Catching a curve ball
September 27th, 2010 § 1 Comment
It’s those curve balls that can get you down. And your weight up. Get you off track. Or in the vernacular of the day, cause you to fall off the wagon.
After wiping out on my bicycle, I’m going to hold back on exercise for a week or two, or until the pain in my neck subsides.
I was cycling along Jericho Beach, one of the city’s most spectacular spots, when a large woolly terrier bounded from the off-leash section of the park, into the pedestrian and cycle path. To avoid the dog, I crunched down hard on my brakes and swerved to the right, hearing myself think, I’m going down. In those split seconds I recalled a passage from Malcolm Gladwell’s Outliers about a co-pilot saying to the captain, “We’re going down,” seconds before the fateful airplane crash.
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Who let the pooch out
June 15th, 2010 § Leave a Comment
Even dogs enjoy the thrill of cycling. At the City of Vancouver’s Urban Bike Fair today, I spotted two pooches in cyclists’ pouches.
The Dunsmuir Street separated bike lane is officially open. Gregor Robertson, mayor of Vancouver and Amy Walker, publisher of Momentum Magazine gave little talks on the joys of cycling. Proper cycling infrastructure, such as this new separated bike lane, prevents cyclists from being smeared by cars.
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Break-Up with Your Car
June 14th, 2010 § Leave a Comment
In Vancouver in June, cyclists rock all month long. Bikesummer grew into Velolove, which evolved into Velopalooza. And the city’s bike culture continues to grow.
Bagels and bikes
June 14th, 2008 § Leave a Comment
Waking up on Sunday, the morning of the Tour de Blintz, my eyes met an intense downpour of rain. As I slid open the patio door, the sound of the rain was as heavy as a Tom Waits song. It was still early—5:30 am—and knowing Vancouver weather, a lot could happen by 9:30. I was an hour’s ride to the start of the Tour and by the time I arrived, the rain had toned down to a drizzle. Within a few minutes, the rain had stopped.
About 20 people, including a 3-generation family of five (on two tandem bicycles, one with a trailer for the little kid), enjoyed the leisure 45km Tour around Vancouver. We stopped at several
Jewish eateries for a sampling of food such as latkes and bagels with cream cheese.
The Jewish Museum and the Vancouver Area Cycling Coalition hosted the ride, and a longer, 75km ride the following Sunday. Thanks to Greg Robinson at the Jewish Museum for organizing the tour.
The 2008 Tour de Blintz
Cycling blogs
UBC Researchers to investigate cycling safety
Critical Mass Vancouver
Bike and beer
Never leave home without your panniers
May 30th, 2008 § 1 Comment
You never know when you might win something—and I was glad I had
my panniers on my bike at the wrap-up party of the Bike to Work Week. I won a gift basket from Vancouver’s Yale Rhythm and Blues Club including a bottle of wine, VIP passes, CD and t-shirt. Thank you Yale Club.
Vancouver cyclists were really lucky this year. We had great weather every day during the 2008 Bike to Work Week. Over 1,700 new riders participated. The BBQ at Science World—okay, Telus World of Science—included music by the Bicycle Shed Ensemble and entertainment by the B:C: Clettes dance group. Two people propelled the sound system by pedalling stationary bicycles and M&M Meats provided food.
While flipping through the new issue of Momentum magazine, I noticed a great item for rainy days in Vancouver—an attachment to hold the umbrella (see photo above). I need to find a local retailer.
For more cycling information, visit Vancouver Area Cycling Coalition.
Coming Cycle Events
June is Bike Month—50 events
Tour de Blintz, June 8 & 15, 2008
Slow Food Cycle Tour of Agassiz, BC, August 9, 2008
If you rather not cycle, how about building your own online Kaleidoscope?
Don’t bogart that road, my friend
May 16th, 2008 § Leave a Comment
When presenting at SFU Business School on May 15, 2008, the cycling advocate from Rutgers University was so excited that several times he knocked off his clip-on mic. While John Pucher’s 1½ hour presentation was way too long, it contained a lot of good information for cycling commuter advocates to bring to city planners.
Most noteworthy lesson from Pucher’s study of cycling in the Netherlands, Denmark, and Germany is that when cycling increases, accidents decrease. It’s so safe to cycle in these countries that commuters do not wear helmets.
Also, cycling demographics show as people age, the more they commute by bicycle.
In Berlin, free Internet cycling trip planning is offered. Cyclists can indicate preferences for speed, type of pavement, type of street, and so on. Cyclists can also plan their trips by cellphone, viewing the map in the cellphone’s display.
SFU Business School on Granville apologized for the lack of bicycle racks claiming their racks were stolen.
Resources
- Corsets to sports bras. Read about the bicycle’s role in the emancipation of women.
- Here’s a PDF of John Pucher’s PowerPoint presentation.
- Information on Bike to Work Week in Vancouver.
- Katie Melua—On Nine Million Bicycles in Beijing
A biketopian vision
May 9th, 2008 § Leave a Comment
In the June 2008 issue of Walrus, there’s a great article on cycling titled, Geared Up: On the road to two-wheeled transcendence. Reading the first sentence or two, trying to remember the streets of Toronto that were mentioned, I wondered how the writer got away with such a terrible lead. Another sentence or two and I was hooked. My smug criticism melted to wonderment as Bill Reynolds’ slow hook mirrored the subject he writes about—cycling to commute. Reynolds also describes leisure cycling and a bit about racing. Walrus calls the article a rider’s biketopian vision.
Reynolds takes the reader around some parts of Toronto, past a deadly accident, onto country cycling and a bicycle group crashup with another death. He includes a history of the bicycle, a discourse on urban commuting cycling and a brief look at European cycling systems.
In Vancouver on June 15, John Pucher from Rutgers University’s gives a talk on cycling in the Netherlands, Denmark and Germany. For information on Cycling for Everyone, check out SFU’s free public lectures.
Here’s a group of women cyclists called the B:C:Clettes having fun.
Other cycling sources:
The Bike Guy’s blog
Momentum Magazine’s blog
