The City Gets it Right

The rootbeer folder

In an effort to engage the public about plans to build more biking infrastructure, the city has gone to a lot of trouble and expense.  Recently one meeting was held on the south side of the river and two meetings were planned for the north side.

The meeting I attended was only a few blocks from my work so after scarfing down a quick supper, I rode the Raleigh 20 over there.  With only fifteen minutes remaining before the start of the meeting, the bike racks were full and it was all I could do to find a sturdy fence to lock up my ride.

Another folding bike on the fence

The city had gone all out by renting a large gymnasium and filling it with enough tables and seating for two hundred guests.  Colourful balloons added a cheery note to the sterile gym. However the music playing on large speakers was odd.  "These Boots Are Made For Walking" and Steppenwolf's "Born To Be Wild" which starts off with the lines "Get Your Motors Running..." seemed out of place for a meeting of cyclists.

Party atmosphere

In a short speech, the organizer explained that the city had made a mistake last year when they presented already completed plans for bike lanes to the public.  Motorists in the crowd were vocal in their anger and cyclists were eager to point out flaws in the plans.  This time, the city wanted  input before making any decisions.

Plenty of maps

We sat at tables with a facilitator and talked about what we thought a bike lane should look like.  An engineer had shown examples of what cities like Winnipeg, Toronto, and Vancouver had done.  As well there were examples from the U.S. of A. and Europe.  In the middle of our table was a pie shaped diagram that looked like something from Trivial Pursuit.  In each pie section were elements that had to be considered when designing bike lanes.  The impact on property owners.  Will this affect businesses along the route?  The cost to the taxpayers.

Trivial Pursuit

As the evening wore on, I became convinced that the city was sincere in wanting to know what we as cyclists in this car centric city wanted.  We switched tables after half an hour and studied what other participants had written on their wheel shaped diagram.  We added to their remarks and when we got back to our table, we studied what other cyclists had written on our sheet,

Edmonton's poet laureate

The evening was capped off with a poem written by Edmonton's poet laureate Mary Pinkoski.  This artist had spent the evening wandering from table to table listening to the varied discussions.  Her poem which sounded more like a story was involved and lengthy.  My ears perked up when she mentioned something I had said to our table and I'm sure others felt gratified that she had listened to them. I'd like to get a copy of her poem since I felt moved by her words.

Except for a error on the maps which placed Christ Church, a 1920's era Anglican place of worship a block away from where it actually stands, the city's effort to reach out to the cycling public was an encouraging step in the right direction.  Just ask Nancy Sinatra - her boots are walking...

Christ Church in situ

Father's and bikes

It was always amusing to see my father come out of the house wearing shorts.  Seeing his lily-white legs covered in red hair was an unusual sight since my father wore pants almost all the time.

The reason for wearing the shorts would be some excuse to take my bike out for a ride - most likely Dad would want to test out a recent repair that he had made.  He had probably fixed a flat.  As a kid, you don't think anything about riding over sharp objects like broken glass and nails.

The funny thing about watching my father ride a bike was the angle at which he had to position his legs to be able to ride such a short bike.  The same sort of angle a frog's legs would take if you can imagine a frog riding a bike.

When my father arrived back at the house with a smile hidden under his red moustache, you forgot your impatience and were hapy to know that one, he hadn't crashed your bike and two, the repair he had made was good.

Once visiting my in-laws at their family home in Ottawa, my father-in-law took it upon himself to ride a bike up and down their street.  Being a photographer, it fell to me to record this surprising event.  The warm glow of lights inside the house matched the orange colour of the setting sun.  I used a slow shutter speed and let my father-in-law ride through the frame.  Later, when the film was developed, there was a ghostly streak of my wife's father across the picture.  When I look at the photo now, I realise that I never really knew the man on the bike.

Weather and Bikes

This piece may be chosen for an anthology of cycling called BESPOKE to be published soon

In my mid twenties I was sent to southern Alberta to work for a couple of days outdoors.  New to the west, it was a surprise to me that the province had a desert like area.  Dry sand, cactus and no trees.  Being outside in the full sun with no water, no hat and no sunscreen, it was no wonder that I suffered a sunstroke - mind you, I didn't know what was wrong with me at the time.

Southern Alberta

Driving back to Edmonton, my vision was blurred.  In fact I was seeing double.  Frequently I had to pull off the highway, lurch out of the vehicle and vomit on the side of the road then stagger back to the car and continue driving.  A sharp, pounding headache made concentrating on the road difficult.  Getting home, my girlfriend made me say in bed for a couple of days when she say how terrible I looked.

39 degrees in the sun

Years later, on a bikepacking trip with my friend Roy in south eastern British Columbia, we were cycling in 39 degree temperatures with no opportunity for shade.  I began to feel woozy.  Recognizing the symptoms I told my friend that I'd have to cool off or we'd have to stop for the night right here. Our water had almost run out and we still had 10 kilometers of trail to negotiate to the next town.  One saving grace was that the route to the town meant riding off the trail and down a steep, paved road where without any trouble, you could hit 50+ kilometers and hour.  The airflow created by such speed would help to cool me off.

Once in town we pulled into an air conditioned grocery store where I grabbed a tall can of beer which I began to rub all over myself during the hour we wandered the aisles of the store. Taking my helmet off, I stroked the cold can across my damp head.  Then my arms, my shouders and my torso.  When it came time to pay at the till, I discovered that my cold beer was now a warm beer.  I debated what to do.  Should I shove the beer back into the cooler and grab a cold one off the shelf?  Who's going to know that this can had been all over my body?  (Other than the odd strand of hair caught in the pull tab).

Hand held A/C

Quick thinking pointed out to me that ethically, I had used the beer so I should pay for it.  Besides, after three more hours of climbing to our campsite, any kind of beer, warm or not was going to be welcome!

Bike to the Symphony 2014

After months of waiting, tonight is the night when we bike to the symphony.  I'd like to tell you that everything is arranged if I thought you'd believe it. Tell you that my wife has been practising on her own bike.  That our daughter is joining us for this fun ride.

Instead, the reality is that my wife will meet me at the concert hall and my daughter forgot the date and has made other plans.  Even what I'll wear tonight still has to be decided.  A suit?  T-shirt and jeans?  T-shirt for sure since I bought a black tee with a silkscreened impression of a bow tie and a pleated shirt.

I'm still debating as to which bike to ride.  My preference is the Raleigh 20 since it is so spiffy with its chrome fenders.  But I'm worried that the front fender will get crushed when I lock it to the portable bike rack that I know will be in place at the music venue.

The fender crusher

One thing I know for sure is that we will have a good time.  It is Bike Month here after all and what better way to spend a Friday evening than to have a fun bike ride and then sit right on stage with our city's orchestra?

Tickets are still available at:http://edmontonbikes.ca/bike-to-the-symphony-2014/

A Bittersweet Weekend

On a recent weekend the new southside community bike shop opened to great fanfare and a huge pent up demand for its services.  BikeWorks South as it is known to us who volunteer there had been closed for many months.

BWS

At BikeWorks North (the other community bike shop), every shift has been at capacity with folks wanting to fix bikes, buy bikes and rent bikes.  So it was with happiness and some relief that BWS opened its doors to the public.

BikeWorks North

This same weekend, the Edmonton cycling community learned of the tragic death of one of its young members.  A woman who last year went on a weekend bike ride to a nearby lake and instead of cycling back home, continued on and on.  We were all amazed by her determination as we watched her progress on Face Book.

Just by accident a couple of weeks later, I was working in Lake Louise and while pulling out of a parking lot early one morning, who do I see stopped at a stop sign, straddling her bike?  This very same cyclist with her small amount of gear strapped neatly to her rear pannier rack and looking fresh and strong.

In her memory

The varied experiences that life deals us every day are what make our lives so rich.  Just like light and dark, hot and cold, love and hate, there are two sides to life itself and this one weekend served those of us in the cycling community a dose of happiness and sadness.

A Bike Library?

Who would have guessed that the university in our city has a bike lending library?  Having difficulty finding the place, I asked 10 people for directions and not one of them had ever heard of the place.  I eventually found it in a plain looking building connected to what is called the "Dentistry Pharm" building.  A place that I thought involved dentistry on livestock.

Near here

It was surprising to enter the bike library.  Much more spacious that I had thought and lo and behold! it looked like a bike repair shop.  Repair stands scattered about, wrenches and assorted bike tools hanging from hooks above work benches.  And of course dozens of bikes ready to be rented.

Bike Library

Nathan, a university student, runs the library.  You could call him the librarian.  No bow tie on this guy.  A natty tweed cap covers his dark curls.  Wearing pedals pushers, he looks like a modern, educated, bike rider.  The rest of his clothing is hidden beneath a grimy apron and his hands are stained with grease.  Your basic bike mechanic turned librarian.

The librarian himself

The bikes themselves have been donated and all of them are sprayed a forest green colour and are available only to students, staff and visiting dignitaries.  Each bike comes with a bell, two lights and a U-lock.  Nathan throws in a bicycle map of the city as well.  A very good deal at ten dollars a week!  Renters use their university "One Card" which means that you don't even need a separate library card to get mobile at our institution of higher learning.

All Washed Up

Seeing a waterproof bag in a camping store reminded me that I should buy one in case I ever go near water again with my camera and other valuables in hand.  This year my son, Ragnar the Trader and I plan to take a bikepacking trip to celebrate his thirtieth birthday. It occurred to me that we should plan to stop in Midway and rent a canoe for the afternoon, drift down the Kettle River and then relax around a campsite.

Being that close to the U S of A will be fun!

Twice in the past my cycling buddy Roy and I have rented a canoe from Steve, the manager of the campground in Midway and drifted for a couple of hours down the river, quaffing beer and taking photographs.  Last year on our "Best of" tour, we discovered a small inlet where we could safely tie up the canoe and then jump from a nearby cliff into the cool and clear water.

 My son seems to like the idea of this particular tour even though it does involve climbing a mountain twice - once on the way to Grand Forks and then again on the way back to Midway.  That part didn't thrill him.  But when I described the air conditioned liquor store in Grand Forks and its vast selection of cold beer and that the store is right next to an A&W, Ragnar became downright enthused!

Look at the chicks man!

 The canoe trip will be one of the highlights of our tour as long as neither of us tip the canoe into the river the way Roy and I did last year.  We got completely soaked but luckily I managed to hold my camera and wallet out of the water. We did have to pay Steve twenty bucks for one of the paddles we lost.  We're still blaming each other for capsizing the canoe even though we both know that it was Roy grabbing an over-hanging branch that caused the spill.  This year it won't matter as much since I'll have my stuff in a waterproof pouch.