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May Globus

About May Globus

Vancouver City Editor May Globus is obsessed with the sartorial and all that surrounds it: art, design, culture, music and film. Oh, and she really likes writing about it, too. A left coast girl at heart, her Sweetspot finds just might show why the westside really is the best side.

Carefree on Car-Free Day

may and the metropolis Vancouver (Jun.16.09)    


Yesterday afternoon, I traded in my set car of keys for a set of bike pedals.

As both a good samaritan and a (usual) Lazy Sunday-indulger, I was a little more of the former and a little less of the latter this past Sunday, hopping on a two-wheeler alongside a friend to boot it over to Main Street, one of four neighbourhoods celebrating the city's annual Car-Free Day.

Once we parked our Norco and Electra at another friend's place safe and sound (need a good bike lock ASAP), we joined the hundreds of locals walking up and down Main between 12th and 28th, which was shut down to vehicles (bikes and legs good, cars bad!) and was littered with booths of various purpose, from jewellery to homemade lemonade to corsets to cotton candy to DJs. There was a skate ramp to please the board set, hoola hoops for the kid in us, hip hoppers spitting out smooth lyrics, an androgynous-looking lady in a shaggy black wig pedaling around on a tricycle (odd, but amusing) and an ice cream truck (three of them, to be exact).

Within twenty minutes of celebrating Car-Free Day, I quickly realized why leaving my wheels parked at home is such a better idea. 


No parking change is needed. This also means there is zero chance of getting a ticket once the meter is expired. That's $40 (plus change) dutifully saved.

It's easier to find a pole to lock your bike to than to score good parking. Which is, as the statement above points out, is usually metered. And monitored heaving by the parking po-po.

Your health will thank you. Pedaling around the Seawall is easy. But that few uphill blocks from W. 2nd to Broadway? Not so much. That being said, my quads feel rock hard today, and I kind of like it.

There is less chance of experiencing road rage. No one ever tailgates you when you're on a bike or on foot. The only thing downside to this is that if some clueless driver nearly knocks you off your bike, you don't have the metal-encased comfort of a car to muffle any ensuing expletives. 

Being on a two-wheeler doesn't mean you can't be fashionable. I had my fringe bag slung across my back and my Margiela-esque sandals firmly on my feet! Plus there are plenty of adorable and functional city bikes to cruise around on.

You help save the earth. No emissions, no perpetuating the depletion of natural resources (ie. gas), no carbon footprint. 


I think I'll be leaving my keys at home a lot more often.


Tags:  May Globus, city editors



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