I Love riding in the winter (actually I prefer the summer but riding anytime is great). People think Toronto is too cold to ride a bike in the winter. No way!!! Often by the time I get where I am going I have to have a little cool off time as my metabolism is all pumped up from the ride. Even the few days we had of -20 Celsius were quite ridable.
One of the things about riding in the winter is you have to ride farther into the road. The sides of the road are covered in ice so are not ridable. So if you are driving your car behind a cyclist in this weather please don’t follow too close and sit there revving your engine. It’s not safe!! IF you can’t safely pass back off!! People do this too me even when I am riding with my son Jake in the bike seat. It is not safe. If I need to stop quickly the following cars don’t have a safe distance to stop.
After all, I am riding so that the air is more breathable for everyone, even those foolish people who continue to drive cars. Not driving is the single easiest way for city dwellers to reduce their greenhouse gas emissions and building community at the same time.
Remember 4 wheels bad 2 wheels good.
February seems to me like a natural candidate for the worst month of the year Award. After waiting forever for winter to come this year now it seems like winter will go on forever. No holidays (this really bugs me we need a long weekend in February!!). . . Grey skies. . . Slush . . . Read the rest of this entry »
This is a continuation of the Children and Consumerism.
Ok my kid is obsessed with trains and by default Thomas the Tank Engine.
We wonder how kids get so into consuming things so quickly?
We do it to them.
Case and point: Jake’s 4th birthday party last weekend. Read the rest of this entry »
It seems to me that things have changed a lot since I was a kid. There is just more stuff than their used to be. It just keeps piling into our lives and it seems there is nothing we can do about it.
Last week was my son Jake’s 4th birthday. So far, my wife and I have tried hard to keep our kids away, as much as possible, from the constant bombardment of advertising. We don’t let him watch regular tv and we try not to expose him to too much branding. As a result Jake thinks that Ronald McDonald is just a clown and nothing more. In fact we have never been to McDonalds with him and he does not know what it is. When we went out for his 4th birthday last Thursday he asked to go out to our local Thai restaurant. He even likes the spicy asparagas. Hooray for Jake!
Anyway you still can’t escape it advertising is everywhere and Jake has an Achilles heel. He loves trains.
Read the rest of this entry »