Final Observations:
Homogenous:
For all the speak about diversity & being a mosaic, we are extraordinarily alike. In traveling the breadth of Csnada, i came within a breath of 80% of its population, and to me we share very similar values & lifestyles. Considering a continent the size of ours, in any other place on earth, would normally house 10-20 separate countries.
Yet we all believe that Tim Hortons is not just a cakeshop but staple food source, we all love hockey (although we are not sportingly active), can sing Neil Diamond at karaoke, and know to stop talking when a Middle-Aged Man in Spandex walks into our local restaurant.
Canada’s greatest unproductive crop: turf! I cycled past acres & acres of manicured pasture that surrounded homes, getting larger as I travelled east.
It amuses me how it is not just a pass-time, but a year round commitment. Never had so little been achieved by so many in such a long time than those who dedicate their summers and lives to greenkeeping. At least on a golfcourse, you are allowed to play on it. And you can eat gardens.
Watering, fertilizing, weeding, gassing & maintenance, and most of all, your summer days wasted. Granted, some enjoy this activity, but I have been there too, and I know theres not that many . The grass is not greener on the other side. It’s not even green, environmentally. White:
Most of what I bike in the summer would not be accessible at any other time of the year. It’s easy to think that the weather is like this all the time, but it lasts maybe 3-4 months tops.
It still amazes me how Canadians not only survive in adverse conditions but they appear to thrive. Water:
For most communities that are land-locked, there sure is s lot of water about: rivers, lakes, canals, mountain caps, ponds. Of all of our greatest resources, this one is the greatest. Canada Stinks:
Of my entire trip, I spent 25-30% smelling shit. Now you may say that is normal and necessary for our crops. It’s more a reflection on how many animals there are making manure.
Meantime we can’t wait to get rid of out own waste into the seas, even though it must be more nutritious. Less growth hormones, pesticides, toxins. And cows & chickens live in condos these days so how healthy is that? Safeville:
I never once felt at risk or threatened in my journeys. Canadians are wonderful caring people. Kindest town was Montreal River, Ont., especially Rick from Michigan, a regular holidayer, who served up two cold beers on my arrival. Meanest place was English River, on the way to Thunder Bay, the motelrefused to serve me breakfast or even a coffee, after a 100km bike ride without a break. The local store decided to stay closed than serve me. Changing Landscape:
Small towns across the country are getting smaller. Folk are dying off and their kids are moving to the cities. Like the animals we are moving into boxes . Country Quebec seemed an exception but that could have been the season. There is shill a lot of space out there. I found that out.
