So you’ve visited us. You know all sorts of stuff now about Canada and Vancouver and hockey and the joys of “la-la land”.

You also know we love to come together as a community and engage. Whether it’s to dance in the streets or sing “Oh Canada!” or play together or
speak up about what we care about in protests, we come together all the
time. It’s part of our way of life as free and passionate citizens who
care deeply about ourselves, each other, and this gorgeous home of ours
called Vancouver.

We love to tell our stories to each other and some of it we do in outlandish, larger-than-life play that is so much fun. You must come back for our “Alice in Wonderland” summer adventures
or our Republic of East Van car free days or our roving, community,
block-long picnics, or our Magic Lantern festivals or…it seems to be an
unending series of festivals and gatherings all spring, summer and fall
especially.

One of the most awesome events is the Critical Mass bike ride that happens the last Friday of every month, meeting at the Vancouver Art Gallery at
6:00. The first time I saw 2000 bicycles move through the streets of
Vancouver, tears came to my eyes. To see so many people together
dedicated to creating a better world and acting on that in such a
joyful, free, and life-affirming way gives me hope that we can make all
the changes we need to make right here, right now.

The bikes in this ride are the most amazing and outlandish anywhere as are the characters that ride them. It is pure and simple childlike fun that has
made a great difference in Vancouver. Bike lanes and respect for
bicyclists is growing. We have a Mayor, Gregor Robertson, who bikes to
work and intends to make Vancouver the greenest city on earth.
Certainly, more bicycles on the streets are a big part of that.

The police in Vancouver are one of the many players in our stories of living together as a community. They do a magnificent job of
facilitating this event and all the others we have here. Moving that
number of people on bikes through blocks and blocks of traffic takes
great skill and finesse. The police do it graciously and well.

If you haven’t experienced any of our protests, stands, dances, or gatherings yet, make a point of lining the streets to watch this event.
You will never forget it.

Vancouver Critical Mass - 2000 bikes http://ow.ly/1btoT

Vancouver-Critical-Mass-Bike-Ride http://ow.ly/1btqs

Published in the on-line

Vancouver Observer www.vancouverobserver.com