Four destinations for electric-bike tours across Canada

White Mountain Adventures and Banff Cycle both launched guided e-bike tours of Canada’s first national park this summer The former’s offerings include a 50-kilometre there-and-back ride along the Bow Valley Park way and a50-km return ride along the car-free Rocky Mountain Legacy Trail. Banff Cycle, meanwhile, adds a three-hour “Banff and Bow Valley” guided trip to the mix.

This new ride from the luxurious Mount Logan EcoLodge on the Alaska Highway near Haines Junction provides an exception to the rule that Canadian e-bike tours are unavailable in winter. Equipped with oversized tires to allow riding on snow and other unstable surfaces, the electric fat bikes can be booked for two-hour guided tours that explore the wilderness bordering Kluane National Park.

Niagara Cycling Tours hosts group outings of at least four e-bike riders that range in length from 65 to more than 110 kilometres. The offerings include a two-day “Niagara Introductory Ride,” which can be customized to visit local attractions, and a new “Beers and Bikes” tour, which rides between more than a dozen craft breweries (啤酒厂).

Based in pretty Qualicum Beach. the new Electric Bike Co. offers a three-hour “Home and Garden Tour” highlighting high-design private houses and seaside flowers; and a four-to five hour ride and ferry (轮渡) voyage to Hornby Island, home of the Helliwell and Tribune Bay provincial parks.

Holly, my wife,cannot cook. She is capable of the process of cooking, but she cannot cook in the same way that an octopus (章鱼) cannot ride a bike.

One time, I walked into the kitchen to find Holly making toast. I generally feel safe eating toast that Holly has made because it boasts nothing but few steps. But this toast was a bit thin and tough.

“It’s a bit thin and tough,” I said. “What bread is this?”

“It’s the same bread we always have,” Holly said, pointing to the bag.

“Oh, my God!” I cried. “It has a best-by date of January 2009.”

“It was in the freezer,”Holly said. “The best-by date doesn’t count if the product is frozen.”

“But still there is a limit for frozen food,” I responded, holding up a slice of bread which felt like a stone.

“No, there isn’t,” she replied. “I once saw a show where scientists found a rare animal frozen in ice for millions of years. They melted it, cooked it, and ate it.”

“That is why it is called a show,” I cried.

“You never appreciate anything I do,” replied Holly.

“That’s not true,” I said. “I appreciate everything you do. You’re a beautiful, kind, thoughtful person. But if I ordered a hamburger at McDonald’s and they handed it to me, saying, ‘Sorry, it was a bit tough because the bread had been stored for nearly 10 years,’ I would assume there was something wrong with the restaurant staff.”

“It would probably be good with me,” responded Holly, holding out her hands.“But you would never know whether the guy at McDonald’s spent an hour in the kitchen making it for you and burned his thumb on a pan.”

“Fine,” I sighed, raising it to my mouth. “I’ll taste it.” Taking the brown and yellow bread, I had a strong burning feeling like having a mouthful ofred ants. I swallowed with effort as my eyes began to water.

“Yes,” said Holly. “We were out of cream, so I used pepper from Sichuan, China instead.”

Sun Rui, a mother in Beijing, changed some of her plans for her 8-year-old son’s summer vacation. She had looked for an out-of-school English course, but in the end, she changed it to a swimming training class. “It is because of the strict rules on subject-tutoring classes out of schools, many parents like me choose sports or other classes for developing interests instead,” Sun said.

Sun’s choice is part of the result of the government’s growing efforts to reduce the academic pressure on young students.

On July 24, Chinese government introduced the rules in order to reduce the burden of homework and after-class tutoring for primary and junior high school students. It lists requirements in areas such as reducing the amount and the difficulty of homework and after-class services provided by schools. For example, homework   for primary children below the third grade is not allowed, while homework for junior high school students should take no longer than 90 minutes to finish. Out-of-school classes cannot teach students knowledge that is ahead of the school curriculum. No subject lessons can be given on weekends, national holidays or during winter and summer vacations.

According to Global Times, more than 75 percent of Chinese children in cities, from grade 1 to grade 12, take part in out-of-school subject classes. This has led to many social problems such as students’ falling levels of physical fitness, more mental health problems and huge family costs, said Chu Zhaohui, a senior researcher with the National Institute of Education Sciences.

Many parents showed their support for the new moves. “Subject learning is enough at school and we hope the children’s life can be more relaxing during holidays”, a parent in Guangzhou told Xinhua. However, there are also some parents who have new fears. A parent in Shanxi said that although she agreed with the new rules, she was worried that both she and her husband had no time to be with her son.

As New Zealand begins the long, costly task of clearing up after Cyclone (飓风) Gabrielle cut a disastrous path across much of the North Island on Feb 12 and 13, finger pointing has started.

The cleanup and rebuilding may take years, and even longer in remote parts, with costs running into the billions of dollars.

What made the cyclone worse for New Zealand was that it followed nearly a week of heavy rain in late January that caused the worst flooding in the nation’s history.

Green Party leader James Shaw delivered a speech on Feb 14, saying: “I struggle to find words to express what I am thinking and feeling about this particular crisis. I don’t think I’ve ever felt as sad or as angry about the lost decades that we spent arguing about whether climate change was real or not, whether it was caused by humans or not, whether it was bad or not, whether we should do something about it or not, because it is clearly here now, and if we do not act, it will get worse.”

Shaw’s speech highlighted the growing concern in New Zealand and across the world on the increasing effect of climate change on global weather patterns.

A lecturer in the University of Auckland said it was high time the country moved away from passive responses to natural disasters and adopt an active approach.

“In the next decades down to the end of this century, we expect that ocean temperatures will steadily climb and extreme events will become more common, serious, and long-lasting,” a marine expert said. “The actual trajectory (轨迹), however, depends on how society will deal with the climate change challenge.”