The
Squamidian Report – May 21 / 11
Issue #469
Including:
Hello from Ewan
The Ontarion
Hi All,
Our BC provincial CMC officer had called for, and organized a multi-chapter meet-in-the-middle for last Sunday. The idea was that as many members as possible from the half dozen Vancouver Island chapters, and as many members as possible from our Vancouver chapter would come to a restaurant in Nanaimo for a buffet dinner and to meet and get to know each other. There is an awful lot of planning and coordinating when trying to hold a meet-up that includes ‘everyone’. However, all the planning in the world can not overcome the weather, the atrocious, dismal, cold wet weather. Initial indications were that there would be somewhere over 80, perhaps over 100 riders turn up. The restaurant was very accommodating and was quite happy to set aside as much room as necessary. After all, businesses these days need all the business they can get.
Four days before the event, the forecast was excellent, a bit on the chilly side but that’s the new norm now. Three days out they were calling for some cloud to move in. Two days out they were calling for overcast. By the morning of the event it was a socked in soggy mess everywhere. That’s the way this whole sprinter has gone. Anyway. Just three of us from Vancouver ended up going, and instead of going over on the ferry on the bikes we went in a car. Only about 18 of the possible 80 riders already on the Island turned up and they all came in their cars. It was too wet to ride across a parking lot let alone ride across town or across the Island. We did have fun though, met some new friends and had a good time. When the meet was over and it was time to head for home we realized the true hassle of travelling on BC ferries in a car… Sunday afternoon ferry lineups. We were an hour early for the 3pm sailing but it was full. We had to wait another 2 hours for the 5pm sailing. Had we been on our motorcycles, we would have simply ridden right to the front of the line. As frustrating as it was, it was still the right choice to go in the car. Riding in dark, wet, foggy conditions is simply not safe and safety is always the first concern.
One thing we discussed at the meet was the draconian new bylaw that Nanaimo has enacted that profiles and targets bikes and bikers. More on that shortly…
Ryan and I went over again on Tuesday. The Victoria chapter is very large and active and their officers put on a very comprehensive group riding training course. We decided to take their course so we could pass as much information on to our own members as possible. For this little trip the sun came out and we were able to ride our bikes. We took the Horseshoe Bay to Nanaimo ferry and after disembarking, we headed south down the Island. Luckily, we did not see any cops and no cops saw us, more on that shortly…
I can remember driving up or down the Island highway years ago when it simply connected the few small towns between Nanaimo and Victoria. Now it is strip malls and stop lights all the way. Duncan used to be somewhere off the highway, now its sprawled for miles along the highway. We cruised over the Malahat and into Victoria. Talk about traffic. We have heavy, none-stop traffic in the Vancouver area but Victoria is completely choked by traffic. To make it worse, they do not cooperate with each other, no one lets anyone ‘in’, no one gives anyone a break. It’s the pits, they can have it.
Their rider training courses are held in a classroom in the Esquimalt fire hall. The Victoria chapter of CMC is held in very high regards by the city and district and are granted access to municipal resources. Anyway, we learned a lot about group riding, the challenges of group riding and ways of dealing with challenges and safety issues. It was a good time and quite enjoyable. Class was over at 9pm and 9pm is also when the last ferry sails so we obviously stayed over for the night. Victoria’s first officer would not hear of us heading for a motel and took us to his home where we where warmly welcomed. Spent the rest of the evening getting to know them, and discussing the issue in Nanaimo. More on that shortly…
Our plans had been to ride back up the Island Highway where we could have pulled into some of the scenic lookouts on the Malahat Pass, and we would have caught the Departure Bay ferry back to the Mainland but that would have taken us right into Nanaimo again. Bad idea! So, we rode up to Shwartz Bay and caught the ferry over to Tsawwassen. That meant we had to ride all the way up through the VGA. Not scenic, not nice but not a problem. Over all, we had a nice ride, nice over-nighter and got home safe and sound.
Now, about Nanaimo. They have a new RCMP boss there and he has it in for bikes and bikers. They have put in place a policy aimed at keeping bikes out of Nanaimo and punishing any biker who may ride into or through the town. Problem is, Nanaimo is the mid-island gateway and it cuts the island in half. They have set a noise volume ‘legal’ level a full db lower than any other jurisdiction. They are ticketing every bike they pull over and instructing the rider that he or she MUST prove it is stock and running legal. (By their definition any aftermarket part renders the bike none-stock. If you applied the same logic to a car, simply putting on snow tires would render it ‘none-legal’). That means the rider must pay a ministry inspection station to inspect their machine and then turn up in court with the proper paper work. Then, they run the chance of being issued the same ticket again on their way back out of town. There are several other items as well and they all violate the charter of rights AND common sense. Even our provincial minister of transport and other important members of government have come out against the Nanaimo position but the RCMP in the province are out of control and have been for quite a while. Pair that with a town who’s mayor has presumably had a couple of noise complaints and you have a real mess that is now creating a headache for everyone. And, the cops in Nanaimo are now out hunting for bikes. So, we now must avoid the island and so will thousands of motorcycling tourists. Business over there are not happy at all. The situation will probably ease a bit as political pressure builds but in the mean time it’s the pits.
Oh, by the way, our current fence repair project has been completed. Amazing what you can do with a good compound miter saw. There’s more to do but the next phase can wait till mid summer or early fall. At least that’s my opinion.
doug
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Hello From Ewan
Hello all!
It has been way too long. Some time ago I questioned why anyone would bother to save all the Squamidians and keep them handy on line. Recently I ate those words, and they were tasty. I fell behind recently so I printed some issues off to read on the plane to China. Actually it was a jet. I could have just saved a soft copy on my laptop, which was with me, but it was nice to look at pages instead of a screen for a while. I also brought some comic books, more mature reading! The flight was non-stop 14+ hours Toronto to Shanghai. There was time for a nap, a movie, a snack, a documentary, some reading, a snack, a TV show, another nap, a comic book, then another movie... It was actually an enjoyable break. Were I not 6'3" / 190 cm and in economy I would have been comfortable too!
As Doug said, "There isn't time anymore to do nothing, let alone anything." He's on the West coast, can you imagine Toronto?! That same smelly, yellowish gunk that built up in the tank of the garden tiller is showing up in all the fun areas of my life, each part neglected. So time to clean the tank on my Squamidian letting writing! Greg, I really like that you spread your Florida trip over a couple of Squamidian issues. I will take a page from you and take my time.
First, to catch up: after over ten years at Rogers I quit to go to a company called Wind, and UU did the same. We moved in together, in Swansea in Toronto. UU eventually left Wind to do her own thing. The rest is a blur. I enjoyed reading about your previous cars and the related stories. I have little to add to that discussion, I'm still on my first car, a 2003 Corolla. For some reason it honks too often. There isn't anything wrong with it, just the way it is. Other than that it's a good car, if simple.
So, China. As you can imagine it is very Chinese. Contrary to all cartoons, everything and everyone is not upside down on that side of the world. It is quite different though. It's also about the same size at the US, so two weeks was not quite enough time to see every corner. The different provinces differ in culture, food, language and the way people look almost as much as the whole of Europe. Except almost everyone is Chinese. They were all quite friendly, and they don't seem to mind tourists at all.
UU and I flew to Shanghai via the Northern route. I saw the arctic and I believe it was Siberia, no Pacific Ocean. It amazes me that absolutely no one seemed at all interested in looking out of the window. Other than the pilots I was literally the only one on the plane who even glanced out. On the way back I looked across the woman in the window seat, and pointed. She actually did look at the breathtaking, endless expanse of frozen mountains for about three seconds. "Oh, mountains, with snow and ice. Huh. Well, back to my instant noodles."
We flew Air Canada which wasn't bad at all. But the first thing to describe about China is their transit systems. In most regards they are ahead of us, in some ways they are not (I compared constantly). The airport in Shanghai was clean, modern and easy to use. Everyone was prepared to communicate in English, not that much talking was necessary. One thing that I like about China, at least in the airports, is that every time I deal with a government employee (immigration) I can chose which button to press. I can chose Very Satisfied, which has a smiley face beside it, Satisfied, which has a smiley face which isn't actually smiling much, Dissatisfied which is an unhappy face or Very Dissatisfied which is a very unhappy face. I could also chose to not press any buttons and that would be okay too. I don't know where the buttons go or who would care but I was always very satisfied, because it was always fast. There may be people in China who are not satisfied, but they weren't around and I don't know whether they get any buttons to push.
I voted before we left, and it was fun to tune in from China to find out what happened. I tried to explain to our hosts why I was grinning, about Iggy being flushed and all. I'm not a fan of the Conservatives, but their time was due. I like minority government better, but we had that for a while and someone was going to take control eventually. The surge of NDP in Quebec seems pretty experimental. But all in all it made me happy, I was glad that the Greens got a seat and that the Block lost a few. We'll see if the Liberals can find someone better and rebuild before the Conservatives rot or the NDP learn to speak French. Those must have been some desperate folks in Quebec, to vote for people who never even visited. Process of elimination I guess.
Anyway there is no tipping in China, or at least it isn't the norm. Tipping, in my opinion, is a good thing in moderation. I don't care much for included tips or when a whole economy seems to rely on it. But without it some people just don't care about service. Public transit doesn't rely on tipping and it works very well in China. They are well ahead of us in this regard, at least on a functional level. The taxi cabs are even worse than here though. It is normal for them to go 140+ km / hour to get back for the next fare as soon as possible. Seat belts are hit and miss. They are inexpensive though. But one cannot convince them to go the extra mile in exchange for more money, it just doesn't compute.
The metro in Shanghai is great. It is what people say public transit can be if there were ever enough money to do it right. One of the things I enjoy about travelling outside Canada and the USA is that many places simply do not tolerate graffiti. I'm sure there are those that see defacing the property of others as self expression, and anyone who stands against them is repressing their culture. I'm happy to see that China, for the most part, doesn't quite get that idea. Shanghai is a city that was totally redeveloped in the 1990's. They like to keep it nice. The population of Shanghai, and the surrounding area, is roughly two thirds the population of Canada. But it never seemed very crowded (that may in part because I'm tall!). The metro is many times the size of Toronto’s subway, with many lines. But it's actually easier to use. Everything is just sort of self explanatory. The maps are easy to read. The maps at the exits are 2D representations of the 3D space of the station and surrounding streets, so it is just obvious where to go. The cars are clean and very quiet, as are the people on them. Everything has the feel of a near future mall, or something like the science centre. There is nothing brilliant or new about it, it just isn't ruined by a bunch of nonsense. Later we went to Chengdu, another capitol further inland, and it was the same.
The whole traffic system, with all the different vehicles is a totally different story, worthy of a separate issue. To Western eyes it appears at times hilarious, ludicrous or hair raising. I did not drive there. They didn't seem concerned about any of it.
We were only in Shanghai for a short time before we flew to Chengdu. That flight was also smooth, and the airports were consistently efficient. The flight attendants wore the best uniforms. They seem to divide the women according to their basic facial look. They were all attractive and thin. But the different types of faces would result in different coloured uniforms. They would pair up by uniform to work different sections of the plane. So passengers at the front of the plane might be served by, for example, women in gold uniforms with small chins and prominent cheeks. People in the middle of the plane would have ladies in purple uniforms with round faces. The ones in the back would get tall, red uniformed women with longer faces and broad jaws. They guy beside us said that he likes this airline because of the flight attendants.
They love uniforms over there, and they do them well. Government officials wear impressive hats with lots of metal on the shoulders. Bus drivers look almost, but slightly less impressive. Same with security guards. People who clean the street wear other, simple uniforms. But they all wear them well, and I think with some pride. It is also odd to see very attractive young women doing manual labour. If I see that here I assume it was community service!
I should wrap this issue up, and I will write again very soon (with a link to some pictures). Oh, and Doug, I quite enjoy your tech talk. I've never owned a computer of my own and I find your short stories interesting and informative. More on Ubuntu later. Have a great weekend everyone!
Ewan
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THE ONTARION REPORT
Hello everyone!
Gosh it looks like we’re finally in for some sunshine! Yup, the weather man on CTV tonight at 6pm said that Saturday, the day we’ll all be reading the latest Squamidian report, is going to be sunny and warm! Whoopee and Happy Day the warmth of summer is on it’s way! Then of course we’re back to shivering rain for the next week! I’m kind of getting used to all this rain and it’s beginning to make me feel like we live next door to Doug and Sue in BC! LOL! I did make note of the expected weather for their neck of the woods during the same broadcast tonight and it said that the lower half of BC will be experiencing sunshine and warm temps for the next few days! What a nice change that will be for Doug’s area of the country indeed! They’ve been experiencing what Doug says has been referred to as “Sprinter” by their local weatherman. That of course is a mixture of spring and winter because of the shitty cccold rainy stuff they’ve been having since early January! They (climatologists) have been saying that this strange change in our countrywide weather is being caused by the massive amounts of air pollution that humankind has been spewing into the atmosphere! I’m not so sure I buy that analogy. There are plenty of natural disasters that have been shaking up the atmosphere in the past few years as well and I’m sure they have a lot to do with the “new” weather the world is experiencing! Anyway, let’s hope that things settle down soon and we get back to our normal weather conditions to go with whatever seasonal time of year we’re in. I’m looking forward to having a nice hot summer and a traditional fall this year so we can get some riding in before winter happens again!
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I just read an interesting article about a study done by a University of Waterloo professor and his assistant on the best way to handle the situation when one has been stopped by a traffic cop for speeding. Most people aren’t sure what to say so they invariably blurt out some lame excuse for why they have a lead foot! For the most part, they tend to lie like a rug and hope the cop is dumb enough to buy it! Even a rookie cop can see right through such lamebrain excuses and they only tend to make the situation worse for the speeder. Most cops will just stop you half way through your “explanation” with the words “Save it, I’ve heard that one a hundred times before!”
The study has found that the most effective way to handle the situation is to apologize for your indiscretion and be humble. The officers very rarely stop anyone for speeding if they haven’t got the offender dead to rights! So, there’s no use arguing the point but a sincere heartfelt “I’m sorry officer” and maybe a little “I didn’t realize that I was over the limit!” will help by showing the officer that you regret your infraction and in doing so indicate to him that you’ve already learned a lesson and will think twice before committing such an offence in the future. The study showed that the police officer confronting you will look favourably upon your reaction and will more often than not show a little compassion when writing the ticket and issue it with a reduction in the amount of speed you were over the limit. The study said that an apology likely won’t get you off the offence altogether but since police officers are common sense human beings when treated with respect most will show you some respect in return and drop the speed on the ticket, thus lowering the fine you must pay. They do this in hopes that you have learned a lesson and in the future they won’t be stopping the same driver for another speeding offence! The study also shows that the affect of such treatment by a police officer in this situation tends to stay with the recipient of the ticket and does result in their thinking twice before speeding in the future! If a cop can slow a speeder down by showing a little compassion in this way, maybe just maybe he will have saved a life somewhere down the road!
I want to dedicate today’s column to retired police officer Russ Brubacher and all other retired and presently working policemen and women that patrol our city streets and provincial roads and highways to keep them safe!
I’ve seen first hand the carnage that results not only from speeding while driving but also from impaired driving as well as just NOT PAYING ATTENTION and it’s not pretty!
Please don’t text, eat, put on your makeup, read, talk on your cell phone or drive when you’re overly tired! The life you save may be your own or that of someone you love!
That’s it for this week folks!
Thanks for tuning in and I look forward to talking to you all again next time in The Ontarion Report!
Bye for now… GREG
PS: Something To Think About>
If you are right handed, you will tend to chew your food on the right side of your mouth. If you are left handed you will tend to chew your food on the left side of your mouth.
(That’s odd, I am right handed but I chew my food on the left! What does that tell me?) (Probably tells me I’m odd!) LOL!
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Have a good one..
the doug
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The articles in these issues are the sole property of the persons writing them and should be respected as such.