knight rider

The other day I was walking by Nelson Park and saw...



--this on the road.

I thought it was chalk until realizing later that it had been raining and yet nothing was smudged. Today I went back and... it's still there. Painted on the street. When-- in the middle of the night? And what does it mean?

pannekoek & photo experiments

This morning I met up with my friends Melanie and Jeffrey for breakfast at the Dutch Wooden Shoe Cafe on Cambie. The tasty pannekoek fueled us for a stop at the old bicycle swamp meet (of which I'll post some photos tomorrow) and a bike ride together through the quiet, tree-lined streets of the neighbourhoods nearby.

We were unaninimous: riding with friends on a spring weekend is like being a kid again.



Melanie, looking chic as always:


Jeffrey, being a ham as usual:


Me, hiding behind my favourite new sunglasses:


Jeffrey's bike has this awesome "license" plate which he's had since he was a kid. I vaguely recall having one of these myself (I rode a red and white Strawberry Shortcake bike with a banana seat, back then) so I think they were popular-ish in the 80s. I wonder if you could find them anywhere now?


They graciously accommodated my request to be subjects of my experimenting with cycle photography.



Thanks guys!

conquering burrard

I finally rode all the way from Pender to Davie on Burrard today. I'm not sure what it was about this particular road that intimidated me so much, as it does have a bike lane, after all. In summary: the hill is so gradual that it didn't make much of a difference; the traffic was passable, although I'm still a little wary of rush hour; the buses were weaving back and forth across the bike lane because the bus lane was periodically occupied by cars (whyever do they allow parking on such a major thoroughfare?) but I was just patient and hung out behind them. I'm not into weaving about between cars like some people do just to get to the front of the line. It reminds me that cycling, like everything in life, doesn't start out being easy. It may be a bit out of your comfort zone in the beginning, but each new experience broadens your range.

Oh, and in front of the theatre I caught up with girl on a bike wearing a dress and GREEN BOOTS. They were green. They were beautiful. Did I mention they were green? So very cycle chic.

un peu d'air sur terre

Here are some ads featuring stylish/non-sporty bicycles that I've clipped from magazines recently. What's being advertised here is irrelevant to me: I just love to see bikes featured this way.


Doubling!


It's entirely appropriate that there's a bicycle in this ad because wearing Hue's colourful tights and leggings means you want to show them off and wear them with skirts, dresses, or shorts, which are extra-easy for bike riding (i.e. no pant-cuffing required). Rationally I know this is true, but being a "jeans on the weekend and my only skirts are pencil skirts" kind of girl I'm still struggling to embrace a wider range of fashion possibilities. I'm inspired by both all the "cycle chic" blogs around the web and by certain people I know in real-life; this blog is part of this journey.


Looks all pretty, but a chain guard would be a nice addition considering those pristine white, wide-legged trousers.

wheels and roots

The Roots store at Burrard and Robson has not 1, not 2, not 3 ... but 4 -- four! -- bicycles on its premises as part of the displays. They've been there for a while now but may have moved positions since I saw them last.







The fourth is hiding in the back behind the headless ladies. Pastel pink must make you shy. That's why I never wear it.

slow down and breathe

Yahoo! Canada Travel reports on WestJet's inflight magazine, up!, naming Vancouver as Canada's most walkable city for the second year in a row. Sounds plausible to me! Until last year, walking was my primary mode of transportation.

I do, however, question a statement made near the end of the article:
"You notice things you normally wouldn't see from the vantage point of a car or even a bicycle, since walking is an activity that forces you to slow down, breathe, look around and take things in."

From a car, absolutely. From a bicycle? That depends on how fast you're going, and I think the article's authors must be imagining far speedier cycling than I'm accustomed to. I took such a shine to cycling so quickly because it allowed me the perfect compromise between walking and driving/public transportation: slow enough to breathe, look around, and take things in, but fast enough to actually get somewhere useful in a decent amount of time. Walking, while still an integral part of my lifestyle and personal transportation strategy, is less practical and more leisurely.

Now, let's see if Vancouver can tackle the title of Canada's most cyclable city...

bike to work & to the garden centre week

This was Bike to Work Week in Vancouver.

Monday to Wednesday, it rained. It drizzled, poured, and spat in typical Vancouver style. It did so always in the morning, when I was making that crucial decision whether or not to ride to work, so 2 out of 3 nice afternoons did nothing to alleviate the problem.

Today ... not so. Ta da! Dry enough. Just in time, too, for the nearest Thursday bike-to-work-week commuter station to be the "cycle in style" one, where they said they encouraged suits and heels. I was late leaving work so rolled up almost at 6:30, when they would supposedly be closing. Regretably, I didn't see any suits or heels other than me, but I did see a beautiful dutch bike from Rain City Bikes. (Didn't manage to identify its owner, though.) Chatted with a nice gentleman who's helping organize Velopalooza starting tomorrow and complimented me on how my helmet coordinated with my outfit. (It's purple ... which matches everything in my wardrobe. Not kidding.) I also got some info about local cycling resources and was given a free banana, perfectly ripe. Free perfectly ripe bananas ... now that's fantastic!

Voila, my cycling "shoes":




I rode up Granville (closed to traffic right now so a cycling paradise!), navigated a traffic jam, and then tried out a bit more of the bike land on Burrard (which still intimidates me). Destination was the garden centre to pick up some herbs. Thank goodness for bike baskets to carry them home in, no? I think, however, that I'm going to put a larger basket on the back because I seem to be turning into a cycling trucker. I'm both the "be prepared" type and hate lugging junk on the bus, so extra space won't go to waste. Maybe a rack on the front, too, and probably a kickstand. Practicality rules!