Its been a tough month for me as a blogger. Lots going on in my own life means not a lot of time for following all that's going on around me. Truth is though, there hasn't been that much going on that I've found exciting. It seems to me that local media has run out of things to talk about and so they just keep dragging up the same issues over and over again. All in all pretty boring.

Of course there are a couple of things of interest to me (outside of cycling which seems to dominate the few posts I've done lately). I've also had a few ideas bouncing around my head for future posts. I just can't seem to find the energy to bring them to life. (I thank Garibaldi School for this) I'm very concerned about the state of the provinces rivers and the communities surrounding them as this years spring freshet brings water levels to near record highs. As of today eight communities in the province have declared states of emergencies. As a volunteer with the Provincial Emergency Program I am prepared to go and help wherever I'm needed and asked and as a human being I feel for those affected by another example of the power of nature.

Of course last week the provincial legislature finished for the summer with a significant raise and pension plan for our MLA's. Good for them, I believe its deserved and as a voter I expect to get what I pay for. Many comparisons are being made between MLA salaries, highly paid executives and those making minimum wage but in reality this is like comparing apples and oranges. We have expectations that our elected officials are going to work for us 24/7 and therefor they should be paid to reflect that. If they are not fulfilling these expectations (as many opponents to the raises say) then it is incumbent upon us to do something about it. Perhaps if we held our local representatives more accountable they would have no choice but to work for us and the money we pay them.

If the NDP is willing to do the job for less money then fine, let them however I would caution that when you give a job to the lowest bidder you don't always save in the long run! The truth is that despite the BC NDP attempting to demonstrate moral superiority by donating their raises to charity, I would argue that most (if not all) of them felt deserving of the raise. Lets not kid ourselves, this year the raise was given to charity but what about next year, the year after, or how about the year after that. What about the pension? As NDP MLA's retire (or more likely get defeated) will they then donate a significant portion of their pension to the same charities? I doubt it!

So how about the comparison between the new MLA salary and a $10 minimum wage suggested by the NDP and many leaders within the labour movement? This one is a little bit tougher for me. I do believe that people should be able to make a decent wage in this province and I don't believe that anything under 10 bucks is decent, but I don't believe that a $10 minimum wage needs to be necessarily legislated. The fact is that in today's market the employees are in charge. As someone who hires workers (mostly in the mid range between $10 and $20 and hour) I know painfully well how difficult it is to find people. As this situation gets worse and skilled and unskilled labour becomes more and more difficult to find employers will be forced to become more and more creative in order to attract and retain their workers.

I'm sure that Jim Sinclair knows this, but this won't give him any press.

I would like to talk about safety and security and the lack there of in the community of Vancouver-Hastings. I'd also mention the fact that neither our NDP MP Libby Davies nor our BC NDP MLA Shane Simpson seem to give it much thought. As crime in our community seems to get worse and worse we have one representative with her head buried in the DTES while the other is off somewhere fighting run-of-the-river energy plants, fish farms and flooding rivers. All important issues for sure, but not a great deal to do with the people who voted for them. I'd like to talk about these things but will save them for later. Right now its back to cycling.

As most of you know my commuter bike was stolen last week during Bike to Work Week. As angry as I still am about this I did learn a few lessons from it. First, check your insurance deductible against your bike limits. In my case both were $1000 so I got nothing and unfortunately my bike was valued at about $3000. Second, don't buy a cable lock. Even though the big Kryptonite lock is going to add some pounds to your ride it will be worth it in the end. Third, never assume that your bike will be safe just because you've locked it up outside of the police station!

Good news though, I bought a new bike this past Tuesday. Its a Trek 7.5 disc and while it is very different from anything I've ever ridden, so far I love it. I would like to mention the amazing service that I received from James and his staff at Obsession Bikes in North Vancouver. You can visit Obsession on 1st and Lonsdale or go to http://www.obsessionbikes.com/

Finally. I have found the opportunity to combine one of my passions (cycling) with a cause that I feel is extremely important. I have recently registered for the 23rd annual Bicycle Trek for Life and Breath with benefits going to The Lung Association of British Columbia. This is a 2 day 200 km ride designed to raise money in support of lung health and I couldn't be more excited to participate. Tobacco use has directly impacted my family and my wife and oldest son are among the 1 in 20 British Columbian's that have asthma. According to the Lung Association smoking kills 1 in 10 adults worldwide and air pollution causes 5000 premature deaths in Canada each year. Every hour 2 British Columbian's die from tobacco related disease.

Its a great cause and I would encourage cyclists everywhere to consider registering for the event by calling 604 731 5864 or going online at http://www.bc.lung.ca/ . If your not a cyclist but would like to help out anyway I would encourage you to consider a donation, you can even sponsor me if you like by going to http://www.bicycletrek2007.kintera.org/ . Just click on "Sponsor a Participant" and enter my name (Ray Henderson). The Lung Association (and I) certainly appreciates any help that you can give.

Until next time...

a crappy end to an otherwise great week...

The 1st annual Greater Vancouver Bike to Work Week has come to a close and by all accounts it seems to have been a success. 587 teams and 3494 participants is impressive for a first effort and should make the organizers proud of all the work that they have done. Never mind the fantastic weather that we were blessed with all week. At Grouse Mountain we managed to enlist 13 staff to participate which is great considering the seemingly insurmountable hill(s) that must be tackled on the way to work. Over the week (and including the weeks leading up to the event) our staff managed to clock just over 600 km's, burning 17,295 calories and preventing 143 kg's of green house gas emissions from entering the atmosphere.

So why the less than enthusiastic start to this post?

Don't get me wrong, I had a great time all week and am proud to have been involved with such a worthwhile activity. Unfortunately, for me Bike to Work Week came to an abrupt end last Wednesday. Somewhere out there is a bike with my name on it... literally. More likely, somewhere out there are a bunch of parts floating around from the bike that was once mine!

Last Wednesday I got up nice and early and rode to the commuter station located in West Vancouver at the Lions Gate Bridge, where I had agreed to volunteer. Admittedly, I didn't really want to ride that day as I was pretty sore from the previous two days of riding and I thought one day off might be a good idea. However, being that I was actually participating in a BTWW activity and that I am on the Board for the Vancouver Area Cycling Coalition I thought I had better ride. Once finished at the commuter station I proceeded to the North Vancouver RCMP detachment where I had a meeting at the Emergency Management Office.

Imagine my surprise a little more than an hour later when I entered the courtyard in front of the detachment only to find the empty space where my bike had once been locked! Amazing that it would happen in front of the police station and ironic that it would happen given what I had done in the interest of cycling up to that point. Also interesting (to me at least) is the fact that this post comes one year after my very first which talked about the theft of my wife's pansies from the front deck of our house.

The pictures I've attached don't really give the bike justice but they are all I have. I also don't hold out much hope that the bike is still in one piece, it may not even be anywhere near the area. The bike is a Santa Cruz Chameleon, the frame is gray and it has red Kooka cranks and headset. Rhino lite rims with slick tires and Hayes hydraulic disc brakes.

It also has my name on it, in red. The same color as my anger over the fact that it no longer has my butt on it.