PEOPLE OFTEN ASK ME, "DAVE, HOW DID YOU GET INTO ADVENTURE SPORTS?"
This question was something I never thought about, but it made me search for an answer. I mean, I grew up in a house where both my parents smoked so how could I venture into a life of outdoor sports? The answer I found was, it was in my environment.
Both my parents worked extremely hard holding down two jobs while creating a new company. This is similar to many families today, and it made clear to me the importance of hard work, as I saw what it might take for success. My parents didn't drive us to school or other activities so we walked everywhere. Once I got a bike, I was really pumped since my time to friend's houses and Kits Beach in the summertime was cut in half.
I also spent my summers on my auntie Jane and uncle Bob's farm. They weren't rich in money but they were oozing richness in spirit and farming knowledge. They made everything, and for me initially it was like a prison camp for kids. Each day we would pick vegetables, cut them for canning, get firewood stocked up for the next winter and complete other chores. It made us kids lean mean fighting machines! I look back on those days as the best in my life and I thank my parents and Jane and Bob with instilling in me a sense of ownership, pride and success. It's these core values that I have and still put into everything I do today. I'm also constantly asked, "What keeps me motivated?" I never have an answer to that question either as when you grow up having to earn everything you just get addicted to going out and doing stuff, not waiting for it to fall into your lap.
The North Shore, in my opinion, is probably one of the best and easiest places in the world to raise kids. We have great schools, great adventure opportunities and great people! However over the last 10 years I have seen many people move away from letting their kids ride and walk to school. In fact, when I ride through a school zone on my way to my outdoor office most mornings what I see is a cluster of big cars and SUVs plugging up school streets as parents rush to drop their kids off and get on with their days. Most parents say the streets are too busy and dangerous for their kids to walk, take the bus or ride their bikes to school. However I must ask, what's making them so dangerous? Maybe it's the sheer number of vehicles driving erratically jostling for pole position to get in and out of the school lineup that makes it dangerous?
My good friend Jeneen Sutherland is a mom, works, is a great athlete and basically a typical super mom! She consistently rides or walks with her kids to school. The other day, as she and her kids were riding to school, a passing motorist yelled at her to get her kids off the street. Is this what we want for our beautiful community? I hope not.
June 13, the Healthy Routes to School Group for Cleveland elementary unveiled some new bike signs and other related infrastructure improvements during its annual Cleveland Bike Week. Our awesome District of North Vancouver Mayor Richard Walton was in attendance. During this week, 75 per cent of the 500 kids typically ride or walk to school.
So, I ask you, what do you want to create for your North Shore neighborhood? Remember you're not stuck in traffic,
you are traffic! Adventurer Dave Norona feels like a kid each morning on his daily bike escapades on the North Shore roads or mountains. His pedal power is supported by Marin Bikes, PowerBar and Lynn Valley Bikes! Info: noronalife.com.
