Morley Faber
Age:听52
Bike: Rocky Mountain Metro 30
Time on this bike:听Most recently, since May
Favourite ride overall: His is less a route, more of an accomplishment. He said, 鈥淲hat thrills me to no end is discovering a better way. 鈥 could do it this way because there is no hill or it鈥檚 more interesting.鈥�
Quote: 鈥淪he called me on my shit.鈥�
听
Morley Faber knew his commute could be better. Crossing the city every day, twice a day between 35th at Dunbar and Venables Street near Clark Drive, he was determined to make the trip better in every way.
He believed the solution was an electric bike and in the spring, went shopping for the right one. 鈥淚 hate being in a vehicle but I have a vehicle. I was looking for an electric bike,鈥� he said and drove to the Bike Doctor.
Path of least resistance
Faber used to commute by bike but gave it up about five years ago. An electric bike, he believed, would make for the quickest, smoothest and most enjoyable commute across town, especially if he charted a route that avoided hills.
But he didn鈥檛 buy one. Instead, Faber was influenced by a sales pitch he鈥檒l never forget. An insightful, persuasive saleswoman told him he didn鈥檛 need to buy a bike at all.
鈥淚 was giving her my arguments about why I wanted an electric bike and she heard my story about efficiency 鈥� I have to pull so much weight because I carry exercise gear and would need paniers 鈥� and unlike every other salesperson out there, she basically just called me on my shit.
鈥淪he said: 鈥業f you want to get on a bike, you鈥檝e got a bike. Just get on it.鈥欌��
Impressed with her decisiveness, Faber went home and dusted off the 21-gear Rocky Mountain in his garage.
Now, he鈥檚 on his bike four days a week, cycling 40 minutes each way. 鈥淚t seems like I鈥檓 doing it faster these days,鈥� he said.
Prize multitasker
Faber returned to the Bike Doctor and struck up a friendship with the saleswoman as he was outfitting his bike. He also crossed Broadway to Mountain Equipment Co-op for outdoor speakers, which he mounted to the handlebars of his new-again bicycle. To and from work, the property manager plugs in an iPod to the all-weather audio system and, in the name of efficient multitasking, accomplishes more than the average commuter.
鈥淚 get some interesting looks,鈥� he said. 鈥淚鈥檓 learning Thai.鈥�
Faber practises simple greetings and more complex phrases with an audio language lesson. Earbuds aren鈥檛 the safest option, so other cyclists, pedestrians and motorists with open windows can listen in.
His interest in Thai kicked up two years ago when his dedication to mixed martial arts took him across the Pacific Ocean. 鈥淚 like Muay Thai and when I turned 50, I went to Thailand. I trained to be a fighter and fell in love with the place, the people, the language. They are very serious about fighting. I just did it for entertainment and exercise. A lot of the foreigners come to fight, but I鈥檓 too old. I鈥檇 get beaten up,鈥� said Faber, who keeps up his training at Lions MMA Vancouver.
Piecing together the high-tech, low-fi dashboard was one of the key reasons Faber committed to his commute.
鈥淭he thing is, getting the Thai lessons going and getting all that set up that was the moment I said,
鈥極K, this actually works. I can do this. I can make my commute efficient.鈥欌��
