Friday 31 January 2014

A time to turn turn turn these wheels round n'round...

Oh dear.  I caught a glimpse of myself today, and it wasn't a pretty sight.  Thanks, DrunkCyclist.  Thanks a lot.


OMG!  How did they KNOW gluten is my nemesis?
Jeez. I was doing a great job maintaining a pleasant state of denial about how much of a weenie I am, but that's toast.  Still, I quit quitting.  It's time to own it, to wear it, to be the best weenie I can be, to love and embrace my dorktastic self, flaws n'all.  An important aspect of this bestpossibleme quest involves as many stooopid o'clock rides as I can muster.  It seems apt, somehow, that I should ride in circles in the dark before dawn seeking enlightenment and illumination,


and telling that I am so easily distracted by the city's lights all around.

I love seeing the sun's reflection in the moon and the moon's in the water below.  I can almost imagine what the planet must look like from up there, with the sun just about to peek over the horizon...  
"Beauty is truth, truth beauty. That's all ye know in life, and all ye need to know." (Keats)
Beauty comforts me, and this city is brimming with it.  You'd be hard pressed not to appreciate the real value behind the  price of Vancouver property, if only the prices weren't so absolutely, over-the-top outrageous.


One of the biggest selling features this city has on offer is it's temperate climate. As the rest of the continent has suffered the grip of what people used to call winter, we have seen very much the same dry conditions which are affecting California, in the midst of this nasty drought.  While the rest of North America has suffered blizzard upon blizzard we've spent an unusual number of days under the influence of a  inversion. 

Photo a la Trip Advisor
That's when the temperature climbs as you climb, so that the ski hills are warmer than the beaches, if you can imagine.  An inversion is also a dry event, exacerbating an already awful year for the local ski slopes. In most places a January without monsoon-like rains is a good thing, but this particular biome is a temperate rainforest and dry winters are not the norm. This winter has definitely been all upside down and backwards here on the west coast, but still, it works for me.  

Inverted, bass ackward winter or not, I like nothing more than to ride through the quiet city streets in the early hours of the morning, up by UBC, and through Stanley Park, too, where it's simple enough to enjoy the view of the anchored ships in English Bay.


I love watching the moon set and the sun rise,


because it always dawns on me how wonderful it is to be alive, blessed be.  It's hard not to appreciate the miracle in a new day when the city is still shaken from the sudden death of our search and rescue hero, Tim Jones, and while the whole world suffers the loss of Pete Seeger, bless his beautiful, wise old soul. 

 

BUT. Isn't it marvelous that Pete Seeger lived so long to touch so many people, and isn't it fabulous that he had fun doing it?  He was an honest to goodness hero, too, and he left a legacy to humanity.  I aspire to live a life as meaningful as his. He was so right. It's true, to everything there is a season.  Now I am just so happy to discover I have a little more time, another day, another turn turn turn of the planet in its arc around the sun, echoed in my legs spinning these wheels round and round.  


Oh ho!  I nearly forgot!  It's Taboo season, too, right now, this weekend! That means it's definitely time to pull out the seven inch, thigh-high snakeskin-ish boots, don't you think?


Time to pedal my 


self over to the convention center to see what's new and exciting in the Taboo world of fun and sex. Now, I don't know about you, but there aren't many things I like more than making love.  That's why the word sex is front and center at the top of this blog, right next to happiness.  It's part of the whole bestpossibleme thing, and an important aspect of the healthy human experience which most people simply don't engage in enough of.


Aaaaaaand, it's just like riding a bike: once you learn, you never forget how to do it.  Also, it's sure to put a smile on your face. 






9 comments:

  1. Did you ever cycle to Crescent Beach?

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    1. Yep, every day for years! When I lived in White Rock, Crescent Beach was part of my daily grind. Why do you ask?

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    2. Oh I used to live there as a kid in the 50's… very fond memories. Mother Goose nursery school? My sister was born in White Rock. Still have an Aunt in Vancouver. You have a nice blog, does Vancouver beautifully.

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  2. Oh and - podium!

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  3. The dewey grass photo is fantastic - as are all the sunlight shots. Great job, oh and thanks for writing, surely no-one writes a sexier bike blog. :-)

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  4. ...nice photos, beauty...you always manage to make a lovely city even more appealing...

    ...a warm inner smile & a tear came to the corner of my eye when i saw pete seeger had passed on to wherever good hearted people go...

    ...as a 15 year old, i had the pleasure & privilege to see the man at the mariposa folk festival & 50 years later i still remember the essence of mr seegers performance...

    ...he started out on just one string on the banjo as he chatted & introduced himself, telling us how easy it was to become a banjo picker & that if we watched, we could all learn & then he went to two strings as he developed his repartee with us & "gosh, folks, see, isn't this simple & fun ???"...he couldn't have been more laid back n' folksy up there on the little stage, talking about his love for the banjo as he's now up to three strings as both hands are starting to dance & you realize that these initial sounds are starting to take shape as he suggests four strings would work too & this delightful music is eminating from his ol' banjo & the whole time he's smiling & chatting away & his fingers are flying & then he goes to that 5th string & you're going - "oh my god" at both the complexity & beauty of the sounds & pete seeger just smiles & says - "see folks, that's how easy it is to play the 5 string banjo"...
    ...that banjo had a message written on it...it said - "This Machine Surrounds Hate and Forces It to Surrender"...
    ...thank you, pete seeger...

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    1. ...btw - pete seeger & i share a birthday, albeit 30 years apart...ummm, he was the older one...just wanted to clarify that...
      ...cycling vid is hilarious also...

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