Meeting dates for 2016

Our meetings are held in the Alouette Room (upstairs) in the Maple Ridge library on every second Thursday of the month, 6:45 - 8:45 pm.

The dates booked so far for 2016 are as follows:

Jan. 14
Feb. 11
Mar. 10
Apr. 14
May 12
June 9
July 14
Aug. 11

Bike to Farms 2015 now open for registration

Finally we have commitment from the three participating farms...farmers are pretty busy people and have other things on their minds this time of year! So happy that they're willing to have us!

So I can tell you that this year's Bike to Farms event will be on Sunday, Sept. 6, and we're ready for registration! Don't wait too long...it's our most popular ride and we have limited space! We do ask registrants to let us know if they can't make it at least several days before the ride. We'll keep a waiting list if necessary so we can still fill up any cancellations.

We've decided to ask for a $5 registration fee this year to cover some of the cost and to be able to give the farmers a thank-you gift for participating.

We will provide participants with a snack and a drink at the end of the ride. Make sure you bring some water and a snack to keep yourself hydrated and energized during the ride. With the stops the ride will take several hours. Our experience is that the farmers really take their time to show us around, and we may arrive back a little later than planned, so it's good to be prepared.

This is the route (same as last year's route):

Participating farms:

• Brookfield Farm
• Lorea's veggie garden
• Red Barn Plants and Produce

The distance will be about 15 kms.

We'll be riding in two groups of max. 25 participants each.

• Group #1 leaves from Big Feast Restaurant at noon, returns at Big Feast (or at Memorial Peace Park) at about 3:30.
• Group #2 leaves from Big Feast Restaurant at 1:00 pm, returns at about 4:30.

Here's my blog post with photos of last year's Bike to Farms ride.

Registration and payment can be done in person (cash/credit card) or by phone (credit card) through:

Pitt Meadows Visitor Centre

12492 Harris Road

Pitt Meadows

tel. 604-460-8300

The Pitt Meadows Visitor Centre is now closed for the weekend. Please register with Jackie at jchow23708@yahoo.ca or call (604) 476-9616. 
Payment: cash only at the start of the ride.

(Please specify whether you wish to be in group #1 or #2)

Note that kids under 16 years of age will need to be accompanied by an adult.

Participants are asked to arrive 15 minutes early to sign a waiver.

For more info e-mail Jackie at jchow23708@yahoo.ca. 

Latest column: What about closer to home?

My latest column in the Maple Ridge News. Unedited version below:

"The true measure of any society can be found in how it treats its most vulnerable members" - Ghandi

It's a 'no'. The people have spoken. Loud and clear.

In Maple Ridge, more people (77%) voted against the proposed 0.5% increase in sales tax to pay for transit, road and bike improvements than anywhere else in Metro Vancouver. Would that have anything to do with the fact that we rely more on our cars than anywhere else in Metro Vancouver? It's quite possible. 72% of Pitt residents voted against.

Voter turn-out for the plebiscite in Maple Ridge was 51%, Pitt Meadows 49%. Compare that to the significantly lower 2014 municipal election turn-out of 31% in both Maple Ridge and Pitt Meadows.

Whatever message people felt they needed to give, whether to Translink, to the BC Liberal Government, or to their Mayors, or all of the above, this vote was obviously extremely important to them. There's been an abundance of smug post-victory facebook posts about this great achievement, and many people apparently have been doing happy-dances.

Great. So the no-side won. And now what?

The real problems - worsening congestion, lack of transit options for many and poor cycling infrastructure - are now even farther from being solved, and seem to be on track to make our commuting lives more miserable in years to come. Call me negative. I call it being realistic.

On to the next referendum? Forget that!

Let's also consider this: while many blame Translink for all that's bad in the transit world, how can Translink be blamed for the way Maple Ridge has made many rather unwise land-use decisions in the past that now make it pretty darn difficult for Translink to provide cost- and time-effective transit for all in our area?

Somehow the powers that be should, hopefully, come up with a new funding source, eventually. Despite the no-side's victory, fought for with so much passion and dedication, many won't be so happy in the end, 'cause they're gonna get stuck in traffic, big time.  After all, even though many thought this was just about teaching Translink a lesson or two, we just chose the car as our solution to carmageddon, make no mistake about it.

In the meantime, we cycling advocates will continue to give our feedback when road construction is being planned. Life goes on.

I just want to say this. I am convinced that the only way a city can be successful is by being inclusive. A city should work for all. It should be inclusive of people who take transit, people who walk and people on bikes. It should be inclusive of the young and the elderly, many of whom don't drive. It should also be inclusive of those on a low income, many of whom can't afford a car.

A successful city should even be inclusive of street people, many of whom tend to get around by bike. Do you honestly think that if we just don't build bike lanes and install bike racks for them, they'll eventually just magically evaporate from our streets? Just like they need a place to live, they need to be able to get around safely, cheaply and efficiently, if those who are able to work are ever going to be able to get and hold a job.

Cycling facilities should not be seen as optional, as they often still seem to be today in Maple Ridge.

When a brand new, massive intersection appears such as the one at 112th/Kanaka Way and 240th, or so-called 'road improvements' are implemented at 240th by Albion Elementary, we're told we'll just have to wait for our bike lanes until the entire area is built out, which can be many years from now. Until then, we'll have to be content to be biking with the sharks, or stay on the sidewalks. So much for the pride our city takes in its so-called 'multi-modal' transportation system that supposedly works for all.

Seeing so many people speak up in this plebiscite, with such passion, about whatever it is that they felt was so important to them, makes me wish that those same people would speak up with the same passion when it comes to their vision of the kind of city that they want to live in.

Although, you have to wonder, what is their vision of the ideal city?

Many people just seem to want to get from point A to point B fast, and how their speedy, and often noisy and dangerous travel affects others and our city in general seems of no concern to them.

Through our car addiction, we've created a lot of places that apparently aren't worth caring about. The way a lot of drivers speed through our neighbourhoods attests to that. They drive through them as if they don't care about them and the people that live in them.

In the end, it all depends on what we, the people, want. Here's hoping that the many people that cared so much about Translink's governance problems and wasted tax dollars, will start caring enough about our streets and our neighbourhoods, about our kids and their future, and about our seniors, our poor, and our street people, to start demanding proper funding for transit and bike lanes! Call me naive. I guess I am.  

Column: Traffic laws need to catch up

My latest column:

Not only are our roads designed for cars, our traffic laws are written for cars, and bikes are more like a fleeting afterthought.

Cyclists have the same rights and responsibilities as drivers, but this principle ignores some big differences that are not reflected in traditional road design, nor in the B.C. Motor Vehicle Act.

Read more...

Photos Art Studio Bike Tour

The one and only person that had registered for today's Art Studio Bike Tour had canceled yesterday, so I had no idea how many people to expect when we rode to our starting point, the Bandstand in Memorial Peace Park, this morning. But what a wonderful day it turned out to be! I got some help with promoting the ride from Colleen of the Let's Go Biking blog, and we had two people show up from Vancouver and two from White Rock for our ride. In total we had 13 people...a nice group!

Do check out Colleen's blog. You'll find lots of great ideas and tips for rides in the Metro Vancouver area and beyond.

Here are some photos of today's Art Studio Bike Tour:

Just the right size group for our bike tour!

Win Seaton's studio was hidden in a garage in a back alley

Kerry McLaren's studio is any artist's dream. She shares it with  Donnae Bell.
Both create beautiful clay art.

At Creations by Sisters we saw beautiful pottery by Diane Wooldridge
and gorgeous jewelry by Barb  Barringer

We were not the only people arriving at Osprey Village by bike.
Stomping Grounds is the perfect spot for a gourmet coffee.

Artist in Residence Rebecca Fisher showed us her age-old techniques for dying fabrics.
Every piece she creates is truly unique.

Kristin Krimmel is an amazingly versatile artist
with many years of experience and lots of art work to show for it.

Kat Wahamaa is another Artist in Residence, with many amazing talents.
Kat's Finnish and played her guitar for us and sang us a lovely finnish song.
This is Kat beside one of her favorite paintings. It was inspired by a tree. 

Last but not least we visited Alexandra Lanzarotta's studio.
She makes the most amazing jewelry, and I also liked husband Ron's wrist bands made of kangaroo leather.

You can find maps and lists of the artists with links to their websites  in an earlier blog post.

Youth Vision Film Festival: cycling part of the solution to a better world!

The theme for yesterday's Youth Vision Film Festival, organized by Cinema Politica Ridge Meadows, was "Working Together - A Better World is Possible". Out of four excellent entries, one participant, Elina Blomley, had chosen "cycling" as the way to a better world.

I loved all four entries. Two had chosen to tackle homelessness, which was very timely, as this issue has been front and center in the news lately. First prize winner Eva Cowley's documentary featured some great interviews explaining the homelessness issue. The fourth one was about acts of kindness. I don't have links to all four entries, but I do have the one for Elina's documentary, and it's well worth a watch.

Our HUB committee and HUB Headquarters hope to work with Elina to produce more cycling clips in the future!

Update May 13: Here's the link to the winning documentary by Eva.

Bike to Work Week May 25 - 31

Bike to Work Week in Metro Vancouver is only a few weeks away. Do you want to be part of it? This is how it works.

Make sure you register and log your trips. Every day you'll have a chance to win a brand new bike!

Art Studio Bike Tour 2015

On Sunday, May 10th  we're planning to do our 2nd annual Art Studio Bike Tour. The Art Studio Tour is an annual 2-day event on Mother's Day weekend.

We're hoping for a nice sunny day so that more people may consider trying out a tour by bike this year. If it rains (i.e. more than just a drizzle), we may cancel. If you're not sure, check this blog (rmcyclist.info). We'll post any cancelation on the morning of the ride by 8 am.

This year we're planning to do two routes, one that's mostly flat (#1), and a hillier route (#2). If we don't have enough participants, we may just end up doing route #1.

Both groups will be leaving at 10:00 am from Memorial Peace Park in Maple Ridge. Please arrive at about 9:45 am to give us a little time to get everyone to sign a waiver. Insurance for these group rides is covered by HUB at no cost to participants.

Pre-registration is appreciated, but not necessary. We just like to have an idea of the number of people that we can expect. E-mail Jackie: jchow23708@yahoo.ca.

Some of the art studios may offer some refreshments, but it would be a good idea to bring some lunch along.

Of course you can also try one of the routes on your own in your own time. Just click on the map, save the image and print it in landscape format. Also bring a copy of the list of studios with addresses to help guide you along.

Route #1 is a flat one in central and west Maple Ridge, with one studio in Osprey Village in Pitt Meadows:

This route is about 21.5 kms.

Artists on route #1:

#6
Win Seaton - winseaton.ca
in alley behind Subway on 224th Ave., Maple Ridge

#4
Diane Wooldridge - The Mud Room / Creations By Sisters
Barb Barringer - Spiritbear Designs / Creations by Sisters
21652 121 Ave., Maple Ridge

#3
Kerry McLaren - Red Dog Studio - kclay.ca
Donnae Bell - donnae.ca
21536 River Road, Maple Ridge

#1
Rebecca Fisher - Osprey Village Artist in Residence - divasniche.ca
#102 - 10973 Barnstonview Rd., Pitt Meadows

#5
Kristin Krimmel - kristinkrimmel.com
12343 - 216 St., Maple Ridge

Route #2 is a more hilly route in central and east Maple Ridge. Perhaps some people may have to walk some sections on this route. That's perfectly fine. It's not a race and it's supposed to be fun. We'll all take a break at the top of the hill so that those who need a little more time have time to catch up. Here's the route:

This route is about 20 kms.

Artists on route #2:

#8

Kat Wahamaa - Port Haney Artist in Residence - shinyb.ca

11630 - 224 Street, Maple Ridge

#9

Suzette Fram - suzettefram.ca

Lori Shook - lorishook.com

22610A - 116 Ave., Maple Ridge

#17

Alexandra Lanzarotta - LXandra Jewellery - lxandra.com

11019 - 237 Street, Maple Ridge

#22

Elizabeth Hancock - Holly Tree Studio

12122 - 244 Street, Maple Ridge

#16

Craig Speirs - Wind Dancers - facebook: WhisperingWind, Wind Dancers

Diane Speirs - Alouette Mountain Studio

23386 - 124 Ave., Maple Ridge

Column: "Water theme for Earth Day", and: MRBERT!

My column in the Maple Ridge News of April 10, 2015 is about our 4th annual Cycle Recycle and about the launch of MRBERT:

"At the upcoming Earth Day event on April 18, HUB is going to have lots of bikes to give away! We saved some bikes from the Recycle Depot, and we've also had quite a few donations from individuals this year, especially of kid's bikes. So thank you to Ridge Meadows Recycling Society and all those who donated their bikes! They've all been cleaned already, and one of our committee members is presently hard at work doing some needed repairs.

Read more...

Note that we've made a change of plans with regard to the Cycle Recycle. Since we have over 20 bikes to give away, we decided to have two draws instead of one. The first one will be at 11:30 am by Ross Davies of KEEPS, the second one at 1:30 pm by Queen Elsa (Frozen).

Some of MRBERT's members: John, Dave and Alex

Referendum: Hold your nose, vote 'yes'

Below is the unedited version of my latest column in the Maple Ridge News. It's about the Referendum, of course.

Any day now you'll find the referendum ballot in your mail box and you'll finally have your say. Now before you angrily mark a "no" on your ballot, please reflect on what it is that you're voting on.

I must admit, I'm just as mad as anyone else who doesn't agree with the way this whole thing has been set up. But I do feel that the only right thing to do for Metro Vancouver - including Pitt Meadows and Maple Ridge - is to seriously start investing in transit, walking and cycling to work towards a better, more sustainable transportation system that works for all, and a more livable region for future generations. Therefore I can only vote 'yes', while cursing under my breath.

There's no space provided for comments, unfortunately. We're not being asked if we're okay with the excessive salaries of Translink executives, or if we have a problem with the governance structure of Translink (set up by the provincial government by the way).

Maybe you want to vote 'no' because you feel that there's not enough in it for Maple Ridge or Pitt Meadows, another very valid concern. Or you just don't trust Translink to deliver on its promises.

They're not enquiring if perhaps we're angry about the cost over-runs and continuing delays of the Compass Card (a system mandated by the provincial government by the way), or if we're upset at all with the provincial government for putting us in this position.

There are many possible reasons why people might consider voting 'no'.

It is totally understandable that Mayor Read intends to vote 'no'. As a mayor, she has the responsibility but lacks the authority. The flawed governance structure of Translink will need to be addressed.

Judging from the discussions I hear and read, a lot of people don't seem to know what the actual question is. So here it is once again:

"Do you support a one half percentage point (0.5%) increase in the provincial sales tax in Metro Vancouver, dedicated to the Mayors' Transportation and Transit Plan, with independent audits and public reporting?"

What it basically comes down to, is that with our vote we will be giving a message as to the direction that we want the region as a whole to take. How do we want to live?

Consider the likely consequences of a ‘no’ vote. No level of government would have any appetite to touch this subject in the next 5 to 10 years at a minimum. The proposed infrastructure improvements will be put on hold, while more people and cars move to the region and communities continue to sprawl out adding more traffic to the already congested arteries. We can continue to complain about the inefficient bureauracies, and, as some of us would have it, get to kick out a bunch of inefficient bureaucrats, only to replace them with another bunch of inefficient bureaucrats. In the end, everyone who moves will lose.

A 'yes' vote means that we're all going to contribute to the promised improvements by paying more taxes. More people will be able to choose transit, cycling or walking more often. It will also mean less congestion than without the improvements. Everyone who moves will win, but some (sometimes a lot) more than others.

If we vote yes, Translink promises that we will finally be getting our long awaited B-line bus in three to five years, and there will be expansion of service to Albion and Silver Valley. We'll get increased West Coast Express service. Improved transit will help support and encourage the needed densification in our downtown and along transportation corridors. Improved transit elsewhere in Metro Vancouver also helps drivers who need to commute farther afield by relieving the congestion there.

With a 'yes' vote, the investments in cycling by Translink are going to increase from the current $1.55 million (less than $1 per resident, or about 0.1% of Translink's annual spending) to $12 million a year, which will put the region on track to implement the Regional Cycling Strategy within the 20-year time frame.

Cycling improvements in Maple Ridge will consist of various cycling projects listed in the Maple Ridge Transportation Plan, approved by the previous Council (and hopefully to be amended by the present one).

What will be, will be. The BC government has chosen to hold this extremely risky referendum, downloading the responsibility for what happens on us voters by giving us a choice of two options neither of which we can agree with.

 

It is extremely difficult to ask someone to boil down a complex set of questions to a simple yes or no answer. Does the good outweigh the bad? Amidst the opposing voices against Translink and taxation in general, all of which are legitimate, the transportation vision for the region gets buried. Hopefully, we will separate the ‘what’ (transportation improvements) from the ‘who’ (Translink governance). Voting yes would at least settle the ‘what’ so the region can move forward with the vision while different governments and the voters can then tackle the issue of Translink governance. Voting no, on the other hand, puts both the ‘what’ and ‘who’ in a deep freeze, guaranteeing more of the same plus more congestion to boot.

The lesser of two evils tells me to hold my nose and vote yes.

By Jackie Chow, member of the Maple Ridge-Pitt Meadows chapter of HUB, with contributions from Ivan Chow, Chair.