wildlife after the rain

THE RAIN HAS ENDED: still more than a few puddles on the road

Yesterday was another rainy day. In fact, my day started at about 5:00 a.m. when I was shaken awake by a huge clap of thunder. Sleep was over after that, as there was almost continuous thunder and lightening and heavy rain for the next hour. Six is my normal rising time anyway, so I got up just a bit before that and contemplated my alternatives: ride my bike in the rain OR drive in the rain. The bike won, hands down. Before I left the house I donned my nylon running pants, slipped a rain jacket over my T-shirt and hoped for the best. And the best was mine! By the time I started riding, the rain had stopped and the sun was just beginning to peek through the clouds.

 I had ridden no more than  a few meters when I spotted a rabbit hopping on the lawn along the sidewalk. A couple more spins of the wheels, and there was the quail? pheasant? grouse? -- a game bird of some sort -- that I have seen before in that area but that remains as yet unphotographed and unidentified.

I rode on the city streets instead of through the River Valley, but even so, it was immeasurably better than driving.

a typical obstacle on the trail

My coworkers and students thought I was a bit nuts for riding, but I assured them that even being splashed by puddle water is better than sitting in a car for twenty minutes.

And when it was time to go home, the air was warm, the sky was blue and the River Valley was as beautiful as it could be.

In the evening Hubby and I went for a walk with Maggie and I noticed that the Saskatoon berries are ripe. In morning ESL class, one student had mentioned trying these berries, and it turned out that most of the students had never heard of them. So after we got home I hopped on Bonnie Blue and rode back down the hill, returning with a container full of plump juicy purple berries, enough for each student to sample a few.

On my way back up the hill, I found myself behind a earphone-encumbered roller-blader who was happily weaving his way across the entire width of the trail. There was no room for me to pass. I rang my bell. No result. Rang it again. Still no response. Rode behind him for a while, ringing the bell almost constantly. A couple came by in the other direction and laughed sympathetically as they observed my dilemma. The roller-blader remained oblivious. Finally, I become tired of riding so slowly behind him and taking a deep breath, I yelled out: "Excuse me. Passing on your left." Finally he clued in, apologized profusely and moved to the right so I could pass. The bicycle bell bylaw is probably a good one, no doubt. but the next bylaw they pass might have to prohibit wearing earphones on public walkways.

an exercise in futility?

In my mom's family, the youngest daughter was named Isabelle.
The family had a Knock Knock joke that went like this:

Knock, knock
Who's there?
Isabelle.
Isabelle Who?
Is a bell necessary on a bike?

Well, if you ride in Edmonton, the answer to that question is YES. Until recently, however, I didn't realize that the law goes a little further: you must have a bell on your bike, and you must ring it when passing pedestrians.

Since learning that, I have tried to comply, faithfully ringing my bell to warn pedestrians of my approach. Some people react by jumping into the air or moving off the trail onto the grass, as if they're afraid I'll hit them otherwise. I always say a gracious thank-you, but I do feel bad for seemingly inconveniencing them. My favourite people are the ones who, upon hearing the bell, stay to the right, continue walking and calmly raise a hand to let me know they are aware of my presence.

Other pedestrians are a little more difficult. Some, especially those who walk in groups of three across the whole path, seem to be downright deaf and continue strolling along as if they are the only people in the world. Others, with earphones in place and music blaring, are clearly oblivious to my existence. People like this make me wonder whether my bell is any use at all.

The ultimate "makes me wonder" story was when I encountered a group of school girls on the multi-use trails here in town. There were about 10-12 of them, and their walk was clearly a class outing of some sort. They were talking and laughing and having a good time, but were blocking the entire trail. As I approached, I rang my bell a couple of times. No reaction. I slowed down and rang it again, louder and repeatedly. Still no response. I slowed even more, rang the bell again and called out, "Passing on your left." Still nothing. Finally, when I was right behind them, I yelled at the top of my voice, "Girls! Move over!" and at last they complied. But as I rode past, one of them had the nerve to say, "Hey lady, you should get a bell on your bike."

gloomy sunday

Gloomy is the only word for today's weather. Cloudy and dark, with occasional bits of blue sky and sun. Gusts of wind. Continual threat of rain. I couldn't make up my mind to go for a long ride, partly because I couldn't decide what to wear. I hate being too cold, but I also hate being too hot.

Finally, after indecisively scanning the sky and skeptically eyeing my cycling wardrobe, I decided to just ride around town, using my red vintage 10-speed steel bike. I've ridden it around a few times and feel quite comfortable with it now, and each time I ride I am impressed with how fast it is and how easy to ride. I've never ridden a modern road bike, but if they really are an improvement over the old ten-speeds, I can only imagine what it must be like to ride one. I'm not a big fan of high speeds, so I'm not sure I want to go any faster, but maybe I'll get there. I am getting comfortable with the drop bars and braking, so that is one hurdle cleared.

I rode 24.88 km on both the trails and the streets. My average speed, including slowdowns at curves on the trails and stops at red lights, as well as a complete and exaggerated full stop at a stop sign where an RCMP SUV was making a u-turn, was almost 25 km/hour.



And, what is wrong with this picture? It's not that mine is the only bike parked at the bike racks -- this is a school, and as Alice Cooper would tell us, "School's out for summer."

But what I find objectionable is that this is the only bike parking I could see at a school built for 1,000-1,100 students. The bike racks are on the side of the school, not at the front. And look how few there are: I figure maybe 120-150 bikes could park here. This means that, at best, about 15% of the students are expected to ride their bikes to school.

Pondering this gave me an idea -- to ride from the school, which is at the far west end of town, to the residential area at the farthest east end of town, to see how long it takes. The answer: 15 minutes. I turned around and rode back in less than 15 minutes. This means that any students who live in town could ride to school in about 15-20 minutes. Why not encourage this by placing bike racks in a prominent place in front of the school, and by providing lots of bike parking -- enough for 400-500 bikes?

Each school year we give Teenage Son the same choice: he can have a bus pass, which costs $300, or he can have the $300 and get to school on his own steam. Each year he chooses to take the money and ride. Each year I feel a little sad when I see that his is often the only bike at the school bike racks.

the long way around

I took the long way to Superstore today. The store is only about a 3-minute ride from my place, but I took Bonnie Blue and rode on the trails, first to the library to return some books, and then down through a park, along the main northerly road to the very west end of town, back to the trails, up the hill, and finally to my destination, where I bought a few cans of tomatoes, some passata and some fruit. It was warm out (about 24 degrees) and I must confess that by the time I stopped riding and removed my helmet, I was a bit sweatier than I like to be when appearing in public. Oh well. I had the satisfaction of knowing that I was the only one (as evidenced by the lack of bikes at the bike rack) who had pedaled my way to the store instead of sitting behind the wheel; that I am clearly fitter than most of the people I see while shopping -- and that I am happy. After all, I didn't have to prowl the parking lot, looking for a place big enough for an SUV or F150 -- which I don't own anyway -- or even for the minivan that I actually do own.

My total distance was more than 15 km. I love it that I can use the bike to run errands and can include a little extra riding for exercise and pleasure while I'm at it. 

Look what they've done to my trail, Ma!

Sidewalk Closed!

Our little prairie city's biggest claim to fame (besides the fact that it is home to a recent Olympic gold medalist) just might be its recreational trail system. The trails run right across town, through an old-growth forest, past ponds and up and down some small hills. On the trail system, which runs right behind my house, I can ride my bike almost all the way to the library, to the east end shopping area, to grocery stores, to friends' homes, to my son's school.

The trails are hugely popular with dog-walkers, cyclists of all ages, skateboarders, roller-bladers, families with strollers, photographers, elderly couples, teenage couples -- in short, pretty much everyone.

 

So, we were more than a little sad to see that they have closed and torn up a large section of the trail -- not to make improvements to the trail itself, but to make a road that will facilitate the development of a new construction project. Big machines and plenty of noise and mud are in the forecast for the next few months or longer. One can only hope the result will be a good one.

Thursday...

... was another sunny, warm day. I rode my usual route, and as I reached the top of the Fortway Road hill, I was greeted by a guy in reflective vest, leaning on a tree and lackadaisically holding a "slow" sign. Really, I don't have a lot of choice about my speed at that point on my route. I always go pretty slowly on that hill. For a second I wondered what he was doing there, as there was no construction in progress. Then, as I looked ahead to a long line of barely moving traffic, I remembered: this was the day of the Premier's breakfast at the Legislature, the kick-off for K-days. I was glad to be on a bike instead of in a car, as I zipped past everyone up the 107 Street hill.

And today was our City Hall tour. My first visit to City Hall happened when I stumbled on the building by accident when riding my bike and went in to pick up a bicycle map. Today our morning classes (about 18 students) walked from the school to Churchill Square, about 2 km, and met our guide at the south entrance to City Hall. Jackie, a 71-year-old woman who has worked at City Hall for 56 years, is a pretty amazing lady who also has a part-time job as a lifeguard. She took us around the building, giving an excellent presentation about civic politics and the history of the building. The students listened eagerly and asked some good questions. After the tour a few of us hung around at Taste of Edmonton, finally walking back to the school for afternoon classes.

Some of the same students attend both morning and afternoon classes, but there are some who come only in the afternoon. So I had the morning students tell the afternoon students about their visit to City Hall. They told them about Jackie, their guide, and one student said he thought I should emulate her, continuing to work as an ESL teacher and riding my bike to work even into my seventies. A worthy goal!

On Wednesday...

I rode my normal 9K route through the River Valley. It was another fantastic day on the trails. The sun was shining and even on the way to work I wore short sleeves.

In ESL class we are preparing for a tour of City Hall, so today`s lesson included news articles about and interviews with the mayoral candidates. Kerry Diotte got the raspberry for his comments about bike lanes and cyclists and his failure to define his platform. The students were impressed with 61-year-old Karen Leibovici's youthful good looks, but decided that she, too, wasn't saying much of anything about her vision for the city. Curtis Penner was judged handsome, and the students liked his stance on municipal parkland. 

But -- there was a collective sigh from the women when I opened Don Iveson's web page, and all the students were impressed with his comments about affordable housing and public transportation. 

It was a fun lesson that led to lively discussion about life in Edmonton -- the good, the bad and the ugly. Public transit, they all agreed, is an ugly -- why does it take so long to get anywhere by bus or train? The city's many parks were deemed a good. Safety and the generally peaceful atmosphere were also goods. Dirty streets (dust, gravel, debris) were a bad. I have to say, I was a little surprised. Although I hear repeatedly that the students are glad to live in Canada, Edmonton itself is not quite as highly rated.