The Bike Ferry and Bike Camping

This past weekend Clint and I took our baby to Salt Spring Island to partake in a bicycle festival called Velo-Village. Part of the celebration was a BIKE ONLY FERRY!

It never occurred to me before how much room all the cars take up on the ferries, that extra space got used as a dance floor on the Bike Ferry!

 A nice crowd of 400 cyclists, not taking up too much space on an epic boat ride!

 We go to see many cool bikes, including this Bullit Cargo bike, it has a battery which makes it really heavy, but it can also help motor you up the hills. Fun, I like that it is all white too. I guess the owner (who lives in Victoria) always gets mistaken as an ice cream vendor. Hee hee, the could be worse things.

This was the bike parking lot in down town Ganges, all of those 400 cyclists rode a long ride from Fulford Bay to Ganges city. It involved slowly climbing a mountain, and then riding down into town. Challenging but a lot of fun.

Ganges and the Fulford Ganges Road was decorated in bikes. This Tandem on display at one of the bigger intersections caught our eye.

 This was the decor-bike outside of a cool gift shop. I love the plush red wheels.

 The Fire hall

 My two year olds favourite, outside of an Art Gallery!

And my favourite, a bubble-wrapped bike, decorating a soap store.

 The camping was nice. The hardest part being riding there, which was actually tons of fun. We have a 3 person tent that only weighs 4lbs, here I am using the bikes to tie down the fly so I wouldn't have to hammer in too many pegs.

 This is a picture of all our gear packed up and ready to go home. I think its funny to compare how messy the homeward bound bike looks like to the neat and compact out ward bound bike in the picture below.

You can actually see the kid in this photo.

Altogether a really nice time. We are so please with our Cetma cargo bike. We have a margo. Keep an eye out for the very friendly review we will be writing for the builder soon. I will post it here too.

Take care and Ride on!

Maybe We Should Let The Computer Drive...

It's come to my mind lately that we, as a species, are too immature to handle the power of the automobile.

Maybe its a little extreme, but hang in there with me.

We speed, and talk on cellphones while controlling them, never fully understanding the potential consequences those actions can have on ourselves, or on others.

We imagine them to be an extension of our bodies, and a symbol to our fellow humans of how wealthy and powerful we are, while ignoring the obvious fact that using them too much is neglecting our bodies and keeping us apart and partitioned from the humans we pass by, sometimes everyday.

We justify wars to keep their fuel supply affordable and teach our children of the mortal danger they face every time they cross the road. And we accept without a second thought how much of our urban environment is built just for cars.

Worst still, we buy into the dream advertisers weave that a car equals freedom, while we waste our precious and limited time in this life, stuck in traffic.

Maturity comes with realizing the consequences of the actions we choose. From there we can move on to finding balance, not needing to fully reject a good tool, as we can learn to use it appropriately.

Let's grow up already.

"Separated Bike lanes make me Hornby!"

On Tuesday night, Vancouver city councillors voted on implementing a separated Bike lane on Hornby street, it will run right through the core of the city, connecting the two other separated bike lanes, and the sea walls on either end of downtown. This decision will affect how people move around in the inner city, where cars are becoming increasingly more inconvenient and transit, walking and cycling are seeming more enjoyable and practical.

In celebration the Vancouver Area Cycling Coalition is selling shirts with "Separated Bike Lanes Make Me Hornby" on them, you can find them on their website www.vacc.bc.ca

For my own celebration, I will finally ride my bike downtown, a place that I found too busy and scary to go there on two wheels before. Thank you Vancouver.

Tips For Riding Your Bike In The Rain

Its Vancouver, and its raining. Does that mean that its time to get into the stuffy car, struggle to see through the foggy windshield and burn petrol into my neighbours lungs?

No, its time to rediscover the beauty of cycling in the rain. 

With the right equipment and attitude, riding in the rain is several steps above driving, leaving you energized and fit, instead of irritated and at risk of expensive automobile accidents. And it is safer, because on your bike you get the whole periphery of the road, the sidewalk, the neighbourhood, while drivers can only look at small sections of their surroundings through their box shaped, rain splattered windows.

Just remember to:

-Wear a Helmet with a Visor, or at least just a visor (if you insist, you rebel), preferably a longer one if you wear glasses, to prevent the water droplets on the glass from blinding you just like the drivers.

-Tight pants in a light material that will dry within minutes once you get to your destination, or a change of pants if that is more convenient.

-Waterproof Jacket and Shoes, so essential to keep you functioning through the day.

-Warm waterproof gloves, this could be the only item on the list for me, and I would be comfortable enough to go.

-Lights on both the front and back of your bike. Seriously, visibly for the drivers is so much lower on the rainy days, don’t give them a chance to not see you. 

-A Go-Hard, light hearted attitude. Have fun, and enjoy how extreme and energizing it feels to be riding in the rain, hills are easier and fun when it is cold and wet, and your body likes to be doing this cardio out in the elements. Trust me, you will be glowing when you get to where you were going, and most of the fun will have been in getting there.

Don’t let the changing of the seasons stop you from partaking in this enjoyable form of transport, and let the benefits of cycle commuting permeate through your life.