The Spring is Sprung…NOT

After getting in a couple of rides in March, I had been optimistic about Spring. April, I was sure, would be seeing me with my ass on the seat of the KLR plenty of times. Alas, that has not yet come to pass. This weekend we are almost housebound by a ‘historic ice storm’, in the words of the Weather Network. I say almost, because I have ventured out in the Dodge Caravan, fortunately still with winter tires on. The roads were very slippery, ‘it’s greasy out there’ as some people here in Canada would say.

Real greasy out there 

It just looks like snow 

 So far, we have been lucky, we haven’t had any power outages here in Newmarket, but I believe that about 15 000 homes and businesses in the Greater Toronto Area were not quite so fortunate. However, the day is not out, and freezing rain is falling as I type these words. Freezing rain is more interesting than mere ice pellets that came down yesterday, turning the world white and making it look like it has been snowing. For the benefit of readers in warmer climates, freezing rain is when the rain is in a liquid state, but only just, and about to solidify, which it does on impact with the ground. Not only the ground of course, trees, electrical cables, pylons, cars, everything. The aesthetic effect is fantastic, turns the landscape into a smooth white crust, it almost looks like a white plastic sheet. Things like branches of trees get a coating of translucent ice, looks wonderful, but there is a serious downside, branches break off trees, whole trees can come crashing down and damage to the electricity grid is almost inevitable. That’s life in Canada, the weather is more interesting here than anywhere else I’ve lived, I have even seen a tornado from reasonably close-up, well as close to one that I would like to be.

Weather is always the subject of conversation here, more so when it’s unseasonal. Yesterday I overheard a discussion between a customer and the cashier at the supermarket that this is proof that global warming is not happening, just a hoax perpetrated by the liberals. The conversation included statements that, its just ridiculous to have this sort of weather in April, almost as if the ice rain is the fault of the liberals as well.  Oh dear, there is confusion between weather and climate and the concept of global warming/climate change. I am not a meteorologist, but if I interpret what I hear from the actual meteorologist about this particular weather occurrence correctly, the high amount of moisture in the atmosphere that is turning into icy precipitation, may well be related to warmer oceans. And warmer oceans are a direct result of global warming. Global warming does not automatically mean that we’ll be having shorter and less cold winters and warmer summers here in Ontario, it means that weather incidents are going to get more extreme – the climate is in a state of flux.

The consequences of climate change are likely to impact everyone’s lives and some people in a dramatic and horrible way. The Puerto Ricans know what stronger and more frequent hurricanes can do, the Bangladeshis know about rising sea levels, the folks from Cape Town know what it is to face the prospect of the water supply running out and the motor bikers in Southern Ontario know about shorter and washed out riding seasons. Okay, so the last example does not belong with the others in terms of severity, but it does impact me personally. I think that over the next few decades we are going to feel more and more the consequences of what we have unleashed and fewer days to ride my motorcycle will seem like a childish concern amidst the crop failures, hurricanes and drowning coastal cities. Nonetheless, it pisses me off that it cuts down on the truly great days to ride and I really wish I could blame this on the liberals, or anyone. The truth is I am to blame, as much as anyone else. If you are leading the life of a typical ‘western’ middle class person, then your carbon footprint is responsible for the climate damage we have inflicted. I have put ‘western’ in quote marks as this does not only apply to what we think of as ‘western’ people, but to anyone that follows the consumptive life style of the west.

I have managed some travelling since my last post, but sadly none of it on two wheels. Another trip to Savannah, but this time I didn’t have enough time to rent a motorcycle (see http://not-so-easy-rider.blogspot.ca/2016/03/savannah-georgia-usa.html). The weather was also not conducive to motorcycling, but still had a pretty decent time.

Downtown Savannah- squares and interesting buildings  

I met up with my elder sister, and brother-in-law who was there on business. Savannah is a lovely little city with great restaurants, museums, lovely buildings and the famous Savannah squares, made more famous by Forrest Gump and possibly by Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil. Apart from River Street, which is substantially devoted to kitsch, the downtown area is rather artsy with the ubiquitous presence on Savannah College of Art and Design (SCAD).

Purveyors of fine (religious) kitsch

I like it, way better than the wasteland of car dealerships, strip malls and McDonalds that surrounds the historic downtown like a rash. This sort of thing appears to be unavoidable in North America, as bad here in Canada as in the USA, probably world wide.

Aside from exploring downtown Savannah, we did a dinner cruise on a fake paddle steamer, which turned out to be a lot of fun, and visited the only tea plantation in the USA, which was also fun and very interesting. I discovered that green tea and black tea come from the same plant, thereby filling an apparent glaring gap in my education. The difference is that black tea has been oxidized and green tea has not.  I also discovered that there is a tea that’s in-between black and green, called oolong, which is partially oxidized. I’m a huge fan of black tea, start off the day with a large mug of the stuff with cream, and keep on drinking it throughout the day, green tea is…well sort of iffy. I haven’t tried oolong yet, but it is now at least on the bucket list, right up there with deep fried scorpions and a threesome.

Fake Paddle Steamer

 My eldest sister is a recent convert to the vegan brigade, so we ended up eating at some interesting restaurants. As an ex-vegetarian (ate eggs and dairy) I know that it’s mostly easy to get a vegetarian meal, but vegan options are not easy to find, damn nearly everything has at least some dairy or egg in the ingredients. There are a few vegan restaurants in Savannah and we had a particularly good lunch at one (Fox and Fig), nonetheless I must declare that vegan cheese is not hugely delicious. I am ambivalent about the whole vegan ideal, yes, I want to put an end to the horrors and cruelty we inflict upon the poor animals that become our food, yes, I fully understand that veganism reduces the negative effect we have on the environment.  I think it is a fact that the lower down on the food chain we eat, the less damage we do to the biosphere and plants are pretty low on that chain. I’m just not convinced that a vegan diet is healthy for humans, mind you it’s probably healthier than the crap the average North American eats, all that freaking corn syrup and shit that is listed as an ingredient on nearly every processed food item.

So here we have a post on the ‘Not-so-Easy Rider’ that hardly mentions a motorcycle and does not describe any biking trips at all. Sad state of affairs, hey. Maybe next time it will be better.