On the Road – Two-Wheeled Idiots, Segregated Parking, Canalside Scavengers and More
March 10, 2022
Highlights and lowlights from a 31.7-mile ride to and from the Falls:
1. I didn’t realize it until I got home, but it had been more than four months since I had last been in the Falls. Note to self: Get there more often.
2. Crossing the Homer Bridge, I spotted the letters “MT” written on a tank left by the construction crews who were working on the bridge. I haven’t seen that shortened form of “empty” since my late grandfather wrote those letters on pieces of masking tape and stuck them to VHS tapes he was finished watching.
3. Passing me on Taylor Road going up the escarpment was a cyclist who wasn’t wearing a helmet, but was dutifully wearing a mask, just like his government tells him to do. As I’ve said before, no sense wearing a helmet when there’s nothing upstairs to protect.
4. Coming soon are a set of traffic lights on Mountain Road at the QEW. The idea was undoubtedly championed by Winnipeg traffic engineers, who have seemingly never met a problem that couldn’t be solved by adding traffic lights.
5. Two thumbs down to the NRP for failure to clean the accident scene near the roundabout at Mountain and Mewburn Roads. As I carefully dodged the sharp debris scattered all over the road, I was again thankful for the foresight to invest in good flat-blocker tires. They cost more, but they more than pay for themselves in the long run. As always, I look at the cost to own, not the cost to buy.
6. I echo these sentiments, but much of the world, including Canada, has been under siege from their own governments for the past two years. Where are the prayers for us?
7. I noticed an inordinate amount of traffic in the Falls, but none of it was around the tourist areas, which bring in most of the money to the region. I’ve seen more people around on bitter cold days in the middle of January. And yet the restaurants still have loud music blasting outside.
8. The Fallsview Casino, which our Dear Leader has so graciously allowed to open, is charging $10 for parking, but these days, given what a ghost town the Falls has become and how desperate the government must be for hard currency, they should be paying you to park there. Heck, they should be sending a stretch limo to your front door to pick you up and take you there.
9. As you drive into the lot, there is a separate lane for those with a new Momentum rewards card. But only for those who are at the Ignite level and above. Core-level card holders need to elevate their status to get into the privileged section of the lot and avoid having to mingle with the riffraff.
10. Shot of the American Falls. In my opinion, the falls are more scenic in the winter than in the summer.
11. Canadian citizens hardly have any rights, let alone international students. For foreign nationals, simply being allowed to enter Canada is a privilege, not a right.
12. I filmed the walk through the deserted Table Rock Welcome Center. All that was open was the washroom.
13. Spotted at the LCBO on Ferry Street was a bum loitering right underneath a sign that read “No Loitering.”
14. Once again, more salt than snow in this part of the world. Welcome to Saltario.
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16. On my return trip, I passed by a woman with a dog that was squatting in the grass. “Gonna poop?” she asked the dog. She’ll find out soon enough.
17. Gingerly walking along the rocks lining the shore of the recently refilled canal was a bum foraging for goodies that had drifted ashore. He was particularly enamored with one aluminum can. He kept shaking it, perhaps hoping a genie would pop out and grant him three wishes.
18. Not far away was this abandoned stash of goodies. One man’s trash is another man’s treasure.
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