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STRONGSTRONGSTRONGSTRONGSTRONG!!!!!

OOOOOURURURURUR N N N N NEXTEXTEXTEXTEXT G G G G GENERALENERALENERALENERALENERAL M M M M MEETINGEETINGEETINGEETINGEETING

The next meeting is on Wednesday April19th, 7 pm, BowenPark in Activity Room 1. That�sThat�sThat�sThat�sThat�s a Wednesday this month,a Wednesday this month,a Wednesday this month,a Wednesday this month,a Wednesday this month,and this will continue �till June!and this will continue �till June!and this will continue �till June!and this will continue �till June!and this will continue �till June!

Agenda highlights:ý Guest speaker: Paris-Brest-Paris rider Tom Hockingý E & N Trail updateý Bikes on Rails campaigný Earth Day Activities

IIIIINSIDENSIDENSIDENSIDENSIDE...............

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Our two trailers being loaded.

At the trail�s end:

Waiting for theelevator, left, andfueling up for thenext trip, below.

The Great Move!

The convoy assembles. Two large and two small BikeCartAge trailers,our own two GNCC trailers and lot of panniers carried the load.

This GNCC event made the front page of theNanaimo Daily News. See p4 for our veryown report of the move...

Bike Week Volunteers Needed.Interested? Join us for pizza and details at 422Lambert Avenue, Thursday, April 20 th from 6 to 9p.m. Please call Allan Dunlop at 754-1924 for details.

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SpokeLore v4 i7SpokeLore v4 i7SpokeLore v4 i7SpokeLore v4 i7SpokeLore v4 i722222

O p i n i o nO p i n i o nO p i n i o nO p i n i o nO p i n i o n sssss   &&&&&       L e t t e r sL e t t e r sL e t t e r sL e t t e r sL e t t e r s

F r e e W h e e lF r e e W h e e lF r e e W h e e lF r e e W h e e lF r e e W h e e l

RRRRREPOREPOREPOREPOREPORTTTTT FROMFROMFROMFROMFROM P P P P PARKSVILLEARKSVILLEARKSVILLEARKSVILLEARKSVILLELinda Krofta

I�ve been doing a lot of procrastinating towrite in and let you know how things aregoing in Parksville, and to tell you guyswhat a great job you are doing. Congratu-lations on publishing SpokeLore for over4 years and 30 issues strong: that takesa lot of commitment. [gee, thanks,Linda!�ed: not quite 4 years yet, though]

I have been working on a bike racksurvey for the Parksville Bicycle AdvisoryCommittee to present to the City ofParksville. This is in conjunction withtheir recent commitment to purchase 3new racks for the city parks and the Pub-lic Works Dept. to manually install racksfor businesses purchasing Cora racks.After a tour around with other PBACmembers I mapped and identified exist-ing racks and rated them. The ParksvilleMerchants Association have been encour-aging walking and cycling in the down-town core and requested we identify pre-ferred sites for future racks. In manycases a number of stores could share thecost of buying a rack and installing it in acentral, high visibility location.

To help address the car parking short-age I have recommended that �Park andRide� facilities be created using signs.Wembley Mall, the tourist bureau, or thetrain station would be good locations.

I have also suggested Bike Lockers beinstalled in the new City Civic Center oras an additional source of income to mostany local business. (Note, WalterSwanson, at (250) 920-6147 is the manu-facturer and installer of the working unitsin Victoria.) I will also include in my sur-vey a copy of the March SpokeLore to em-phasize that neighbouring cities support,and are increasing, bike parking facilities.

On Sunday, May 14th, from noon to3pm, the PBAC is having their 3rd AnnualBike To The Beach DayBike To The Beach DayBike To The Beach DayBike To The Beach DayBike To The Beach Day. We promote aBike family fun day at the Parksville Com-munity Park. Group rides from the tour-ist bureau, Springwood School and Wem-bley Mall begin at 11am. Parking is avail-able by the Arena or in uptown Parksville.When you arrive on your bike, register andreceive a water bottle and have a chanceto win many cool door prizes. �Fun Races�start at 12 noon where everyone is a win-ner on a short course that winds throughthe park. Events include a bike skills les-son by Can Bike instructor JohnShelbourn; bike repair clinic byArrowsmith Cycles; a classic bike display;stunt trials demonstration; a concessionand a BC Hydro Youth Team will be givingaway animal balloons.

Hope to see you there!(lkrofta@bcsupernet.com)

AAAAALBERNILBERNILBERNILBERNILBERNI - C - C - C - C - COUROUROUROUROURTENTENTENTENTENAAAAAYYYYY R R R R RIDEIDEIDEIDEIDEBastion Cycle is planning a ride from Pt.Alberni to Courtenay via a variety of log-ging roads and trails. The ride is sched-uled for May 14th and three of us areplanning to participate in the ride.

From experience I can tell you thatthis is a beautiful area and will provideall with a challenging ride opportunity. Ifyou would like to join Pete, Barb and Bobfor this trip we would greatly appreciateyour company. It is not a beginners ride,[it�s at least 70 km, most of it gravel�ed]so if you have not been on the bike allwinter you will want to ensure that youget a few good rides in prior to participat-ing in this one.

Cheers, Bob Goerzen

AAAAANONONONONOTHERTHERTHERTHERTHER SUCCESSFULSUCCESSFULSUCCESSFULSUCCESSFULSUCCESSFUL YEARYEARYEARYEARYEAR

FORFORFORFORFOR THETHETHETHETHE BCCC BCCC BCCC BCCC BCCCJim Alix

The BCCC AGM, held on April 9, was asmuch fun as it was work. David Grey andAllan Dunlop chose to ride down to Vic-toria on the Saturday, having orderedperfect weather in advance. They joinedthe rest of the crew (variously from Victo-ria and the Lower Mainland) at a get-to-gether hosted by Francis van Loon, atwhich the talk revolved around cyclingissues.

The next day, the business part of theAGM was taken care of as quickly as pos-sible, in anticipation of our guest speak-ers. In addition to our �own� members,several GVCC members showed up tohear Todd Littman, of the Victoria Trans-port Policy Institute, tell us that, yes, cy-clists do pay their fair share�and more�of the costs of roads.

Alan Callander, the Ministry of Trans-portation and Highways� newly appointedProvincial Bicycle Coordinator, explainedthe new MoTH Cycling Policy. Alan is aPolicy Analyst and will be a resource per-son for Ministry staff interpreting theCycling Policy, as well as fielding requestsand questions from the public.

These two presentations were followedby reports from each of the many com-mittees that the BCCC has formed: Mo-tor Vehicle Act (recommending changesto the laws governing cyclists); Intermodal(bikes on buses, trains, planes and fer-ries); Rumble Strips (working with MoTHto make the implementation of rumblestrips as painless as possible forcyclists)�to name but a few!

Following the presentations, electionswere held. I was pleasantly surprised tohear Allan Dunlop, the GNCC�s Bike WeekCoordinator, accept a nomination for aDirector�s position. It�s very important forthe BCCC to attract members from out-side the urban centres in BC, so I�m gladAllan stepped forward. We�ll try not towork him too hard (in the first year!).

If you want more information aboutthe BCCC, check out our website<www.bccc.bc.ca>. There�s a link to itfrom the GNCC�s website (see the mast-head). If you have aspirations to be a

player in a puddle a bit bigger thanNanaimo, consider volunteering. We canalways use different points of view, andyou get to meet politicians and bureau-crats. (Really, we�re into it for the fun ofholding meetings in other cities and meet-ing a whole bunch of nice folk who likecycling!)

Looking forward to another year ofmeetings�

PS: I�d especially like to thank KathyAlix (really, the last name is just a coinci-dence!) for volunteering her entire Sun-day afternoon to mind the front door forus, selling memberships and water bot-tles.

April �00April �00April �00April �00April �00 33333SpokeLoreis published nine times a year by theGreater Nanaimo Cycling CoalitionGreater Nanaimo Cycling CoalitionGreater Nanaimo Cycling CoalitionGreater Nanaimo Cycling CoalitionGreater Nanaimo Cycling Coalition

UniUniUniUniUnittttt 130, #34-1150 N. Terminal Ave. 130, #34-1150 N. Terminal Ave. 130, #34-1150 N. Terminal Ave. 130, #34-1150 N. Terminal Ave. 130, #34-1150 N. Terminal Ave.Nanaimo, BC V9S 5L6Nanaimo, BC V9S 5L6Nanaimo, BC V9S 5L6Nanaimo, BC V9S 5L6Nanaimo, BC V9S 5L6

phone:phone:phone:phone:phone: (250) 716-0543email:email:email:email:email: gncc@canada.comweb:web:web:web:web: www.nanaimo.ark.com/~gncc/

The purpose of the GNCC is to pro-mote and improve conditions for cy-cling in the Nanaimo area, by:l providing a unified voice for all

cycling interests in the areal operating as a citizens� advocacy

group in cycling-related mattersl promoting more cycle-friendly

roads and recreational riding op-portunities

GNCC Board of DirectorsGNCC Board of DirectorsGNCC Board of DirectorsGNCC Board of DirectorsGNCC Board of Directors

Jim Alix, Keith Brown, GayCunningham, Dean Gaudry, BobGoerzen, David Grey, ChrisHofstrand, Barbara Hourston, DebbyKeith, Barb Laakso, Don Oliver.

Questions regarding content or adver-tising may be directed to the publisher,Keith Brown, at the above address.

If you would like to contribute toSpokeLore , please call Keith Brown at390-4005, or any member of the Edito-rial committee.

Views expressed in SpokeLore arenot necessarily those of the

GNCC.

NOTE OUR NEW

ADDRESS *

CCCCCOMMUTEROMMUTEROMMUTEROMMUTEROMMUTER OFOFOFOFOF THETHETHETHETHE M M M M MONTHONTHONTHONTHONTHShirley Mahood

The GNCC�s Commuter Cyclist of themonth is Mike MannMike MannMike MannMike MannMike Mann, a faculty memberof Malaspina University College.

WWWWWHEREHEREHEREHEREHERE DODODODODO YYYYYOUOUOUOUOU COMMUTECOMMUTECOMMUTECOMMUTECOMMUTE FROMFROMFROMFROMFROM/////TTTTTOOOOO?????Piper�s Lagoon to Malaspina

HHHHHOOOOOWWWWW LLLLLONGONGONGONGONG DOESDOESDOESDOESDOES ITITITITIT TTTTTAKEAKEAKEAKEAKE?????35 minutes to work; 30 minutes to get

home

HHHHHOOOOOWWWWW DIDDIDDIDDIDDID YYYYYOUOUOUOUOU GETGETGETGETGET STSTSTSTSTARARARARARTEDTEDTEDTEDTED?????I had been thinking about it for years,

but in February of 1996 I began to trainfor a bike tour with my family for theupcoming summer in Europe. I slowlybuilt myself up. I�ve been riding ever since.

HHHHHAAAAAVEVEVEVEVE YYYYYOUOUOUOUOU HADHADHADHADHAD ANYANYANYANYANY PROBLEMSPROBLEMSPROBLEMSPROBLEMSPROBLEMS?????Nothing insurmountable. At first,

learning how to dress was a challenge. Ittakes a bit of time, some trial and error,

to find out what works. For example, Iwas getting wet shoes, so I bought somebooties to keep my feet dry and warmerin the rain. For the first half of the trip Idon�t notice cold or wet, then in the lastfive minutes I can sometimes get chilled.But, then, I�m there. It�s never really un-comfortable for me. The odd time I rewardmyself with a hot bath at the end of theday. After a while, you get hardened. It�sthe same with hot weather. You needsunglasses, water, sunscreen. You needto know how to get around these chal-

lenges.I also found maintaining my bike a

challenge at first. I�m a klutz. I found agood bike mechanic. And I had to learnabout wear and tear and keeping my bikeclean of grit and grime. It�s like the wearand tear your body takes when you jog alot. Parts wear out.

WWWWWHAHAHAHAHATTTTT REASONSREASONSREASONSREASONSREASONS AREAREAREAREARE YYYYYOUROUROUROUROUR MOSTMOSTMOSTMOSTMOST

IMPORIMPORIMPORIMPORIMPORTTTTTANTANTANTANTANT INININININ YYYYYOUROUROUROUROUR DECISIONDECISIONDECISIONDECISIONDECISION TTTTTOOOOO

CYCYCYCYCYCLECLECLECLECLE?????To stay healthy. Keeping physical ac-

tivity constant is important. It allows meto do more things I liketo do. If I laid off Iwould immediatelygain weight, get slug-gish. But mostly, I justenjoy it. Even whenI�m tired, like thismorning, and not look-ing forward to it, onceI got out the door Ithought, I get to spendthe next half hour justdoing nothing but rid-ing. It�s a paradox. Youspend more energy tohave more energy. Ihave more energy atwork when I ride.

HHHHHOOOOOWWWWW MUCHMUCHMUCHMUCHMUCH DOESDOESDOESDOESDOES ITITITITIT

COSTCOSTCOSTCOSTCOST YYYYYOUOUOUOUOU TTTTTOOOOO CYCYCYCYCYCLECLECLECLECLE

VSVSVSVSVS. . . . . DRIVINGDRIVINGDRIVINGDRIVINGDRIVING AAAAA CARCARCARCARCAR?????About $200 a year

on parts, gear and re-pair. It�s not a hugecost, but it�s not free.You have to be pre-pared to spend somemoney to equip your-

self and your bike. It�s cheaper than com-muting in my Volkswagen van.

WWWWWHAHAHAHAHATTTTT ADADADADADVICEVICEVICEVICEVICE WWWWWOULDOULDOULDOULDOULD YYYYYOUOUOUOUOU GIVEGIVEGIVEGIVEGIVE TTTTTOOOOO

OOOOOTHERTHERTHERTHERTHER PEOPLEPEOPLEPEOPLEPEOPLEPEOPLE?????I would encourage non-riders to try

it. Start very slowly. If you push yourselftoo much you�ll either get discouraged orinjure yourself. And find a safe route.

There is no mystery to commuting towork by bike. You�re either predisposedto do it or not. Some people have otherways of staying in shape. It�s your per-sonal choice. I�m not into convincing any-one else to do it.

SpokeLore v4 i7SpokeLore v4 i7SpokeLore v4 i7SpokeLore v4 i7SpokeLore v4 i744444 Y E S!Y E S!Y E S!Y E S!Y E S! I WANN I WANN I WANN I WANN I WANNABEE ABEE ABEE ABEE ABEE parparparparpart of the GNCC!t of the GNCC!t of the GNCC!t of the GNCC!t of the GNCC!Your contribution will help us (and you) takea pro-active approach to creating a morehospitable cycling environment in Nanaimo.

As a member, you will get:

SpokeLore SpokeLore SpokeLore SpokeLore SpokeLore newsletter nine times a year.Find out what�s going on and who�sinvolved.

Better cycling facilities.Better cycling facilities.Better cycling facilities.Better cycling facilities.Better cycling facilities.Get involved or support those who areworking to make our region morecyclist-friendly.

$10 per member, $10 per member, $10 per member, $10 per member, $10 per member, $5 for students, seniorsand the unemployed. 25% off the totalprice for two or more members in thesame household.

Make cheque or money order payable to theGreater Nanaimo Cycling Coalition and mailto:

GNCC MembershipUnit 130, #34-1150 N. Terminal Ave.

Nanaimo, BC V9S 5L6

Name____________________________________

Address_________________________________

City __________ Postal Code _______________

Phone (h) ________________________________

(w) ______________________________

email: ________________________________

WaiverWaiverWaiverWaiverWaiverDuring GNCC activities, I will be responsi-ble for my own safety and, if cycling, willobey all the rules of the road.I will participate only in those activities forwhich I am physically fit enough and forwhich I have suitable equipment.I release the GNCC from all claims made byme or my successors regarding death, in-jury, or loss or damage to my property dur-ing any event or activity for which I was aparticipant or a volunteer.

Signed:__________________________________

Signature of parent or guardian if 18 or under:

_________________________________________

Contact name/phone in case of emergency:

_________________________________________

44444WWWWWEEEEE-H-H-H-H-HAAAAAULULULULUL

Allan Dunlop

It used to be that I�d rent a U-Haul 5-tontruck to pack up my stuff. I�ve done it of-ten enough in the past, and by now it�s aregular routine. Either that, or I loadedup whatever poor, unsuspecting sub-compact car I happened to own at thetime, and force it to bear the load for sev-eral trips. Either way, it burns gas, isn�ta lot of fun, and generally means that rid-ing is out for the day.

As I was in the usual pre-move flur-ries, it was David Grey who suggested thatwe do the move by bike. I was geared forthis from the word �go.� There was everyreason to do this: a chance to avoid theusual routine, promote Nanaimo�s BikeWeek 2000 events (that�d be June 3rdthrough 11th�watch for it!), do some-thing environmentally responsible, andspend a moving day on wheels instead ofbehind one. As well, we could use this toshow people in Nanaimo that biking canbe a productive part of the daily sched-ule, and can be used for hauling morethan just our bods. A double bed, futon,chair, desk, four pine bookshelves, gui-tar, banjo, tennis racket, ball gloves, divegear, two snowboards with boots, ballhockey gear, rock-climbing gear, (as BobGoerzen pointed out, �you�re obviouslysingle, Allan�), kitchenware, clothes, bed-ding, at least five boxes of books, a homeoffice, the works (it�s a good thing thatthe destination apartment has a storagelocker...). All by bike. We started at 11:00in the morning, and finished by 4:30 thatafternoon�well within the normal timespan for a move of that size. And it was,quite honestly, fun.

Two regular bike trailers were pro-vided by the GNCC, these being previousdonations from Pacific Rim Bicycle andChain Reaction. Another trailer kindlyloaned by Chain Reaction was used fordelivery of the wonderful trays of muffinsand scones from Bocca on Fitz, as well astwo carafes of their fine coffee. GNCCmembers provided their own bikes as wellas backpacks, panniers, and racks. Wehad the invaluable assistance of SteveBalyi and Tony Hoar from BikeCartAge ofVictoria. This is a non-profit firm thatmanufactures bike cargo trailers, andactively promotes programs to implementthem (check it out atwww.bikecartage.com/index.html). Tonydesigned the three other styles of trailerswe used: two long cargo trailers approxi-mately 5� and 6� in length (used for itemssuch as the bed, desk, and boxes ofbooks), and handy smaller units that each

haul a Rubbermaid bin. The move wascarried out in a total of one trip with fivebikes using regular bike trailers, panniersand backpacks, and two trips using these,the large cargo trailers, and the smallRubbermaid-toting units.

The route started at Seventh Streetat Brookfield Drive and headed up to theentrance to Colliery Dam Park. Pulling thebed, and not having tried the trailer be-fore, I had a few false starts. With a fewjudicious pushes from my co-riders, I wason my way. The trip through the park wasan experience. It must have been quite aspectacle; eight bikes and assorted trail-ers, beds, boxes and miscellany in a smil-ing procession, heading along the tree-shaded trails and over the bridge. Thesmiles, waves and words of encourage-ment we received were to be repeatedmany times over the course of the move.Once onto Wakesiah we headed towardsSecond Street, and from there we followedthe bike route to Pine, Wentworth, andfinally Prideaux, where we finished nearthe corner of Comox Road. The looks andsupport we got from those we passedalong the route were priceless. Many peo-ple that day were introduced to a newlevel of utility for bicycles, and they sawthat the people riding them, moving houseand enjoying the fine weather, were smil-ing.

This was really a fantastic collabora-tion of many people, including my friendsfrom the GNCC, Steve and Tony fromBikeCartAge, Pierre at Chain Reaction,and Linda, Michelle and the staff at Boccaon Fitz. The building manager at the des-tination, Russ Rothenburger, was incred-ibly accommodating, opening the build-ing and apartment up for the early arriv-als. Chris Hamlyn from the NanaimoNews Bulletin showed up to cover theevent, as did Robert Barron and ChrisHushagen from the Daily News. Thankyou all very, very much!

Not one item was damaged in the least,not even so much as a scratch. Everyonepitching in treated my possessions as ifthey were their own. That alone was goodreason to do things this way, but therewere other benefits, as well. We got tospend the day outdoors, in great com-pany, and accomplished something thatmost people think isn�t an option. WouldI do it again? Absolutely. But I�ll stay putfor a bit, first.

P.S. My car is up for sale at a local carlot. It�s bike, bus pass and car-share co-op for me now and it feels great!

April �00April �00April �00April �00April �00 55555

This month�s article was sparked by an�Enforcement Initiative� debated and ap-proved at this year�s Greater Victoria Cy-cling Coalition AGM. The initiative reads:�that the board should endorse targetedenforcement programs to reduce the in-cidence of wrong way cycling, riding on

TheUrbanGuerilla

GVCCINITIATIVE

sidewalks, ignoring traffic signals and rid-ing at night without proper lighting�. Twoimportant points raised were: ensuringthat the initiative has an educational fo-cus, not just a reason for local police tohand out tickets, and emphasizing thatthe GVCC is not in the business of en-forcing the law � we are asking the policeto do so.

Some of these behaviours are merelyirritating, others make the cyclist a can-didate for the Darwin award, for mostimprovement to the evolution of the spe-cies by being hit by a car. (Pity the poordriver.) The worst the Urban Guerilla sawwas a couple of people who broke all thelaws and common sense at once � on thesidewalk, riding the wrong way, no hel-

mets, dark clothing and no lights at night.On the way to a B. & E. perhaps?

The Urban Guerilla intends to find outthe specifics of GVCC�s action on this ini-tiative � what kind of educational activi-ties do they propose and how will theyinteract with the police?

In the meantime, let�s hear it from youcycling people out there. Should therebe a maximum age for cycling on thesidewalk? Should all children have class-room and practical cycling lessons?Would it be an idea for GNCC to have ameeting with the local police to discussissues and see where they stand on en-forcement or education? We�d like to putyour comments in the next issue.

GalianoGalianoGalianoGalianoGalianoFerry connection:From Swartz Bay, Tsawwassen & other Gulf

Islands)

Distance: 11 km/6.9 mi. to campground; plus 21km/13.1mi.to North end

Terrain: Very steep hills out of Montague Harbour, rollinghills otherwise

Difficulty: Beginner to intermediate

Repairs: Local repair shop (out of home)

Stores/Pubs: Stores near ferry terminal at Sturdies Bay; limitedfood stores at Montague Harbour and North end.Pubs? There�s gotta be at least one somewhere onthe island.

Camping: Montague Park, and some private camping in Northend.

Highlights: Bellhouse, Bluff and Montague Parks

LasquitiLasquitiLasquitiLasquitiLasquitiFerry connection: Passenger ferry from French Creek docks

Distance: 17.2 km/10.8 mi. from ferry to Squitty Bay

Terrain: Rolling hills, some steep gravel sections

Difficulty: Intermediate

Repairs: Closest bike shop in Parksville

Stores/Pubs: Very limited store in False Bay. Stock up beforegoing.

Camping: No camping facilities. The roads are gravel and cattlegraze on open rangeland, which includes the roads.

Highlights: Tea Pot House; Hadley Lake; beautiful lunch spotat Sqitty Bay dock.

MaMaMaMaMayneyneyneyneyneOne of the smaller Gulf Islands, Mayne is a good day trip from Van-couver Island or one of the other Gulf Islands.

Ferry connection: From Swartz Bay, Tsawwassen & other Gulf Islands

Distance: 18.5 km/11.6 mi. around whole island

Terrain: Rolling hills, a few short steep sections

Difficulty: Beginner

Stores/Pubs: Store and pub in Miners Bay; small store beforeHorton Bay Rd turnoff

Camping: Possibly private sites??

Highlights: Museum in Miners Bay; Georgina PointLighthouse

NeNeNeNeNewwwwwcastlecastlecastlecastlecastleMost people prefer to walk around the island, but if you havechildren and want to try taking them for a ride away from motorvehicles, Newcastle is a great choice. Some trails are limited topedestrian traffic only, so try a combination of riding and walking.

Ferry connection: Passenger and cyclist ferry only from Maffeo-Sutton Park. Restricted service March-April.

Distance: ??

Difficulty: Short, beginner trails. Good for small children. Easyafternoon or morning trip from Nanaimo.

Stores/Pubs: Small concession stand only. Can take a water taxito the pub on Protection Island

Camping: Nice campsites for tenters only (no RV�s!!); somegroup sites available

Highlights: Wheelchair accessible; old mining memorabilia;gravel beaches; sandstone cliffs; and beautiful viewsfrom just about everywhere on the island

PPPPPenderenderenderenderenderFerry connection: From Swartz Bay, Tsawwassen & other Gulf

Islands

Distance: North Pender: 12 km/7.5 mi.

South Pender: 11.8 km/7.4 mi., to GowllandPoint

Terrain: Rolling hills, with one large hill after PortBrowning

Difficulty: Beginner

Stores/Pubs: Stores in Port Washington, Hope Bay, Port Browning,and Bedwell Harbour

Camping: Prior Park�small provincial campground on BedwellHarbour Rd., also some private campsites available

Highlights: Beach access from various locations

PrPrPrPrProtectionotectionotectionotectionotectionWith kids, a nice day trip for the wee ones; without kids, the pub is themain attraction on Protection Island.

Ferry connection: Small passenger ferry only from dock in downtownNanaimo harbour�limited space for bikes. Somepeople walk across from Newcastle at low tide.

Distance: About 4-5 km/2.5-3 mi. loop around the island

Terrain: Relatively flat

Difficulty: Beginner (good for taking small children for theafternoon)

Stores/Pubs: Nice pub you can catch a water taxi home from ifyou find yourself caught out too late. A goodkayaking destination on a hot day.

Camping: No camping � all privately owned property

Highlights: The Dinghy Dock Pub; two small parks suitable forchildren. ...More next month

CCCCCYYYYYCLINGCLINGCLINGCLINGCLING THETHETHETHETHE G G G G GULFULFULFULFULF I I I I ISLSLSLSLSLANDSANDSANDSANDSANDSShirley Mahood

...continued from last issue

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IDEALIDEALIDEALIDEALIDEAL EXEREXEREXEREXEREXERCISECISECISECISECISE OPTIONOPTIONOPTIONOPTIONOPTIONDavid Grey

It is no longer debated among health careprofessionals whether or not exercise isbeneficial, rather the debate has nowshifted to the type of exercise that is mostbeneficial. The current emphases onpoorly defined terms like "fitness" is be-ginning to be replaced by a focus on life-time physical activities as a more accu-rate measure of health protection andpromotion.

Until recently, it was considered nec-essary to exercise to a "sweaty and breath-less" state for 20-30 minutes three timesper week in order to develop significantprotection against a variety of "lifestyle"diseases. This exercise paradigm is nowchanging.

A recurring theme in recent researchindicates that a summation of total en-ergy expenditure is the most importantmeasure with approximately 2000 Kcal/week providing optimum benefit, whileappreciable protection can be detected atapproximately 800 kCal/week. This en-ergy expenditure corresponds to the ex-ertion involved in commuter cycling forapproximately 2.5-6 hours per week.

This changing understanding of thedesirable quantity and intensity of physi-cal activity provides new and exciting per-spectives for health promotion for indi-viduals and in the broader community.The "no pain no gain" approach is beingreplaced by one that emphasizes thatexercise needs to be moderate, habitualand maintained for a long period of one'slife.

This is encouraging for several rea-sons. It provides a much more salablepublic health message, because it is nolonger necessary to tell inactive peoplethat they need to exercise at a discourag-ingly high level of intensity to achievebenefits. Sedentary people can be reas-sured that gentle, frequent, habitual ex-ercise is ideal and that it avoids the in-creased risk of exercise-induced severediscomfort and sudden death that canoccur during unaccustomed extreme ex-ercise. Like dieting fads, campaigns orpromotions that encourage infrequentactivities may actually encourage overallrisks while conferring dubious short-termbenefits.

The only widely-practiced exercisesthat are moderate, habitual and not sub-ject to seasonal variation are cycling,walking and gardening. The exertion ofcommuter cyclists falls in the middlerange required for aerobic stimulus whilst

walking is in the lower range and belowthat required for overall health protectionand promotion. From a health promotionperspective, commuter cycling has signifi-cant potential. Unlike jogging, which ex-ceeds the abilities and motivations ofmany inactive, middle-aged, older andsick people, commuter cycling provides asafe and effective exercise option for abroad spectrum of the public.

Next Issue: Commuter Cycling andPublic Health Policy

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CCCCCHAINHAINHAINHAINHAIN G G G G GANGANGANGANGANG�����SSSSS F F F F FIRSTIRSTIRSTIRSTIRST R R R R RIDEIDEIDEIDEIDEBob Goerzen

The first Chain Gang ride, and the firstThursday evening ride of the year, got offto a good start with 9 riders participat-ing. In case you haven�t heard, the ChainGang was formed to encourage greaterparticipation in group rides by promot-ing a combination of road and off roadactivities, and a wide variety of distances.Beginners and those that put their bikesaway for the winter are encouraged toparticipate in these early season rides totone muscles for the summer ride sea-son.

Thursdays ride began at Bowen Parkand included park trails and a touraround Buttertubs Marsh. The weatherwas great and the switch to daylight sav-ings time provided us adequate time tocomplete the short route. The evening washighlighted by the SAR (search and res-cue) activities of a couple of members whospent some time looking for Lyse who in-sisted that she had found an easier routethrough the Buttertubs area. We didcatch up with Lyse back at Bowen Parkand she had to bear the brunt of com-ments on the evening ride during ourcoffee meeting afterwards.

If you are interested in joining us onone of our rides, please consult the GNCCweb site link to Chain Gang rides. All arewelcome, regardless of experience orequipment.

JJJJJOINOINOINOINOIN USUSUSUSUS FORFORFORFORFOR B B B B BIKEIKEIKEIKEIKE W W W W WEEKEEKEEKEEKEEK

2000!2000!2000!2000!2000!(�(�(�(�(�CALLINGCALLINGCALLINGCALLINGCALLING ALLALLALLALLALL VVVVVOLOLOLOLOLUNTEERSUNTEERSUNTEERSUNTEERSUNTEERS)))))The GNCC will again be hosting Nanaimo�sBike Week. This year the events run fromSaturday, June 3rd through Sunday, June11th. Here�s a preview.

Also, please give some real considera-tion to becoming a volunteer for one ormore of the events. It will be a fun socialactivity, and with enough volunteers, theworkload will be light. What might youdo? Anything from stuffing envelopes tomaking phone calls, handing out food anddrinks, being a Film Festival usher, pro-moting the GNCC, or just riding your biketo, and at, local events. Doesn�t sound toobad, does it? Let�s have fun with this!

Saturday:Saturday:Saturday:Saturday:Saturday: Bike Swap, MaintenanceWorkshop and Bike Smarts Practicum atBeban Park (Centennial Building)

Monday:Monday:Monday:Monday:Monday: Kick-Off Breakfasts along-side selected Nanaimo bike commuterroutes

Wednesday: Wednesday: Wednesday: Wednesday: Wednesday: Clean Air Day events, in-cluding displays of clean air transporta-tion technology; Bike Film Festival (a hugehit in Vancouver)

Friday:Friday:Friday:Friday:Friday: Bike to Market Day at PioneerSquare

Saturday:Saturday:Saturday:Saturday:Saturday: Family RideSunday:Sunday:Sunday:Sunday:Sunday: Adult rideWe will also be teaming up with local

bike shops to host �Ride to the Ride� rides.These are mountain bike group trail rideswhere we�ll be leaving the car at home andriding to the trailhead. There will be begin-ner/intermediate rides, as well as ones forhardcore gearheads. Ride to a Ride and geta free t-shirt.

Perhaps the most popular of the list ofactivities is the Clean Air Commuter Chal-lenge and Bike to School Week events. Thisyear, they will run from Monday, June 5th

through Friday, June 9th. Be sure to takepart in this fun (yet competitive�) endeav-our through your place of work or school(or both!).

Make plans to join us!Make plans to join us!Make plans to join us!Make plans to join us!Make plans to join us!Please contact Allan Dunlop for more

information, or to sign up as a volunteer(we could really use your skills, and it willbe fun�I promise!). Phone 754-1924, oremail dunlopallan@home.com. Details willsoon be available on the GNCC website at<www.nanaimo.ark.com/~gncc>.

Also, be sure to take part in the RotaryRotaryRotaryRotaryRotaryParkway Challenge Parkway Challenge Parkway Challenge Parkway Challenge Parkway Challenge on Sunday, May 28th.This is a run/walk/ride fundraiser forNanaimo Search and Rescue and variousschool Parent Advisory Councils. See<www.rotary.nisa.com/challenge2000/index.html> for more details.

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GGGGGETTINGETTINGETTINGETTINGETTING Y Y Y Y YOUROUROUROUROUR W W W W WAAAAAYYYYYJim Alix

Ever been stuck at a traffic light? You waitand watch while the light cycles through red,green, yellow, red� Surely modern technol-ogy can come up with a reliable way to makethe traffic lights responsive to the traffic?

You�re right! Most traffic lights are con-trolled by wires in the pavement. These wiressense changes in the electrical field, changesmade by any nearby metal�like your bike.Then�why doesn�t that light change? Maybethere�s not enough metal in my bike?

Even carbon fibre (non-metallic frames)bikes have enough metalin the cranks and pedalsto trigger a properly-tuned detector. One ofmy fellow BCCC directorsrides a bike with carbon-fibre wheels. He tells methat his bike is quite suc-cessful at the lights.

So where are you(and your bike) standing?Most detectors are cut in after the pave-ment is laid. The saw-cut that the wires areplaced in is sealed with a tar mixture, leavinga black line on the pavement. You will see ablack diamond at most intersections. Youwant to stop your bike in one of the �points�of the diamond. Just coincidentally, this isusually where you should be when goingstraight through an intersection or makinga left from a turning lane.

The GNCC istrying to makeNanaimo the firstplace (that we knowof, anyway) where allthe traffic light detec-tors are, by policy, tunedto detect bicycles. It�s asimple process, similar in away to tuning a �treasurefinder� to find errant coins bur-ied in the sand. There�s a balancebetween ignoring smaller vehicles(like bikes) and making the detectorso sensitive that vehicles in the next

lane trigger the light.All the lights controlled by

the City are now tuned andstencilled. If you don�t see a sten-cil, be patient. The green lightshould come up for you in the nor-mal operation of the light. Unfor-tunately, the Ministry of Highwayshas yet to tune the lights alongeither of our two highways. Whenthey do, it will become much

easier�and safer�to get around town ona bike, since you won�t have to guess what todo at an intersection.

Happy cycling!

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KKKKKEYBOEYBOEYBOEYBOEYBOARDARDARDARDARDKeith Brown

Not much to say this month (or room tosay it), but I need to make a correction tolast month�s �Cycling the Gulf Islands� ar-ticle. Under Gabriola the best route is de-scribed as clockwise. That is incorrect: ifyou turn right onto South Rd, as advised,you will be starting a counter-clockwiseloop, and that is the best direction sinceit avoids a ride up the steep �Brickyard�hill.

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THETHETHETHETHE H H H H HARDARDARDARDARD W W W W WAAAAAYYYYY.....Allan Dunlop

www.adrenalineplayground.com

Last month I mentioned some of themountain bike group rides available inNanaimo. Perhaps you�ve at least consid-ered trying out this avenue. It�s a deserv-edly popular way of getting into the sport.There�s the opportunity to learn tech-nique, find new trails, and improve yourskills in a highly sociable setting.

One other valuable aspect of grouprides is that you get to meet a largenumber of folks, each of whom has madean equally large number of �mistakes.�Even the expert riders are willing to sharetheir stories about catching amazing aironly to notice their front wheel partingcompany with the rest of the bike. Restassured, you will commit plenty of yourown faux pas, and yes, you will enjoy re-counting the incidents (just as you�ll findyourself shifting articles of clothing tobetter show off your scars when the dis-cussion turns to crashes). Trust me, ithappens to all of us�it�s part of the fun.Still, be original. Make your own, new andever more creative mistakes, not ones oth-ers have made. Like forgetting to attachyour wheels before riding.

That said, I take great pleasure in pre-senting one of my own oversights. Enjoy.

Take plenty of water and food�I generally have a few Clif Bars, Power

Bars, or Nutrigrain Bars tucked into myhydration pack�enough for myself andfor another rider who may be without, andI make sure to eat before getting too zonedout�generally. One Sunday the group setout from Westwood Lake to do a two orthree hour trip. It was such a gorgeous,late fall day that a short way out we de-cided to head to the top of Mount Benson,about a 2700 foot gain in elevation. I wasexcited, and eagerly headed off onto an-other trail with the group to start theclimb. Four hours later I was still doingfine, being stocked up with water, andafter all, I had one of my granola bars tognaw on. Plus, I�d had a bowl of RaisinBran and half a banana for breaky�no

probs! It wasn�t until we hit the steepestpart of the ride that the blood sugar levelstarted dropping quickly. We coveredsteep ground where we had to shoulderthe bikes and scramble up the slopes, androde long, technical grinds trying to keepthe bike going forward. These sectionstapped me on the shoulder to say that asmall, low-protein breakfast and a 35-gram granola bar are not enough fuel...Time for a snack. Reaching into the packI found that the only thing edible was myspare inner tube. Yes, I was bonking.

The group had spread out by now, andI was on my own. No one to trade an in-ner tube with for something tastier.Something like a chocolate bar wrapperor a banana peel. Half an hour later, mymind starting to fuzz, I racked my addledbrain for knowledge of edible plants. Everybotanical form I passed was sized up formastication. Thus far I hadn�t given in totemptation with blackberry bush stems�a good sign, but things were rough none-theless. The trail was now a long, steep,unrideable section of jagged rock. At thispoint, it quite literally took my full con-centration and a concerted effort to sim-ply lift each leg and move it forward. Des-perately wanting to sit and rest, I real-ized that doing so without food would justresult in me becoming increasinglydrained. There were other riders at thetop, and that meant food. No, I wasn�tmentally replaying a scene from Alive. Imerely wanted what they had. Even if Ihad to kill them and eat them to get it.

Momentum was the key. Stopping foreven a moment meant that I had to sum-mon even more energy to set my bike andmyself in motion again. Despite my ex-treme fatigue, I paused several times totake in the awesome view to the west. Itreally is beautiful, even when seenthrough crossed eyes and on shakyknees.

Recalling a tidbit from a survival bookI�d glanced through once (note to self: setaside more time to read) that putting apebble in one�s mouth can stave off hun-ger pangs for a time, I relented. I chose a

pleasant-looking ovoid stone; no flavour,so I might as well go for texture. Rubbingoff as much of the dust as I could, I pre-pared to be sated. Popping it into mymouth and savouring the earthy palateof this fine specimen, I promptly decidedthat either the author was lying or elsehe regularly prepared himself for theApocalypse by subsisting on twigs androots. Perhaps a stone would suffice forhis needs, but I was apparently of far lesshardy stock. It did, however, give mesomething to take my mind off of things,if only sporadically (that is, between long,lusting gazes at succulent strands of treebark).

Nearing the top of Benson, the rock-strewn trail branched off. Taking the leftfork, it wasn�t until after about a hun-dred hard-earned paces that realizationhit. I�d taken the road less travelled. Nor-mally I rejoice at such a prospect, but thismeant a backtrack that I felt less thanenthralled to undertake. Eventually, thepeak was reached, and on stating mystate, food was promptly proffered by myfine riding buddies. This consisted of amemorable, fine fruit granola bar thatDorothy Simpson gave me (bless her),along with a food fit for the gods that PhilMcGarrigle readily handed over�trail mixwith SMARTIES (exclamation mark adinfinitum!). I really like Dorothy and Phil.Glad I didn�t have to kill and eat them�Within ten minutes, I was back to life,and ready for the quick, steep descent(five hours up, one hour down). The fastblast downhill was invigorating, as wasthe understanding that I was getting evercloser to a self-promised gluttonous bingeon Chinese food.

A good lesson learned.That�s enough from me for now. If you

have your own mishaps that you�d like toshare, please get in touch (anonymityprovided upon request). I�ll put these, andmore of my own, in upcoming columns.

Do you have a suggestion for a col-Do you have a suggestion for a col-Do you have a suggestion for a col-Do you have a suggestion for a col-Do you have a suggestion for a col-umn topic? Please email me atumn topic? Please email me atumn topic? Please email me atumn topic? Please email me atumn topic? Please email me atmail@adrenalineplayground.com, or call, or call, or call, or call, or callme at 754-1924.me at 754-1924.me at 754-1924.me at 754-1924.me at 754-1924.