Kim

5:14 Pm
TRC
Shaw Conference Center
1/250 sec F11


Kim smiles for me as he poses with his winter bike out front of the Shaw Conference Center.  Earlier he wasn't all smiles as he absorbed the tragic stories being told at the final Truth and Reconciliation Commission hearings being held here.

My friend Wendy, a Cree attending the hearings tells me that unlike the Truth and Reconciliation hearings in South Africa, the perpetrators are not present - just the victims.  She is not confident of any resolution to the crimes committed against First Nations people in this country.

Kim is at the hearings reporting for his student radio station and being a white kid from the suburbs, the stories from the hearings shock and disturb him.  As they do all of us.

Mike

11:59 Am
1/400 sec. F16
Canadian Tire, West end

"This is my "When my car is broken down bike!" Mike tells me after locking his bike to a parking sign.   This Canadian Tire doesn't have a bike rack anymore and after talking to the store manager, it doesn't look like they intend to ever replace it.

Mike says he comes from Salmon Arm and asks if I have ever heard of it?  I tell him that I was the guy who photographed Prime Mininster Trudeau giving the finger to some protesters there.  "I still have my sky blue tee shirt with the finger on the front!"  Mike excitedly answers.

Salmon Arm funded their arena with the proceeds from selling tee shirts and bumper stickers emblazoned with the"Fuddle Finger of Fate".

today

Kirk

12:24 Pm
Spring - like conditions
1/500sec. F11
SE corner Jasper Avenue and 103 Street

As Kirk pushes his bike closer to me, I can see that he has some cotton batten and surgical tape covering his left eye, behind his sunglasses.  His bike is splashed with dirt and his panniers look well used.  He looks like an experienced cyclist.

His big smile tells me that he enjoying having his picture taken this warm noonhour.  "I'm just coming back from an eye appointment and since I don't have any depth-of-view, I'm better off pushing my bike!"

When I tell him that I'm a mechanic at BikeWorks North, he assures me that we will meet again since he visits our north end bike shop often.  I look forward to the meeting.

Winn

5:26 Pm
8 degrees C
1/500 sec. F16


"I'm only riding on the sidewalk because the road is so wet!"  Winn tells me when we meet up on 95 Avenue and 152 Street.

I notice that even riding out of the traffic that his glasses are speckled with dirty water and his jacket also has been drenched with road splash.  This Canadian Tire special is his winter bike and although it felt like spring this afternoon, I suggested that it might be too soon to put away the winter bike.

I have no intention of putting mine away since we are bound to get more snow in the coming weeks and why ruin one of my better bikes with road debris when I can replace everything on my $30.00 bike and still be ahead of the game?

Brad

Whyte Avenue and 104 Street
3:03 Pm
Minus 18C
1/800 F10, ISO 400

Brad is easily distinguished by the trailer which he tows behind his bike. What he is towing is a battery that provides power assist and eases his pedaling.  With no reflection on Brad, I hope that when I'm in my nineties and cycling I'll be grateful for power assist.

I introduced myself by my formal name yet when we departed, he called me "Mike" which is a name that most people call me.  Had we met before?