I recently started riding a bike again and it’s true what they say: you never forget. In fact, memories about riding in the 1950s are still pretty fresh.

Like the time I rode a bike to deliver newspapers in a new southwest Calgary subdivision. In winter even. I can see vividly the icy Richmond Road coming suddenly toward my head as I tumbled over the handlebars. The bike was one speed. But, it got me where I needed to go and allowed me to make money as a 12-year-old.

Fifteen years or so after that fall, I would pedal my Gitane 10-speed with racing handlebars to work in Victoria, in the rain, then, a few years later east on the Lethbridge jail road, with the wind, for fun until I turned back.

Another 20 years and I’m riding a clunky, second-hand mountain bike to a fishing run along the Crownest River. Without the bike, it’s a long walk, less time to fish.

Earlier this week, I took my new Kona Dew for a spin around Henderson Lake to connect with the south green-strip bike trail. It’s a pleasant ride, but I had forgotten when I left heading east I would have to go west to return home and that westerlies still prevail here. That hasn’t changed.

Some things have, however.

The bike is much easier to ride with its 21-speed Shimano gear system. It even allows for a relatively painless ride up the Whoop Drive hill to the university. Beats one speed, even 10.

Motivation to ride now involves the environment, price of gasoline, need for exercise and to stop my self-flagellation for driving a few blocks to buy bread.

What’s really different is the city’s commitment to cycling. The Capital Improvement Program establishes a yearly $500,000 trail system upgrade infusion starting in 2010. The plan already incorporates bikeways in new subdivisions and will fill gaps in the existing system, largely in South and North Lethbridge.

For example, Transportation Manager Darwin Juell talks matter-of-factly about a rationale for using 9^th Avenue S. as a natural link for cyclists between Henderson Park trails and the Scenic Drive Trail at 5^th Street. S. One option would include a designated, painted bike lane along the road that would also connect with a bike lane planned as part of the 5^th Street S. downtown redevelopment.

The north side trail system will be expanded with the Scenic Drive north extension and new links along 28^th Avenue.

It’s all part of the 2007 Bikeways and Pathways Master Plan vision of “a city with a well-established network of bikeways and pathways that are a gateway to health, fitness, recreation, leisure and transportation.”

The plan already identifies the need for bicycle commuting routes: some new and existing routes will be enlarged to 5 metres wide from 3 to better accommodate two-way pedestrian and cyclist traffic.

And concerns about cyclist-motorist conflicts could be addressed through an education effort Juell is considering as he rewrites the bicycling bylaw.

Pedal on.

We’re blessed in Southwestern Alberta with an abundance of spectacular, scenic spaces where we experience the outdoors in infinite ways. But, few can top the Castle-Crown wilderness for its beauty, biodiversity and recreational opportunities.

Problem is, there’s fear we’ll either love or exploit it to death.

Had it remained as part of Waterton Lakes National Park, its protection would have been assured. But in 1921, it was removed from park boundaries because two federal departments were playing politics. It has since gone through a number of changes that have fallen short of necessary control of human activity for the sake of its sensitive environment.

A grass-roots organization has been meeting in Pincher Creek since June trying to define how the Castle-Crown might be protected. The committee evolved from a meeting last fall at which the province outlined a process that would lead to greater protection.

 It’s tough to bring 20 or more people representing diverse interests together in a province that relishes minimal control or regulation. But most at the table are fairly certain more protection of this roughly 1,040 square kilometers in our backyard is needed and will ultimately be the result.

For one thing, the Castle River and its tributaries provide about 30 per cent of the drainage of the entire Eastern Slopes of the Rockies. That water keeps about a quarter-million people downstream from going thirsty. That is enough for provincial authorities to send up a flag. It’s the nature of control needed that’s not universally accepted.

Since 1998 called the Castle Special Place, its boundaries are Waterton Park, the B.C-Alberta border, the Castle-Crowsnest watershed divide, and the Forest Reserve east boundary. A West Castle Wetlands Ecological Reserve and a Castle Special Management Area Forest Land Use Zone have been established. That covers about 2 square km, leaving 1,038 square km under-protected.

It’s cherished for its skiing, hiking, angling, motorized recreational vehicle riding, camping – the list goes on. Add to that industrial development and you have the potential for conflict with the environment.

The discussions have been delicate. It’s tough to project just what might result, but some principles that got the nod this week generally focus on limiting activities that would harm the area’s ecological integrity while maintaining public ownership, access and traditional recreational and cultural uses. The target is to complete a proposal in six months that can be taken to the local MLA, Tourism, Parks & Recreation Minister and, ultimately, the public.

The province’s guidelines list as options Ecological Reserve, Wilderness Area, Wildland Park, Heritage Rangeland, Provincial Park, Provincial Recreation Area and Natural Area or a combination. The province has also set preservation, heritage appreciation, outdoor recreation and heritage tourism as goals for parks or protected areas.

The working group includes organizations such as the Crowsnest Conservation Society, Nature Conservancy of Canada, Castle-Crown Wilderness Coalition Lethbridge Fish and Game Association, Southern Alberta Bowhunters Association, and Royal Dutch Shell Canada. Local governments and ATV users are not yet formally part of discussions.

Stay tuned.

Monday 3:44 p.m. GMT marks the Autumnal Equinox, the official beginning of fall. Summer’s end. We know it’s here because the sun shines lower in the southern sky. We wait for Indian summer to balance the chilly night air.

It means the sun’s rays beat directly on the equator and there’s as much daylight as darkness.

Seasonal changes come with their own traditions. The next-door neighbor celebrates the Spring Solstice with a garden get-together. A group of fly-fishers gathers on the Crowsnest River each year at the Winter Solstice. Harvest rituals come attached to the Autumnal Equinox.

According to Celtic lore, autumn’s beginning, called Mabon, signals a time to pay our respects to the impending dark and give thanks to the waning sunlight. The equinox honors The Green Man, the God of the Forest, by offering libations to trees, ciders, wines and herbs. Among autumn activities are gathering seed pods, walking in the woods, scattering offerings in harvested fields and adorning burial sites with leaves, acorns, and pine cones to honor those who have passed.

It’s also a time of balance, when we enjoy the fruits of our personal harvests, whether it’s gardening, working, raising families, or just coping with everyday life.

For some, like a core group of Henderson Lake golfers, autumn signals a move from the links to the rinks at The Lethbridge Curling Club. For others, it’s a time to change gear – in storage go the fishing pole, sailboard and garden shears, out come the rifle and rake. Hardcore cyclists, runners and hikers simply dress differently when the seasons change.

Clearly, the seasons relate to how we approach the outdoors. Something compels us to spend time outside. Open Air Magazine released a survey this month of 1,027 adults who were asked what they most look forward to outdoors. Exercise topped the list, followed by inspiration, solitude, forgetting about work and companionship.

For me it can be all those things. When I’m fishing on the river, it doesn’t matter if I catch a rainbow – it’s part of the pot of gold, the total package that leaves me in awe of what we have in Southern Alberta. Expect regular reflections on the wonders of the Prairies, the Porcupines, the unique ecosystems of Waterton and the Castle-Crown and upper Oldman drainages, the infinite natural phenomena they hold and the ways we enjoy them.

This weekend, for example, the TD Friends of The Environment Great Canadian Shoreline Clean-up will focus on the Crowsnest River today and Oldman River in Lethbridge Sunday. The Crowsnest clean-up from 10 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. is organized by the Crowsnest Conservation Society. Meet at Sobey’s parking lot in Blairmore. The local effort by Helen Schuler Coulee Centre and Oldman Watershed Council staff starts at 2 p.m. in the Nature Centre parking lot.

Beyond that, watch for discussion of issues in our corner of the world.

To borrow from Celtic lore: may your Mabon be memorable, and your hearts and spirits be filled to overflowing.