2011 Natal Days Festival, Part 2: July 28-Aug 1, 2011

On Monday morning, I arose at 5:30 AM, to get ready to cycle to Dartmouth to compete in my first (running) road race in 3 years. After registering and gingerly warming up my IT Band Syndrome-plagued knee, I took my place with the 1200 other runners to wait for over 1 minute after the gun was fired to reach the starting line for the 6 mile event (10 km).

(And we're off! Well, sort of...)

The Dartmouth Natal Day Road Race is a 105 year-old tradition. Officially it is the third oldest running race in North America. As you can see from the above photo, it gathers quite a crowd, and with beautiful tree-lined streets like this, it's no wonder why.

The race even drew out local fans who pitched in to keep everyone cool on this blistering hot day.

After finishing the road race, and cleaning up, I walked about 20 meters back to the race course which had now been turned into a parade route. Stanley Cup winning hockey player, Brad Marchand of the Boston Bruins, was the Honorary Parade Marshal. This position essentially involved nothing more than sitting in a car and waving at fans. However, this couldn't be done efficiently, as dozens of fans kept forcing the parade to stop by running up to try and get Brad's autograph.

Of course, what would a parade be without marching Mounties?

All of my favourite floats were back again, like the Crime Stoppers Jailbirds, the tiny fire engine, and the Shriners with their Paddy Wagon.

There were even some new favourites as well, like these Japanese drummers, or the pirates who shot bubbles from their cannon. To be fair, the pirates aren't really new, since they were at Sullivan's Pond last year for the Mayor's Dartmouth Tea Party, but this is the first time I've seen them in a float.

After the parade - because I obviously hadn't had enough exercise this day - I rode back to the Macdonald Bridge to participate in the 29th annual Bridgewalk. Just like at last year's Bridgewalk, the city shuts down the Macdonald Bridge for the day and pedestrians are encouraged to walk over and back as many times as they'd like. It's the best day of the year, in my opinion.

Additionally, it doesn't hurt that the organizers serve free cake either. If I'm honest, this fact had no small part in my decision to come participate.

If for some crazy reason you don't like cake, you could also look at the classic cars. This '54 Bel-Air was probably my favourite. I had forgotten about the "good ol' days" before computers (and fuel economy and safety and performance...) when a small Ea-pea could fit in the engine bay of an automobile.

Plenty of extra encouragement existed along the roughly mile-long bridge. If the oompa band didn't make you pick up your feet (or stroller wheels), then Mr. MACPASS could definitely brighten your day with his gargantuan smile.

By the time I had crossed over to Halifax and back though, I was truly exhausted and could barely stay awake. I decided to conclude yet another successful EP Natal Days weekend by cycling back over the bridge and back home to fall asleep.

HRM Bike Week 2011, Part 3: Pancake Breakfast and Bill 93 Proclamation

On the morning of Wednesday, June 1, I woke up and geared up early in the morning to cycle across the Macdonald Bridge for a free pancake breakfast. It won't take regular readers long to figure out that EP Dave loves free food, and will do just about anything to get it. However, if I can get free food at an event that promotes cycling I will ride my bicycle across the ocean to get it (literally in this case).

(Shivering in the cold since 6:30 am - it was about 8:40 am when this picture was taken - these three HRM heroes served pancakes, fruit salad, and juice to passing cyclists, and seconds of it to me.)

While a free pancake breakfast for cyclists is reason enough to get up early and leave the house, it wasn't the only cycling related event happening on this day. Teams of relays from different corners of Nova Scotia had been cycling for ten days across the province, and would be converging on the capital, Halifax, at 1:00 pm to deliver a copy of a historic bill to the Legislature that would become an official law on this day.

The bill in question, Bill 93 (the one meter law), requires all motor vehicles to give a one-metre birth to cyclists when passing (drivers can move into the oncoming traffic lane when it is safe to do so). The law also makes it punishable by law to drive or park in a bicycle lane too - that means you taxi cab drivers. Halifax still has a long way to go to reach the level of cities like Victoria, Bike Mecca of Canada, or even Ottawa, but this law is a good first step, and is the first of its kind in Canada.

Bill 93 is largely the result of intense lobbying by the Halifax Cycling Coalition (HCC). The HCC was formed in 2007 after the death of 19 year old Michael Brooker. Brooker was cycling downtown in the morning, when he was struck by a transport truck and killed.

Northern Lights Lantern Festival: August 14, 2010

When people in Halifax talk to me about the North End, it's usually to warn me not to go there. To be fair, there have been some high profile violent events which have happened there, but as one Halifax police officer stated in a local newspaper, after an area around a North End community housing project was voted by its readers as the most dangerous neighbourhood in Halifax, there are actually other areas in the city in which one is more likely to get into trouble.

Despite once being a high class suburb of Halifax, with all of the glamorous people and shops, the North End was largely forgotten by the city after the '60s, as attention shifted to the downtown area. Once vibrant streets and neighbourhoods fell victim to time and neglect, and now show the visible signs of decay that in my opinion gives them a sense of charm. Despite a recent resurgence in interest by a few brave entrepreneurs, and hipsters, the North End is still an area that is home to a good majority of the poor/black people in Halifax; I suspect this has more to do with the aforementioned "warnings" I've received than anything else.

Despite all of the negative, if any, publicity, I consider the North End of Halifax to be one of my favourite areas. It has a community garden, a number of parks, the friendliest people, and the most interesting historic buildings in all of Halifax. Last week, readers will remember that a free barbecue/concert was put on at a park here by a Dalhousie University radio station; this weekend would see the familiar sights and sounds of the biggest North End event of the year: The 7th Annual Northern Lights Lantern Festival, in Merv Sullivan Park ("The Pit").

The Northern Lights Lantern Festival is an event that has run annually since 2004, with the intention of celebrating North End Halifax. Despite expecting more than 5000 visitors, the event organizers once again chose, in that North End generous fashion I and a few other non-North Enders have come to love, to make the admission, food, concerts, games, events, and other booths and tables entirely free. As usual, I took advantage of this, and stuffed myself with five hot-dogs, two pops, two coffees, about seven Timbits, and a giant cupcake. The only thing that kept me from going back for sixths was my painfully swollen stomach. Did I mentioned that I love the North End?

(The obligatory bouncy castle saw quite a bit of action, unsurprisingly.)

(Unexpectedly though, the Northern Lights Lantern Festival has been the only event I've seen so far to include a free petting zoo, complete with its very own Scottish Highland Cow.)

(Making lanterns for the Parade of Lanterns that is the highlight of every Northern Lights Lantern Festival. I didn't stick around to watch it though, as this was already part of a long and busy day, and I decided that I should go home to rest.)