Busy Times on my Bike

Pedal up and pedal down, pedal all over town.

This has been my mantra the past few weeks! It has been a busy time, full of Otesha outreach events, warmer weather, long runs, rock climbing, birthday parties and other events.

I love being engaged in my community, active and busy! Its great to meet new people (and see people I already know) at events. But, this network that I am forming will be left behind (again) as I take off to New Brunswick and Nova Scotia on an Otesha bike trip (again). The upside is my plans are to return to Ottawa at the end of September, so this network I will have formed will be re-united with me…yippee!

But back to the Maritimes. Yes, I am heading out to the east coast now to bike along the Bay of Fundy with an awesome crew of other volunteers. There will only be 9 of us this time, and I am excited to meet them! Our training week starts in a month and I can’t wait! However between now and then there is a lot to get done! I can’t believe its already April!

Along with April showers, April also brings Easter, CanBike training, a half marathon, finishing a business plan, fix my bike, and work and do fun things too! Wowzers! Busy!

Just wanted to give you a quick “me” update, since I have been MIA the past few weeks, sorry it couldn’t have been more bike related!

Pictures from Safe Winter Cycling Rally in Ottawa

Bike Parking!!!

We're geared up and ready to rock, after a few inspiring words!

Why I ride

Ottawa has been going well. I love working for something I truly believe in, that being the environment. And biking is such an interracial part of how I shout this belief to the world. Riding my bike states that I don’t want to contribute to the pollution that automobiles produce. It states that there is another way and it challenges others to think beyond what media and our society tells us. Just because we perceive our cities to be designed around the use of the automobile, they don’t have to be. The roadways could be just as much for bikes, and instead of allowing the putting up of big box stores we could create a demand for more smaller stores. Putting the power (granted less power) back into the hands of the people. Empowering more individuals to own their businesses. Creating stronger communities and economy that demands that we know our surroundings and interact with our neighbours…all of this I say by riding my bike.

My bike empowers me. Just like anyone else out there, I spend a lot of time sitting (like right now as I type this blog post), so my body gets a little angsty, wanting to play an important role in my life too. With my bike it can do that. I am the motor behind those handle bars, I am the one that turns the peddles and sends me rolling from home to work, to soccer, to art class, to friends, to plays, and so much more! I don’t depend on your oil in my gas tank, just my oatmeal in my bowl to get me rolling. That’s why my bike empowers me, because I can go anywhere with it, all I need is a little food in my belly and grease on my chain.

My bike challenges me. Before I really got intimate with my bike I did not even know how to change a tire. That’s right, less then a year ago, when I would get a flat tire I would slunk over to my dad or the local bike shop! But no longer! Flat tire? No problem! Need to repack your axel? Done it (although kinda tricky). Fix tension of brakes? Yep! Realign the gears, yep! Yet there is so much more to learn. And yet, it’s possible! Bikes are complicated but in an approachable way. It’s all fairly simple mechanics when you break it down. Going beyond the mechanical challenges, my bike challenges me physically as I push further and go beyond what I thought was possible. What will my bike and I conquer next? Who knows!

My bike creates community. Despite all of the tension around “bikers vs. car drivers” being a biker is a great way to strike up conversation and create community. There are so many others (hidden by all the cars) that are also facing the elements and cycling to work throughout Ottawa and Canada. I have waved to friends, talked to other cyclists, and smiled at pedestrians all while on my bike. I get to interact with my surrounds and the people in it when I go to work. I get to mail my letters while still on my bike, I get to listen to the birds sing, and watch the sun blast a hole in the clouds. There is something very intimate about being on my bike. I am exposed to my surrounds and therefore get to interact with them and be part of the world and part of my community. The other day I biked home and my neighbour asked me how the biking conditions were, since he was about to saddle up on his bike too. Would we have had that convo were it not for our bikes? Nope! Our bikes enabled this interaction. Yum.

Ok, I will end there for now. But before I TOTALLY end I want to clarify that I am not trying to be self righteous or snutty-poofy by saying all of this, I am simply expressing some of the awesome reasons why I bike. I am simply challenging you all to consider why do you or don’t you bike? And perhaps if you don’t bike, try taking a lonely bike out for a whirl. Who knows what you could find, both in yourself and the world around you! Enjoy the ride!

Bikes vs Cars

Why do we always have to be against one another? Don't get me wrong, I am NOT a fan of cars, I never want to own one, and dread the times when I have to ride in one, yet they exist and like it or not our cities and western culture has developed around them. That doesn't mean we have an excuse to rely on them or drive everywhere, but it does mean that they exist on the streets. However, bikes also exist. Bikes in fact have been around longer then automobiles! The first bicycle invention was created in 1817 by Karl von Drais, while the first automobile was not invented until 1886 by Karl Bentz. So, why do bikes get the shaft? As a biker I feel like I constantly have to fight for my right to a piece of the street (especially in the winter), which doesn't seem to make sense when I am the vulnerable under-dog who really has been here longer then the car driver. Humf.

But what gets me the most is the tension and anger we create around the idea that we have to share the road. Share?! Heavens no! Again, all I am asking for is a little R. E. S. P. E. C. T., is that so hard to do for me? There are cars that provide that, but there are many that don't. I think a big problem is that a lot of the car drivers are...surprise surprise...not bikers. Therefore they do not understand why a biker would ride in the middle of the road and get in their way. When really it is not that the biker wants to get in the way, but rather that the side of the road is full of hard and dangerous ice layers. Some drivers would thus reply, "Well then you shouldn't be on the road". But again, I disagree. I know this is an extreme, but take a look at Copenhagen, this is a city that has more bikers then drivers, and thus they have to adapt their infrastructure for it. Yes their climate is somewhat milder, but they do get snow, they do get ice, and all the unfavorable conditions that winter brings.

But wait, lets back up to the ticket word...INFRASTRUCTURE! I have to say that are infrastructure is not built to value both cars and bikes, its built to value cars only. And while north American cities are getting better (Woot woot to Ottawa's bike lane on Laurier Street, I love it), we have a long way to go. So obviously its awkward when bikers have to pedal along in a world designed for cars, yet it doesn't mean it shouldn't happen. In fact more bikers should do this. The more bikers flood the cities the more demand will arise to adjust our city infrastructure to create space for the bikers, which in turn creates a better infrastructure for cars too.

So instead of becoming hateraters lets be appreciaters. And if you want safer roads, then lets lobby the cities to built better infrastructure that supports both car and bike traffic (and walkers of course too!).

Resources:

History of the Automobile: http://www.yourdiscovery.com/cars/timeline/

History of the Bicycle: http://bicycling.about.com/od/thebikelife/ss/History.htm

Biking in Copenhagen: http://www.bycyklen.dk/english/thecitybikeandcopenhagen.aspx

Really Cool Circular bike for 7 people!

Check out this bike, its soo cool. Its a circular bike bus!!

Corn and Meat, what do we eat?

Yesterday morning, as I was making dal and rice (not for breakfast but to feed my hungry face later in the week when I will be busy and w/o cooking time) I was reading some factoids about corn. And how 60% of the corn that is grown in Canada is fed to...yep, you guessed it, cows. It makes me sad, frustrated and amused on so many levels. Sad because corn is not the natural diet of cows, grass is. Its like telling humans to naw on tree bark for breakfast. Yum?! I think it would put me in a lot of pain trying to digest that stuff. So I can only imagine the kind of pain cows are in when having corn and other grains that they arn't suppose to eat being shovelled down their throats. Euw.

Its also frustrating because of all the resources and space that growing all of this corn takes. Did you know that mono-cropping corn takes 3 times the amount of fertilizer than any other crop?! So where does all that fertilizer come from? Usually oil. And that fertilizer costs farmers a lot of money, which then goes into the pockets of the rich kids down at Monsanto, BASF, Pioneer, and Syngenta. Can you imagine the amount of fresh veggies, and organic grains that could be grown if corn was taken out? Even if only the corn that is fed to animals (which again remember are NOT even suppose to eat corn) was taken out, that would be 60% of all the corn, that's a lot of land. And that's a lot of money saved on fertilizer. I know people say that its not possible, but I disagree.

Why do I become amused? Simply by how crazy our food system is. How did it get this way? What makes us think its ok to feed living-beans stuff that hurts them? What makes us think growing one crop for miles and miles is a good way to treat the earth and feed ourselves? If we take a look at a forest what do we see? I know I don't see only trees in one section, moss in another, and ferns in another. They grow together. They provide the nutrients needed for one another, they live as a community that provides nutrients for each other.

But, back to reality. Our situation is far from a forest oasis. So where do we go from here? I think we need to let go of our attachments to what we think is normal. Its not normal to consume most of our food from plastic packages. Its not normal to have farms that span kilometers and kilometers. Its not normal to raise animals in such small confinements that they cannot move. Its not normal to have to deal with water pollution caused by too much animal poo in the water. I could go on, but you get the point. All of these "not normals" can be changed though. I would love to hear your ideas, and what you are doing to create new normals.

Thanks for letting me express these ideas and feelings, even if they don't involve my bicycle.

Extreme Sport

Welcome to winter biking.

This past weekend my friend loaned me a bike until I get one for myself, which I still need to get...perhaps this week during my personal development hours, it is definitely something that can develop your personality, ESPECIALLY this past week in Ottawa. Its been snowing a lot, and with lots of snow comes crazy roads, and its not so much the snow on the roads that worry me, but rather the cars with the snow.

Here in Ottawa it is as if the drivers don't realize anything has changed and continue to drive as if there is no snow on the ground, which makes for extreme conditions for cyclists. And yet I have never seen so many winter cyclists before! Its great to have friends on the road. Its great to look out the window while making dinner and see two, not cars, but cyclists pedaling down the road.

Cycling this past week has been an extreme sport, different from cycling any other time of the year. I suppose I have to make a mental shift too, now that the snow is here. I can't race around doing a million things. I find the cold drains me, and cycling in the winter takes a lot of energy from me. Its unfortunate since I have a long list of things I want to do, see, etc. But perhaps its good. It will force me to slow down, be flexible, and enjoy the moment. Like yesterday, it had been snowing all day, and although the bike home was a bit scary, it was beautiful once I got to my neighbourhood. The snow was all stuck on the tree branches and so many people were outside walking or shoveling. I love how the crazy weather brings the people out.

Unfortunately, yesterday my loner bike also got a flat tire, so until that flat is fixed, no slush rush for me.