Last month I received my Climate Action Dividend from the British Columbia government. The idea is that the government slaps an extra tax on petrol and then pays everyone in the province a $100 bribe. Anyone with a vehicle then uses said cheque to pay for their more expensive petrol. But for those of us without cars, we can use it to make some kind of purchase that will benefit the environment.

So I decided to buy a bicycle. I can't really call it a benefit to the environment as I don't drive (dedicated victim of public transit) and will not be using this bike to commute. Not because UBC is a good 10km from my house, and it almost all up-hill, but rather because riding your bike in traffic is fucking dangerous! While I admire the hordes of folks who do it, I would never. While you might be in the right most of the time, car/truck is always going to win in head-to-head battle.

So my new noble stead is merely for getting some exercise. I have the benefit at the moment of living across the street from the beach. And the beginning of the seawall bicycle path. Which means almost ten kms of beach on one side and forest on the other. And while you have to watch for other cyclists, rollerbladers, skateboarders and pedestrians who don't understand the difference between walking path and cyclepath, there are no cars to deal with at all.

While my eco-bribe only covered 1/5th the cost of my bike, I am very happy to have a bike again. My old all-terrain mountain bike is moldering in my dad's garage in Canberra and according to him is not worth shipping over. My new one is super-comfy. Shocks on the front, shocks under the super-padded seat. My only regret is that I umm-and-awed too long and missed out on the 2008 model which was bright red. The 2009 was black and more expensive, but is comfortable to ride and that's the most important thing.