Monday, March 12, 2007
Turning forward the clock
I managed to get downtown for about 30 minutes of the Kyoto rally. Along the way, I passed numerous cyclists out and about. Most appeared to be either utilitarian, or at least close to it, since they were wearing their winter coats and puttering about. Maybe they were just enjoying the beautiful weather. +4 degrees C feels balmy when you're on a bike and acclimatized to -5 or -10 C.
When I arrived, Elvira Kurt was yelling about "getting the bastards". I assumed she had just seen some of the writers for The Rick Mercer Report walk by.
I wandered around a bit. I said hello to Lana and Ben from Take the Tooker, and met up with another friend.
We walked up onto the ramp to overlook Nathan Phillips Square. It's a cool view from up there, but it makes the crowd look tiny.
That picture doesn't capture everyone since there were quite a few more people to the left, including some tables set up with displays.
Teenage girls were handing out business cards to help us "cut greenhouse gas emissions". They were advertising tablets to put in a car's gas tank to improve efficiency by 8 to 15 %. What?! Are the tablets made of coal or something? I think I'll remain a skeptic.
It would have been good to see a few more people there, but I'll consider us fortunate that it did not resemble this protest in China. 20,000 people clash with 1000 police officers over an increase in bus fare. It sounds like something I'm making a joke about, but I'm not. I was talking to a friend a few weeks ago who recommended a book by Homer-Dixon called Environment, Scarcity, and Violence. In it, if I can grossly paraphrase, he points out how the earth is running out of resources, and certain regions are in especially bad shape, like Haiti, which has already run out, and China, which is near the limit.
Fun stuff.
I did my first step of electric car research this weekend by watching "Who Killed the Electric Car?". An interesting movie. I'll leave that subject for another post.
Labels: climate change
Darren J 3/12/2007 12:45:00 p.m.
6 Comments:
Darren
Are you going to do randonneuring rides ( long ones ?) and sorry I could'nt go to the rally I was with my Dad.
Are you going to do randonneuring rides ( long ones ?) and sorry I could'nt go to the rally I was with my Dad.
Hey Steeker, I think I'll do a ride or two this year. I want to do one of their country rides, maybe 200 km.
Are you planning on one after you get a new bike?
Are you planning on one after you get a new bike?
yes I am but I have to get my bent legs strong enough before I can do randonneuring , 200K's 300K's sounds like a nice long ride , I'll get Vic and the guy in Oakville to do the 400K's with me
me again
Darren how many of the 600K's have you done? and what stuff did you take to eat during the ride?
Darren how many of the 600K's have you done? and what stuff did you take to eat during the ride?
Zero! The only official brevet I did was the 200 km Mean Streets ride.
Here
By the way, food wasn't good at all. I thought we would stop at places that were chosen for their food, but we ended up stopping at a bakery that wasn't serving anything. It's pretty important to think about food yourself.
When I rode to Ottawa, which was about 400 km, I ate sandwiches, eggs, chocolate bars, and anything else that looked remotely appetizing in a convenience store. I tried to avoid sweet stuff. But I'd say it's best to eat the types of food you would eat on a usual day, so you digest well, and avoid power bars and similar crap.
Here
By the way, food wasn't good at all. I thought we would stop at places that were chosen for their food, but we ended up stopping at a bakery that wasn't serving anything. It's pretty important to think about food yourself.
When I rode to Ottawa, which was about 400 km, I ate sandwiches, eggs, chocolate bars, and anything else that looked remotely appetizing in a convenience store. I tried to avoid sweet stuff. But I'd say it's best to eat the types of food you would eat on a usual day, so you digest well, and avoid power bars and similar crap.
I have been told that ensure(meal in a can ) is good to have during the ride and then eat solids at rest stops.I want to do the lake Simcoe run or Oshawa run this summer some time I'll let ya know