Vancouverites don’t normally have to contend with weeks on end of snowy, slushy, slippery streets like the rest of the country, however we could definitely use an education in winter road safety all the same. Last month Toyota Canada hosted a winter driving workshop at the Richmond Olympic Oval and offered up a few driving tips for locals:
Tires: Check the air pressure since cold weather causes tire pressure to decrease and that can affect the degree of grip your tires have with the road surface. The condition of tires also is important as worn or damaged tires can hamper your driving ability. It is best to replace tires before the tread depth is the regulatory 1.55mm.
Winterize: Be sure to check your battery, oil and all fluids, brakes, lights, and engine belts and hoses. What works in warm weather may not work so well when temperatures fall.
Plan Ahead: Before heading out check weather and road conditions and ensure you have plenty of time to reach your destination safely. Around here Drive BC is a great resource where you can learn about current road conditions and check out several BC highway webcams. You can also follow @DriveBC on Twitter.
Ice & Snow: Be sure to clear off any ice and snow from your vehicle before you hit the road (especially if you just came from the mountain). I’ve been on the freeway when a sheet of snow (2 inches thick and 3 feet wide) has fallen off the roof of the car in front of me. Pretty scary. Also, clear all of your windows and your mirrors to enhance your own lines of sight.
Cruise Control: Avoid slipping into auto-pilot as you’ll want to feel the responsiveness of your vehicle yourself.
I think most of all, common sense is paramount. Avoid speeding, tailgating, and follow the regular rules of the road with caution. I was told on my driver’s test that the posted maximum speed is the limit “under ideal conditions” so take your time if you need to. While there’s rain in the city, the Sea to Sky, Highway 1, Coquihalla, and local mountains have already seen their share of severe winter conditions.
To help you out this season, Toyota is offering up a prize pack for one of my readers, valued at $100. It includes: A Toyota Winter Car Kit (including everything from jumper cables and bungee cords to hand warmers), some snacks for the road, and a Starbucks gift card. Here’s how you can enter to win:
Leave a comment on this post (1 entry)
Post the following on Twitter (1 entry)
RT to enter to win a winter driving kit from @ToyotaCanada & @Miss604 #ToyotaWinterWheels http://ow.ly/8jHaK
I will draw one winner at random from all entries next Thursday, January 12, 2012 at 1:00pm.
It was January 5, 1912 when the first professional hockey game was played in Vancouver at the Denman Arena1. The impressive venue (one of the world’s largest) was built in 1911 thanks to the hard work (and family lumber money) of brothers Frank and Lester Patrick.
In 1911, the Patrick family sold it’s profitable lumber company, and moved out west to capitalize on an exploding hockey scene ready to be mined for gold. Not long after setting up shop out west, the Patricks endeavored, not only to build a strong hockey club, but also to prop up the entire hockey scene, building leagues and arenas, which they would manage along with the respective clubs that they would own. – The Story of the Vancouver Millionaires
(Left) 1920’s Art Duncan, D – Millionaires. VPL Accession Number: 17979.
(Right) 1920’s Lloyd Cook, D – Millionaires Team Captain. VPL Accession Number: 17991.
Photographer: Stuart Thomson.
In the January 5th match up, the Pacific Coast Hockey League’s Vancouver Millionaires beat the New Westminster Royals 8-3. The Victoria Senators were the only other team in the league at the time.
View of Vancouver (and Denman Arena) from the Rowing Club, 1929.
Archives item# CVA 99-2080. Photographer: Stuart Thomson.
View of Vancouver from the Rowing Club in Stanley Park, 2009
The Patrick brothers changed the game of hockey as we know it and while Denman Arena was destroyed by fire in 1936, it’s fairly safe to say that a hockey-loving legacy has gripped this town since that first professional game, one hundred years ago today.
Team Awesome, a local group of creative individuals, is hosting a fundraising event at Canvas Lounge in Gastown on January 13, 2012 that will feature Polaroid images from 20 BC photographers.
What Team Awesome’s Polaroid Party When 8:00pm on Friday, January 13, 2012 TicketsAvailable online Includes Entertainment from DJ Yurie and DJ Marvel + DJ Seko of The Freshest. Admission includes 1 free drink at the party and entry into a draw to win a Polaroid camera with film. This is a 19+ only event.
Team Awesome is “a collection of creative, forward-thinking organizations, businesses, communities within Metro Vancouver” and they’re all working together to send children to school in Ethiopia (through Imagine1Day) and India (through Dalit Freedom).
One of the event’s participating photographers is Kris Krug (of Static Photography), who has recently being doing some Gulf Island living. He told me that he’d give his photo series the titile: “Hermit: A Winter on Galiano Island”. While he wouldn’t tell me what his photos are, I did get an education in Polaroid technology.
“Did you know the Polaroid camera uses sonar to do autofocusing? Like a bat or a dolphin it bounces sound waves off the subject and uses the information to determine the distance between photographer and muse.”
Photo credit: kk+ on Flickr. BarCamp Wall-O-Love 2006 (actually the first time Kris took our photo).
Krug added, “I’ve shot less than 100 boxes of Polaroid film in my life. Each shot definitely feels experimental. I find the process freeing and see the instant analog camera as a mobile photographic laboratory.”
You can check out his Polaroids along with snaps from 19 others including Sean Dalin, Kane Hopkins, Jaqueline Bartel, Danaea Davies, Lucas Lawrence, Leah Gregg, Sincerely Hana, Shawn Lee, Brady Olson, Darian Kovaks, Kelly Swanson, Dmitri Litvinov, Tom Nugent, Zach Bulick, Jackie Chong, Clint Olemaniec, Dallas Froese and Jered Love.
Each Polaroid will be for sale for $10 with all proceeds going to Team Awesome’s Imagine1Day & Dalit Freedom causes. Tickets for the event are currently on sale. You can find out more by following them on Twitter or Facebook.
Team Awesome was founded by partners Social City Networking INC, Capitol, Dalit Freedom Network, and Imagine1Day.
The marathon event and festival will take place September 28 to September 30, 2012 and participants can sign up for the full marathon, half marathon, 5km run, or kids fun run.
Each mile on the course is being sponsored by a different country with the various community groups and cultural associations decorating their mile along the course as well as providing an entertainment stage and volunteers to cheer on the runners.
There will be a Weekend Expo, a Finish Line Concert, and even a charitable component. Early bird registration closes January 31, 2012 and will be followed by regular registration rates.
You can follow the event on Facebook and Twitter for additional information and updates.
Update It’s official! Surrey’s first-even marathon is now a Boston Marathon qualifying event. From the organizers: When the runners participating in the full or half marathon components of the inaugural Surrey International World Music Marathon begin their run, they will be setting history as well as taking the first step towards the world of marathon’s biggest event – the Boston Marathon. Despite it being the first year of the event, the Surrey Marathon has taken the official steps needed to be a “qualifying event” for the historic Boston race.
CBC’s latest original series, Arctic Air, will premiere January 10, 2012 and to celebrate, they’re hosting a red carpet screening event at the Vogue Theatre in Vancouver.
Arctic Air is a one-hour adventure series set in the booming Arctic, about a maverick airline and the unconventional family who runs it. On the ground, Bobby (Adam Beach), the headstrong business partner, struggles to save the airline from crashing financially while Mel (Kevin McNulty), the cantankerous co-owner, keeps his crew of pilots in the air. Caught in the crossfire is Mel’s hotshot pilot daughter Krista (Pascale Hutton).
The cast and crew of Arctic Air will be joined on the red carpet by other celebrities and VIPs for this viewing, which will be followed by a Q&A session for the crowd. The CBC has offered up 5 pairs of tickets to this event that I can give away to my readers. There are 2 ways for you to enter to win:
Post the following on Twitter (1 entry)
RT to enter to win your way into the @CBCArcticAir #CBCPremiereVan from @CBCVancouver & @Miss604 http://ow.ly/8igqD
Answer the trivia question in the contest box below (1 entry)
Each winner will be able to attend the screening event with a guest on January 10, 2012 at 7:00pm at the Vogue Theatre (918 Granville). I will draw all 5 winners on Monday, January 9, 2012 at 10:00am 3:00pm.
