I can spot a few bicycles and a scooter through the windows from my location in the classroom. There's a bike rack near one of the main entrances for the IBM Technology building on the BCIT Burnaby campus. I had no idea things could be so easy for folks on two wheels. I am sure bike riding will be on the TV news tonight as the mayor of Vancouver spearheaded an effort to close a lane of vehicular traffic on the Burrard Street Bridge out of downtown Vancouver. Bicycles are getting their own space starting today. We'll find out if the dire predictions of doom and chaos come to fruition.

Regardless, I drove my truck to class this afternoon. I don't have to go anywhere near the Burrard Street Bridge to get from downtown New Westminster to the Burnaby campus of BCIT. It's not so much the cool and gloomy weather which prevented me from trying the City45 today; it had more to do with my inexperience on the local bike paths.
Yesterday, I did jump out for a quick meandering journey. I like the idea of electricity doing most of the work for me, but in practice I enjoy it even more. I went uptown, through Queen's Park, and then I located the Seventh Street cross-town route. It makes getting to the 22nd Street SkyTrain station a breeze. I kept on going to the high-rise buildings at Edmonds. The tarred path was under the SkyTrain. Who knew? On the way back I went over the new interchange and crossed the Queensborough Bridge. Although I covered a lot of ground, I didn't break a sweat.
What it quite amazing is how easy it is to bike around the Lower Mainland. There are many dedicated paths, many of which I am still not aware. A system of secondary streets are marked as bike routes too. I never paid attention to the many signs and road markings. It seems there's a hidden universe right in the very places where I've existed for years.