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Julie Rae Diyen - My Blog

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Related to this project: Creating Local Connections Canada/Liaisons locales Canada
Translations available in: English (original) | French | Spanish | Italian | German | Portuguese | Swedish | Russian | Dutch | Arabic

Tuesday evening Yukon winter bikers united for night ride in response to the town of La Tuque, in Quebec, banning winter bicycling related to a recent death. However, the death was caused by a flatbed truck who passed too close to the bicycle and caught the cyclist with the hooks on the side of the vehicle, and not due to poor road conditions (in terms of ice, etc) for the cyclist.
Yukon winter bikers gathered for a short ride through the downtown core in solidarity, as well as to showcase safe riding methods, in order to engage the broader public in better understanding the value of winter cycling. In addition to providing a low cost transportation source that is not dependant on non-renewable resources, and therefore not a pollutant emitter, bicycling is also contributes to good health from the physical activity... which tends to decrease for many particularly over the winter months.

To read a news article about the banning, go to:
http://www.montrealgazette.com/Sports/Tuque+seeks+halt+cycling/1186149/story.html

Actions are now taking place across the country. Show your support for your right to bike!

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Related to this project: Creating Local Connections Canada/Liaisons locales Canada
Translations available in: English (original) | French | Spanish | Italian | German | Portuguese | Swedish | Russian | Dutch | Arabic

Greetings!
It has been awhile since I have connected with most of you... but I have now returned to the Yukon, from Cameroon. Other than an initially shocking 95 degree celsius temperature shift, the transition is going smoothly and I am very happy to be back in the Yukon.
Cameroon was beautiful as always, it is such a diverse country in terms of culture and ecology that it is sometimes hard to believe that it is only one, relatively small, place. It is my understanding that every ecosystem in Africa is represented in that little area, and most of the original tribal groups too. As often, Cameroon was peaceful and vibrant though the word on the street is again rumbling... Cameroon has a democracy but the President, Paul Biya, has been in his position for more than 3 decades... and is currently living in France. Finally, it seems he is almost ready to step down... and possibly hand the presidency over to his son...??? Yes, I did say democracy - a form of which is confusing to all at the moment. No signs of another national strike yet... which tend to be intense and destructive but generally not an effective appropriate to generating responsiveness by the government to the people.
I was able to spend some time on the coast of the southwest province at the Limbe Botanic Garden where I used to work (an internationally renowned conservation/cultivation space and research center), as well as accomplishing lots of fun and relaxation up in Buea, up Mount Cameroon (the volcano); Mount Cameroon is on the UNESCO's list of Top 25 Remaining Biodiversity Hotspots and is a very exciting place to live... and it is cooooler. I also went to my partners village way up in the northwest highlands for a week to eat red dust and fufu corn and dance through Christmas. The transition there between dry and rainy seasons is spectacular... during the dry season you have dusty whirlwinds across the parched black and red ground, but during the rainy season there are waterfalls shooting out of places draped in lush green vegetation. Amazing.
I unfortunately didn't make it into the TIG office during my 30 secondish stops in Toronto on either side but I hope to sometime in the future; trying to complete an immigration application during this mad adventure didn't leave a whole lot of time available on the Canadian side of my journey. Here too, things are already getting busy back up in the Yukon. There are several organizations following up workshop or event session potential and two workshops booked for the beginning of February. And then that Global Resource Center... which I should go work on...

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