Green transportation: For better or for worse

I trudged a few blocks to Trek Bike Store, and immediately my day got a little better. A laid-back dude lifted my bike up on the rack, and within minutes it was back in action. He wouldn’t even accept any money for the service – he was just happy to see us back on the road again. I pedaled the rest of the way to work thinking that people who work with bikes, and in fact people who ride bikes, are kind of a special type.

(c) Sara Falconer/WWF-Canada
My bike, a hulking thing purchased second hand many years ago in Montreal, needs a lot of TLC these days. At my regular shop, the Bike Joint, a bearded techno-viking helps me tune it up and teaches me how to fix little things on my own. Yes, it can be a bit of a pain biking in the city sometimes, but the good times more than make up for the bumps along the road.
Now that snow is on the ground – hard to believe it already! – I’ve started taking transit again, and of course that’s not without its own headaches. But there are lots of nice moments too – like catching up on a mobile Scrabble game, or seeing someone give up their seat to another person in need. And no matter which way I’m traveling, I know that it’s green, which makes those little ups and downs a little easier to take.