worst breakfast in the world and a large late model Oldsmobile. Here is my account of the excursion.....

DAY 1

I left home withe a wave from Heather at 7.20am. I arrived downtown to catch the 257 Express bus to Horseshoe Bay at around 8am. Getting to the Horseshoe Bay ferry terminal is a challenge even without traffic, in order to bypass it, one has to take the Horseshoe Bay Express bus from downtown Vancouver to the terminal. I arrived at 8.50, well in time for the 9.20am ferry to Langdale.

After I got my ticket, I sat patiently at the loading area, fully expecting to be the only bike on the ferry. However, within a few minutes about 20 cyclists turned up on the "Cops Against Cancer" tour; turns out they were heading up to Powell River just like me; albeit at a much faster pace and more direct route. After chatting with a few of them on the 50 minute ferry ride it was time to off load and head on in to Gibsons for my first rendezvous with Green Party leader Adriane Carr and husband Paul George.

Rather than taking the highway out of the ferry, I took an immediate left and took the less challenging road in to Gibsons [approx 4km] Arriving at the GPBC office at around 11am I found Adriane and Paul hard at work stuffing envelopes, aaah the Green Party. I doubt Gordon Campbell stuffs his own ! Adriane was busy fielding phone calls, as she had just announced her retirement as leader effective as of the November AGM. Lots of people had said great things to say about her, except for one CBC radio panel, but that had Moe Sihota and he casts a long shadow over any party.

I then headed out of Gibsons along scenic Gower Point Rd and then right on Pratt Rd that took me back to the highway. After a short stint on the highway, I went left at Lower Road/cemetery and took the long hill down into Roberts Creek. On such long hills, one hopes the hill back is far less, in this case it was true, but it would not always be so. I dined at the highly recommended Gumboot Cafe. Roberts Creek is true Green Party country and just about everyone looked like the perfect Green Party voter. I even received suggestions on how to take the less hilly route back to the highway from the owner of the local Backpackers hostel. From the Gumboot I headed towards the water and along Beach Rd and then right on to Marlene and back up to the highway.

From then on it was an easy ride in to Sechelt, except for one hilly spot just before the town at Selma Park Rd, the hill was short, steep and had no shoulder at all. For this trip it would constantly amaze me were the shoulder existed and were it did not; suprisingly more so in the built up areas and this was my first hill on the highway in these conditions.

Sechelt is a small town, with one of the largest gravel pits in the universe as its main industry. I popped in at a local bike store on Cowrie Street, mainly to ask for perceptions of the hill on my way out of town. The local techies looked a little uncomfortable and said they never rode out that way much at least on the highway. After picking up some sunscreen and a bite to eat from my pack, I headed down the water front for a photo op at a local park and then back on to the highway.

It was gentle climb out of Sechelt, the kind of climb that lulls you in to a fall sense of security, so when I did arrive at the bottom of the Redroofs Rd hill I wasn't prepared for the full shock of it. This was my first test; it was at this point I would either conquer the hill or turn back and head back to the ferry. I was hot and sweaty at this point, I decided that no mere hill would stop me. Now most touring cyclists would not really consider this hill significantly challenging. However, as I was laden with 20kgs of gear, first time on tour and missing a leg, I hard my work cut out for me on this hill. It was about halfway up this hill that I realised I really missed my granny gear from my previous bike, it would have been very handy. With self pity in full gear and cuss words spewing forth, I climbed the hill in 3 [meaning 3 stops]. The climb was more than physical and for the first time on the trip a feeling of accomplishment swept me down the leeward side of the hill and northwards.

The road then consisted of numerous ups and downs but nothing challenging. The traffic had died off after Sechelt as expected and I began to get off on being the only human in sight; just me, the bike and the road, this is what bike touring is all about. I also started getting in to the "zone", the "zone" is a small place, you cannot be too tired and the traffic cannot be too heavy for you to be in it. My zone was filled with the Northern Soul songs I had been practising prior to leaving, it was all I could hear for most of the trip to Powell River, not a bad accompaniment in the wilds of the BC's Sunshine Coast.

I stopped to take a photo of the "Entering Pender Harbour" sign. Little did I know how far it actually was to my destination of the Pender Harbour Hotel. I was getting tired and sore at this point. It seemed to take forever and in frustration stopped at the local lumber yard to ask how far. "About 5 minutes" translates in to half an hour to this overly grumpy 44 year old with a point to prove. The Pender Harbour Hotel turned out to be on top of a point, which took every last gram of effort and will power out of me. I could not even make it up the steep driveway of the hotel, I could barely walk in to the lobby, let alone lift my bike up the steps in from the front door, but I did.

The Pender Harbour Hotel had been recently rebuilt, turns out it's prior decor was not exactly the greatest. But the new ownership had put some money in to the place. I lugged bike and paniers up the stair to my 2nd floor room and it was worth the climb for a stunning view overlooking the bay. However, before I could appreciate it I had to strip naked and run a hot bath; this would turn out to be my daily ritual. Spending long periods on a bike may sound healthy, but there are certain unhealthy aspects of it that need mention. For me it was wrists and butt, both sore and painful and after the first 75kms in need of a good nights rest.

My dinner at the Grasshopper Pub was pasta, accompanied by a few lagers. The bar was decent with a decent sized stage and PA and I decided it would be a good spot for my new band to play once it was ready to emerge. The bar manager Carl was most interested in the band and we decided keep in contact as to when the band would be ready to play.

One would think falling to sleep would be easy after a hard day on the road. But it is as if your muscles are still out on the there pedalling away, even with a great view of the night sky, it was hard to get to sleep.

DAY 2

I awoke around 7.30am and packed up ready to leave. Turns out no breakfast was available so I headed out the door by about 8.15am. After asking around the only solution was to head back down the last hill I climbed the night before and down the road in to Madeira Park village. It is both frustrating and psychologically challenging for a cyclist to go "back" on a route only to have to ride back on it less than an hour later. But I had no choice as breakfast sounded like it was 5 minutes one way and 30 minutes the other; I should have waited the 30 minutes.

The first place I spotted looked new and located across from the IGA parking lot. "Urban Ecelectics" looked ok, the coffee was decent, a paper cup but ok. I sat outside only to have my peace spoiled by a backhoe working the lot next door. As if the noise was not bad enough, every time it turned around I got a cloud full of carbon monoxide, PCB's and general stink from its exhaust. I'm not sure if this contributed to my deteriorating perception, it was certainly not enhanced by the arrival of my breakfast on a paper plate with plastic knives and forks. This had to be the worst breakfast I ever had, any where. The meat was unidentifiable and over cooked, the food tasted like seconds from MacDonalds. In the time I was there I saw two people arrive and leave, none with food. After my Gumboot experience in Roberts Creek this was a big let down, obviously not everyone on the Sunshine Coast puts care and attention in to their food prep. The morning was barely saved by crossing the street and heading in to the IGA for some bottled water, banana's and a variety of organic Quinoa Bar's. Yesterday I had run out of gas, I was going to make sure I would not make the same mistake twice.

Heading back up the hill out of Madeira Park at 9.20am was easier than I thought and certainly easier than the previous night. I rounded the corner at the Pender Harour Hotel, which still showed no signs of activity apart from the roofer that had sent me down the hill in the first place; so I was off again towards the Earl's Cove ferry.

The 25km to the ferry was undulating and quiet beyond compare and probably one of my favourite stretches of road. About 5km from the ferry I passed the "Cops against Cancer" heading back south toward Pender Harbour for a noon gathering at the local school. There is a significant down hill heading in to Earls Cove, the tour was resting at the bottom prior to the climb, as I passed them doing about 40k. I gave them a wave and they called my name and returned the gesture, I must have left an impression on them. I arrived in Earl's Cove at about 11.40am, the next ferry was at 12.20pm.

The ferry trip is about 90 minutes to Saltery Bay. Jervis Inlet is a huge stretch of fjord that reaches well in to the Coast Mountains. From the ferry you can see great swathes of forest clear cut, these clear cuts are an absolute eyesore and an embarrassment to all British Columbian's. If Wigan can turn the Wigan Alps [mountains of coal slag] in to something practical, surely British Columbian's can do something about these clear cuts. Looking in the opposite direction towards Saltery Bay from the ferry you can see a cut in the mountain side, that is where the road and power cables run. It looked so high from sea level, surely no way was that the road I was about to ride on. I arrived at Saltery Bay and let the ferry traffic make its way ahead of me. I phoned and left a message with Heather to let her know I was ok. I was ok at that point, but I was soon to be faced with another hill challenge.

With the provincial campground on your left, the hill about 2km outside Saltery Bay is significant. However, because of the break on the ferry, one's legs are well rested. This was another 3 stop hill for me and once again the view from the top of it was magnificent as was the ride down the other side; turns out it was the hill I could see from the ferry after all.

The ride in to Powell River becomes less and less undulating the closer one gets to the town. The 38km from the ferry is pleasant with a medium amount of traffic, increasing as you get closer to the town. A great rest stop is the Nimh Organic Farmers Market, about halfway between the town and ferry terminal. The owners recently arrived from Ontario having had their son run the place for the previous two years. Sadly, they had just lost their sheep to a cougar the day before, their Llama had been injured also. The event had made the local paper, so had Adriane Carr's announcement; we had a great chat about the Green Party, turns out they had voted Green in the Ontario elections for years. A few km down the road I stopped off at Sunshine Bikes, they had a good deal on helmets, so I scrapped my ageing lid and replaced it with a brand new Trek Vapor 3, bright yellow in colour. After checking out the Town Centre Hotel, which was full and overly expensive, I dropped in to the harbour area of Powell River and booked in to the Marine Inn.

The Marine is a fine old hotel, with a 50's style diner, although the false roof kind of spoiled the decor. No elevator, so once again I lugged my bike upstairs, taking the paniers off first helped. The room was decent, the view was looking toward the pulp mill and up the coast toward Lund. Turns out the road below my room was the road off the ferry, but it didn't seem to bother me. I ate my pasta dinner at Westview Pizza on Marine Ave. The food was fine as was the view, as the name suggests.

Powell River is an industrial town, it is home to one of the largest pulp mills in the world. It was traditionally working class and not a Green Party town as much as others along the Sunshine Coast. The name of Gordon Wilson still holds sway; in my conversations his name came up several times. However, even as the dependence on pulp decreases, the population of PR is on the rise resulting in the doubling and tripling of house prices. It looks like people are moving to the area in droves, with lots of Americans moving north. The town is a mixture of working class and new agers, so there is hope for the Green Party still.

DAY 3

Since the first Comox ferry was at noon I had a few hours to check out Powell River's Marine Avenue. Breakfast at the Marine was decent, however I seem to have lost the taste for [since the day before] a "cooked" breakfast, especially when it comes to cooking bacon to a crisp as is the great Canadian tradition. I took a stroll down Marine Ave., once again and checked out the local music store. One can tell the cultural health of a community by the existence or size of its music store. In Powell River's case, having a larger population than Nelson but a having a smaller music store speaks to some degree about the town's cultural diversity. A town the size of Powell River should be able to support at least two stores of this size, although according to the store's owner things were on the up. Powell River hosts numerous festivals some of which foster local talent, but they still have a way to go to catch up to a town like Nelson.

The noon ferry was only partially filled, it was a quiet 90 minute trip over to Vancouver Island, I took the opportunity to catch some zzz's only to wake up as we were about dock and then having to rush down to the car deck to be the first off the ferry with a handful of pedestrians.

The trek in to the Comox and Courtenay area was a bit of a culture shock after the relative peace of the Sunshine Coast. The traffic started to build after the turn on to Ryan Road and down the long hill past the Stuperstore. For some unknown reason I found myself in between two rows of solid traffic, I don't know if I was more pissed off with the traffic or my own lack of commuter ridership skills. Highway 19A as it now known was terribly busy even for a Thursday afternoon, the presence of a large box store such as Stuperstore cannot help but make traffic worse. I wasted no time in getting on to the Island highway and out of Courtenay, a town that has certainly changed for the worse in the last few years since I had been there.

Within about a half hour I was back on to some quiet stretches of the Island Highway, although this stretch would remain fairly constant in its traffic flow all the way to Parksville. Passing through the village of Royston I pulled over for a lemonade and organic date bar at a roadside eats. From then on the road runs along side the beach and is flat. I made good speed for the 35km trek south to the Qualicum area. I had originally planned to stay in Union Bay. However, I found myself passing through Union Bay too early and leaving me with too much distance to travel for Day 4 and the ferry terminal in Naniamo.

However, flat road does not translate in to an easy road. I found myself speeding along between 25 and 35 kmph and then finding myself pooped and having to rest backing off to 20k or less on the same flat stretches. However, as 4.30 - 5pm came around I found myself in the village of Qualicum Bay some 18km north of Qualicum Beach. With some direction from a young gas station attendant I went in search of the Lighthouse Motel which turned out to the my most pleasant rest on the whole trip. The motel is located right on the beach at Qualicum Bay right across from the Lighthouse vet building. I guess they must have had a lighthouse at some point, gone now. The Lighthouse motel is small with only four suites with kitchen and living room. I had number four located at the end of the row and nothing between me and the water except for the rocks.

I headed for my bath and rest before heading over to the recently renovated "Health by Nature" restaurant. Apparently the owners Detlef and Petra had run a 50's style diner, but had recently seen the light and turned it in to a fully organic place, complete with reiki, yoga and revitalisation sessions of this, that and the other. They even have a log cabin or two out back that you can surrender yourself to the universe in. It was the best food I had had on the whole trip, topped off by the best tasting Green tea ever, made locally to boot. Turns out Detlef is a trumpet player of long standing and played pro in Germany before moving to Canada. We shared woes of the North American music scene, but he seemed a little resistant to having a soul band play in his new age place for some reason.

It was so dark by the time [8.30pm] I left the restaurant, I had to go back to my room and find my 10watt BLT headlight to use the public phone across the street. After my call to Heather to let her know I had not been flattened by a semi trailer, I went back across the street and simply stood outside and marvelled at the universe. The stars were thick like custard and I could see the milky way, something I have not bothered to look up for far too long; something out on the water was making smacking sounds and nature did her thing all around me, I was at her pleasure. The chill of early fall air sent me inside, just in time for an episode of "Enterprinse" then off to bed at 10pm.

DAY 4

Knowing full well the bedroom window was in direct sight of a sunrise and with that same sunrise being at a reasonable hour [7.25am]. I left the curtains open in order to let the sun in as my alarm clock. Turns out the vibrancy of light from the pre-sunrise show was enough to wake me. A thick layer of cloud give me a mere 3 minutes of sunrise before dissapearing for another 20 minutes. I popped off a few shots on my camera and got ready to hit the road early for a change.

The air was cool enough for a long sleeve shirt and as a precaution I turned on my rear LED for 18kms I headed down the Island Hwy before breakfast. Having the ability to say "I did 18k before breakfast" has a certain ring to it, even if it is only to oneself !

QB has the reputation of being BC's retirement capital and in no way was the reputation tarnished by my breakfast at the Old Dutch Inn. To say the place had the demeanor of a retirement home was an understatement. The place was filled with old ladies laughing and telling tales of their younger relatives. It was a short breakfast and back on the road once again for the final stretch in to Naniamo.

As one cycles south, the villages become larger and the traffic gets less courteous as evident by an encounter with a late model Oldsmobile in Parksville. You can tell there is a lack courtesy in a driver as you swing your left hand and punch his [usually] passenger side windows and give the ubiquitous single finger salute with the same left hand. To embellish the gesture with a profanity or two is a mere courtesy on the part of the cyclist. It's a skill I've learned from decades of commuter cycling and it applies equally in semi-rural Parksville as it does in East Vancouver. Some drivers stop as if to find out where the loud noise originates, most carry on blissfully ignorant of their ability to make my children fatherless.

Just outside Parksville I met up with amputee cyclist Steve Middleton and his wife Anne for an escort in to Naniamo. Steve is organising a similar route bike tour next year to raise awareness for GF Strong Rehab Centre in Vancouver Out of A Limb Website. In fact Steve inspired me somewhat to do this tour of my own making after he contacted me several weeks back. Steve and Anne had just come back from touring in Italy and it was a great boost to me to have them take on the back roads to the ferry terminal. South of Parksville is where the 19A and 19 rejoin in to one horrendously unfriendly to cyclists mass of semi trailers, logging trucks and inexperienced camper drivers. The detour prior to Nanoose Bay was most welcome, however it is at Nanoose Bay where the only road is the highway for several kms and it was here were the most unpleasant and thankfully short part of the trip occurred. Thanks to Steve it was back off the highway, turning left on to Lantzville Road for an up and down route south. I have come to the conclusion it is better to do hills on quiet roads than it is to do flat stretches on busy highways.

Once through Lantzville and up one final hill it was on to the Naniamo bike path that runs parallel to the E and N railway and the 19A all the way down to the left turn down to the Departure Bay ferry terminal. Turns out I was just in time for the 12.30pm ferry back to Horseshoe Bay and although I would loved to have stayed and chatted with Steve about his future plans; an appointment with Billy Bragg at the Commodore required my presence. I bid farewell to Steve, Anne and Vancouver Island and rode the bike down to the ferry loading area one last time.

Once on board, it was yet another culture shock, as it seemed every kid from Vancouver Island was heading to Horseshoe Bay. It was odd to be around so many people after being out on the road alone for the last four days, upsetting even. All of a sudden there were too many cars and too many people. I had a nap on the ferry, when I awoke the feeling had gone and I had changed gear once again in preparation for the return to East Vancouver.

I caught the downtown Express bus from the terminal, I was home by 3.40pm. With 268.51km travelled and 15.37 hours of riding for an average of 17km per hour and an average of 3.8 hours ridden per day. This trip was certainly more than just statistics as it gave me the opportunity to test myself and push my own limits. I know I am capable of more if I ever chose to do so.

Celebrating 1 Year without a car

2006-07-05T18:36:00.000-07:00

I don't really have anything to add except I cannot let the one year anniversary of being autofree pass by unannounced.

This has been a truly exceptional year in many, many ways. Meeting the love of my life Heather and with her encouragement and support staying car free and becoming more like the "green" person I've wanted to be for some time.

I will mention my horrendous experience with yet another irate bus driver. As I look over my blog for the last 12 months I see, irate bus drivers are a common theme. Last week whilst getting to the bus stop a 135 arrived, as I generally ride over to the zone 2 boundary, the only exception being when a bus arrives at the zone 1 stop at the same time I do, as it did this day.

After a brief heated discussion, the driver told me he would not charge me the extra dollar if I rode over to the first stop across the boundary in zone 2. I agreed and rode over there, even leaving my panier on the bus. however, as I got to the stop at the same time, the driver simply ignored me and drove away, with my panier still onboard. Incensed, I rode wrecklessly up Hastings, finally catching up to the bus at Hastings and Willingdon, the driver seemed suprised to see me. Had I not been able to catch the bus at that point I would have reported my belongings stolen by the driver; had I been injured chasing the bus....

In my complaint to Translink I later found out the driver knew full well he had driven away with my belongings, even though he apologised pretending to not know they were there. I even got a call from Translink asking my side of the story, seems the driver had already field a report as preemptive strike ! In later discussions with other SFU bus patrons so many said they no longer take the bus and have returned to their cars simply due to unprofessional operators; this outcome is simply unacceptable.

June update

2006-06-25T11:17:00.000-07:00

The purchase of my Rocky Mountain RC-50 was well worth the $1100 I paid. I have never been on a bike the flies so fast, runs so smooth and is simply a pleasure to ride. My initial concerns were so alleviated, the gear ratios, whilst challenging at first seem to have brought out the best in me. The hills I often climb are still climbable and at a speed that is comparable to using my old bike with the granny gear. On the opposite end I fly down hills pedalling all the way, where I could not pedal before. The narrower tires, lighter frame, different gear ratio and more road bike angles all add up to a very fast bike. The RC-50 is a performance hybrid bike, is has some features of the traditional hybrid [I added the adjustable headstock at the time of purchase] otherwise the handlebars are more hybrid, the frame is road bike, the 24 speed transmission and disk brakes could be either or.

I've been using the Vancouver Auto Co-Op more and more to the detriment of my bike riding. For the last eleven months I've been taking cabs to my band practise. Now I use the Toyota Prius from SFU, picking it up on my way home from work and returning is before work the next day. I hate driving - simple as that. After riding for so long I feel very claustrophobic trapped in a metal box with four wheels no matter how good the vehicle is for the environment. The automobile is too much of a disconnect for the very environment I am trying to protect and save, that is its inherent attribute and that is why so many of us show so much anti-social behaviour whilst driving - total disconnect. I never realised in my 22 years of driving until spending a year without. The automobile has to be one of, if not the most anti-social device ever invented.

That being said KHL and I have driven to, around and back from Nelson in the last few weeks. I did not feel as claustrophobic out on the freeways of BC; having the open highway oneself may have something to do with that. This weekend we head off to Hornby Island for a family event. We initially thought of riding bikes out there, as BC Ferries just jacked up their prices yet again, but with my daughter and two large dogs in tow it makes the car rental the only real choice. However, in order to compensate we are taking in the Critical Mass event this Friday; they are expecting lots of riders and the city streets of Vancouver will once again echo with the mantra "we don't block traffic, we are traffic".

Vancouver has played host to the World Peace Forum and the World Urban Forum this week. Over 170 urban planners signed a petition suggesting the Gateway Plan not go ahead. Citizens are fighting to stop this lunatic called Kevin Falcon who see's himself as the next Phil Gaglardi [who built many roads in the 60's]. The day of the automobile maybe approaching dusk, but Falcon proceeds as if the afternoon is bright and sunny. Adding more roads is simply not the answer to alleviating the problems Vancouver is facing.

Time for a new helmet.

May update

2006-05-15T13:46:00.000-07:00

It is now the middle of May and it is the hottest day of the year so far.

Last week I realised my back wheel was in crisis, I discovered that I three broken spokes and a wrath of lose spokes. How could such rampant destruction go unnoticed by a bike techie a few days earlier ? After some haggling I replaced the wheel with a new one, no less than 24 hours later the left pedal is making a loud noise.

With the continuous mechanical difficulties in mind, I have made the decision to go for a new bike. There are so many variations on the hybrid theme these days; one simply cannot go to the store and expect to find the bike of one's desires with all the right bits in all the right places. So I am looking to spend $800-$1000 on this new bike, have all new racks/paniers and assorted goodies installed. I should be making my purchase this week. [I purchased a new Rocky Mountain RC-50 over the weekend, a new class of performance hybrid bike].

Yesterday, I joined Vancouver Auto Co-Op. For a refundable $500 membership fee I get to drive cool cars at a fraction of the rental cost. The vehicle I look forward to driving the most is the Toyata Prius located here at SFU. I'll probably be booking my first vehicle sometime this week.

I'm riding more and more as the weather improves other than to and from work. I often ride downtown and back, sometimes more than once an the weekend. A few weeks back KHL and I took part in the April Critical Mass rally which occurs on the last Friday of the month. In Vancouver it starts at the Art Gallery and winds itself around downtown, its a real novelty to take over the road with 500 plus cyclists and you move from once place to the next with great speed. KHL hope to be on the next event on May 26th.

April showers

2006-04-07T09:37:00.000-07:00

April has arrived with warm weather [18C] today and good riding conditions.

March was fairly uneventful, we had a last gasp of snow here at the 250m elevation with a dabble in the city, however the university did well to clear the whole mess by home time. The one day the university closed I guesstimated it would so by 3pm and I left early that day.

I'm now commuting to my band practice with the guitar on my back and amp bungie'd to the bike rack. It looks kinda funky and it feels like a few extra kg going up the hills to Commercial Drive and back but overall it is a good way to get around.

KHL and I have decided to join up with spud.ca and start ordering our food from them. So far so good, we have had good reliable service and the food has been high quality. It is good to know where the food came from and how many kms it travelled to be at our doorstep; spud.ca gives a small discount for locally grown or manufactured products.

Hydration is not an issue yet, but if it gets much warmer it soon will be.

I continue to lose weight, I have lost approx 10kg since July 2005 and I expect that to continue.

I feel I am in the home stretch for my goal of riding 12 months without the aid of an automobile.

2006-02-15T10:49:00.000-08:00

There must be more to bike riding blogs than a discussion of the weather !

The weather has been exceptionally good this week, cloudless skies, cooler temperatures, perfect bike riding weather.

Since the last blog the BC government has announced the Gateway Plan, a $3 billion scheme to expand the transportation routes of the lower mainland. Included in this plan is $50 million to expand/upgrade cycling routes. This comes as a hard sell from the Liberals, cyclists want better routes to ride on but at the same time don't want more cars on the road to compete with.

The route I take to work is shared with cars, very few intersections direct traffic away from the bike route, in fact there is very little "encouragement" for cars NOT to use the bike route. More traffic calming, more legislation [by-laws] in regard to who has the right of way on the bike routes, more signage "local traffic only". Lower mainland drivers are simply not aware of cyclists as much as they could be, an education program to this end would help save lives and broken bones.

As the transportation issues heat up cyclists need to make their stand, we need to encourage the general population to get on their bikes and leave their unsustainable modes of transport behind, if only temporarily.

29 days rain with no end in sight....

2006-01-13T13:10:00.000-08:00

29 days straight rain, with no inclination to stop, at least until Sunday.

I still have not missed a day bike commuting due to the weather, sometimes I am not sure if it is my own tenacity or stupidity that makes me do this.

Last Thursday seemed to get the better of me; I really wanted to be in a car. KHL and I now do yoga over at Britannia, this means getting out of wet gear and getting back in to it, doing yoga then getting in to again and coming home. Having a car would have so much easier [and expensive]. Last night it was raining even harder than the previous Thursday, having some decent gear makes all the difference.

I bought a new pair of gloves and some booties both Activa brand. These booties are a great idea, especially wearing new runners. There is no way these shoes would five minutes without these booties, there is so much crap on the road.

Who would have thought my first winter riding without a car would turn out to be one of the wettest on record ? It is also very warm, with the temp rarely going below 8 degrees C, this makes the transition from speeding down the hill at 60kmh to pedalling up hills the rest of the way, more difficult. I can either freeze coming down the hill or roast the rest of the way home.

I am rapidly coming to the conclusion one of the reasons why people are so out of touch with the outdoors, particularly in winter, is due to all the time they spend in their cars. Why do you care if it is raining, if you jump out of your front door and in to your car ?

Environmental issues have not been up front in this election at all. We should not let the major political parties dictate their own agendas, the people of Canada need to wake up the quality of air and water - get outside more, especially in the bad weather.

addendum: http://www.cbc.ca/bc/story/bc_rain20060131.html

Last commute of the year

2005-12-20T20:56:00.000-08:00

Today was the last time doing the daily commute until the new year.

If there was any doubt about mother nature letting me off lightly on the last commute of the year forget it, the rain came heavy and hard in the way the west coast can deliver it.

I'll still be riding, have a dentists appointment in the morning, with a good ride up the hill from Boundary Rd up to Gilmour. This hill is much easier with the granny gear on my bike, I don't know how I ever managed without this ingenious device. This hill used to take me three installments, now I can do it without stopping at all.

I hope you like the picture, taken just as I was getting in tonight. Scary lookin' dude huh ?

December update

2005-12-16T11:12:00.000-08:00

I seemed to have survived the worst of the weather, now it just seems overtly cold with out much precip and that ain't too bad.

I have received some positive news from the city of Vancouver regarding the install of speed devices at Rupert and Adanac, apparently they are sending someone out to take readings and see how bad things really are there. I saw the stats from the intersection and there seems to be a plethora of accidents there, however mostly on Tuesdays, very odd.

On a sad note, the new Mayor has dissolved ALL public committees including the cycling committee and disability committee and has yet to reconstitute them. These committees acts as vehicles between the city and the people who live here, I would hope at some point these committees are put back together, however my guess they may stay dormant for some time to come.

I have also decided to not run for Burnaby Douglas in the Jan 23rd federal election. In a recent meeting Ray Power identified himself as a candidate, Ray recently ran for mayor of Vancouver and has run as a PC in Burnaby Douglas in the past. It will be interesting to see how the other candidates react to a right leaning Green that has a bit of a name in the area. In an interesting side note I had a chat to a NDP supporter at one of their tables earlier this week, He commented that "I guess the Greens don't like Ian Gregson anymore". He didn't know who I was, I only smiled as I walked away.

I have been thinking about the political implications of being a bike rider. Do people think I am crazy ? Or do they admire someone who lives what they beleive in ? And would that transfer in to a vote anyway ?

Survived November

2005-11-30T09:37:00.000-08:00

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.

Surviving the Fall so far....

2005-10-26T11:05:00.000-07:00

It is now almost November and I am surviving the Vancouver fall weather reasonably well.

I have invested in a Sugoi riding jacket for $150, a new 3 led front light, very bright. I have also upgraded my tyres to set of Armadillo's and replaced all my brakes with Shimanos and replaced the rear cassette and a new chain. Altogether I have spent approx $300 on the bike.

I survived several heavy rainstorms, whilst not exactly pleasurable at 60 kmph, I remained warm and was able to warm up again once I started riding on the flat. [My first 1.8km is all downhill]. The Sugoi jacket held up very well.

The big problem I have had so far is seat alignment and height. I had some significant knee problems that have thankfully been alleviated by simply raising the seat about 3-4cm. I also had the handlebars raised to lessen my reach and reduce pressure in the groin area. Apparently the seat I have is designed for downhill mountain biking, not for longer sustained riding. Luckily my new doctor is an avid bike rider and suggested getting the local bikestore to check my height etc.. We now have a bikestore on the SFU campus and they are perfectly located for any servicing that needs doing whilst I am at work.

Kutenai Hippy Lady is back riding after a prolonged absence of almost 2 months; ICBC gave her a few bucks for her troubles. KHL is truly a Vancouver city cyclist, she even stops at red lights.

Overall, the bike riding experience is good.

On the lack of automobile side, I have missed the car at several points, particularly when getting my daughter to school and to her Girl Guides. Pretty well the same week I returned the van, my x started making overtures to my responsibility as a parent. She now charges me $4 per day for taking her daughter to school when my daughter is staying with me.

I have borrowed my mums car for several trips to Bowen Island and that seems to have worked out well. And it is certainly good to have a few more $$$ in my pocket.

Overall, the lack of car has led to a slow down in the pace of life. No longer am I running about trying to do as many things as possible and sitting in traffice a lot of the time. I have to say I feel less stressed because of not having a vehicle to worry about and my pace of life has slowed to the point of me appreciating things much more.

CARLESS FOR ONE MONTH

2005-08-25T16:19:00.000-07:00

CARLESS FOR ONE MONTH

So the first month has passed.

The first three weeks passed without much exception. However, the last week has been, shall I say painful.

Last Friday my g/f "kutenai hippy lady" got hit by a car whilst riding her bike to work downtown. She suffered a separated shoulder and various bruises. Luckily she was helped by several bike messengers who don't take kindly to that kind of thing. KHL is doing ok, her arm will be in the sling for another few days yet.

On Tuesday this week it was my turn. I had just come out of the dangerous intersection of Adanac and Boundary Rd [heading east] going along minding my own biznus when a red Toyota nudged me with her passenger mirror. Luckily, it was more of prod than a push or shove and the Toyota was not travelling very fast. However, it sped off fast enough after my few choice cuss words came from me.

Last week on my way home travelling at 70kmph as you do down Burnaby Mtn, hearing nothing but wind, I had to make an emergency stop due to a fire truck. The resulting skid and corresponding flat spot on my tire cost me $70 for a pair of new Armadillo tires. These new tires are like rocks, but they also have a lot more traction than the previous, so it feels like I am working harder.

And it still has not rained....

Day 15

2005-08-10T14:43:00.000-07:00

It has now been just over two weeks since I returned my van to the dealer.

The repairs are complete, I just have to pay for them.

Last weekend I did a fair bit of riding, downtown and back Friday PM, out to Port Moody on Saturday and out to Cates Park in North Vancouver for Under the Volcano - my ass is killing me.

However, I have moved my bike seat ever so slightly to the left and raised it about 1cm and now the pain has subsided considerably.

Today is also the first day it looks like rain, the first in over a month; the temp has dropped about 10 degrees.

This weekend my parents are going out of town and leaving their Ford Escort in my capable hands for the week.

I am picking up small quantities of groceries as I need them on my way home from work, it seems to be working out fine. Not had need for a big shop yet.

Gas prices have reached $1.12 per litre !!!

Week One complete

2005-08-02T09:44:00.000-07:00

Day 7

It has been a week since I returned my leased vehicle to the dealer.

Over the weekend I rode my bike to ALL the events I attended; one on Saturday night, the other all day Sunday. By the time Sunday PM came around my nether regions needed a rest. Normally I wear my regular workday shorts for my commute, however longer treks need more padding and protection.

Last night I took my tire pressure only to find both tires at 27 psi. No wonder I was slowing down - tire pressure will do that.

If I am to keep commuting over the winter I will need better gear. particularly the rain jacket. The only problem commuting from SFU is that there are no lights from the campus to the bottom of the hill. It is bad enough reach speeds of 70km/h in dry - daylight, but in complete darkness and rain it would be suicidal. I would have to pay the $2.25 and get off the bus at the bottom of the hill.

There is a movement afoot at SFU to get faculty and staff a transit pass similar to the students U-PASS. Apparently, SFU are talking to Translink about this. SFU just jacked up is ridiculously low car parking rates by 20%. Combine this with recent gas price increases and you have more people seriously considering leaving their vehicles at home, even with our less than adequate bus services.

I am picking up groceries from my local "Red Apple" market at I need them on the way home. I need to go there more often since I have limited space to carry them.

So far I have no reason to miss my vehicle - it has not rained in the last week.

Day 2

2005-07-27T08:52:00.000-07:00

On the ride home last night I felt different.

No longer am I responsible for a carbon based fuel hog that costs me thousands of dollars a year to run.

I looked at all the people lining up for 89.9 ¢ gas and thought "thanks but no thanks".

I looked at my two wheels and thought "this is good enough for me". Of course the weather has been perfect in Vancouver for the last few weeks, not had any flats or interactions with inattentive drivers.

With the savings from not having a gas guzzler to look after I can get myself some decent rain gear and get a new battery for my dusty helmet mounted 10w lighthouse, some people call a mere bike light.

I'm gung ho still.

The first bus experience

2005-07-26T15:43:00.000-07:00

Well not really my first bus experience, since I take the bus to work every day and ride my bike home from SFU.

However, it was somewhat ironic that after riding my bike up to Hastings from the car dealer on Boundary Rd, a mere 2 bus stops from the Zone 1/Zone 2 border the burly driver insisted I pay the extra $1 to catch the bus from Cassiar and Hastings to SFU.

I knew this driver would be a problem as he pulled up about 8 feet past where I was standing with my bike, forcing me to wheel the bike around the bus and on to the rack. After he challenged me over the extra $1 I simply got off the bus and unloaded my bike. Out of due courtesy I should have left the bike rack down; as it was I almost passed the same bus at Boundary and Hastings as I went in to Burnaby.

I also had to explain to the next driver that the ticket I was trying to use had not been replaced by the driver of the previous bus. Since tickets issued in Zone 1 cannot be used in Zone 2.

90% of the time when I take the bus in the morning the drivers do not care about using a 1 zone ticket, so close to the boundary of Zone 2. There are asshole bus drivers, who might want to challenge the sad bus user with out change who then has to tramp up to Boundary and Hastings. Charging $1 to go 2 stops is stupid.

I have nothing but empathy for bus drivers that have to put up with some of worst Vancouver has to offer in regard to workplace safety. There are a small number of drivers who must really hate their job and the people they are supposed to serve. Students in particular are a specific target when it comes to drivers who obviously have shortcomings elsewhere in life.

Bus drivers might want to rethink this rule enforcement when it comes time for public support when they start asking for more money when on the strike line. How about if passengers started enforcing the rules on driver conduct I'm sure we would be hearing about it real quick.

The first day

2005-07-26T13:58:00.001-07:00

Today I returned my 2002 Chevy Venture Van back to the dealer. The vehicle was leased from GMAC Canada from January 2002 to January 2006, Wolfe Chev were very nice and let me return the van six months prior to the end of the lease.

Since January 2002 I have paid $350 for the lease and approx $120 per month for insurance. The van has cost me about $60 per month in fuel and overall about $500 in maintenance etc.. Since my separation in December 2003 I have never needed the full capacity of the van. At the most I need 3 seats, maybe 4. However, I have decided to try life without a car until January 2006. If succesful I will continue to be without a car indefinitely; it has been done by others, it can be done by me.

In the 42 months I have leased the vehicle I have paid $14,700 in lease payments, $5040 for insurance, $2520 in fuel and approx $500 in maintenance. By returning the vehicle now I will save a total of $3180 over the next six months.

I will be carless for the first time since 1982.