issue 5// vol 45

What gets your goat:

Doing other things while cycling

» Multitasking on your bicycle is dangerous—please stop

CJ Sommerfeld
Contributor

 

he other day I passed a cyclist who

was holding their phone adjacent to
their face, speaking to it in full boisterous
conversation. The visual of the FaceTiming
cyclist was hilarious and absurd but I had
to stop myself from laughing—what this
person was doing was quite dangerous.

Yeah, yeah, face-to-face conversation
trumps texting. It eliminates the fear of
misusing an emoji or—gasp—not using
an emoji at all... but FaceTiming while
cycling, really!?

Taking part in ridiculous activities
while cycling is not limited to FaceTiming
but also extends to drinking hot coffee and
other beverages, texting, chatting on the
phone, and smoking cigarettes or other
substances. The notion of this may be
comical and it may provide an Instagram-
worthy photo, but really you are putting
yourselves and others at risk for a bike
accident.

Ina city where bike lanes lead more
places than streets allow cars to go,
there are a plethora of things that can

Seem eB

interrupt a smooth ride. Let me outline
some of these possible accident-causing
perpetrators: Canadian geese crossings,
potholes, rain, vegans, yogis, and pigeons
who will run in circles but not actually fly
away until your front bicycle tire is nearly
plucking feathers out of their wing. There
is a lot that can interrupt your ride, so it is
important to keep your eye on the road!
Many of us are juggling multiple
jobs, school, hobbies, social lives, and the
list goes on. We try to jam-pack as many
accomplishments into a day and in turn
have mastered the art of multitasking. We
are pros at taking out the garbage while
brushing our teeth or shoving our face
with food while scanning the required
reading for a class that starts in 10
minutes. With this being the nature of our
lives, it seems right to check something
off the to-do list while cycling from point
A to point B—but let’s try to un-condition
ourselves from doing so. '
To all of you cycling-FaceTimers 0
there, you scare me. All other pedest

a eye ehecp

opinions // no. 15

  
  
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
  
  
  

into False Creek’s murky waters.
Enjoy your cycle whether it is a
means of transport, to partake
in physical activity, or just

for leisure. Enjoy the

skyline of mountains

and stop biking with

a screen in front
of your face!

 

NOT interested in mee

>» Don’t mess around with Mother Nature

Janis McMath
Contributor

As British Columbians, we are
lucky to be surrounded by so much
Dy—-lia tal potatoe (mle loki ieee
of responsibility. Our interactions with
wild animals are key in maintaining a
healthy balance between our habitat and
theirs. However, people seem to insist
on overlooking the importance of that in
favour of having a “cute” story they can
brag about.

lam wowed everyday by how often
people approach racoons and skunks in

Vancouver considering all the viruses they

e fact that a skunk will
spray if frightemed. Lalso see geese run
people down time because people
FVNoE LM OS Cb (Iu -(e8Tel |
If you are going to interact witha
wild animal, you should first consider
the repercussions of your little meet and
kaa mole da eK MAA Me eR VOlBNbleoK-lala
with a wild animal you are teaching them

Can Carry—al

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e or nesting areas.

to be comfortable wi umans, and tha’
can be a huge problem in some cases.
As reported in Hakai Magazine, Pacific
Rim National Park on Vancouver Island
has been struggling with wolves fora
long time because of people's insistence
cose EE LCorLeanel mr s1a0 Mab ( Son PM ee Tue ats Koy uc)
have been seen approaching wolves and
attempting to take photos, when the
[edhe] eLswu— Leave B IM Ko Baul ence SNR eh (=)

off. Because people have not been creating

distance between themselves and the
wolves, the wolves became bo i
approaching fF
attacking people o

Wolves that become too conditioned

to humans must be killed, and all because

some guy wanted to take a selfie. If you
want to appreciate wildlife, you must
inform yourself of the proper way to
appreciate them. You could be hurting
them with your ignorance.

tes Cre aE meme ly

often people approach racoons and
skunks in Vancouver considering
all the viruses they can carry.

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