Another Midsummer's Night: A Two-wheeled Bicycle Dream Come True

                                           

                                   2015 Solstice Ride final stop: Spanish Banks.

Vancouver might not have made it into Copenhagenize's Top Cycling Cities list this year, but as a community, we're sure growing in leaps and bounds. This city has come  a long way over the last several years, and it shows when you see the increasing number of people embracing cycling as a way of life. I absolutely love how many beautiful women I see out and about on bikes these days. When I began waaaaaaaay too many years ago to mention now, I was a rare thing, a woman on a bike on the city streets all year long, but that's changed. These days I see gorgeous girls on sweet rides All. The. Time.

Blessed be. The whole city has begun to embrace cycling in a way I hadn't even hoped for a few years ago, when animosity ruled the roads. Suddenly it has become much more social. I was riding up the Ontario bike route the other night when I noticed a group of people sitting on a lawn, enjoying a few frothy cold beverages. I stopped, exclaiming "Sweet! Is this a bike party?"

"Nope. It's a free beer party." Funny how the universe works. Only a few weeks ago, I was wishing that my city could match others I had heard of, where a cyclist might wander upon free beer...et voila! Ask and ye shall receive! Turns out Dave was celebrating the life of his dear friend Bill Reny who had just recently passed away, and he did so by sharing a keg of beer with the people he met out on his neighbourhood street. You've gotta love this city.

Speaking of our beloved city, its yearly celebration of all things bicycle related - Velopalooza - is in full swing, and I just wanted to take a  minute to share some of our recent cycling adventures with you.

                       

                     dancing between the bridges

The weekend kicked off on Friday with the P.U.P. ride. Cyclists met in Strathcona park, and traveled around the city for a few hours, stopping occaisionally to take in Pop Up Performances staged in open areas around town.

                         

The bikes alone are worth coming to check out, but that's always the case with a Vancruisers event.

                              

You'll always see beautifully restored and maintained bikes from decades gone by, along with an assortment of comfortable steeds.

                               

Saturday saw the biggest cruiser ride of the year. Participants met in the parking lot of Pat's Pub before heading out on a tour of the city with several scenic stops along the way. This ride is always a wonder to behold.

                               
It's always a ton of fun, too, making your way through the city streets with so many fellow cyclsts! 

                                       

It never ceases to amaze me how positive a reception these rides always generate. Maybe it's the old-school bikes that make people smile, or perhaps it's the cast of characters grinning from ear to ear!

                           

iWhatever the reason, t's an event unlike any other, and it grows year after year after year.

                          

No matter where the cruiser rides start, they always end up somewhere beautiful to behold, and this ride was no exception.

                          

The pace is gentle and relaxed so that no-one gets left behind. It really is fun for the whole family.

                          

There are several stops along the way, so that even if you've not ridden your bike in years, you'll find yourself comfortable and in good company. These rides really are for everyone.

                          

If you don't come with friends, you'll certainly leave with a few, because everyone is welcoming and kind, and happy to see you.

                         

some photos courtesy of Modacity's Facebook album

At the end of the day, I can't think of a better way to celebrate the shortest night of the year. 

Thanks for reading spokeNscene, dear reader... I absolutely love that you're here. 

(Please ignore the text/font/photo irregularities. I am working in two somewhat incompatible systems, and trying to work out the kinks.)

Some things about Valentines day are heart to beat.

Gidday! Greetings and salutations from an impulseive lescyclist in circulation in Vancouver. Here we are, finally over the mid-winter hump, having celebrated Imbolic and survived St Valentine's infamous day of love.

How did you celebrate? Not Imbolic. If you noticed it, you probably nodded farewell to the darkest nights of winter and hello to the first blush of light, and if you were on top of it, you started your seeds in the windowsill. How did you celebrate love? Did you go out with your favourite person, maybe for dinner or a drink?

Did you notice how perfectly lovely restaruants turned into expensive, high end establishments, knowing full well that people are going to go out for the evening,

Special heartless Valentine's day drink prices.

and then capitalising on romance by nearly doubling their typical prices for the evening?? Unbelievable. Restaurateurs must absolutely love Valentine's day.

Note the six and seven dollar drinks on the standard menu

Know what I love? I love my life. I love Valentines Day, and I love special wishes. One gorgeous soul wrote: "In the future, may all of your falling just be in love." Nice, right? Or how about this little gem

with the sentiment inside

 I love living in one of the most beautiful, rideable cities on Earth.

Yep, you've gotta love this town, and especially the fact that you can ride where ever you go, day in and day out, all rear round.

Check our that crisp, clean urban forest air... :)

And while the Fraser Valley sometimes gets air quality advisories because of too many cars on the roads in Vancouver, those of us in the city get to breathe beautiful sweet, Pacific air. You've gotta love that. Do you remember the study that proved that as little as two hours of exposure to diesel exhaust can trigger dangerous changes to human genes?  You don't have to be in Beijing, either. All it takes is a couple of hours by the port...

I absolutely love love love that Paris is banning diesel cars, and pedestrianising a great number of thoroughfares.  The Left Bank has been completely closed to traffic since early 2013, and last year the mayor of Paris introduced a policy which allows drivers to use their cars only on every other day, so that one day even numbered plates were allowed on the roads, and the next only odd. (OMG you've gotta love Paris!)

Paris smog via The Daily Mail

If you can make your way to work without your car on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday, why do you need it to get there on Tuesday and Thursday? Why are people so brainwashed that they believe they can't possibly live their lives without their precious cars? It is such a recent phenomenon in the grand scheme of things, the car-centric city, and yet people can't even imagine living in a world without them. I guess it's understandable, really ... after all I can't imagine life without my happy place.

You've gotta love Vancouver: it embraces cycling almost as passionately as do I. The city has installed heart shaped bike racks like that one in scenic locations all over town, in the hope that people will take photographs of themselves with the racks, and then share their pictures on social media with the hashtag #lovebikeyvr. 

And after all, everybody loves a great rack. Heyyyy... come to think of it - that looks like a wonderful little field trip! Hmmm. Yep. Coming soon to a bikecycling blog near you, a #hashtag calling to Vancouver cyclists: Hail and Heart-y... making tracks to the heart racks.

Between the sex clubs and the traffic bans, I am all for emulating the City of Love...

Then all of this heart thumping bike loving cycle blogging will not have been in vein.

Simply read: hacking and huing.

I'm a simple person, and so naturally I like simple things.  

Like bikes. I love bikes.  What an elegant design, the bicycle, so efficient, and beautiful, and such a simple transportation solution, too.  

 It doesn't take a Giant intellect to see the beauty of all things Simple.

I love the simple pleasure of replacing the chain on my bike, because the old one wears out so gradually that it's hardly noticable, and yet the difference in performance when you replace it is downright dramatic. Yup. Life is all about the simple things.  

You know what I'm talking about.  Like having dinner with good friends, or witnessing a gorgeous sunrise.  Or riding even before the break of dawn...

Mmm.  I love that.  And flowers.  I love flowers.  And puppies.  Who doesn't love puppies?  And babies.

I love babies, and I love kids, and I especially love to see kids on bikes. I love parents who come up with unique, and inspirational ways to introduce their kids to bikes. Creativity a beautiful thing, don't you think? Now there's a parent just full of great ideas... who'd have thought of it?

A fairing of all things!  Brilliant. I love it. Bet the babe who rides in that seat loves it, too. What's not to love about that? The simple joy of a ride in the sunshine. I love that. What else?  Pretty things. Keats said "Beauty is truth, truth beauty. That's all ye know in life and all ye need to know."

Ye gotta love the beauty all round this town.  As long as you know not to taste of everything beautiful.

That would simply be psylly.

You can expect to find all sorts of things in a temperate rainforest, but it's the unexpected that really lifts the heart. 

Like pretty girls riding in heels and dresses!

Or unicycle lanes...

or even wheely crazy assed camber. 

Whatever turns your crank...

even if it is full of pink slime and animal's unmentionables. Tell you what makes me happiest, though.  

Here's a snapshot of my pussy for you.... :)

Cuddles. I love cuddles. And friends. Nothing better than making new friends. Specially if they're fast friends.  I heard a quote the other day, and sorry, but I have no idea who said it:  "if you're the smartest person in the room, you're in the wrong room." (I never have that problem!) And if you're the fastest rider in the paceline, well, you're in the wrong paceline, too. (I don't need to worry about that, either:)

I rode with the guys from Escape Velocity the other day, and it was awesome!  They are faster than I am, for sure, and that means I will definitely improve over the winter if I can keep up with them. I have been looking for a good club to join, and these gentlemen made me feel very welcome. Besides. Look! The kit is HOT PINK! I love pink. Love. It. All in all, it seems like a simple solution to my search.  I pink, therefore I am!! 

I can think of other pink things to love... can u?

Filling the Gap With a Kiss.

I love this song.

My eldest son turned me on to it.  He is a bona fide scientist in that ivory tower up there on UBC hill,  and bless his great big heart, he does do his mama proud.

It's called "I See Everything," and it always chokes me up.  

It's the lyrics, mostly, but the music is amazing, too.  

"I See Everything"

Like any morning of my junior year I stumble in the classroom late but this day I see
Faces, I feel an air like a funeral, like a wake, as I sit dow.
My teacher speaking, somewhat somberly, but still confident and calm.
Part eulogy, her speech, and part poem, part celebration song.
Her warmth and smile, she passes photocopies out to us of entries from a journal
Kept so long ago. She starts to read and suddenly it’s 1980.

March 5-The cancer is furious but our son is resilient,
we have all the faith we’ll get through this no matter what the end.
Treatments are violent but he keeps on smiling.
It’s amazing finding joy in the little things.

April 12-Andrew’s appetites improved and we thank God everyday.
But still it’s hard sometimes to see him in that scarecrow frame.

July 9-There’s a suffering when I look in his eyes. He’s been through so much.
We’ve all been through so much but what incredible resolve our little boy shows,
only 7, standing face to face with death.
He said it’s easy to find people who have suffered worse than him.
“Like Jesus, suffered worse than anyone,” he told me last night, “when God abandoned him.”

September 20-We’ve been playing in the yard lately and spirits are high
although his blood counts aren’t.

October 14-He feels tired all the time.

November 30-At the hospital again. It feels like home when we’re here.

December 8-He’s getting worse.

January 19-We buried our son today, our youngest child,
and while his death was ugly we must not let it scare us from God.
Abundant grace has restored him. A brand new body.
And set him free from the torture, finally rid of the cancer.
Before the moment he left he briefly wrested from death, suddenly opened his eyes, said,
“I SEE EVERYTHING. I SEE EVERYTHING.”

And I will never forget it, the peace and the comfort you displayed through a pain
that I can only imagine. The loss of a child to the torture of cancer. Help me.
Because I can only imagine how you recovered,
kept your faith and held the brightness of life inside the smile of a child you had to bury.
And I will never forget him or your steadfast faith.
No, I will never forget you. Now six or seven years later, I’m devoid of all faith.
I am empty of comfort and I am weary of waiting.
Though I’ve felt nowhere what you have, I see nothing at all.
Though I’ve felt nowhere what he did, my eyes are closed.

Sigh.

A dear friend of mine was diagnosed with cancer a while ago.  It made me very sad at the time, cause he's one of those folks with whom I've shared a good few laughs.  I love him. This man spent a long time in the broadcasting industry, working his way up the ranks from a junior reporter to a corner office in Times Square.  He spent every minute of it as a boss, though, cause that's the way he's striped. This friend lives a very long way from Vancouver, so he doesn't get the chance to boss me around much these days. I miss his brand of bossiness sometimes, which probably says something about the nature of my character that I would rather not deal with. 

The other day my friend and I did have a chance to chat and catch up. He has been free and clear of the cancer for a year now, blessed be.

And he was bossy.

And I liked it.

Go figure.

He said "Write a post about what a man in his mid fifties should be doing to be healthy and well."  He isn't the only one asking for just such a post, so I am working on it.  It's true that I do know a thing or two about health and wellness, but you KNOW that I am so definitely NOT a scientist, nor do I have any formal training in health care AT ALL.

I am the Anti-Scientist

...and a lifestylist.
And somehow it works.

I weighed over sixteen stone (that's over one hundred and one kilograms, and topping two hundred and twenty pounds!) when my second son was born nearly eleven years ago. I was quite unfit, too, after having broken my hips in three places.  I spent a fair whack of time in a wheelchair mending many fractures and getting used to some new parts. And you already know I'm a bit of a mutard. I mean that in the truest sense of the word.  I've a genetic abnormality compounded by delayed development.  I'm still waiting on the girls!  The whole package is Trouble.

Mine was a baptism by fire kind of apprenticeship, and it taught me one thing for certain:

I am the luckiest woman on the planet, just for having survived myself.

People who know me well are aware that I have a small brain, or slightly smaller than your average bear, anyway, anyway.    You might think these friends are crazy to ask me for advice.  Many people assume it's a bad idea to take health and wellness advice from a not-at-all-in-any-way qualified person, but think about it.  The friend who survived cancer knows it's a good idea to ask someone like me, because (A) he can see that what I am doing is working, that I have something basic figured out.  Better yet, (B) he knows that it's going to be supremely simple and really quite
EASY to do.

It's true.

I have a short list of tips and tricks.  Super short.  And easy.  It has to be like that, because I have the memory of a goldfish and the attention span of a gnat.  That's why it's called the KISS list. (Cause mama always said "Keep it Simple, Stupid.)
KISS

You don't need any special equipment or anything, either, though a bike is ALWAYS always handy. The kiss list is six things I do which are guaranteed to make you feel good.  Aaaaaaaaand since a few beautiful folks have asked for it, I decided to put a little extra love and energy into it. Sooooo if you're looking for me, you will find me working on a wee song and dance with which to deliver the kiss list.

And that's what's up, buttercup.

Thank you thank you thank you for stopping by.

Back in a flash.

:D