Endlessly Finding Art in Vancouver


There's an amazing Art Show happening around Vancouver for the 2010 Olympics and Paralympics called Endlessly Traversed Landscapes, curated by Natalie Doonan.  (See http://www.vancouver2010.com/more-2010-information/cultural-festivals-and-events/event-listings/endlessly-traversed-landscapes_131958LU.html )

It's subtle and you have to keep your eyes open -- posters on SkyTrains, at bus shelters and billboards dotted throughout the city.

"Oh, now I get it," my friend said.  "I wondered what that billboard I saw was all about -- a guy standing beside a car. And there's another one I saw and couldn't figure out what they were selling."

Which brings to mind -- 
Is it Art if you know about it ... and go looking
or is it Art if you just happen upon it
or is it Art ... if you never see it or hear about it?
... and what is the answer to the meaning of life anyways?

Those and other questions I will leave up to you, but if you want to spot Endlessly Traversed Landscapes before it disappears, then follow the blues with black dots on this Google Map:


Also posted are sites of City of Vancouver Public Art for the 2010 games and the Vancouver Biennale
and a few other ongoing art installations ... 

Have fun searching -- let me know what you find!   ~ colleenmacd@gmail.com

Here goes...I'll try to embed the map here...


View Endlessly Finding Art in a larger map

Wahoo! It worked...

Happy Art Finding ~ Colleen

2010 Olympic Event: Art and Cycling Combined


Art here, 
Art there...
Art, Art 
-- Everywhere !

Just to change things up a bit we decided to do some urban exploring by bicycle yesterday.  The Olympics showed us that transit is fun, so we took our bikes on board the Millenium SkyTrain and headed to downtown Vancouvder. We would cycle out to the Museum of Anthropology and along the way hoped to spot some of the Endlessly Traversed Landscapes Posters and Billboards - - part of the 2010 Cultural Olympiad.
(See http://www.vancouver2010.com/more-2010-information/cultural-festivals-and-events/event-listings/endlessly-traversed-landscapes_131958LU.html )


As good luck would have it, we spotted two billboards right from the SkyTrain:
1. La voie lactée, 1992 (adapted version), Terminal Ave. at Quebec St. / av. Terminal, au coin de la rue Quebec by Genevieve Cadieux
2. Sleep Country, 2008 billboard, Expo Blvd at Abbott  St. by Susan Dobson
On Pender Street, at the Go! Temporary Gallery for Permanent Change we looked at the ceiling of umbrella lanterns, a sign for a walking tour with John Atkin, and a circle of logs that I haven't been able to source any information on Google.... let me know if you know?


We headed down a newly separated bike lane with just a line of cones (see  how easy it is Vancouver?)
Then down a detour on a real back lane -- now there's an idea for a bike 'lane'...
and passed by a sculpture which I later discovered is part of the Vancouver Biennalle...called Donut #7 by Fletcher Benton.  Nice find!
We boarded the Bombardier Train to Granville Island and YES bikes were welcomed !!!
Oh come on Vancouver, let's just buy this train and add it to our Millenium and SkyTrain and Canada Lines.  You know we want it.  Just think -- I could load my bike in Port Moody and ride down to Vancouver - any old time.


Right outside of Granville Island are these two pieces: 
Adad Hannah
1. Aphrodite, 2008 billboard, W.4th Ave. at Hemlock St., entrance to Granville Island 610 cm x 305 cm  Courtesy of the artist and Pierre-François Ouellette art contemporain
2. Eros, 2008  billboard, W.2nd Ave. at Fir St.  610 cm x 305 cm Courtesy of the artist and Pierre-François Ouellette art contemporain


Back on the fantastic Vancouver Seaside Bike Route we passed by three artworks in Vanier Park...








The Stop  Michael Zheng (China - USA) 
Freezing Water #7 Jun Ren (China) 
Gate to the Northwest Passage   Alan Chung Hung

Lunch -- of course -- Today at the Watermark at Kitsilano Beach -- watching it snow on the mountains while we were sitting outside and biking in the city.  Here's a picture of lunch for you BP and DD ! ha ha...


We then cycled out to the newly renovated Museum of Anthropology at UBC.  But that is a blog post in itself.  My favourite today was this scene in the exhibit Border Zones: New Art Across Cultures. These tiny boats flow through the galleries and outside the museum.  
I was so pleasantly surprised to see an exhibit by Laura Wee Lay Laq...congratulations Laura -- your work is amazing! ( a voice from the past) 
A piece of art surprised us as we bicycled through UBC... subtle enough that we were puzzled -- was it really art?  And sure enough - there, below the sign was a plaque that read:  UBC Art Collection.  

...We saw alot of inspiring art all day 
and the last piece was...

The Art of Loading a Bike on the Bus 
starring Sharon!


So much to see
so little blog space

Happy Riding ~ Colleen 


Here's MapMyRide: 



And Bikely: http://www.bikely.com/maps/bike-path/Art-and-Cycling-Combined-2010


bicycle Vancouver . cycling routes Vancouver . cycle path Vancouver . Seaside Bike Route Vancouver .
Labels:

Metro Vancouver Cycling Map - hot off the press !


Oh yes -- they just keep getting better!

The 4th Edition of the Metro Vancouver Cycling Map is available now.

The e-version is at http://www.translink.ca/en/Cycling/Cycling-Routes.aspx and it is nice to look at but I hope you will buy a copy to put into your cycling bag.  Besides, they are only $3.95 and you can afford that much to help promote cycling in Vancouver.  While you're at it -- pick one up for a friend!   Found wherever good maps are sold....

Big Ride: Belcarra to Vancouver

Sunday was sunny and we needed to get downtown, preferrably without a car.
Bus?
What about riding all the way?
Let's do it!

We started on the cycle path through Belcarra Park then along Alderside to the Port Moody Inlet Trail Bike path, stopped for lunch at Divano's in Klahanie then past Rocky Point Park and onto the Barnet Highway.

I hadn't used the Barnet Hwy Bike Lane for awhile and found the cycling sides were cleaner and less broken glass than I'd remembered - a nice surprise. Way to go with the cleanup- Burnaby.

Alongside Kask Bros the Drummond's Walk is a good connector and a welcome break from traffic noise. We followed the Union Street bike route through the cherry blossoms in Westridge, took the pedestrian bridge over Hastings Street and came out at Fell Street.

As it was such a nice day, I decided to follow the TransCanada Trail around the back of Capitol Hill.  This is a great ride with views of the north shore mountains and the inlet.  The trail is easy, just one short steep section -- hold on tight!

The trail goes underneath the Second Narrows Bridge with a short connector bridge over the railway tunnel.  Whoever put this in is a genius -- years ago we used to have to detour around this section. Gradually the routes are getting better and better all the time!

Near New Brighton Park I heard the chatter of eagles and there they were sitting in a tree near the horse sheds of Hastings Park.  A passerby saw me taking pictures and asked how I'd spotted them way up there.  "Just heard them as I rode," I said.  He looked astonished. There are many Eagles nesting in the city -- I hope to hear and see more!

The Port Side Bike Route runs alongside the busy Port of Vancouver and at Wall Street I caught a fantastic winter view of the Lions perched high above North Vancouver.

I veered off the Lakewood Bike Route and explored some of the lanes and streets between Hastings and Powell and was excited to find a "movie back lot" near Pandora and Victoria and a couple of art sightings -- Vancouver is full of great surprises around every corner.

After picking up the bike path again at Glen Drive and riding through Strathcona, Chinatown, and another surprise -- a BIKE LANE on the DUNSMUIR VIADUCT !!!

O Vancouver Bike Planners -- what a fabulous job you are doing!

It was a long ride, but easy easy easy and so flat all the way. Who knows how far it is - my Garmin said 47km ride, MapMyRide give it 218 km, and Bikely says 38.5km !  One day I'll figure out how to do that GPS ...!

Happy Riding ~ Colleen


Here's the maps:
Bikely: http://www.bikely.com/maps/bike-path/Belcarra-to-Vancouver-2010

MapMyRide:

Stave Lake Railway Trail - Family Friendly


O Vancouver in the sunshine
O Spring a month early!

I found myself exploring near Mission BC
and Stave Lake

I get a lot of people asking for trails
for families and beginner riders.


Here's a trail for all ages and abilities.
It starts out flat, following an old rail bed

This would make a great family day:
a bike ride and history lesson all in one.
Park at the Stave Falls BC Hydro Visitor Center
and enjoy a tour of the historic dam and power generating facility,
then climb on your bikes for an easy ride!

Part way along the lake, an old railway bridge is washed out and the detour is like a roller coaster.  I was getting short of time and decided to turn back here, but next time I will push my bike over this detour
and continue down the lake.  This might be a good family turn-around site if you have little ones that don't do well on hills yet !

(ps: If any of you have circled the lake, please let me know
if the east side is ride-able or just a hiking trail.)

Happy Riding ~ Colleen

Here's the map in MapMyRide:



Here's the link to Bikely:
http://www.bikely.com/maps/bike-path/Stave-Lake-Railway-Trail

Olympic Ride


It is the warmest February on record
and today's sun begged us to go for an Olympic Ride
to the Richmond O-Zone to check out Heineken House.
We rode over the Granville Street Bridge
and followed the Ontario Street Bike Route
all the way to the Fraser River,
crossed the new cycle bridge alongside the Canada Line.
Whoever has designed these bike routes is a genius -- it was
an easy ride and avoided hills and traffic.


We cruised along the dyke
past new Olympic Legacy Artwork
went around the Richmond Oval
to Minoru Park for the O-Zone.
A quick stop at the Gateway Theatre Art Gallery
and back on the road again we came across a fantastic
Inukshuk made of containers.


The O-Zone wasn't open yet and Heineken House had too long a line
Besides, the sun kept calling, so we rode back out to the dyke
and headed for Steveston
A flock of snow geese flew overhead and we
We followed them to a large school field
covering our heads
hoping not to be splattered

The flock followed us
along the West Dyke Trail towards Steveston


We skirted around Garry Point to see this 
fantastic sculpture -- part of the Vancouver Biennalle

Where in the world are we?

At the Sockeye Grill in Steveston
we sat in the sun and thought of the
skiing and boarding events on the mountains north of the city
and here we were basking in a hot February sun
drinking wine and having the BEST seafood salad ever!



The sun set and I realized my bike didn't have night riding lights, so I decided to hop a bus back downtown.  (I'd normally take the Canada Line, but it is closed to bike traffic for the Olympic rush).
It was a GREAT ! experience.  Translink has a cel-phone help line and a person gave me route directions. Another phone number gave a text message telling which five buses were arriving at the stop.
Make it do-able and we will DO it !



I loaded the bike on the bus bike rack and off we went, arriving downtown safe and sound.

All in all a great day!

Happy Riding!  
    Colleen





...

Biking . February . Rhododendrons


O Vancouver !
Olympic Fever !
Biking in February !
Rhododendrons in Bloom !


New Old Age Wheel


Just as we age, they give us a boost.  Massachusetts Institute of Technology researchers are re-inventing the bicycle wheel.  They want to take the kinetic energy released during braking and save it for the hills.  It comes loaded with other goodies -- like a built in GPS tracker. Now that's something I'd like to try!


Check it out here:  http://s.nyt.com/u/v3S

when you can't bike...write


Hanging by a wheel,
my bike waits in storage
until the weather changes
from this constant gray
to something more
optimistically blue.


       by Sharon Cairney

Roller Coaster and Scones - Mt.Lehman to Clayburn/Abbotsford BC



We waited for the weather on this one, postponing the trip a week but was it worth it! The sun was shining and we were toasty warm even though it's November.


This is a gentle rolling ride, mostly downhill for the first part then a climb back up to the car. But like the wait for the weather, this one's worth the climb.  


Through Bradner we cycled through rolling hills, past the Bradner Store (so glad some of these stores are still around) and discovered a couple of beauties that were as excited to see us as we were to see them. Friendliest pigs around and their big flapping ears made them look like the Flying Nun.





The route winds past the Mt.Lehman winery with it's spectacular backdrop of Mt. Baker. It had been raining for a few days and the air was clear. It felt like we could just reach out and touch the mountain. Where in the world are we? The vineyards of France? Mental note: be sure to see if winery is open on the next ride.


On the hill down towards the Matsqui prairie we came across a lot of crows and wondered what they were doing. We watched for a few minutes and they showed us. They were harvesting hazelnuts from the trees and dropping them onto the road to break open and get at the meat. Smart crows! And that's when we noticed that the road was covered in nut shells. Well, back went on our nutshells (helmets) and we rolled down the hill Wahoo-ing onto the Matsqui Prairie.






We had phoned ahead and knew the Old Clayburn Store was open, so that's where we headed for lunch. Visiting the tiny village of Clayburn is like stepping back in time. We took a small side tour to see the 1909 Village school and Church just down the road from the store. For lunch we had homemade soup (is Grandma cooking?) and Scones with Devonshire Cream! Mmmm...now I know why I like to ride. Where in the world are we? England? (This picture's for you, Bill.)



After lunch we headed north along Bell Road and picked up the Matsqui Trail (part of the TransCanada Trail) along the Fraser River. I was excited as there is alot of new trail built along this stretch and we were able to follow the river until the trail wound up the hill towards Mt. Lehman. This part wears off those scones, so you don't have to feel guilty anymore.


Just outside of the Olund Road we missed the turn off towards Mt. Lehman. We lost our way as the Matsqui Trail came out at Olund Road.  We were trying to follow part of the route in this book: Easy Cycling Around Vancouver by Jean and Norman Cousins. This is a GREAT book and I use often when planning a ride. I highly recommend you get a copy! Thank you especially to all the people who have shared their rides through books, blogs, bikely and MapMyRide. We appreciate the time you have taken to research, map and share all these rides.



Happy Riding wherever in the world you are!
Colleen


Here's the map: Remember to click on the box and scroll down to find View Full. You can upload this map to your gps or print it or look at it in Google Earth.




Here's the ride in Bikely:
http://www.bikely.com/maps/bike-path/RollerCoaster-and-Scones-Mt-Lehman-to-Clayburn

and here's the alternate MapMyRide following Ride # 27 in Cousins' Easy Cycling Around Vancouver  http://www.mapmyride.com/ride/canada/bc/-abbotsford/249125774110348459


Hope you enjoy either route!

Skytrain Trail BC Parkway and 7-11 Cycle Path from New Westminster to Burnaby to Vancouver BC



Today we parked near the 22nd Street Skytrain station in New Westminster, headed towards the Skytrain and picked up the trail heading west. The trees were at their best today -- brilliant reds and yellows.  It felt like a Foliage Fall Tour on the East Coast.

This BC Parkway 7-11 Skytrain Trail is a great urban ride along the old InterUrban train tracks starting in New Westminster, heading into Burnaby and then towards Vancouver.  The route is fairly flat and tucks in behind MetroTown Center and alongside Central Park.  I really liked peeking into back yards and seeing many interesting collections in yards along the way. There's old stores and my first school - Maywood Elementary along the route.


Some of the 7-11 trail signage seems to have disappeared over the years, but we followed as best we could and reached Commercial Drive in less than an hour.  The Drive is a great place to end your path -- head north and find a good spot for lunch.  Some of my favourites: The Little Nest on Charles at Commercial is amazing - great food and coffee and lots of parents and kids to watch.  Sweet Cherubim makes the best salad and vegie dishes,  Brittania Sushi for delicious sashimi and JJ Bean for coffee and a grilled cheese sandwich. If you fit in this tour at dinner-time, I highly recommend Carthage Cafe or  Havanas for a good coffee + food + art gallery, or Stella's for beer and mussels.  Of course there is so much more on The Drive!


Because the sun came out late today, we linked two routes together and followed the Central Valley Greenway down to False Creek and had lunch at my favourite Mediteranean spot -- Branas Mediterranean Grill at 617 Stamps Landing, right next door to Monks.  Lunch here is amazing (as would be dinner!).  It's inexpensive and the view is fantastic.  Everyone felt like we'd flown to the Mediterranean for lunch.  Well, I guess we had sort of flown -- down the pathway! (see details at http://www.colleenrides.com/2009/08/central-valley-greenway.html)






After lunch you can cycle back along the BC Parkway 7-11 Trail and retrace your route.  Today my cycle-mates kept saying "but we didn't come this way" --  it all looks different when you're heading in another direction.


Or -- if you've had enough or it's threatening to rain, then just load into the Skytrain Station at Commercial and Broadway and whisk back to the car.

All in all -- a great route. 12.6 km one way or 25 km return, fairly flat and easy

Here's the map in MapMyRide:

and on bikely.com:  http://www.bikely.com/maps/bike-path/Skytrain-Trail-7-11


Happy Riding!  Colleen


KSL Sports - Clothing

When we were in Montreal last spring visiting Kyle and Dom, Katy St. Laurent had just opened her first boutique store for her successful online sport clothing: KSL. The website is www.kslsport.com

 Katy is a champion cyclist with a love for sewing and design.  Put them together and she has made a fantastic line of sports clothing for cycling, tennis, yoga, cross-country skiing, golf and travel. She has an amazing dress that morphs into a dozen different styles. Katy has expanded her line this Fall.  It's easy to order from her as she guarantees an easy return if the items don't fit or ?

She designs clothes with comfort and style both in mind -- I bought these Bianca top and leggings:


The Bianca leggings don't cut mid-calf like other cycling shorts --  these ones have a soft band below the knees.  They can be worn alone or under pants for cold days.  The waistband is also soft and tall -- on cold days it keeps the draft out and on warmer days can be rolled down, much like a yoga pant.  The Bianca top has a hood that can fit under or over a helmet.  On a cold day it can snug around the neck like a neckwarmer. Like all of her tops, they are long enough so there's no gap at the back. And there's that well-designed pocket that is one of her trademarks. Best of all, everything is made of the right stretchy-wicky-fabrics we love to wear.

Katy believes we should all 'spread our wings' and achieve our own personal goals.  She makes the clothes that make it fun to do that!

Here's a picture of the jacket I bought this fall. What I love about Katy's styles is that they can go from riding into a restaurant and not look too LanceArmstrong-y.  Well, I'll have to do something about the helmet!!



Happy Riding -- in KSL clothes!
Colleen

Stop Drop Roll ... Poco to Maple Ridge Dykes

Rain forecast all week
Lots of rain
90% torrential rain

look out the window
see the sun
check revised forecast
--- sun !

pick up the phone
Spontaneity check
Wanna ride?

grab clothes
load bike
meet at Cornerstone

stop
drop
roll

Wahoo! Look at us
we're cycling on the dykes

Blueberry bushes brilliant red
Salmon thrashing in the Coquitlam River
Cranberries almost ready to harvest


Ride against the wind on the dykes
Tree down

Turn around

A ride squeezed into a week of rain







Here's the map...click on View Full to see it all.
Once you're in MapMyRide you can print it out (I think you need to join somehow.)
It's a 37km ride out and back

This ride is also posted on bikely.com
http://www.bikely.com/maps/bike-path/Stop-Drop-Roll-Poco-to-Maple-Ridge

Happy Riding!  And get out there before winter's here!



Montreal Markets Ride Oct 2009







A cold October ride
along city streets
through piles of fall leaves
past row houses with winding stairs
along bike paths
church bells ringing
sun shining
people working in their gardens
through Petite Italie
to Jean-Talon Market
lunch in the sun
and lots of fruits and vegies to take home







Bikennale Sunday Oct 4, 2009

Come and join us Sunday Oct 4, 2009
for MEC's GREAT RIDE:


The Bikennale

Cycling and Art
Together at last

It's a great way to promote more rides and routes in MetroVan
as all proceeds go towards encouraging biking!

More info and registration at: http://www.greatrides.ca/home




Subscribe to: Posts (Atom)