Riding my bicycle to stop wildfires

Since April 2015, the BC Forest Service recorded 950 fires. That’s right, 950. They grew and multiplied quickly due to unusually dry conditions. David Suzuki and other experts link these events to climate change. Every conscious action, no matter how small, tips the balance back into nature’s favour.

To reduce my carbon footprint and pollution, this year I committed to riding my bicycle as much as possible. Handily this ties into my other goals of increasing physical activity, outdoor time, learning about my city and challenging myself with new experiences. The bonuses include financial savings, less parking issues and a sense of satisfaction as I take to the streets.

Living in a small city such as Victoria, it is relatively easy to do and find all I need within biking distance. With the unusually sunny weather this year, cycling to the pool, to work and for errands is a breeze and really takes very little more time than driving. I’m discovering new streets and seeing houses I’ve never noticed before. I have a basket to carry my purchases and it holds only one grocery bag. This helps me be more vigilant about my purchases. Do I really need that? If not, I keep to the essentials and have a happy pocketbook.

What I really love about cycling is that there’s always parking and it’s free. The demand for parking spaces in Victoria is a favourite topic to complain about with local drivers. Another hot button item is the commissionaires, who zoom around on scooters and give tickets to anyone who is even 10 minutes over their prescribed parking time limit. None of these issues arise with cycling.

Major savings are happening in the gas department as well. I’m on my third tank of gas since April. My car has a 40-litre tank and I typically would go through it twice as fast. Working mostly from home helps with this, as does grocery shopping up the street and grouping errands together, however, the biggest factor this year is definitely the cycling.

There are some concerns with this lifestyle shift. There is risk of injury, bike theft and the unpleasantness of getting wet when it rains. So far the benefits far outweigh the challenges. If I can assist in keeping the air a bit cleaner, I will. I just get on my bike and ride.

Main photo: Smith Creek Fire 2014-07-19 069-LR by James Abbott is licensed under CC BY 2.0