Tuesday, February 9, 2010

Pimp my ride

There's been a sudden proliferation of car flags in the last few days, and I was feeling a bit left out.

Duct tape FTW!

People are also displaying flags in their windows and front gardens - mostly maple leafs, but I've seen various others too - and putting their Christmas lights back up. Mostly the red and white ones. Everywhere I look there are out-of-province license plates, tourists taking photos of random stuff like mail boxes and street signs, and people wearing official jackets (athletes, support team, and international media). There are helicopters circling over my work for much of the day, the torch is getting closer and closer, and the excitement is building!

Vancouver sometimes feels like it's a long, long way from everywhere. It's nice to be at the centre of the world for a change.

8 comments:

  1. Hahaha, nice! And the flags can double as a buffer between you and dumbass car drivers simultaneously.

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  2. The thought had occurred!

    What's funny is that I've never realised that I a) hold my handlebars right at the edges, b) swing my leg over the saddle rather than over the crossbar, thus kicking any attached flags, and c) use the ends of my handlebars to prop open doors through which I'm maneuvering the bike. So I had to adjust a few of my habits on the ride in this morning, and also had to carry a back pack instead of panniers. But the Union flags fluttered nicely from the handlebars, and I assume the Canada flags did likewise at the back (I can't see them while I'm going fast enough to make them really fly!) And a few people commented / waved / pointed / honked, which was fun.

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  3. Did you get any good feedback from your fellow commuters? Maybe in a few days all the cyclists will be doing it. :)

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  4. AWESOME Cath!
    Yesterday I first heard talking on the radio here about Vancouver (about the actual event, not just about the German athletes that were going), and my favourite Dutch news-website put up a special "Vancouver" page. And I am wishing I could send all the snow that fell last night over to you guys. I've had enough.
    Also, I wondered why I am not there right now. I've known about this event for 10 years or so and now it's just bad timing. Weird.

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  5. MXX, a little! A British guy at work asked where I got the small handlebar flags from, and he's going to do the same thing today. (Another colleague said "what's this in aid of?", which, um, surprised me!) People are definitely noticing me more than usual on the street too!

    Nina, I wish you could send the snow - and yourself - too!

    It's been very cool seeing the Vancouver 2010 page on the BBC website, and seeing all my non-Vancouver friends mentioning the games on Facebook and Twitter etc!

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  6. Very cool! You can do anything with duck tape. Quack quack. :)

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  7. Really cool! It must be so exciting to be in Vancouver right now!

    Hope you'll get to enjoy it everything you're planning on attending.

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  8. Thanks, it is very exciting indeed! Loving it so far.

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