Vancouver Veloculture

Bikes!! Bike culture in Vancouver is going strong and is visible by the hundreds of passing cyclists out and about using their bikes as transportation to the array of cleverly installed pieces of bike infrastructure that make up Vancouver’s overall bicycle network. The key here is that there IS an infrastructure at all, the city really does want a bicycle presence; a refreshing change from most of the pitifully equipped North American cities (Portland and a few others of course excluded).

I took a short ride and photographed several of the bicycle amenities riders will find on their way around town:

There is a well laid out network of bicycle routes on low traffic residential streets that parallel the major thoroughfares. All streets that are part of the bicycle route system have a bike logo on their street sign (as seen above). Not only is the bike logo on the small street sign, its also on the large sign in the middle of the intersection. The very fact that the bike network was so visible to everyone was impressive to me and it made route finding a cinch without ever looking at a map (try that in any other city!).

Routes also include painted bike logos to let cars know they are on a bicycle priority street and also, as seen above, serve as routefinding aids to tell cyclists where to go to continue along the route. There are also posted green signs along the road for wayfinding as well.

Residential roundabouts are not uncommon on any old street but are heavily used on bike routes. They very successfully slow down cars and also provide a seamless, quick and safe intersection for bikes to cross. I find they also discourage drivers from using the route since they’re forced to slow down keeping these streets quiet. These are a common sight in Seattle, Portland and Berkeley as well.

It’s a common around the city to see signage for cars that makes exceptions for bicycles. These are present often even off bike routes. The signs usually allow bikes to continue straight through an intersection while cars cannot, calming traffic through quiet residential neighborhoods.

For the busier intersections, buttons have been installed to trigger a traffic signal change. These are also found all over the place, not just on the routes; surprising how many there are. This is where the concerted effort of the city to accommodate for bikes is really apparent. These buttons have been contentious in the past though: some bike advocates claim the buttons do harm by putting the rider to the far right of the road where they are in the danger area of right turning vehicles. Their preferred method are road embedded sensors (the more expensive and complicated solution). My opinion: the buttons work and the fear is a bit overstated.

Off topic but I thought it was funny

All that trouble of flipping the bars and levers and retaping and I’d figure they’d just get a riser stem. Never seen STIs on flipped bars before (AKA “bum bars”)

I stopped into a few bike shops (of which there are many) and they had a pleasing supply of commuter oriented products and utilitarian style bikes for sale. There are recreational riders here for sure but I’d dare say the majority of riders are merely point A to point B type of folks which definitely brings a big ol’ smile to my face

Vancouver <3

 

Woo Vancouverrrr. I love it. Love it apparently enough to neglect my blog writing for a good week or so, whoops. I crossed the border Sep 10th on my way to Surrey to then take light rail into downtown but, as no surprise, the plans changed. Phoned my friend Zoe whom I traveled a bit with in Cambodia and Thailand, and found out she lived only a couple miles from the border so easy enough, that is where I headed. Was welcomed into her family’s home with open arms, fed very well and provided a nights rest (called my hostel to adjust the booking).

Took a smooth and easy bus and train combination from Langley to Downtown, the train being the new Canada Line just completed 2 weeks ago, its pretty swanky (although it has the most drab boring cars I’ve ever been in). Checked into the Samesun hostel on Granville in the heart of the entertainment district. Was the largest hostel I’d ever stayed at and a bit overwhelming. Three floors of tightly packed 4 person dorms, a common area with kitchen and a downstairs bar/restaurant. Stashed my things and bike and walked the bustling downtown stopping for bahn mi (Viatnamese sandwich) and gelatto. The variety of food in the city is superb.

Met back up with Zoe that night for what I had been warned was going to a country bar; not exactly my cup of tea but..eh, why not. The bar was fairly accurate to my mental projections of such a place which was humorous in and of itself. I had forgotten my credit card on tab after leaving so we went back to retrieve it 15 minutes before closing. Now I knew the bar previously as hosting some pretty sleezy characters but good god the type that sticks around to last call will want to make you sit and consider your life then laugh your ass off. All in all, it was a good time, I will say that.

Checked out early from the hostel, it just wasn’t my style, way too impersonal. Got in contact with a Warmshowers host, Naomi, whom I had corresponded with and laid out plans to meet for breakfast. She was hosting two German travelers through Couchsurfing so they tagged along as well. Naomi let us in on one of the jumping local breakfast joints and we stuffed ourselves with eggs and pancakes. We formed a posse for the day and made plans to go bike the park. Naomi led me along the seawall path past Jericho Beach. Despite the crowds on the paths, its a fantastic route to ride a bike for fun. The beaches were packed too! (People and dogs as well which was a bit surprising to someone whos used to canine bans). A bit strange to see a swimming pool beachside but they seem to enjoy it here: (HUGE pool too)

 

All four of us biked the Stanley Park loop, another fantastic leisurely and scenic ride. It was fairly funny rounding one of the first bends towards the Lions Gate Bridge: I had sailed on a cruise through this area years prior and didn’t remember much but one flash of the giant yellow mound of stockpiled sulfur and memories flooded back. Not the most romantic of sights a chemical pile but hey, I remember it.

I ended up crashing at Naomi’s despite the guest bedroom being occupied by the Couchsurfers; a meager slice of floor space is all I need thanks to my trusty sleeping pad.

Couchsurfers and I woke up early to tackle “The Grouse Grind”, a steep 2 mile ascent up Grouse Mountain, the closest mountain to the north. Nearly 3000 manmade stairs and ledges and 2800ft elevation gain. A challenge for sure. Its not a particularly scenic or peaceful hike more than it is a killer workout but was fun anyway. Its the kind of thing that if I lived here Id go back every so often to try to beat my time We made it up in an hour and seven minutes, twenty three minutes faster than the average so Im’ pleased with that

 

Pretty view down to the city; can get a very good idea to how Vancouver is situated. To get back down a gondola is provided (that also serves to ferry those up which don’t wish to undergo The Grind).

Stayed with Naomi an additional two nights checking out Main St and Commercial, doing an extensive bit of walking and biking. The bike routes are phenomenal here! Really forefront type city planning. Its a real pleasure to stand on 10th and watch the bikes roll on by, makes me happy

I’ve unfortunately injured my achilles tendon somehow, most likely from biking and changing my saddle position. I’ve been taking it easy (generally) and trying to rest it up. Been seeing some improvement the last few days and I hope in a few more it will be 100% again. Once healed up I am on my way north to do some ferry riding, camping and island hopping! Here’s hoping the declining weather cooperates!

Interurban Trail & Nearly to Vancouver

Left Seattle yesterday and took the Interurban Trail. The trail is a longggg off street path (and bike network) that connects Seattle to Everett in the North. I took it an entire 25 miles and only got lost once which is fairly good considering the length and how many times it cuts off and resumes; the signage is fairly good.

 

This is one brand new section (with a nice man who stopped to ask if I wanted to be in the picture..although I didn’t want to)

 

Here’s a pretty wooded stretch of the trail. The bollards were sometimes the only way to figure out where to go after a break in the trail.

 

Stopped for some wild blackberries. I’ve been so stuffed full of fruit since I’ve been here! There are fruit trees everyyywhere: apple, plum, pluot, cherry, fig, pear. Yum

 

Yesterday was the first day with any significant climbing. Was a lot of up and down, the worst kind, but it afforded some decent views at times.

 

Descended from the hills into flat farmland. They seem to like corn ‘round these parts

I had contacted a person on Warmshowers in Mt Vernon, a reasonable distance north from Seattle. He was no longer in the area but said I’d be welcome at his parents. Arrived at the given address and unfortunately came upon an empty house but got a call saying to make myself at home, shower and eat anything I wanted. A tad awkward though meeting someone for the first time eating a sandwich in their own kitchen…but they were extremely cool. They told me a bit about their hitchhiking days in the 70s and I told a bit about my touring. They left early in the morning but trusted me with the whole house basically and said to leave whenever and take food. They left a very sweet note and I left one in return. It completely makes the trip meeting such generous and trusting people.

I stumbled on this cider place and said “boy, I could use some cider” and stepped in. I was both happy and disappointed though at the honor system payment setup: its admirably trusting and quaint to us city folks but it meant I couldn’t get change for my $20.

 

Skaggit County’s transit system is somehow called “SKAT” (Skaggit County Transit). Who gave the go ahead for this idea?!?

So I made it to Bellingham; very cool little town, has a great feel. There are three colleges in the area so there are a lot of young people milling about the cafes and restaurants of downtown. I sent out a last minute Warmshowers request last night and surprisingly got a reply. I rang her up when I got into the city but there ended up being a conflict with her roommate but did offer to help find me something from a friend and indeed she did! We met up anyway despite the inability to host and had some coffee (which was probably very good but I’m too much of a coffee pleb to realize such things). She has done several tours including a cross country so we swapped tour stories and chatted (especially about the wonderful hostpitality we’ve received). Met up with her friend and am happily being hosted again, woot.

Tomorrow the plan is an early ride across the border and into Surrey where I can take the SkyTrain into the city; sounds a lot easier than trying to navigate through unfamiliar city streets. Most likely meeting up with my friend from the last portion of my Cambodia stay too!

Yes I do have my passport

Bumbervistazoo

My oh so clever invented word for two days of the zoo, vistas and Bumbershoot music festival.

The vista you can see above: iconic Seattle. Photo was taken from Kerry park in Queen Anne.

Took a day to go see Woodland Park Zoo with friends; been a while since I’ve been to a zoo. The animals habitats are fairly nice and large which staves away some depression about their confinement. Its fun though, saw all sorts of things.

Today I went to Bumbershoot with some more friends and had a blast. Nearly 10 hours of music! Long day. Unfortunately no pictures from the event; decided to free myself from the burden of carrying a camera and just enjoy the time. Rained in the morning but fortunately cleared up later on.

Heading out tomorrow morning: destination, Mt Vernon, where I have a warmshowers.org host lined up. Hopefully a nice ride. The Interurban Trail connects Seattle to Everett, a good 40 or so miles of off street path! Planning another day on the road after that and then arriving to Vancouver the 10th where I have a hostel downtown lined up. I could easily get couchsurfing or warmshowers but I think I’d rather pay the $25 a night for the ease of meeting people and finding things to do. I think in big cities, hostel is the way to go.

Seattle – Locks, food and…overcast

Yesterday was not much really but a well needed rest. The highlight was a big grocery run of fresh ingredients which culminated in some awesome enchiladas. Always a pleasure to be able to cook while still on the road and a small way of saying thanks to my host.

Today, sightseeing! Being a tourist, that kind of thing. Hopped on a bus and headed to Chittenden Locks. Always fascinating to see a gigantic boat “magically” raise and lower and interesting how the sound is elevation separated.

Also quite fascinating is taking an up close look at salmon heading to the ocean and fortunate for salmon nerds the Sound over, there is a “fish ladder” that lets you view them up close.

  

The locks are well worth a visit and you can’t beat the free pricetag. I heard there was a botanical garden there also but its really not much, oh well. I did find a thistle with a tiny white spider though

 

When I tour, my coffee habit definitely kicks in. Seattle….is definitely not helping that. But my god have I had some good coffee. There are coffee places everyyyyywhere.

 

Yesterday, based on rave reviews online, I booked a tour through Savor Seattle to take a walking tour of Pike Place Market and surrounds. Verdict: well worth it! The market is a fairly overwhelming place considering the size and number of pepople; it’s quite nice to have a guide lead you around and even nicer to get to taste a wide variety of fare from all the vendors and restaurants.

I saw perhaps a third of the market, barely scratched the surface, I may have to return.  One of the strange attractions to the market is the gum wall which is as advertised, a wall covered completely in gum. The aroma wafting off the wall is quite powerful haha

 

The rest of the day was spent wandering and taking pictures. I love the old brick buildings around Pioneer Square. The waterfront area is a bit like SFs Fishermans Wharf but with an annoyingly loud raised highway running next to it. The weather turned overcast by afternoon; textbook Seattle move. Drizzled a little too. Didn’t mind that much, was still around 70F, but it did wreak havoc with my pictures. Any shot with sky visible was impossible, washed out. Here a few anyway:

I’m trying to get a Monday ticket for the Bumbershoot music festival. It may get rained out though! It would still be awesome to see Modest Mouse and Franz Ferdinand though.

Day 3 – Seattle, I have arrived

Note: This was supposed to be posted yesterday but I guess it got lost in the void of cyberspace

Was a lazy day of riding today. Lax and late start from the campground. Roads were again quiet and enjoyable. Had my first heckle of the trip: a teenager leaned out of a passing SUV to yell “nice pants” apparently commenting on the peculiar fashion of my cycling shorts and knee warmers. I threw him a thumbs up which seemed somehow disarming since his expression turned to bewilderment and his body returned to the vehicle.

 

Picture from camp this morning

 

Rolled through this small old town. Had some coffee, it was amazing. Even the small towns have multiple coffee shops and especially multiple drive-thru coffee places, its everywhere

 

They love me!!

Rode my way into Olympia by end of the day. Can anyone tell me why this is the capital of Washington? Very sleepy town. I’d been advised the section between there and Seattle was not worth riding so I planned my bus route. Surprisingly efficient system those buses. Four buses later and a mere $3.75 spent I was all the way in Seattle. Again I am graced with a wonderful host, a friend I met in Portland, so I have a roof over my head for the time being.

Tomorrow Ill try to rest my weary legs a bit but also would like to see what Seattle has to offer.

Apples and Bananas: Longview to Lewis & Clark

Note: Posted today Sept 2nd but written yesterday Sept 1st

Instead of rows upon row of banana in SE Asia, I now get apples! All he apples I could ever eat in fact (just watch out for worms and earwigs).

   

Another day under my belt. Rain reared its ugly head this morning but after some prided spitting it decided to call it quits and let the sun take over. Was cooler than the 75F day yesterday, had to unpack the windbreaker and knee warmers. Much quieter roads today, very pleasant, and gorgeous lush wooded scenery to go along with that; a good day of riding. My legs are still quite sore, simply getting acclimated to distance riding again I hope, so I ended the day with a mere 45 miles on the clock and pulled into Lewis and Clark campground north of Toldeo, WA (holy toldeo!).

Stopped in a town called Vader (lolStarWars) that must’ve had but a hundred maybe two on its population tally. Old city too, established 18…something something, forgot..but its old. Asked around for a place to eat and was pointed to the lone joint in town just over the railroad tracks. Cutest little country diner with a sweetheart of a waitress. I fell love with the place instantly and that was before this glorious meal was placed before me:

HUGE pancakes. I had dreamed of pancakes the whole ride in but never expected something as wondrous as this.

Starting to notice a fewww slight differences from the last tour. I can start my riding any time of the day: no more waking up before dawn to beat the heat. Very welcome is the ubiquitous cell reception I get while riding and more importantly, data capabilities on my phone for loading up Google Maps, what a god send that is! I can also easily keep in touch with all my friends which definitely brightens up the day also. Dogs are still not the friendliest of creatures while riding but at least I don’t get chased here (…yet). English, a language which I’m much more familiar with than Thai, Khmer or Malay is the prime communication tool, makes the going a bit easier. I can fill up my water bottle anywhere, free clean drinking water, we definitely take that for granted in this country.

I’m bundled up in my tent writing this out, it will be posted tomorrow. I setup camp when I got in and took what I think was the coldest shower known to man. Supposed to be rain tonight so I have the rain fly cinched tightly on and surprisingly fit all my bags and bike under its protection.

Plans for tomorrow or somewhat of an unknown. Ill look over the map at breakfast. I think I’d like to take 101 to the coast and hop on a ferry ideally to Seattle. Riding into Olympia and then the stretch between it and Seattle doesn’t seem that enjoyable. Something will work though, always does.

Americatown, USA

A snap from Longview

I’m on tour! Portland to Longview today

I am back on tour! And with a new bike, a Bike Friday New World Tourist (review will be posted soon).

I spent a little over a week in Portland being treated to all kinds of spectacular hospitality from friends new and old.  I’ve been overjoyed at the graciousness of my hosts and flummoxed in how I could possibly repay their kind deeds so I hope that my broken record of “thank you”s was at least a start.

Going in, I had high hopes for Portland: I was told by multitudes of people that I would love it, couldn’t be bad with that much praise. And yep….it’s awesome. First and foremost, the bike friendliness is off the charts; like nothing else in this country. Bike routing signs even have the number of minutes it would approximately take you to ride to the signed location: small feature but clearly coming from a city that puts bikes at the forefront. It felt bizarre to be surrounded by that intense bike culture actually, I hardly knew what to do with myself. I was no longer “special” for having a strong affinity to these two wheeled marvels, just about everyone does, and riding in traffic seemed completely new: drivers yielding to you, special signals for you, lanes, signs, ramps, parking. I was so used to having the “oppressed minority” mindset that this was all a huge shock.

I took my bike on MAX (their east-west train) and they have purpose built areas to hang bikes that make taking your bike with you a breeze (are you listening BART?!).

Below are some random photos from Portland and one from Multnomah Falls (which is breathtaking)

Portland is big on parks too. I stumbled across this gem on a ride

 

Today I officially kicked off the tour and rode from SE Portland to Longview, WA. Took highway 30 which was better than I expected but not the quietest (at least not before St Helens, quiets after that). My quads and knees were sore by the 40 mile mark and nagged at me the whole ride, made it a long one although it was only 65ish miles.

 

This is what Hwy 30 looked like, nice healthy shoulder width and moderate traffic.  I did find an awesome old desolate access road (picture two below) but unfortunately it sputtered out after a mile or two.

The worst part was the Lewis and Clark Bridge which was the biggest climb of the day but the bigger issue were the piled remains of fallen tree bark from logging trucks that clogged the shoulder. The choice was either uncomfortably ride over the bark and possible wipe out or ride uncomfortably close to traffic: I chose the latter for lack of better options.

Staying with my second host from warmshowers.org and just as spectacular as the first. Warms the heart to know people open their homes to traveling strangers, its wonderful. The family I’m staying with now is having me setup my tent out in the yard though which is a tad odd considering the enormity of their house and number of couches but none the less I certainly am not scoffing at this offer (and that is without mentioning the delicous dinner that was prepared for me). I like tents anyway

Preparing to ride tomorrow a short 40 miles to Lewis and Clark campground, my legs could use the rest I think. Going to try to find a hardware store to pick up some denatured alcohol for my new stove I purchased.