I Don't Even -

Disclaimer: I will, from now on, do my best to avoid self-pitying complaints about being behind and dropping the ball etc etc. Lame and lamer. Suck it up, buttercup.

Tons of pictures because I don't know how many Posts I've missed! Sleep depravation because I'm a still a crazy voluntary insomniac! Possibly more sleep depravation because I may be getting hired as a full-time baker at Bubby Rose's (which means I will be a REAL baker, not a "faker" as we call ourselves at CG)! Lots of joy and beer because the semester is completely done for the summer! (Note also lots of riding bikes and lounging in the sun)

Also lots of shows, I hope. Vancouver folks - I'm playing at the Kits Wired Monk this coming Wednesday (the 27th). Something about a fundraiser for European handball. I don't even know. So stoked for the city. June 24th and 25th: West My Friend is playing at Campbell Bay Fest again. Also! We have actual, physical, real-life CDs now! Seriously! If you want one, let me know and I can hook you up. Five bucks gets you a hand-made, stamped, glue-and-plastic-free CD sleeve with Homesick Blues, Angels In The City, The Crow, and Tic-a-Toc. We've been told by many sources that, apparently, we sound pretty swell, so it could probably be in your best interest to head over to our Myspace to give said tracks a listen.

That was extremely rambling and crammed and poorly formatted, but y'all can just deal with it. Lot of info and I'm tired from earlier-mentioned "sleep" patterns and hiking (*cough* scrambling *cough*) up Mt Doug this afternoon. Enjoy the enormous picture pile!



























And because they disabled embedding, here is the fantastic video of "Blackout" from Muse's Live At Wembley DVD. Continue enjoying!

"Blackout, Live At Wembley Stadium"

Sunday Post

Hello all!
I'm unfortunately super busy and have to rush off to work lickety split, so picture pile today. However, I find this AMAZING video that you get to watch instead. Woohoo!

Bicycle Samba from John Hendicott on Vimeo.

You're Welcome, Mr Motorist

You’re welcome Mr. Motorist. I’m happy that my mode of transportation has allowed more space on the road for you to get to your destination more efficiently.

One less car on the road to get in your way and increase congestion, right?

It’s my pleasure. It really is.

Remember the construction that was happening on your main commuting route last summer? I know, that was quite the drag.

You don’t need to thank me for putting very little wear and tear on our streets. I know it prolongs our roads and avoids those pesky construction delays, but don’t mention it. Seriously.

And oh those health care costs. Did you know that heart disease and strokes are two of the top three causes of death in Canada? In America, cardiovascular diseases and stroke cost an estimated $475.3 billion in 2009.

Isn’t it great that my commute helps keep me healthy so I can help reduce our health care costs? I would hate to be a burden on your pocketbook.

And how about those gas prices? Isn’t it wonderful that my bicycle doesn’t require gasoline? It’d be a shame if I contributed to increasing demand for fuel - driving gas prices even higher.

You don’t deserve that Mr. Driver. You deserve inexpensive fuel.

And what’s the deal with those downtown parking spaces? Those parking attendants are borderline criminal.

As if you don’t already pay enough for insurance, gasoline, repairs, registration, and maintenance for your car. Those parking guys want to charge you $20 a day to park your car? It’s criminal I tell ‘ya.

So it’s a good thing I’m not taking up those precious spaces. I’d hate for you to be late for a meeting while trying to find a parking spot for your car.

There’s no need to thank me for helping to pay for those free parking spaces at the local grocery store, either. I know, I know – that land wasn’t cheap for the grocery store to buy so that you could park your car there for free.

But I’m happy to do my part to subsidize those parking spaces for you – consider it a little gift from me to you.

Don’t bother thanking me for all the time I spend advocating for better bike infrastructure, either. I know, it will benefit both of us – it will keep me out of your way so you can get to your destination without being impeded by me, and it will also make me more predictable so you don’t have to be distracted by me while you’re on your phone. It’s a win-win situation, right? But no need to mention it, I’m cool with it.

You also don’t need to thank me for subsidizing the construction and maintenance of our city streets through the taxes that I pay. Yes, it’s true that less than 1% of those roadways that we both pay for are designed for bicycles, but that’s no fault of yours Mr. Driver, so no need to thank me for putting up with this.

It’s just one of those sacrifices that we as citizens make for each other – no need to thank me at all.

But I will ask one thing from you Mr. Motorist. It would be great if you could be a bit more cautious when you’re driving around me.

If you could do me that one favour, I’d be more grateful than you will ever know.

James D. Schwartz is the editor of The Urban Country. You can contact James at james.schwartz@theurbancountry.com.

I'm laughing because it's completely true. Original here.

Bike Rant

Hey y'all. I've had this bouncing around in my head for a while so I decided to finally try and write it down as best I could.

I've found that practically every time an article on the main news website comes up about bicycles or something related to them, the comments sections are usually filled with misled outcries from grouchy bigotted people. Usual suspects range from angry outbursts that cities should stop putting in bicycle infrastructure with tax dollars to cries that cyclists shouldn't even be allowed to ride on the roads because "they don't pay for them like us car drivers do;" "maybe all those cyclists should start registering their bikes and paying insurance like we do before they start complaining about the roads." (Can't be too hard on them, though - they've probably spent most of their day stuck in traffic) In a nutshell:

This is bullshit. Complete, utter bullshit.

You pay tons of money to own a car, yes. My roommate spends more on her car per month that I do on groceries and booze combined (and I'm not shopping wholesale at Costco either). But that's it right there: you pay tons of money to OWN a car. Owning a car DOES NOT automatically give you a right to the road that I don't have.

First, the taxes. Yes, you pay taxes. So do I. So does everyone, for that matter. These “general taxes” (HST, income tax, etc) are NOT applied exclusively to people who drive cars, and they are (generally) the government’s general revenue, which is then used for whatever the hell the government spends it on, such as education, healthcare, and infrastructure, such as roads. Roads are a public space and are maintained as such by the public’s money; your paying taxes gives you a right to have a road, NOT to have a car.

To get yourself the privilege (not right) to drive your car on the public space of the road, you pay about $5000-8000 a year to own a car. This includes gas, insurance, maintenance, repairs, and payments if the silly thing isn’t fully cashed in yet. True, you pay lots for insurance and bikes do not, but here’s the thing: car insurance payments do NOT go into government coffers. Car insurance, is... well, car insurance. It insures your car so you don't get completely fucked over in the likely situation of getting in an accident at some point. I don't pay bike insurance because I don't need to and because it's not worth it. If my bike gets damaged, it's pretty cheap to fix it; if it gets stolen or irreperably busted, it's cheaper to get a new one than it would be to pay for insurance every month. In BC you’re all shackled to ICBC, an insurance company. Insurance companies do not pay for road maintenance, they simply make lots of money (also, anyone who’s had to deal with ICBC can attest that even if they did take responsibility for road repairs, they are far too busy infuriating people to actually do anything helpful).

“But what about gas and carbon taxes?” you cry. True, that money does go to the government and then gets used for all their governmenty things. However, gas and carbon taxes are basically just your normal taxes. You buy a hat, you pay tax on it; you buy gas, you pay tax on it; you consume and emit a ton of CO2, you pay tax on it. Guess what. When I go to Recyclistas and get new brake pads, I pay tax on them too – does this mean that I have more of a right to the road than you do? Paying tax on things for your car doesn’t give you any more right to the road than my paying tax for new lights or cable housings does.

Basically, the point I’m trying to make is this: owning a car does not automatically award you more right to use the road than I have, especially if you’re just talking about “paying” for it. The hilariously high amount of money you pay every month for your car is for the “privilege” of owning the damn thing (and I sure wouldn’t call it a privilege). Insurance payments do not go into repairing and maintaining roads (which, ironically, is only necessary because of your driving), and your tax payments are for essentially the same reasons as mine. We have the exact same right to that road, it’s not our fault that you’ve chosen the most expensive way of exercising it.

As always, please respond with any thoughts or whathaveyou. Feedback is always great, particularly from the other side.

And now, a bookend. I can only dream:





Thirty-five thousand people. Thirty-five thousand bicycles.

Sunday "Post"

So you win some and you lose some today. You win some in that I'm actually getting something posted before, y'know, 11 PM, and you lose some in that I'm not actually posting any pictures or anything as per usual.

You do, however, get the craziest bike video I've ever seen. My definitions of both "lunacy" and "adrenaline rush" have been irreperably changed.

Frigid Fury from BODABODANYC on Vimeo.

"When the weather's cold, you gotta go fast to stay warm. Whiskey helps."

PS. I think I've.... *choke* fallen in love with fixies.

Joy. Sheer Joy.

I don't think there's anything that really needs to be said about this.

I recommend muting the video and putting on your favourite song. If it doesn't make your heart flutter, you probably have no soul. (and as usual, watch on youtube for full, big-screen HD buttery goodness)

The Reason Why

Not often you find an account and explanation so personal as this.

via Change Your Life, Ride A Bike

"In our youngest sons’ medical record there’s a medical report from the children’s hospital in Esslingen to our children’s doctor, dated the 30th of January 2007. The introduction begins:

“Report of the above named patient who was brought to our emergency department at 07:54 this morning. Found this morning …breathing loudly and drowsy. emergency doctor called, on arrival patient unresponsive…“

I can’t read those rather undramatic words without remembering the fear I felt holding my tiny six-month-old baby and trying to get him to wake up, move, respond, anything. I remember the rasping wheezing sound of his breath as I tried to call the advice line to see what I could do, and being met with a barrage of questions about my insurance details, address, and other things that I really didn’t what to deal with right then, before explaining the symptoms and hearing the words “Call an ambulance”. Well, gee thanks. I could have done that three precious minutes ago.

The dispatcher told me the emergency doctor was on his way, and to wait outside the house for them to come so they could find us quickly, so I stood outside for a private eternity, trying to stay calm so my family wouldn’t get even more scared, while a truck decided to deliver in the shop next door and caused a traffic jam in both directions. The doctor’s red and white mercedes came, blue lights reflecting off the houses, and they piled out carrying oxygen bottles, monitoring devices and other unfamiliar but strangely comforting tools of the trade, asking questions even before they were through the door.

Our little boy still wouldn’t respond to light, noise or gentle shaking so an ambulance was called. We carried him there, lit by flashing blue lights, with neighbours watching through the windows, although I admit I felt a slight stab of justice when I saw the Ambulance was parked in the loading bay, blocking the truck in.

After continual talking and massaging in the ambulance, I was rewarded by a squeeze of his fingers as we rattled through the morning rush-hour traffic, and the ambulance drivers were fairly confident that he’d be okay, but he didn’t really seem to wake up until he was being examined in the hospital. The form shows a great long list of things they checked before coming to the eventual conclusion it was Croup, probably aggravated by the Feinstaub (Particle pollution) from diesel engines: at the time we were living in an apartment next to a street with 1500 trucks and 13000 cars passing daily.

That morning ‘caring for the environment’ became personal. For me it’s not just about ‘looking after the earth’ but a memory of waiting for the doctor and not knowing if my little boy would die. I don’t want other parents to have to stand on the street, praying the ambulance will come quickly, that their child will wake up or just keep breathing.

We’d followed the cultural belief that ‘one day’ we would have to get a car but on January 30th 2007, that changed. Our family learned first hand the cost of society’s addiction to driving everywhere, and decided we won’t live that way. The process that resulted in us getting the Xtracycle, going to Amsterdam and bringing a bakfiets to Stuttgart and much else, was kicked into high gear that morning.

We’re a car free family in a car obsessed culture: this is our story."

Hear that? That's the sound of me writing this onto my list of reasons why I don't drive.

Post One Hundred

Holy smokes, one hundred posts!
I feel as though it should be a milestone, but it's just kinda snuck up on me and I don't really care that much. Neato, and suck it, Facebook. No more time-sucking from you.

Anyway, I took a link off a blog and then another link, then remembered my cousin's bike team in Mission. Now I've pretty much spontaneously embraced downhill/mountain/trick biking in addition to plain ol' transport biking, and suffice to say, it's damn cool whatever you happen to do on your ride. Here's a series of videos for ya:


The clip that started it all, picked up on We Love You So.

Bridging the Gap Vol.1 from Joseph Lobato on Vimeo.

That led me back to my cousin John, who rides with Team Wolf out in Mission. Here's a video of him running some trails (I remember riding hiking trails with him up in the interior way back in the day - good times).
And let's just throw in a shot against cars, just because I can. This is so much more visceral than rally car racing, and I don't even want to think about trying to enjoy the trail with cars roaring through.


(video by Brock Anderson)


And finally, pulled this one off the Team Wolf site. This is Tim Knoll - I have mental images of this cat going through his entire day without ever getting off his bike.

Tim Knoll BMX from tim knoll on Vimeo.

I was talking to Eden last night after practice, and I realized that despite having some seriously awesome views, I can be pretty damn inflexible with them. I'm hoping that this realization will lead me to a little more open to other views, and I know that this can carry into biking too (I kinda have a tendency to mock spandex riders a lot). I guess what I'm saying is that with the sudden gravitation towards this mode of biking (downhill, mountain, etc), I'm hoping that I'll start just accepting any kind of biking for what it is: riding a bike. However you do it, it's great.

Sunday Post

So I lied about not getting a Post in this Sunday. I was supposed to have a "customer service" workshop in Royal Oak and then finish a four-hour shift back in Esquimalt, but the workshop got cancelled and I'd already told the director at First Met that I was busy this Sunday, soooooo...

And my shift is still only four hours and got bumped up even more, so I don't have to leave until 3 and I'll be back by 8. Awesome.



Sunday Bike Story! Friday night was a bit of a ridiculous night. I got off work around 10:30 and was informed that, as it was Friday, there was a "Bike Party." Bike Parties consist basically of meeting at Centennial Square around 10:30, going to liquour stores, and then biking off to who-knows-where until who-knows-when, which turned out to be Colquitz Creek Park (near Tillicum Mall) and 1-AM-ish. At around this time, we decided that, as we were hungry (and freezing), we should go back downtown to find food. Lovely ride along the Goose back into town, and then we all piled into The Joint on Wharf Street for some deliciously greasy late-night pizza (the place is open until 3, I think - fabulous).

Riding back home with Eden, Jeff, Ella and a new friend, Mike, along Johnson Street at 2 AM:

"Guys, I feel as though I am not nearly drunk enough for this scenario."

Suffice to say, RIDING back with your friends from a night on the town is so much better than driving. I can say this confidently as I have done both, and seriously - riding is way better. Even I almost get tired of how preachy I can get, but seriously - riding is just magical. It will probably change your life if you do it consistently, but at the very least, you will have a shitload of fun.

Oh, and ladies, if you're worried about looking good?

You look prettier on a bike than in a car. Eden says I'm a misogynist fart, but seriuosly - if you aren't wearing weird biking gear that makes you look like an astronaut, it's impossible for you to not look gorgeous on a bike. So there's motivation there if it's a concern :P (Don't believe me?)

Enjoy the Post, and enjoy the Treat! Goddamn so good this week droooool......













So y'all are probably familiar with my extreme love of Mumford & Sons.
Not much more needs to be said about this.



(Video of one of five more from the Hiboo set; fantastic video series and I fully suggest watching all of them)

Ride

I gave Eden a call on Monday; I had the idea that we'd grab our guitar and mandolin and go biking around town to find beautiful places to play music (ie. tunnels on the Lochside/Goose; under the Gorge Narrows bridge). Turns out she was on Mayne Island for Thanksgiving at her roommate's parents' house. She was on a boat back at lunchtime though, so she suggested I ride up the Lochside, meet her on the way and then ride back down together. Of course I said yes - you'd be stupid not to, considering how beautiful the Trail is on any sunny day and ESPECIALLY in the Fall. I dusted off my camera, tossed some apricots in my pannier and went out the door.

I made it all the way to the southern limit of Sidney before we met up. Aside from the headwind on the way back (fucking headwinds), it was magnificent to say the least.



(Okay, so I didn't take TONS of pictures [20 total], but I thought it was an accomplishment, seeing as the last two sets of photos in my folder are dated September 11 and June 18. Urg.)

On Differences Of Ideals:

Dad: How's the bike doing?
Alex: Pretty good; I haven't taken the bus once yet, so yeah, it's running good.
D: Well, just make sure you check up on the brakes and everything now and then.
A: Yep, I know. Full tune-up at most of the shops is around sixty or seventy bucks, and I can do the brakes and stuff myself too, so I'm not worrying about it.
D: Well, just remember that for the same price as a few tune-ups, you can just get rid of your old bike and buy a new one, right.
A: ......

We.... have some difficulties sometimes.



Felt like sharing a little more about my place. This is our dining "room;" I took the picture a few weeks ago cause the sun was coming through the window in a magical way.



I love our kitchen table. Basically, our suite is just a big (and awesome and bright) hallway that wraps around the center of the house, and the kitchen and dining room make up one of the sides of the square. The whole front of the house sports a massive window, and so does the northwest corner of the suite, which is the kitchen table's corner; suffice to say, the whole place is always bright and we get some positively beautiful lighting sometimes.

It's also fabulous for people watching, and we've vicariously adopted the cat that is always in the apartment window across the street at breakfast time. We have named him Charles Mortimer. He is chubby.

More Bike Porn

"Cafe 8 Deluxe" from Felt Bicycles. I don't really know what all the technical aspects actually mean relative to how the thing rides, but God DAMN is that a sexy ride. Gorgeous blue, leather look-a-like saddle and grips, simple 8 speed, a goddamn CUP HOLDER.

And it still only costs as much as MAYBE four months of car insurance. And since we've proved that you CAN carry a pretty lady around on a rear rack, WELL. I think it's clear which is the ultimate mode of transportation here :P



Related note to the cup holder. The Coffee Era begins. I was unusually stressed about school - behind on practicing, more so than usual with homework, and quite frankly close to freaking out. Then I realized that the reason why I didn't have the time to get all my stuff done was because I was going to bed at a reasonable hour. Seriously, how was I expecting to get things done if I was going to bed at 11 every night?

So anyway, the last two I've up until 2:30 AM and then up again around 8:30. Homework's being done, practicing's being accomplished, and I'm spending the rest of this morning hunting down a cup holder for my ride and a good travel mug. To quote Don McKay, "the coffee is real and powers the economy."

Although, I do suppose that a cup holder isn't completely necessary...


(from Change Your Life, Ride A Bicycle!)

Doubling

(via Cycle Chic)

Doubling. I've been wanting to try this for ages.

Last night, I finally got to. Eden came by after work for some supper and some mutual drooling over my new mandolin (seriously - this thing is sexy), and she was without a bike because of some timing issues in the morning. Anyway, she decided to head home fairly late in the evening, and I suggested that I give her a ride home on my bike. We got a cushion from the couch to go on the pannier rack, and she rested her feet one on the frame and the other on the pannier strap like a stirrup.

Starting was..... difficult. Riding with fully double my normal body weight was a little disorienting for balance, to say the least. Took us a little ways to get started, with a lot of wobbling (and equal amount of laughing); thank God the back of my house is on an honest-to-God ALLEY. Then we had to go up a little hill to curve around down to cross Cook for Haultain - it felt like the back tire was flat. Fortunately, we didn't have to stop to cross Cook so we kept the momentum going, and once we were on Haultain it was just wonderful. I more or less was used to the balance, so we just rode along at a nice, leisurely pace, laughing and chatting. It's even eaiser to talk while doubling than when riding seperately, because your partner is always just right behind you. The wobbling and teetering about just adds hilarity and laughter too, once you get used to it (a little terrifying at first, but in reality no less safe than driving a car down the road). There was one moment where we had to stop to cross Bay, and we almost fell over trying to start with two cars behind us. Fortunately, it's Victoria: cars are already used to dealing with cyclists, and they were even more careful since they very rarely see TWO people on a bicycle that isn't built for two.

In a nutshell, it was the most fun I've had in a long time and I never want to give someone a ride in a car again. It was a pure delight to just ride and chat with someone right behind me, and it was just so FUN - we were laughing and yelling in mock (and not-so-mock)terror the whole time. As Eden said too, it's really a huge trust-building thing too. I think it took no small amount for her to ride on the back and trust me to keep the bike upright and moving forward.

And also, now I can truthfully tell my old roommate Jin that, actually, you CAN pick up chicks on a bicycle. Suck it, Jin. (Just kidding. We need to go to the pub sometime.)

"Hey Eden, what's better than driving a car?"
"Biking"
"And what's better than BIKING"
"...."
"BIKEPOOLING"
"YES"

Two-Wheel Tales

I swear this is not just to piss off Becca's dad :P

Anyway, because I don't think I can ever get tired of writing about bicycles and warm'n'fuzzy moments in life, I think I'm gonna start posting little story columns about extraordinary things that happen while I'm biking around Victoria (I say "extraordinary" 'cause, quite frankly, I love every second I'm biking around Victoria, so I'm only going to relate to y'all the out-of-the-ordinary happenings). Maybe convince some of you out-of-town hosers to come visit/live :P

Last night we had our regular band practice, which is always great for a number of reasons. One, I love playing with my band; two, we always have a cozy potluck dinner before practice; three, we've got a bassist now and it sounds awesome; and four, I almost always ride home with Eden. Normally the two of us cut through campus and head out Henderson to downtown, but last night we decided to go around Ring Road the wrong way on the sidewalk (such rebels). Anyway, just before we got to the exit off Ring, three other cyclists came down the other path and pulled out onto Ring just before we did, and as they did I thought to myself "heeeey, that red fixie in the back and that short girl in the front look familiar;" sure enough, it's our friends Casey and Amy and Andrew. We ride up and the five of us have a great, cheery ride most of the way back home before Eden and I take our seperate turn off; it was great 'cause I almost never see the three of them anymore - Casey's out of school and I only ever really saw Amy and Andrew in Chamber Singers (although really, Amy's in my theory class, so I really oughta keep up more often). In any case, it was great treat seeing them all again, especially on something so warm'n'fuzzy as a bike trip.

Yet another score for the bike coaltiion. As I said to Eden right after we said goodnight to the Three and went down Haultain, "see, you just can't do that in a car."


And this is where I find myself wishing that I did have some swell bike pictures a la Cycle Chic, but I don't, so here's a video about a cheeky campaign that's been going on in Malmo, Sweden.

No ridiculous car trips from Martin Lang on Vimeo.

Ride a bike - put the fun between your legs! (or, alternatively, less gas more ass.)

Digital Post

So I somewhat unintentionally got a pretty lady's number after the Critical Mass tonight. She came out for the Otesha solidarity ride and it turns out we live a couple blocks away from each other. On the way home I suggested that she tag along to the Pub with Vanessa and I a little later; she said that sounded great, gave me her number and headed home to grab some food beforehand. However, we didn't manage to connect afterwards and she didn't end up coming to the Pub. Note to self: actually phone people.

(I remain convinced that I inhabit a bizarre network-sucking realm. It often seems like texts and emails never connect, or people are just really unpunctual with getting back to me)

I'm also pretty sure that said Lady is about seven or eight years older than I am, so I guess I may not be missing out on any life-changing relationship-building? Although, to be perfectly honest, as soon as I moved off campus and grew a beard I more or less stopped caring about age differences. Ahwell. The number remains in my phone and the pretty, bicycling face remains in my head. Onward, Life!