Province pedalling in the wrong direction with bike licenses, insurance By Jacey Gibb, Opinions Editor arlier this year a report was released Hsin that, understandably, with more bikers on our roads, there has been an increase in the number of cyclists involved in accidents. Coinciding with this information, a city transportation report surveyed nearly 9,000 citizens and is now claiming that “Vancouverites want cyclists to get licensed and insured.” Vancouver is an interesting city in that it aspires to be environmentally friendly (the bar is already being set rather high, with the goal of being the greenest city in the world by 2020), yet it still retains many of the features of a metropolis. Larger cities like Tokyo have almost completely passed the torch to cyclists, but Canada is different from Japan in that our cities suffer from urban sprawl. Instead of building skyward with more apartments and condos, Vancouver has miles of suburbs. And even though TransLink has done a jolly good job providing accessible public transit to almost every corner of the Lower Mainland, sometimes biking is the best way to go. Is it really fair to then punish those who choose to go this way with more bureaucracy? Biking isn’t necessarily my favourite pastime, but I still own a modest model and occasionally partake in a sunny afternoon cycling. Would I too have to pay for insurance on my recreation mobile? More importantly, what about the people who treat their two wheeler as their main mode of transportation? Some people opt for this method because they save money on gas, insurance, and all of the other nauseating costs that come with owning a vehicle. It hardly seems fair to suddenly slap someone who is trying to save their dollars with a monthly premium. I thought Vancouver was trying to encourage people to bike more? Have I misinterpreted the blatant “Bike to Work” banners I see everywhere and all of the recent retooling being done to various streets in order to accommodate bike lanes? While I’m not sure if bikes will ever take over as the dominant set of wheels on our roads, introducing mandatory insurance and licenses would guarantee that they never will. Resignations and realizations Jacey y Gibb ‘ou may have noticed a tiny rain Yu hovering outside The Other Press room this past week and thought to yourself, “Huh? What is such a dreary thing doing lurking around such a positive place?” This raincloud’s creator has a name, and her name is Julia Siedlanowska. A fan favourite since day one, you’ve probably seen her name plastered over our paper, often next to play reviews and throughout the arts section, but as of last Monday she has resigned from the position of Arts Reviewer in order to focus on her academics (school’s for fools Julia, accept it). My personal grief aside, this departure of one of the paper’s finest forced me to have a miserable realization: things don’t stay the same forever. It’s not like this is the first time I’ve had this type of awakening. Thinking back to high school graduation and every time I’ve quit a job, the feeling is always one of excitement for the future and sadness over what is being left behind. I’m not one for getting overly comfortable in my current settings and I usually end up doing something drastic to change up my surroundings (hello move to Vancouver!) but the life I have at Douglas, while having its downs, has been incredible. Julia’s departure has forced me to acknowledge that this time next year, I’ll have moved on to SFU and will be that much closer towards my career. Time flies when you’re abusing student loans. It wouldn’t be healthy if ten years from now, all of the current staff at the paper were still working there (a college newspaper run solely by people in their thirties? Sign me up!) but I guess I choose to ignore that thought the majority of the time. I think of the countless Opinions Editors that came before me and then I think about all of the ones who will come after me. I already know that when I wrap things up at Douglas this year, I will be giving up my position for someone new to voice the opinions of the people and make endless puns with. Looking around the room this semester, I see the “new class” of fresh, talented writers eager to make the paper the best that it can be. They’re so focused on their new beginnings at college that they’re not even thinking about what happens when it comes to an end. I guess that’s all you can really focus on, because if you end up thinking about the future, well, it'll probably sneak up on you a lot quicker. Though I know our similar self- destructive lifestyles will surely keep. us in touch, Julia’s chiller than freezing point attitude and breakfast wrap making skills will sorely be missed. Keep living the dream, pal. Off campus cuisine: Quantum Cafe Bistro A coffee shop for the modern man By Jacey Gibb, Opinions Editor Does cafeteria food fail to cater to your taste buds? Not digging the Dougout? Then grab your finest bib and try to avoid drooling on the person next to you, because we're here to offer salvation for you students looking to humble your hunger, without having to wear your shoes out getting there. Last week, a friend and I were hoping to grab a cup of coffee in-between classes. I was tempted to forgo any act of originality, looking forward to my traditional Grande no-room Americano, but a voice in my head pleaded for a breakaway from the current conforming coffee world crowded with more Starbucks, Blenzes, and Waves than you can shake a stick at. And so it was: I stumbled upon Quantum Cafe Bistro. An attractively brief walk down Agnes Street will take you to 6" Street, where this three-and-a-half month old gem awaits. The name itself drips with a modern feel, yet I was still surprised at how contemporary the interior was. While most coffee shops strive to obtain that cliché cozy atmosphere, one where you have to restrain yourself from curling up to a cup of earl grey in, Quantum provides a professional backdrop without coming across as too Yaletown-ish. It’s a nice breather from the mass-produced, generic but supposedly individualistic decor you find in every other Starbucks. By the time we arrived, the afternoon crowd had ravaged the majority of the sandwich display case, but I managed to snag the last turkey panini. Opting to ignore my recommended daily dose of greens, I chose the cream of tomato soup instead of salad for my side, while my partner in crime took the righteous path and ordered a simple garden salad. For drinks, we decided a pair of lattes would do just fine. While we waited for our impending delicacies, my comrade noted the high quality espresso beans being used (one brand being Black Cat, which is roasted in Chicago). The lattes arrived shortly after and personally, I couldn’t make out any differences between it and any other latte I’ve had before. The prices supposedly reflect the quality though, so I guess I’ve just been desensitized after drinking Superstore brand coffee for the last several months. The gap between our drinks arriving and getting our food was a bit longer than comfortable for the type of establishment Quantum seems to portray (I stopped checking after 12 minutes). The experience did a wonderful 180 when the meals did make their way to our table. My panini was warm and crispy, with the cheese melting seamlessly through the contents, while the soup was the creamiest and most satisfying I’ve ever had. The garden-salad didn’t look like it was worth the six dollars my friend had ponied up for it, but she assured me it was quite good. Looking at Quantum post- consumption, I found myself torn. The lattes were average and the food was exceptional, but the wait time was a real downer, especially since we were the only patrons in the place at the time. Having another person on staff would probably help. My bill also came to $13, which is more than I feel comfortable dishing out at this point in the semester. But hey, these days I don’t feel comfortable even buying off the $1.39 value menu. 13