I am totally besotted with cycling around Toronto in the springtime.

Anyone who doubts the wonderfulness of cycling as a means of transportation has *clearly* not ever ridden around central Toronto, with fresh eyes, in mid-May.

There are many, many trees lining the streets (really! next time you fly into Pearson, marvel at how green this city actually is from above), many neat old buildings, many interesting people to smile at, and many cute parks to cut through.

There are ample bike lanes, and few hills.

There are cyclists of every stripe, from hipsters on cruisers, to scruffy people on beaters, to hardcores on hot bikes, to couriers on fast bikes who do things in traffic that I will likely never dare to do. Anything goes, and anyone is welcome.

All that shitty Toronto traffic? Largely not your problem while on a bike. Ditto for parking.

I have been a regular cyclist for 8 years now, 2 of them in Victoria and 6 in Vancouver. I have always believed in it as a good means of transport, providing exercise while reducing environmental impact. All that said, I have to admit that my genuine enjoyment and enthusiasm had waned in the past two years. The love was kind of fading.

But learning my way around Toronto by bike has brought it back, and I am stoked! So I am going to enjoy every moment of it before it gets swelteringly hot and humid... and then I'm going to keep trying to enjoy it. In less clothing.

See you on the streets!

I should have blogged this, oh... a month ago... but better last than never. :P

Before Christmas, Alex Steffan from WorldChanging wrote to ask me whether I'd be willing to answer their "What Next?" question. They were looking for a range of submissions about emerging and inspirational movements and ideas, to be posted on their site. My first thought was "oh no, I can't answer that... I don't know enough about the new cool things in sustainability." But then I realized that that initial feeling was actually masking a deeper feeling for me, and so I replied to Alex with my real response.

And they published it! I was flattered. But the best part was that I had dug a little deeper, and written something that I believed – which is better than trying to come up with someone in line with what I thought they wanted, or worse, assuming that I had nothing to contribute.

You can read it, and see the comments, here.

Call me a hippie, but I place myself firmly in the "we have to change ourselves first" camp. In my mind, there is no single tool, model, idea, or key piece of knowledge that is going to tip the scales in favour of the world we want to see. I am inspired and endlessly relieved by the practical, solutions-based work being done by so many in the world today – WorldChanging writers and readers among them – but it's as important that we look deeply into ourselves as it is that we look deeply into innovative tools and models for saving the world.

I'd go so far as to say that all would-be worldchangers have an obligation, to themselves and to the greater whole, to embark on such an exploration. The violence we see in our world, the injustice, the apathy, the resistance to change, the fear... all these things originate in each of us, and often in incredibly subtle ways. So befriend yourself, in all your imperfection. Wake up. Stop hoping for external "solutions". Get really honest, first with yourself and then with others. And then begin to allow what you discover to change you, and in turn to change how you engage with the world.

Call me a hippie, but that's my vision for real social change.

So, last night was the WorldChanging Book Launch here in Vancouver. It was well-attended, though a quick survey of the blogosphere reveals mixed opinions about the evening.

The highlight for me was probably the after-party at Six Acres (which I learned was the original size of Vancouver, back in tha day). Interestingly, I ended up talking with Alex Steffen (editor of WorldChanging site and book) about Kunstler and his ideas. I was somewhat relieved to hear Alex (who is a very well-informed guy) say that while he thinks Kunstler is bang on in his assessment of the problems and the situation (basically, suburbia was a really bad idea), he's not sold on his predictions for the future. He's a little more optimistic than Kunstler is, and thinks we have a moral obligation not to tell people that we're screwed and will never pull ourselves out of disaster in time.

I'm not sure where I stand. Sometimes, I must admit, I'm kind of pessimistic... but somehow that doesn't usually lead me to despair. I mean, even if we're going to hell in a handbasket, I actually still enjoy being in this world and sharing it with the many beautiful people in my life.

I should mention that I definitely didn't do justice above to Alex's thoughtful perspective on the situation. I'd love to hear what others think about The Long Emergency? Has anyone read it?

Ya know, I really don't have it in me to write anything articulate right now. But I'm down in Marin County at the Bioneers Conference, which must be one of the most incredible and inspirational events on the PLANET these days, and I had to write something.

I'll attempt to do a better report-out tomorrow, but for now, I'll just say... what a day. From breakfast with the force that is Vicki Robin, to the round of plenaries that left me in tears, to the conversations I had with friends old and new, it was an amazing day. It was also about 30 degrees here (the hot 30 degrees, the centigrade kind) and gorgeous and boy so I ever love California.

I feel very lucky to be here. I wish that everyone I knew was here too - or at least able to listen to the plenary speakers in some form. Seriously, the world needs to hear these messages and feel this spirit. And that's all I got.

All Good.
Originally uploaded by sarahfelicity.

Yesterday, me and Ivan, who is hanging out in Vancouver for a couple days after Web of Change, rented E-Bikes from Citybiker and rode around the SeaWall. Dude!

I had a compact little number that can ride some 55km on one battery charge, and Ivan opted for the monster chopper with flames on the side. Check it:

Seriously, I think electric bikes are way to go, for a whole lot of people. It's super-fun, a whole lot easier than pedalling, and way better for the ol' environment than a scooter or motorbike. Get some good raingear and you're good to go! Prices seem reasonable to me... just under a $1000 for your average bike (which is about 2 months of car payments, is it not?)

Give it a whirl! I could definitely get used to the assisted uphills. :)

This Sunday, I'm going to be giving a little "Web 101" workshop at Traffic Jam.

Traffic Jam is a day-long event organized by the Livable Region Coalition, with the goal of raising awareness and activism around the issue of highway expansion here in the Lower Mainland. I've learned a bunch about the issue recently... and it's worth caring about.

The Liberal Transportation Minister is bent on twinning the Port Mann Bridge, and pouring money into highway expansion. Research and experience suggest, however, that road expansion rarely actually work to resolve traffic problems in anything more than a very temporary way. Traffic expands to meet the new infrastracture within a few short years, and then you're back where you started. Us humans are so terrible at foresight, aren't we? Why is that?

So the Livable Region Coalition has an alternate plan, and it involves rapid public transit. Hello... no brainer? It just seems so obvious to me that major cities *have* to have decent rapid transit, and with the GVRD's population set to double in the next 30 years or so, now is the time to be making that investment. Now, or even yesterday.

This weekend, Traffic Jam will be an opportunity to learn more about this issue and the possible alternatives to highway expansion. It's also a chance to learn some great activist skills - from blogging to banner making! Plus there's great live music, and it's in a sweet East Van park, so if you're around, come and check it out.