World Bicycle Day and a Strawberry Full Moon

Viewing Sunset and Moonrise tonight

"In April 2018, the United Nations General Assembly declared June 3 as World Bicycle Day. The resolution for World Bicycle Day recognizes "the uniqueness, longevity and versatility of the bicycle, which has been in use for two centuries, and that it is a simple, affordable, reliable, clean and environmentally fit sustainable means of transport."" (Wikipedia)

I learned to ride a two-wheeled bike the summer I was eight years old. We lived in Aurora after returning to Canada from South Africa. The streets in the small, quiet town, pop. 5,000, were safe for me to ride to my heart's content. I took the bicycle safety lessons given in my 3rd-grade class seriously and signalled all my turns and stops. As a teenager, Mom rode her bicycle from the same town to the family farm five miles away to care for her horse. She often rode a bicycle to complete errands around town when she was raising the five of us. Very few suburban families had two vehicles in the 1960s and 1970s. I have always had a bike and it is one of my favourite ways of getting around town. Our city had an excellent trail system when we moved here in 1970 and there have been significant improvements to local bicycle routes in the past few years. 

I use a tracking app when I ride, but there are times I forget to turn it on, as I have for my last two trips. I logged 5120 km in the past few years on Strava and know the actual distance is more than that. Nearly all my rides are less than 10 km but they do add up. This week I commuted to work three days, went bike-birding two days, and did a trip up the old landfill hill tonight to see the evening sky.

Sunset tonight at 8:58 PM

This is one of the few months of the year when the sun sets to the west as the full moon rises to the east. 

Strawberry Full Moon Rise at 9:03 PM

A local astronomy club had a telescope on the hill for anyone to use. Venus and Mars are also visible tonight and this is one of the best local spots to photograph the sky. From a cycling perspective, this park is on the city trail system, features a one-kilometre paved circular track that I use frequently, and a BMX park for cyclists who are far more skilled than I am. There is a bicycling style for everyone.