Burrard Bicycle Trial Launch - one small step for biking worldwide, one giant leap for biking in Vancouver

My apologies to Neil Armstrong. You'd think by the number of media folks at today's Burrard Street Single Lane Physically Separated Bike Path Trial (up to 3 cyclists per media person today at the peak is my thumb in the air guesstimate) launch, that something monumental had happened. Well by Vancouver bicycling standards yes but by world bicycling standards, definitely NOT (i.e. it's a baby step). More (including exclusive shaky handheld but illustrative video after the jump!

After living in Europe for 6 years in England and Germany, I like to think that part of me is European. My European side sniggers at the brouhaha over the launch of the Vancouver physically separated bike lane on the Burrard Street Bridge today. It's only one lane and it's only a TRIAL, so calm down people :-) ! People in places like Bremen, Amsterdam, Friedrichshafen, and Copenhagen (to name just a few) have had many many km of this kind of safe physically separated bike paths and bridges (for even kids! imagine that !) for years! And bicycling is not a big deal, it's like ice hockey in Canada just part of living!

But of course most of me is Canadian and that side was rejoicing today. I personally loathe sharing the road with cars because of the danger, not that I hate cars but anytime you share a road with a car, you are only one sewer grate, one exposed heat expansion joint (as you will see if you watch my shakey southbound video), one person listening to their iPhone or BlackBerrying away from death. So I personally avoid going down streets that are busy but I do occasionally because I have no choice. The bike paths that bicyclists share with roads (and with joggers jogging on the road illegally) like Vancouver's 10th Avenue Bike Path and Ontario Street Bike Path are also too dangerous for me (but I bicycle on them daily!) but a lot safer than bicycling on streets and bridges like Burrard Street bridge was until today.

Herewith my shakey (and relatively short) but illustrative of the zeitgeist videos

Northbound: http://qik.com/video/2181295

Southbound http://qik.com/video/2185920