Cycle Write Blog

Christmas Crystal Memories to Hold

With covid restrictions still falling like blanket globally, Christmas holidays become bright lights in a string of long nights and winter days. “Tree of Life” stained glass art windows at Christ Church Cathedral, downtown Vancouver BC 2020. By Musqueam artist, Susan Point from Alert Bay, BC. Imagery of trees supporting salmon, a symbol of northwest…

Before Smoky Skies: Vacation Spirits at Cowichan Bay, British Columbia

Now that some wildfire fire smoke drifted into Calgary this summer across the Rocky Mountains from 300 different wildfires burning in British Columbia, I am grateful for my lovely, earlier vacation interlude with friends at Cowichan Bay, on southern Vancouver Island. It feels I just beat the smoky sky blues by a few days. Cowichan…

Bumping into the Personal: From Museum Exhibits to Identity, Anti-Asian Sentiment and Activism. Part 2.

Just for a flicker moment, I felt like a pseudo-hippie, a relic from the 1960’s, a helping hand for social justice on equity and race relations. But not at all. I was there in the 1980’s in Toronto. A few months ago, I was interviewed by a Canadian history professor, Angie Wong who will have…

Mist and Brightness: Beaver Lake, Stanley Park

On another post-rainy day, we cycled over to Beaver Lake, tucked in Vancouver’s Stanley Park. Once you bike or better yet, saunter down a short, hard packed fine gravel path through the woods, you’ll reach messy mini-wetland of Beaver Lake. It’s not particularily scenic spot since you’re surrounded by old growth trees and rotting logs…

From Museum Exhibits, Personal Stories to Anti-Asian North American Sentiment in 21st Century. Part 1

This year, I biked through a bunch of peaceful activists gathering for anti-racism public rally. I felt quite guilty I didn’t stop for a few minutes to show my support for them. After all, my personal history includes volunteer work for several years in Toronto on social justice, anti-racism and equity matters. Toronto rally by…

Beauty Long for Now

This spring I just won’t be able to immerse in cherry blossom splendour in Vancouver. So these lovely blossom sprays and boughs are memories for me, and maybe for many of you, tissue paper living dreams. Nevertheless, join me with lightness in heart of spring and living. Cherry umbrella arcs Pink flush warms o’er skies…

Bird Miracles in our Neighbourhood

Miraculously we were at the right time and place, to spot a rare and incredible Mandarin duck at Burnaby Lake Park in Metro Vancouver this past winter. I’m pretty sure, this is the same creature that rocked excitement to near local stardom in the news over 3 years ago. The flamboyant duck plumage marked its…

Unveiling Vancouver Temperate Rainforests

Kind of embarrassing –after moving to Vancouver over 18 years ago, we finally visited 2 local municipal parks with temperate rainforests, for our first time a few months ago. For many years, I biked right by Pacific Spirit Regional Park near the University of British Columbia. Park edge was sometimes within a metre from the…

Self-Care or Self-Indulgence

For nearly the past year, our world has been flipped upside-down. At times, it’s hard to know if habits now are truly self-care, or upon guilty reflection, self-indulgence. For now, I’d take the slothful route of self-righteousness: it’s primarily self-care. Featured photo: Lovely gently liquor soaked cherry gourmet cake with passion fruit outer layer and…

Heron with Punk Haircut and Other Birdie Delights

I know..I know. Everyone complains right now about travel –the strait-jacket restrictions, barriers to healthy, care-free vacations overseas and in our home countries, during this covid-19 pandemic. Spontaneous Air Flights Impossible I feel the same pain. It can be more complicated, when one has loved ones and family living in other provinces in a huge,…

Gathering Cosy and Safe for Christmas

It seems quaint now, to see photos of being caught up in last year’s bustle of holiday crowds in cafes, stores and yes, even the hotel that hosts for the public, gingerbread collection of cookie, candy and sugar dusted winter tableaux and figurines. At the time, we thought the gingerbread cruise liner ship with onboard…

Overlooked Paths: Discovery and Unexpected Encounters

A few weeks ago, in a park I decided to veer off by bike, onto a different side route. This side route was right by the entry of a popular bike pedestrian bridge. I’ve been ignoring this well-marked cut-off, for the past 9 years. I’m not sure why we never bothered to slow down, dismount…

Outdoor Art Adds a Different City Heartbeat

If you need a break from the city’s fast pace and crowds while in the midst of its heartbeat, outdoor art can be a wonderful antidote to slow you down. Or indoor art in public places, such as the stained glass of Mount Rundle below, taken inside St. Paul’s Church, in downtown Banff. Not every…

Becoming Bird-Alert

Maybe it’s slowly creeping into me over past few years –I’ve become acutely aware of birds as I spin along on bike into park areas or rest for a short time near trees, bushes and tall grasses. It’s like a candle has been lit in me. Especially this year, I notice bird shadows flitting in…

Social Bonding Over Food

Before covid-19 hit the brakes hard globally on health and our social lives, the last social meal I had with several people was the last day in February. At lunch, I hung out over sizzling stone bowls of bimbap with egg, at a popular Korean restaurant with 3 other employees from another department. In fact,…

Nature as Solace During Uncertain Times

Over the past few decades, I’ve been lucky to live within a 5 min. walk or if further away, a bike ride to very large parks and escape to Nature’s calming presence. Even in urban parks, I can very quickly immerse in the leafy stillness, sunshine, twittering birdsongs, rustling swaths of wild grass and bush,…

Daily Life Lessons During Covid-19 Pandemic

For some folks, a global plague highlights a lot what they took for granted since this past March. Or confirmed what one knew or decided long ago: Mask-Wearing for Hours is Hot I mean kind of sweaty. My double-sided, non-medical cloth mask is hot to wear for several hours at room temperature. When reading a…

Fragility of Interconnected Mortality, Trust and Love

I’m sure some travel bloggers look at their own photos and fun posts on where they’ve been, as a string of postcard dreams and memories during the coronavirus-19 pandemic restrictions on daily life. Longing To Be Carefree Again Will we be able to travel again? Carefree and curious, solo or with others immediately beside us,…

Cherry Blossom Bouquets, Sharing Obsession

Cherry blossom bouquets Bounce-sway in warm breeze, Spring pink petals fall. Writing a blog post with photos about cherry blossom season, is an act of memory and hope for me. Every time. A thrust forward into the near future with happy expectations of pink bursting-birth all over Vancouver. And Nature delivers every spring. You’re never…

Six Courses for Over Six Decades

Wouldn’t it be lovely to see the decades of your life like grazing through a menu of lovely food dishes? If every decade could be so tasty and palatable. Certainly, each decade has been memorable. Jack brought some fresh seafood from Vancouver when flying in and preparing a 6-course birthday dinner for me. He was…