View from a Bike

Vancouver, when not raining, is arguably the most wonderful place to ride a bike. When I visit with my dear friend Paula I try and get on her bike and ride the beaches: Kitts, Vanier Park, English Bay, Second Beach and when I have time I ride through False Creek to watch the Olympic Village going up and remember what excitement there was (and angry letters to the editor) when Expo was being built. British Columbians that cannot see the advantage and money that will come to this province with the Olympics and the long term gains to be enjoyed by visitors to places like Whistler and Vancouver should stay quiet and avoid looking like idiots when, years later, there are monuments that change the skyline of the city (Science World, Canada Place) and provide enjoyment and increase Canadian visibility. Its a good thing.

Now, while on the back of the bike you can really do a great amount of people watching - I am sure that the people I mowed down would agree that taking the time to look around is something that should not be missed when you are one of the lucky ones watching traffic stopped on city bridges and hearing the honks of motorists far far away (because honking is SO helpful of course). The neighborhoods near Paula's place are a particularly excellent place to view the idiosyncrasies of Vancouverites. For instance:

• the dads walking their kids to school. The coffee is starbucks, the backpacks are louis vuitton, the dogs are purebred and the clothing is MEC (this is Canada after all, you know: outdoorsy). I felt a warm place in my heart to see all these dads walking their kids to their private and exclusive nursery schools until I realized that a great proportion of them would fall under the "what a waste" category. You know what I mean girls. Babies created by a donor egg and womb for two beautiful men who will create the ultimate in tolerant adults. Still - nice to look at and textbook parenting "you are not a bad child - this is just bad behaviour" in a quiet voice at eye level. Now, gay pride aside, why did I see more men that women doing the walking? I formulated a few theories as I rode along: first, that the women had done all the morning chores and only entrusted their children to their father for the task of walking (one of the first skills we as humans learn). Second, that the balance of world power had finally reached a level where women actually make MORE than men and are at work while the dads stay home. Third - seperation and divorce - it was Wednesday (Wednesdays and every other weekend is pretty standard). And finally, and most romatically, that these children come from truly gender equal families where morning chaos is shared between two parents who vie for the opportunity to do the walking and live off the comfort of investments somehow spared the recent carnage or work during school hours and in evening after kids are in bed. Yeah, that sounds good
• speaking of dogs. Damn! What a mix - dogs running, dogs carried in bags, dogs chasing balls on manicured squares of lawn from a colorful ball thrower (you know those handle things that keep you from touching the slobber), dogs dragging busy women in studiously tossed together outfits of oversized sunglasses (it was cloudy), hats of various descriptions and comfortable worn coats (beaten with sticks at the factory to look like that and sold for hundreds at stores called "Grass") with cell phones glued to their ears but miraculously managing to pull out the obligatory white bag to gather the excrement without missing a beat in the conversation.
• Runners - it is soon the Vancouver Marathon so people are gathering in troupes to run the amazing trails of this area. When I ran at 5 these folks were probably still in bed (5 am is for REAL runners - hehe). All of them look fabulous and functional - here is an example of reality - sweat...... definitely real.
• Walkers - mainly women of a "certain age" solving the problems of the world. Were it legal, governments could bug walkways in cities throughout the world and they would get an idea of what the people REALLY want.

I made my way up to Prospect Point and then back home again. Before my journey ended I saw one thing that made me laugh and the endorphins peak: A man driving a small truck driving slowly along the road near Kitts Beach suddenly pulled to a stop in the middle of the road and gave a friendly toot of the horn. I looked over and saw a women walking with, you guessed it, two dogs. She did not turn and I almost hailed her to draw her attention to the man who was obviously there to pick her up and maybe take her to a nice lunch somewhere but before I could do that the little Jack Russel broke away from the group and sprinted to the truck where the driver side door was opened and he hopped in. The women did not bat an eyelash and I realized that this area was getting very erudite - the dogs walk themselves and are picked up by their owners when said excercise is complete. This was obviously a well practiced maneuver. Man - what height human kind can reach.

I am sitting in the airport waiting for my flight. The journey is about to begin. Will blog again when I can from somewhere in France. Have a wonderful day everyone!

Kim