Bikes and Contests and Conferences

Been doing so much blogging on other sites, I have been neglecting my own! Lots of news to be had over at www.siwc.ca -- the conference is coming together, and lists are being checked and crossed off. I just put up a post today about the search for someone to take over my job as coordinator after this year's conference...if you know anyone who might be interested, send 'em HERE.

In other news, Darby is running a great contest on her blog to win a book by Kelley Armstrong. Darby's done an interview with Kelley's Chloe Saunders character -- you can read it HERE and enter the contest, too!


When I'm not writing books or blogs,
I've been trying to bike the seawall around Stanley Park and through False Creek whenever I can -- this summer has been so hot and dry, it's perfect cycling weather.

I've included a shot here of the new bike lane on the Burrard Street bridge -- it's fantastic and seems to be working very well. Bikes take the lane to the left, pedestrians walk the sidewalk, and cars still get 2 lanes in this direction. Here's hoping it continues to work as smoothly when regular work and school commutes resume in September!


There is still -- for some reason I really can't fathom -- a lot of animosity in this city between drivers and cyclists. The Critical Mass events don't seem to be helping. What began as an attempt to show how cyclists can help reduce congestion on our roads and do something healthy for ourselves and the environment has somehow degenerated into a shouting match. I recently heard about an idea called Critical Manners -- now THAT sounds like a Canadian approach, even though it's begun in San Francisco!






A view of downtown Vancouver from the bike path along the south side of False Creek.












English Bay, with the mountains of the North Shore and West Van far across the water of Burrard Inlet.


You can see from these shots that this city is among the most beautiful in the world to ride through -- it's worth it to solve these cycling issues!

For those of you away from these climes -- do a little rain dance for us, will you? I live on the side of one of the mountains you can see in the distance across English Bay, and though it's technically a temperate rainforest, not a drop has fallen in weeks. Our trails are so dry that hikers have been banished. We need a good three day soak to put out some of the 500 fires that dot this province.

Okay -- back to work on the latest opus. If you'd like to follow me on twitter, I'm tweeting sweetly @kcdyer. Flittering off!

~kc

Edited to add: Forgot to say that I saw one of the new Vancouver Biennale Art Installations on the bike ride. You can see more of Michael Zheng's 'the Stop' HERE.
[tip of the hat to @SeanCranbury for the tweet reminder...]