Cycling Thread

[cracher]

Originally Posted by Temporary_User

The more people that fight the ticket and win, the more likely it is that cops begin to get it and quit pulling people over and ticketing them for it.

While this may be true, I would be too embarrassed to even try. A North Shore rack has around a 2" wide metal arm right up the middle of the license plate. When folded down, the plate is further obscured by the back wheel brace. I am 100% in violation of the rule. I don't think the answer lies in pointing out police hypocrisy. It's the rack maker that has to respond when people moan about tickets.

Definitely will not be drilling holes into a rack, thus potentially weakening the structure. Perhaps some sort of magnetic plate mount? It would take 2 seconds to rip the plate off the vehicle and slap it on the rack.

[squiggs96]

Originally Posted by tete

I love how, in regular traffic on the road, there is a golf cart being driven by a guy in a cowboy hat.

[tete]

Originally Posted by squiggs96

I love how, in regular traffic on the road, there is a golf cart being driven by a guy in a cowboy hat.

Hah, I never even noticed that!

[Northendzone]

one modification i made for my rack, was to get a set of magnetic stop lights (princess auto) - mostly because i was worried that my chances of being rear ended increased when the bikes are on the rack and i always hope that if i am ever stopped, that the police will jsut give me a warning. i used this setup last year when we drove down to oregon.

to me they could easily make up the lsot revenue from a few obscured photo radar tickets by being more viglant about distracted drivers.........

one more tip about bike racks - if your rack has any parts that are easily removeable by hand, you may want to remove the part in question and throw it in your trunk when your vehicle is parked - last yr, i either lost or someone took one of the "hook" devices that go over the top tube of the bike. When we left Portland to drive home, I had to macguyver something to hold my daughters bike in place until i could get to a home depot to get some additional load straps/bungee cords. i ordered a replacement part from swagman.

[squiggs96]

Originally Posted by tete

Hah, I never even noticed that!

So I went to Google Street View to look more at this. I couldn't figure out where you got the image from, as when I go there the photo doesn't have the cart and is from May 2015. However, if you turn the corner and follow him, the images are from July 2012 and the cart is there. It goes down Olympic way, travelling faster than the Google car and then makes a left onto 5th St SE into a parking lot. Once the cart turns off the Street View switches to September 2014 and the lot is empty.

/coolstarrybra

[CorsiHockeyLeague]

Originally Posted by cracher

I can just imagine that day in traffic court when some smart-ass shows a pic of a cop car with a covered plate haha. The fine is not worth the vacation day to fight it, so I guess I'll just pay it and hope to not get pulled over again.

Originally Posted by Temporary_User

The more people that fight the ticket and win, the more likely it is that cops begin to get it and quit pulling people over and ticketing them for it.

This behaviour would not result in you winning. "BUT YOU GUYS DO IT TOO" does not somehow eliminate your own violation of a black and white rule. If anything this sort of smartass "gotcha" maneuver would just annoy the hell out of the judge.

[Temporary_User]

Originally Posted by CorsiHockeyLeague

This behaviour would not result in you winning. "BUT YOU GUYS DO IT TOO" does not somehow eliminate your own violation of a black and white rule. If anything this sort of smartass "gotcha" maneuver would just annoy the hell out of the judge.

You must have missed the post above where I said that this is exactly what people are doing and getting out of their tickets.

You can google the local news articles.

[Bill Bumface]

Originally Posted by tete

In order to turn southbound onto 9th St going westbound, I have to cross over the eastbound bike lane folks, plus 3 lanes of oncoming traffic. Is the correct method to cross 9th St. and position your bike southbound and wait for a green light to proceed forward?

Thanks!

That sounds right. There should be a green bike box there.

I just attempted to turn from SB 5th Street to WB 8th Ave.

Brutal. By far the most disappointing thing I've tried to do on the cycle track.

You must first look for a completely incognito bike box that is to your east on the north side of 8th ave. Now you need to yield to oncoming bikes, make sure you don't get rear ended, then look for a gap in the pedestrians, move your bike across the crosswalk, do a 180, and then wait for the next signal and continue on.

I'd hope there was a better way to handle this, like a box tucked just to the right of the existing SB lane on 5th street, but I guess not.

[WhiteTiger]

Just today, I completed my 'summer goal' of making it all the way around the Glenmore Reservoir (from my starting point of Chinook Mall). It's a 20 km trip, and I was able to do it in 1:22.49.

Now to start shaving that time down.

[Hack&Lube]

Not sure if FATA but interesting live stats of Calgary cycling. There isn't much yet. Hopefully they will start adding all the other counters.

http://calgary.bike/grafana/dashboar...l-daily-graphs

[Grimbl420]

Originally Posted by WhiteTiger

Just today, I completed my 'summer goal' of making it all the way around the Glenmore Reservoir (from my starting point of Chinook Mall). It's a 20 km trip, and I was able to do it in 1:22.49.

Now to start shaving that time down.

Good job man. I started cycling this year doing that circuit from near Mount Royal University. I was finally able to complete it in under an hour this week.

[peter12]

As I said previously, the amount of people using the bike lanes has been very disappointing. I use them every day, and I love them, but have not seen a lot of ridership. Will these numbers be taken into account when they decide whether the trade-off between the increased congestion, decreased parking, and the amount of cyclists is worth the bike lane infrastructure?

[Bring_Back_Shantz]

Originally Posted by peter12

As I said previously, the amount of people using the bike lanes has been very disappointing. I use them every day, and I love them, but have not seen a lot of ridership. Will these numbers be taken into account when they decide whether the trade-off between the increased congestion, decreased parking, and the amount of cyclists is worth the bike lane infrastructure?

I don't know if that's all that disppointing.
The only place they have data for in that link where there is a new bike lake is Stephen ave, and it looks like bike traffic there more than doubled in a pretty short time (the decrase near the end was due to the bike lanes being closed durring Stampede).

Seems to me that an immediate doubing of ridership in that area is a good sign.

[peter12]

Originally Posted by Bring_Back_Shantz

I don't know if that's all that disppointing.
The only place they have data for in that link where there is a new bike lake is Stephen ave, and it looks like bike traffic there more than doubled in a pretty short time (the decrase near the end was due to the bike lanes being closed durring Stampede).

Seems to me that an immediate doubing of ridership in that area is a good sign.

Doubling to under 2000 daily rides (back and forth) on one of Calgary's busiest pedestrian streets during one of the busiest times of year is not that encouraging. Fair enough though. I really hope they work out.

[Bill Bumface]

Originally Posted by peter12

Doubling to under 2000 daily rides (back and forth) on one of Calgary's busiest pedestrian streets during one of the busiest times of year is not that encouraging. Fair enough though. I really hope they work out.

I think 5th Street is the one to look at. The City was starved for a safe N/S route. I bet the numbers are decently high there.

[peter12]

Originally Posted by Bill Bumface

I think 5th Street is the one to look at. The City was starved for a safe N/S route. I bet the numbers are decently high there.

I live on 5th Street, and I bike through the Core at about 7:15 AM. The numbers are negligible. I love the bike lanes, but the critics are more right than people want to admit.

[habernac]

Originally Posted by peter12

I live on 5th Street, and I bike through the Core at about 7:15 AM. The numbers are negligible. I love the bike lanes, but the critics are more right than people want to admit.

again, this thing isn't going to be Copenhagen overnight.

[peter12]

Originally Posted by habernac

again, this thing isn't going to be Copenhagen overnight.

Personally, I don't think it will ever be a thing close to Vancouver or Portland. People have to remember that these bike lanes come with huge infrastructure trade-offs that will really impact decision-makers under a significant amount of lobbyist pressure.

Cyclists like yourself, who essentially treat it like a vocation, overestimate the interest that the regular commuter in Calgary has in cycling.

[Bill Bumface]

Originally Posted by peter12

Personally, I don't think it will ever be a thing close to Vancouver or Portland. People have to remember that these bike lanes come with huge infrastructure trade-offs that will really impact decision-makers under a significant amount of lobbyist pressure.

Cyclists like yourself, who essentially treat it like a vocation, overestimate the interest that the regular commuter in Calgary has in cycling.

I would of course prefer real numbers to back me up, but if I go by bike cage and bike rack use at my workplace over the last 5 years, as well as things like how much the MEC bike section has grown relative to their other departments, as well as trail usage, the areas I frequent have seen a very significant increase in bicycle ridership.

To say "numbers have doubled" and counter it with "yeah, well double a small number is still a small number" is pretty defeatist, and someone that would be hard to impress regardless of the numbers.

You aren't going to build a few bike lanes and see a 1000% ridership increase a month later.

[Table 5]

Not a very scientific study, but one thing I've kind of noticed lately, is that there seem to be a lot more casual bike riders than I remember there to be in the past. It used to be mostly hardcore dudes in lycra, or weekend warriors with 3 kids in tow. Now you see a lot more people in street clothes, often without helmets, just riding around, or going places.

I think that's a good sign that things are moving in a positive direction. Cycling is becoming less of a "sport" and just more of a way to get around.