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p4 weekender july 19 1986 weekender comment bicycle paths needed a proposal by the unionville optimists club to build a network of bicycle paths in unionville and eventually extend the plan to old markham village and mil- liken is a tremendous idea and the time to get started is now when new development is still taking place and land can be set aside for the paths develop ers might even be persuaded to kick in land or pay for construc tion of parts of the network not only will this parkway be an autofree place for cyclists and walkers but it will also enhance parkland that already exists in the town perhaps linking ex isting and planned parks a special word of commenda tion goes to the optimist club members who have pledged 7000 a year for the paths and hope the town will provide an equal amount in 10 or 20 years when the subdi visions currently under construc tion mature we will be thankful to markham councillors and the un ionville optimists for helping pre serve these greenbelt areas as people parks now is the time for construction to begin bittersweet farewell to my youth i knew i was in trouble as soon as i approached the ramp only my macho pride and an alcohol- induced sense of bravado kept me from jamming on the brakes and aborting this misguided venture but those kids from the cottage next door had made it look so easy the day before as one by one they would take off down the hill on their bikes onto the dock up the makeshift wooden ramp and into the lake besides i had already chickened out on my previous two approaches so this time had to be a go no matter what my better judgment was telling me theres something about turn ing 30 that makes you want to prove to yourself and the world that you can still cut it that men tally and physically youve got that teenage invincibility this is so easy for me to see now seven years later having recently re turned to the site of my last con cession to youthful mindlessness the memory was still painfully clear though the years have a way of helping us see the lighter side of our learning experiences from where i live hslucz cstaf2lelj embarrassing as they may have been now it is my contention that my son who was four years old at the time must shoulder part of the blame for this little misadven ture for it was his idea that i try it but my wife just laughs disdain fully at such an excuse she insists that anyone who would allow him self to be influenced by an infant should reconsider his sense of direction anyway the little guy dared me to do it at first i just brushed the idea aside thats kids stuff i retorted as i went off to read a comic book but the seed had been sown and i found myself watching ever more intently as those young daredevils kept making those breathtaking plunges finally i could stand it no lon ger we had just returned from an afternoon cruise of the lake which had involved the imbibing of liquid refreshments of a spi rited nature now i should add at this point that 1 am no longer given to such nonsensical indulgences matur ity finally having taken a foothold in my life so spurred on by slightly dulled senses i decided that the time was nigh that i would show those upstart kids and my four year old son what a real stunt artist could do my effort made evel knievels ill fated grand canyon rocket jump look like a moon landing bad planning killed me i hadnt counted on the reduced visibility afforded by the removal of my glasses no way was i going to risk los ing them though so off they stayed i was pointed towards the dock by my aides my approach was tentative to say the least and didnt allow me to attain enough speed to achieve the height necessary to successfully separate myself from the bike as i went up over the ramp and into the air the result was a less than spec tacular execution and a rather nasty 13stitch scratch i guess i shouldnt have chosen the bike with the metal pedals now to this day what stands out most in my mind is the complete lack of sympathy extended me by mrs s even after i told her that i had dedicated the jump to her i told her it was important for a man to try new things to respond to challeges but she obviously wasnt buying she just smiled limply and suggested that we talk about something else i thought that maybe the doctor in the little clinic in northbrook where i went for stitching would show some understanding perhaps even a touch of quiet admiration for a guy wounded in such a daring fashion i soon realized the error of that assumption when after asking me how it had happened he ex amined my knee then called for his assistant to bring him his saw for the remainder of our holi day i hobbled around the cottage enduring nicknames like peg leg chester and gimpy the kids next door continued to per form their death defying bicycle stunts while i just sat watching bidding one last bittersweet farewell to my reckless youth conomist sun the tribune weekender bruce annan publisher 9 heritage rd markham l3p1m3 2942200 4959440 6402100 6492292 published every saturday by metroland priming publishing and distributing at 9 heritage rd markham ontario up 1m3 tel 2942200 second class mail registration number 1247 the weekender is one of the metroland group of suburban newspapers which includes the acton free press ajaxpickering news advertiser the aurora banner brampton guardian the burlington post the burlington weekend post the etobicokc advertiser- guardian the georgetown independent the markham economist and sun the milton champion the mississauga news the newmarket era the willowdale mirror oakville beaver oakvillc friday beaver oshawa whitby this week oshawa whitby this weekend the richmond hill liberal thornhill liberal the scarborough mirror the stouffvihc tribune and vaughan liberal metroland printing publishing and distributing is a division of harlequin enterprises ltd national sales representative metroland corporate sales 4931300 jim thomas don bernard editorial department news editorjo ann 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