HUB members are excited to invite you for our Historical Hammond Village Discovery Bike Ride on Saturday Sept. 15.
Ian McLeod, a local resident and blogger on land use, transportation and civic issues in the Lower Mainland, has an interest in exploring urban villages and has agreed to lead this ride.
McLeod, along with Jennifer Zickerman, – another blogger and member of the Hammond Neighbourhood Group – have been digging into the history of Hammond and its residents and have found lots of fascinating facts and stories.
This is promising to be an interesting ride with lots of history about this part of Maple Ridge.
The ride will start from Memorial Peace Park at 10 a.m., with stops at Ridge Meadows College on Thorne Avenue a coffee break at Osprey Village in Pitt Meadows.
A group of Hammond neighbours is expected to join us for the last bit of our ride, near Wharf Street.
Once in Hammond, McLeod will give us a tour of Hammond of about an hour or so. We will end our ride in Hammond after the tour. This ride will be about 13 kilometres one way.
Please note that our Discovery Bike Rides are officially unguided. This means that you’re welcome to meet us at the suggested times and to ride along with us, but you do so fully at your own risk. We choose quiet routes, where possible. Those who are not comfortable riding on River Road by Ridge Meadows Hospital can ride on the sidewalk.
In case we need to cancel the ride due to rain (not drizzle), it’ll be posted on our blog rmcyclist.info on Friday, Sept. 14, by 8 p.m. Hope to see you on Saturday.
The Golden Ears Transition Initiative is getting ready for its second GETI Fest on Sept. 22. GETI Fest is a celebration of positive local action in Maple Ridge and Pitt Meadows to deal with global issues such as climate change, economic instability, and depletion of natural resources. The event will last from 10 a.m. till 3 p.m. This time the Girl Guides are joining in the event, to include a celebration of the Day of the Girl (the actual day falls on Oct. 11).
Various action groups of GETI will have displays and fun activities at the event. There will be artisans, food, music, and lots of interesting people to talk to and learn more about what we can do to prepare for a less fossil-fuel dependent and more sustainable future.
You can do your bit to make GETI Fest more sustainable by taking your bike, walking, or taking transit instead of driving. We’d love to see lots of people on bikes for the People-in-Motion Parade at 11 a.m., but of course anything propelled by something other than fossil fuel is great.
Something you can do to help reduce waste: take a reusable water bottle, coffee mug and plate with you in a reusable cloth bag or backpack.
As to recycling: if you have anything lying around that we can use to decorate bikes, please let me know.
HUB will again be there with a bike decorating station (10-11 a.m.) and a fun bike rodeo (12-2 p.m.) – we’ll have a few kids’ bikes available for the bike rodeo for those who are not able to bring their own. We’ll offer secure bike parking in the gated play ground area by the Leisure Centre for the duration of the event.
Thanks to the great success of our Cycle Recycle (or free bike give-away) at Earth Day – we’ve decided to do another one for GETI Fest. Approximate times for the two draws: 10 a.m. and 1 p.m.
GETI Fest is only possible thanks to the help of many volunteers.
I would like to add that, as a cycling advocate, I’m really thrilled that we’re celebrating the Day of the Girl at GETI Fest.
What does cycling have to do with women’s rights, you may ask?
Cycling has played an integral role in the emancipation of women.
In the late 19th/early 20th century, especially, the bicycle proved instrumental in helping women to become more independent and gain more freedom.
Today, particularly in North America, there is still lots of potential for the lowly bicycle to rise to the challenge when it comes to helping women achieve their goals.
Presently, most cyclists on our continent consist of men (only 25 per cent of cyclists are female).
With improved and safer cycling infrastructure, more women could start cycling. In the Netherlands, for example, this has led to women leading the cycling pack with about 55 per cent of all cyclists being women!
Jackie Chow (jchow23708@yahoo.ca) is a member of the Maple Ridge-Pitt Meadows Chapter of HUB: Your Cycling
Connection.