Past Events

E.g., Mar 28, 2024

Easy Riders - Sep 14, 2021

Easy Riders' 5th social “easy ride”:

Meet at SCIENCE WORLD —   at the South side of the plaza in front of Science World at the head of False Creek, back from the bike lanes that parallel Quebec Street.
I am told that there is free parking available on Evans Ave for those who wish to drive to the rendezvous.

We will take the seawall along N side of False Creek, follow along the bike route north of English Bay to Stanley Park.

Two options in Stanley Park  (i) the Seawall - scene and gentle and worth doing

(ii)  on the segregated for bicycles roadway to Prospect Point. This involves a reasonably demanding climb. But the reward comes in the descent on the south side of the park.The climb is not super-demanding (some in our group have done repeats or triples) but it will be a grind for some. I suggest we allow those who want a NOT SO EASY RIDE to self identify and split off for Prospect Point  at the appropriate juncture. After the temporary parting of the ways we can plan to regather at a designated stop at an appointed point near the park exit. 

The Seawall circuit is  approximately 28 kms on pretty flat terrain. There are a couple of spots on the Seawall where dismounting and a very short spell of walking are required.  E-bikers are welcome

The circuit will probably take us a little over two hours. I have evaluated the threat of misbehaving (and wily) coyotes in the park and come to the view that the risk to us is minimal - and that we can guard ourselves with our bikes should a curious coyote appear (which is unlikely) 

 You can trace the route on the map at: https://vancouver.ca/files/cov/map-cycling-vancouver.pdf

If you are interested in participating in this ride, please email me by reply (at wynn@geog.ubc.ca) which will allow me to inform you if plans have to change.

Herewith the necessary stipulations: If you are joining this Easy Riders (or Not So Easy Riders  outing, please recognize that you do so voluntarily for recreational purposes.   It is your responsibility to ensure that your bike is in good running order and thoroughly roadworthy. You must wear an approved cycling helmet, ride in a safe manner and obey all road traffic signs and rules. We are the Easy Riders - we will try to maximize use of protected bike lanes, local street bikeways, and painted bike lanes on our routes but some use of Shared Use lanes may be necessary. Generally we will try to follow the city’s AAA (All Ages and Abilities) routes.  Inclines are unavoidable if riding any distance in Vancouver. Individuals should be careful not to over-exert themselves or ride beyond their comfort zones. We will have a designated route and accommodate those who need to dismount and walk or proceed slowly.

Our aim here is moderate, comfortable exercise, conviviality and enjoyment.

I have scheduled this with an eye on the weather forecast, which is promising (a high of 20 Celsius a light breeze, and minimal chance of rain). Of course things can change.
I will make an assessment of the situation and decide whether to proceed late afternoon Monday 13th and inform everyone of that decision by email by 8:00pm on the 13th. If you cannot / do not receive a message, feel free to phone me at 236-988-0800 before 8:30 pm that day or on Tuesday morning 8:30-9:00 am for clarification.

As always, partners are welcome to join in and feel free to recruit other emeriti.

Thank you. I hope to see many of you on the 14h — especially as this MAY be our last ride of the season.Thank you all for joining in and making this a fun and rewarding activity.

I hope we can have a longer season and a larger group of riders next year. 

Graeme 

Tuesday, 14 September 2021 - 10:00am to 12:00pm
Science World - at the South side of the plaza
Vancouver, BC V6A 3Z7
Canada
Photo Group

Photo Group September 10, 2021

The theme for the Sept 10 meeting is “Night Photography”.  As always, photos from your catalog, as well as new photos, are welcome, and you can submit photos on other themes. Please submit up to 3 photos, plus (if you wish) a “before” version of one of your photos before processing.

Street shooting and legality. Following up on the discussion at our meeting on July 9, Paul Wright has provided a link to a US site, which includes an interesting discussion of the issues, and provides good guidelines.

Send your photos to me at richard@rhspencer.ca. Please number your photos if you would like me to show them in a particular order.
You can send them as email attachments, zip files, or downloads from an online site. If you include them in the body of an email, you should avoid letting your software reduce the size of the photos to any resolution less than about 1000 x 800 pixels (within reason, bigger is generally better!).

If you would like to join, please contact Richard Spencer for the zoom-link at richard@rhspencer.ca 

Friday, 10 September 2021 - 3:00pm
Zoom online by request
Vancouver, BC V6T 1Z2
Canada

Council Meeting - Retreat September 8, 2021

The Council will meet online for their annual Retreat.

Wednesday, 8 September 2021 - 10:00am to 12:30pm
Zoom link available to Council members only
Vancouver, BC V6T 1Z2
Canada
Machu Picchu

Travel Group August 26, 2021

Greenland, Presented by John Aldrich, Professor, Dept of Radiology, Faculty of Medicine

Greenland is the largest island in the world with an area similar to Nunavut in the Eastern Canadian Arctic. The 58,000 residents are 85% Inuit as in Nunavut. However, the similarities do not extend much further. Greenland is an autonomous independent territory of Denmark, which provides two thirds of Greenland’s budget. The many coastal villages have the neat and tidy look of Scandinavia, and the capital Nuuk has a modern parliament, shopping centres and several museums. The island is 80%covered in an ice sheet up to 3 km think. On the west coast of Greenland is the impressive Ilulissat glacier, which produces many thousand icebergs yearly, many of which reach as far south as Newfoundland.

If you are currently not on the email list of the EC travel interest group and wish to receive our mailings, please contact Paul Steinbok at psteinbok@cw.bc.ca.

A zoom link will be sent out 2 days before each meeting.

Thursday, 26 August 2021 - 3:00pm
Online Zoom Meeting
Vancouver, BC V6T 1Z2
Canada

Easy Riders - Aug 18, 2021

Easy Riders' 4th social “easy ride”:

WEDNESDAY AUGUST 18th at 10:00am 

Meet at RICHMOND OLYMPIC OVAL  at the north (river)end of Oval Road — west along Middle Arm Dyke to Terra Nova - South on West Dyke to Steveston - east on South Dyke to Horseshoe Slough — north on Horseshoe Slough Trail to Williams - West on Williams to Railway Greenway— with a return to start at Olympic Oval. 

This is approximately 28 kms ion pretty flat terrain (though sections are on well-graded trail rather than paved hardtop. E-bikers are welcome.

You can find a map of the route here: https://www.richmond.ca/__shared/assets/scenic_route_29395.pdf

Free Parking is available at Richmond Works Yard and on nearby streets if limited Olympic Oval Parking is full (it is $1.00 per hour). See https://www.richmond.ca/__shared/assets/sunset_series_parking_map44725.pdf

The oval to oval circuit should take about two hours (maybe a little more depending on stops, wind etc). 

For those intending to cycle from home to the meet-up point: The distance from Arthur Laing Bridge to Olympic Oval is just over 5kms via south side of airport and Dunsmuir or #2 Road bridge.

If you are interested in participating in this ride, please email me by reply (at wynn@geog.ubc.ca) which will allow me to inform you if plans have to change.

Herewith the necessary stipulations: If you are joining this Easy Riders outing, please recognize that you do so voluntarily for recreational purposes.   It is your responsibility to ensure that your bike is in good running order and thoroughly roadworthy. You must wear an approved cycling helmet, ride in a safe manner and obey all road traffic signs and rules. We are the Easy Riders - we will try to maximize use of protected bike lanes, local street bikeways, and painted bike lanes on our routes but some use of Shared Use lanes may be necessary. Generally we will try to follow the city’s AAA (All Ages and Abilities) routes.  Inclines are unavoidable if riding any distance in Vancouver. Individuals should be careful not to over-exert themselves or ride beyond their comfort zones. We will have a designated route and accommodate those who need to dismount and walk or proceed slowly.

Our aim here is moderate, comfortable exercise, conviviality and enjoyment.

I have scheduled this with an eye on the weather forecast, which is promising (a high of 22 Celsius with minimal chance of rain). Of course things can change — and it is conceivable that we may be enveloped in smoke from various fires. I WILL MAKE AN ASSESSMENT OF THE SITUATION AND DECIDE WHETHER TO PROCEED LATE AFTERNOON TUESDAY 17th AND INFORM EVERYONE OF THAT DECISION BY EMAIL BY 8:00  PM ON 17th. IF YOU CANNOT / DO NOT RECEIVE A MESSAGE, FEEL FREE TO PHONE ME AT 236-988-0800 before 8:30 pm that day or on Wednesday morning 8:30-9:00 am FOR CLARIFICATION.

As always, partners are welcome to join in and feel free to recruit other emeriti.

NSERC For those interested in longer, and faster, rides with a small number of other emeriti, we have created the NSERClub - which is a shared list of those interested with their contact coordinates. The plan here is that interested individuals can schedule their own rides with others independently. To join the NSERC, send me an email at wynn@geog.ubc.ca)  with Subject line "NOT SO EASY RIDERS” including your email address and if you wish phone number.  By doing so you give consent for these details to be shared among like-minded emeriti. I will collate responses and circulate the new list to all who express interest with the hope that this will facilitate individual connections and arrangements. 

Wednesday, 18 August 2021 - 10:00am to 12:00pm
Richmond Olympic Oval
Vancouver, BC V6S 2G8
Canada
Machu Picchu

Travel Group July 22, 2021

Peru, Presented by Paul Steinbok

Paul and his wife, Edie, went to Peru in 2016 with the major objective of visiting Machu Picchu. After a brief stay in Lima, they flew to Arequipa in the Andean foothills to start their acclimatization to high altitude. They then travelled by car North across the high Andes to Colca canyon, where they experienced condors. From there they traversed the Andean highlands going East to Puno and Lake Titicaca. After touring Lake Titicaca, they boarded the Andean Explorer train in Puno en route to their final destination, Cusco. This culminated in visits to Machu Picchu, where they both climbed the “stairs of death’ to the top of Wayna Picchu.

If you are currently not on the email list of the EC travel interest group and wish to receive our mailings, please contact Paul Steinbok at psteinbok@cw.bc.ca.

A zoom link will be sent out 2 days before each meeting.

Thursday, 22 July 2021 - 3:00pm
Online Zoom Meeting
Vancouver, BC V6T 1Z2
Canada

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