On coincidences of March cyclists

Chris (or Margo) wrote the following comment to my previous post:
 
"There are quite a few cyclists about in the slushy streets of Oslo in early March. Some are commuters; others are delivering takeaway in special back packs or strapped to carriers. One such outfit is called "Foodora", the name being a combo of "food" in English and "dora" which means "door" in Norwegian. And in the bike department of sports shops there are rows of studded tires for sale.  We are spoiled wimps in Vancouver!"

Therefore, when I walked out of the Alexis Nihon Plaza, I was surprised to this this bicycle attached to a traffic sign that I have often patronized in a like manner.

As you may observe, Foodora is also in Montreal as well as Oslo. Furthermore, it still isn't proper biking weather in Montreal. At least by my "wimpy" standards, e.g. there can`t be snow on the ground.

On biking in February

On Friday night, the word from Via Rail suggested the Canadian would be on time or even early. Consequently, a shade before 8 PM, I bade goodbye to Mark and my nieces. Alice drove me first to the hospital where she had to check up on some work. As I waited in her electric car, I got a phone call from Via Rail saying that the Train was likely to be 20 to 25 minutes early! Would I mind being at the station a little early? Alice came out and asked me if I would like to drive. I most certainly would and did so.  Driving an electric car is a bit eerie as it is too easy to accelerate and too easy to underestimate your speed. It is also cool.

The Canadian arrived well ahead of schedule and after waving adieu to Alice, I got on board my car. I was in the Butler Manor sleeping car, just ahead of the Bliss Manor car which was the one my compartment was in on my first trip on the Train.

The theme of premature arrival was one that carried over to Vancouver, as we arrived possibly as much as an hour ahead of schedule. I had phoned Margo to alert her to this unusual state of affairs shortly after we crossed the Fraser River. My breakfast companions were some Americans from Portland, Maine who were surprised I had data access on my iPhone. Somehow, they hadn't twigged I was Canadian (eh?) and therefore had a Canadian data plan.

Margo met me at Pacific Central Station. While we awaited the arrival of my checked luggage, we chatted with a woman who said that there had been a Quebecer who had been caught smoking in the bathroom on the Train and was now being formally informed that he was persona non grata as far as Via Rail was concerned. Chris drove us to their house where I promptly collapsed into a snooze as I hadn't slept particularly well on the Train.

The great thing about staying with Margo and Chris is that I find it very easy just to take it easy and relax. There is little impetus to do this or that in any hurry. This is assisted by the fact that I have been here several times in the last fifteen years, and the three of us know each other fairly well.

On Saturday, we had supper with Margaret and Edward who had come over to see Science World. They spent the night here and then left, with Edward taking several Church Mice books with him.

On Sunday, I went over to North Vancouver to spend time with my cousin Kristine, her husband Kevin, and their daughters Julianne and Elisabeth.  Kevin, Elisabeth and I had a walk in a nature reserve down by Burrard Inlet where we came across a quartet of deer.

On Monday, I had lunch with my Aunt Rosemary and Uncle Cecil. I had gone downtown with Margo and Chris by bus and SkyTrain. Margo and Chris were going to a lecture at Simon Fraser University about Chile. I met up with Margo and Chris after lunch and we went to see the steam locomotive that hauled the first transcontinental passenger train. I made curry out of leftover lamb that night.

On Tuesday, I borrowed Margo and Chris' "loaner" bike and took advantage of the first sunny day to ride to the Vancouver Aquarium. Many other denizens of Vancouver were also enjoying the sunshine in diverse ways, including bikes. As I rode for the first time in nearly two months, I tried to assess what type of cyclist I appeared to be as I was riding a beater bike, but with an older MEC pannier and wearing a good helmet and a bright orange fleece jacket. I never came up with a good answer.

At the Aquarium, I was intrigued to see that the marine mammal lineup now includes Chester, the young (two years old) false killer whale who shares a pool with Helen the Pacific white-sided dolphin. Helen used to share the pool with another of her species, but it died within the last year. After I was done with Aquarium, I went around the Seawall then rode to the end of False Creek. I stopped outside Science World to consult a map when I noticed an electronic sign that tallied the number of cyclists that went by via an electromagnetic loop in the bike path. I wonder if it picks up carbon fiber bikes. Approximately 1760 cyclists had ridden over the sensor that day by the time I was there. Not bad for a week day in February!  After a stop at MEC, I went home.

Today, Margo, Chris and I took in the St-Roch and the Maritime Museum. Afterwards, we had Shanghai-style dumplings for lunch before going on a walk beside the beach with a friend and the black Lab he is fostering before she starts her training to be a guide dog.

Tomorrow, I fly to Victoria.

On being too stubborn to come out of the rain

Mark and I took Kerry, Maria and Anna to Raccoons this morning. Kerry continued her campaign to reduce me to a nervous wreck by quietly toddling out into the hall and into the girls' bathroom while no one was looking. ;-)

The weather is very mild and it was almost sunny when we walked home. This lured me into going for a walk after lunch. It was sprinkling lightly as I left but I assumed it would let up. About two hours later, I returned rather wet having been too stupid and/or stubborn to turn back earlier.

Anna commented rather directly on my dampness when I came in like a drowned rat. Mad dogs and Englishmen.

I have noticed that the Canadian is the cause of a certain amount of anxiety for me on this trip as I am dependent on Alice and Mark for transport to and from the minimal station which is problematic given the poor predictability of the train.

On a grey day in Clearwater

The weather in Clearwater has been grey, warm and wet. Thus most of our activities have been indoors. Today, Mark took the girls and I to Raccoons which is related to BC's StrongStart program. It took place in the local elementary school a little way down the road. It covered a fairly wide range of ages from babies only a few months old to Anna who will be five in a couple of months. One baby called Richard could crawl very quickly even though his technique was seal-like. He seemed quite happy.

Later, Kerry gave me quite a scare. We had gone next door to the gym. I was chatting with a dad when I caught sight of Kerry who had climb up a series of poles attached to the wall until her head was above mine. While there was padding on the floor at the base of the ladder, it didn't look enough to cushion a fall from her height. She seemed happy but I didn't know how long that would last. More importantly, I didn't know if she could get down safely. I rushed over and hovered until she happily climbed down of her own accord. I made a point of keeping a closer watch on her afterwards.

(Alice later told me that Kerry had climbed up there before. Alice had taken her down out of concern. However, my sister was relieved to know that Kerry can get down by herself.)

When I got back to the house, I discovered that Via Rail wanted to know how I found my experience on the Train. I filled out the online questionnaire as best I could as a few of the questions were tricky to answer. One of them was "What was the principal reason for your trip?" The problem was that the available options included both "visiting relatives/friends" and "vacation/leisure" but you could only choose one option. As well, after I finished the  survey, I wasn't sure if I had remembered my trip to Vancouver  tomorrow during the anticipated future travel section.

On some tidbits from the train

On the third night on the Train, I had retired to my roomette, folded down the bed and was lying down on top of the covers watching a movie on the iPhone when a member of the crew commented noticed me through the open door and curtains. He looked in to say: "You look comfortable" which I rather was.

The names of the cars were mostly very well known Canadian figures or places. I was in the Brock Manor. The other sleepers were named for Rogers (as in the man who discovered the pass), Osler (the doctor), Monck (as in Moncton) and Joliet (the explorer). The park car was called Laurentide. The dinning car was named Louise, which must be named for the dinning room in the Château Lake Louise.

The next day, there was relatively little to report aside from the majesty of the Rockies under relatively grey skies. The Athabaska River looked like it had been very high recently with ice sitting on solid ground. Nearing Jasper, I was a trifle unnerved to see about four grain cars derailed and partially submerged in the river and in sediments suggesting that they had been there for some time. My guess is that CN is waiting until summer before removing them.

Leaving Jasper, the Train was running about three hours late. I had supper at six then retired to my roomette for a snooze. As luck would have it, the Train made up time and arrived in Clearwater at around 11, where Alice was waiting having been alerted by phone.

On skates, Anna, Maria and Kerry!!!

I got to Clearwater around 11 PM where Alice was waiting having been given a fifteen minute warning.

This morning, Alice, the girls and I took a very local bus to the skating rink. We all borrowed skates. Each with her or his level of skill set out on the ice, the girls with the help of three sided plastic stands and the close assistance of Alice in Kerry's case. I had wondered about at Kerry skating but I assumed that this was routine for Alice and therefore said nothing. Kerry seemed happy through her concentrated face. It was only afterwards that I found out it was Kerry's first skate! I felt privileged to have witnessed the event and glad to have caught it on camera.