Carless in Vancouver

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.