Saturday, February 11, 2012

29in29: Eleven

Earlier in the week I had an appointment which brought me to downtown Vancouver before sunrise

P1000027

we are a very bike friendly city when it comes to pedal power, not so much with those powered by internal combustion. Much to the dismay of motorists who pay license fees, insurance and other taxes, these bicyclists can enjoy many streets blocked off to traffic to make it safer. Many of these special lanes are not heavily used, especially during the winter season

P1000028

These lanes are maintained by the city; they are swept regularly of debris and they are even cleared of snow during snowstorms. As I am waiting for the sun to rise I can see the water trails left by the cleaning machine, if you look closely .

P1000029

Notice on this section there are separate lanes for each direction. In areas around Stanley Park, there are separate lanes for bikes & pedestrians, each having their own dedicated lanes

It is not often that I duplicate similar photos, but the other day I posted a photo taken just before Dawn and it was very blue, almost like I enhanced it, but I didn't. Here is one I took showing the bike lane which was recently "cleaned", notice the cleaning marks on the pavement. I arrived here around 7am and by 7:20a the blue started to invade the top portion of my photo, but the street level appears normal

P1000031

Here's another image showing more of the foreground. It was still about 20 minutes before sunrise. The sky really was "blue"

P1000033

7 comments:

  1. I like the light in the pre-dawn and pre-sunset hours....almost as much as the "golden hour" once gets at times....

    Good stuff Bob.

    dom

    Redleg's Rides

    Colorado Motorcycle Travel Examiner

    ReplyDelete
  2. Pretty cool photos Bob. It is neat the way the street level lighting is normal, but yet the sky appears so blue.

    Somehow I am thinking the bicyclists appreciate the bike lanes. We have bike lanes here but there are just a few feet wide and run with the roads, not separated from them.

    Would be nice to see motorcycle lanes only, but we know that will never happen.

    ReplyDelete
  3. So will you be bicycling soon to take advantage of these dedicated lanes? I was waiting for you to tell us you were going to take an early morning skoot along the empty lanes. "Sorry officer, but please define 'bike' lane"

    ReplyDelete
  4. I love the light first thing in the morning it is so pure and holds so much promise for the day. As always nice pictures. Bob was this the new camera?

    ReplyDelete
  5. We don't get our paths swept (well, maybe they do in Portland, I dunno). This time of year the bike lanes are the debris lanes. I've had flats on both the motorcycle and the bicycle caused by the sand/gravel they put down for traction. Nice stuff for vehicles of the 4-wheel variety.

    I love the rich colors of the pre-dawn. Simply stunning colors.

    ReplyDelete
  6. Charlie6:

    I like the golden hour, either before sunrise, or after sunset for the afterglow. Evening is easier than waking up in the dark

    Trobairitz:

    My first photo shows all blue, but these ones show the normal light at ground level. The blue is coming from the pre-dawn sunrise, before the sun reaches the horizon

    Troubadour:

    bike lanes are bicycle lanes. I don't think you can get around it, it would be a feeble excuse

    Dar:

    There is not enough time in the mornings to chase the sunrise. Usually it is just a routine ride to get to work, esp this time of year when it is freezing in the mornings. Yes, you guessed right, this is a new pocket camera, I just purchased a couple of weeks ago.

    BlueKat:

    Vancouver is bike friendly, but not as friendly as Portland. we have lots of dedicated bike lanes, separated from regular traffic using cement abutments or curbs. They have even taken car lanes on bridges to assign for bicycle traffic. These lanes are kept clean and cleared of snow & ice. You should bring your bikes up here

    Ms M:

    I am positive you have stunning sunrises where you are too. Just have to take a break from work, once in a while. You spend too many hours at work.

    ReplyDelete