Monthly Archive for July, 2007

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Cycling in Toronto

Published on July 10, 2007 in 2007, Chris, Climate Change and Complaints. 0 Comments

I got up early this morning and went for a bike ride. (I have secret aspirations of riding in Le Tour De France.) I was amazed that during the course of my 35 minute ride I only passed 1 other “serious” cyclist and 2 casual riders. My route took me along the waterfront – parallel to the main routes into the city for car and train traffic.

I bring this up as it speaks to the fact that our governments do not support cycling, or cyclists. I can ride from my home to the heart of downtown Toronto in about the same amount of time it takes me to drive (during the non-rush hours. It’s much faster to bike than drive during rush hours) and get a parking space. By riding I have reduced my impact on the environment, removed one car from the already congested highways/roads, and improved my physical health. As well, I did not have to pay for my car, my gas, or parking!

So why aren’t more people doing this?

Because the government do not support cycling and cyclists! Because there are not enough bike friendly routes, or safe places to store bicycles in the city. And, of course, because people are lazy.

The goverment (Federal, Provincial and Municipal) need to create incentives (ie. tax credits/rebates like the ones they have for transit riders) for people who ride their bicycles to work and offer incentives to employers who provide bike lockers and change rooms for cyclists. But government involvement is only part of the solution. Riders need to petition their management to make cycling a viable alternative for their employees.

Is speeding worth it?

Published on July 10, 2007 in 2007, Chris, Climate Change and Complaints. 0 Comments

What does the average driver gain from driving faster than the speed limit? Even on really long journeys you only gain minutes – but the toll on your car, pocketbook and the environment is increased dramatically.

Last week at the office we were discussing how many kilometres we get on a tank of gas; I drive the speed limit, and use cruise control all the time. My partner always drives at 120 vs my 100 on the highway. I am getting 60% better fuel economy than him!!!!

It seems to annoy some other drivers that I would dare go the speed limit, but at the end of the day, the wear and tear on my car is reduced, the amount of fuel I consume is reduced, and I get to my destination in nearly the same amount of time as the speeder.

We’re In The Home Stretch…

Published on July 9, 2007 in 2007, Chris and Leah and Our Wedding. 1 Comment

With everything planned, now all we have to do is wait for the next two weeks to pass and then it’s our wedding. There are a couple of small things that we need to take care of, but we’ll take care of all of them this week.

My biggest dilemma is figuring out how to fit in watching the Tour Day France (that’s a cycling joke…) as it runs until July 29 – with a stage nearly every day!

My Beef(s) with the Live Earth Concert

Published on July 9, 2007 in 2007, Chris, Climate Change and Complaints. 1 Comment

A touring rock show creates tonnes of pollution. The electricity to power the show, and manufacture all of the item that are sold/consumed at the show. All of the attendees driving to the show, sitting in the cars, idling while they get into and out of the venue, the vehicles required to get all of the gear to/from the venue, etc, etc. (Live Earth said that they will use revenue from ticket sales to do their best to offset the carbon impact of the concerts.)

Top it all off that this was a TV event, reaching an estimated two billion viewers – sitting in their air conditioned homes, watching their inefficient, energy consuming TVs.

I understand that we need to get the message out, but is this the best way? I don’t have the answer. Yet.

PS: Rihanna, you should really think about your song choices – don’t sing a song called “Shut Up and Drive” at an event for climate change.

A Couple of Perfect Etobicoke Days

Published on July 2, 2007 in 2007, Chris and Leah, Food & Wine and Goin' Out. 1 Comment

Last night Leah and I rode our bikes along the Martin Goodman Trail to Ontario Place to watch the Canada Day / Canada Dry Festival Of Fire fireworks. It was amazing how many people were along the waterfront; also amazing was how many of them are idiots and don’t understand that there is a bike path and a sidewalk – one for bikes/rollerblades and one for people on foot!

That complaint aside… the fireworks were awesome – set against a full, red moon.

Today we rode our bikes over to Dino’s Wood Burning Pizza for lunch (always excellent – 820 The Queensway: 416-259-0050), and then hit Tom’s Dairy Freeze for dessert!

A Saturday night with The Hip

Published on July 1, 2007 in 2007, Chris, Goin' Out and Music. 1 Comment

Yesterday afternoon I received an email letting me know that I could get two tickets to see The Hip that evening in Lewiston, New York for $50! (Face value of $125) We took the deal and were on our way. The drive should take about 1.5 hours plus the time you wait at Customs. We had friends who were already on the road and let us know that the wait at Queenston/Lewiston bridge was more than an hour. 378With that knowledge we decided to drive to one of the other bridges further up river, and farther away from the venue and home. One the drive we saw two rainbows and took that as a sign to take the Rainbow Bridge in Niagara Falls. What a good plan that turned out to be! Less than 10 minutes to cross – we ended up making it to the venue from Toronto quicker than our friends who left earlier from Hamilton and took the Queenston/Lewiston bridge.

The show was great from start to finish. The band seemed re-energized after a short break from their nearly year long tour schedule, and it showed in their performance. The venue – Art Park – is really cool. It is a hybrid of an outdoor amphitheatre and an indoor concert hall. The back wall raises like a giant garage door for events where the lawn seating is needed, and closes to create an intimate theatre space similar in size to the Hummingbird Centre here in Toronto.

380One dramatic difference from seeing an outdoor show in Canada is the freedom that fans have to “tailgate” in the parking lot are before the show. There were hundreds of people with barbeques grilling, and beers chilling, throughout the lot. The police had no problem with this as long as you kept your beer drinking to the grassy areas, not in the actual parking area. It was a festival-like atmosphere leading up to the doors opening.

Read more about this event, and The Hip on my other blog: hipfans.com