There must be some kind of way out of here (A cyclist's rant)

Yes, it's THAT SONG again ;-)

I'm cycling from North Vancouver to East Vancouver.  Not only is Vancouver mind-numbingly boring, as someone wrote in The Economist not long ago, it is also mind-numbingly full of cars and industry and the resulting noise and stench and dirt.

 This idyllic scene is the view of East Vancouver as seen from North Vancouver.  We all know that Vancouver is a GREEN city so I included some shrubbery in the picture as evidence of this city's lovely green-ness.

Please note the immaculately kept side walk in this picture of a stinky and noisy part of North Vancouver. The scene also benefits from the fact that the usual 3 pm car traffic grid lock with its associated noise and stench has not formed yet

Yes, this is the bicycle path one needs to take to cross Second Narrows Bridge (and this is the much-improved cycle path for about 6 months now ;-) The exhaust stench, the noise, and the amount of particulate matter landing on one's forehead are astonishing. Even the presence of a red figure with horns and a trident couldn't really make this crossing any worse.

The only nice thing about cycling right next to Highway 1 is the exhilarating feeling when the bicycle travels faster uphill than the unending caravan of cars.  That is something car drivers don't like for some reason as I noticed on regular roads. Whenever the stop-and-go traffic has forced them to a near or full stop again and they discover a 10 meter gap in front of them and a bicycle passing them, they hit the accelerator hard, even if it just gains them 10 meters and the satisfaction of having passed that pesky bike again.  Maybe it's time to think about requiring a mental assessment before issuing driver's licenses?