Cycling Thread 2

[RichieRich]

Originally Posted by calgarygeologist

I didn't think the pathway was that bad. There are definitely worse sections like the south side of the river from Crowchild to the old Greyhound Station.

Fully agree that there are worse sections. For that matter, immediately south across the river there are seriously terrible sections with cracks, differing widths, longitudinal holes (from snow/ice scraping machines perhaps?), and worse.


My bigger fear is that they'll build it to the same "standards" as before which means relatively thin gravel base and relatively thin asphalt resulting in the typical frost heaves and/or tree roots pushing up bumps and such.

[RichieRich]

Heard a rumor that the Edworthy south side parking lot will be worked on soon. Unsure what the means for bike commuter usage of the road. Anyone know?


Also... the north side parking lot upgrade was cancelled: https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/calga...fees-1.7570716
I assume this means they'll continue to let the big potholes grow in size until there is more demand for an upgrade? Not sure why the holes can't be graded flat periodically instead of the all or nothing approach. sigh...

[calgarygeologist]

Originally Posted by RichieRich

Heard a rumor that the Edworthy south side parking lot will be worked on soon. Unsure what the means for bike commuter usage of the road. Anyone know?


Also... the north side parking lot upgrade was cancelled: https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/calga...fees-1.7570716
I assume this means they'll continue to let the big potholes grow in size until there is more demand for an upgrade? Not sure why the holes can't be graded flat periodically instead of the all or nothing approach. sigh...

It looks like the city has done some very minor spot repairs in the north parking lot. It seems like the first little bit of gravel is marginally better and they have a couple small sections taped off. Maybe they'll do one dump truck load per night and make some progress by the end of the month.

[Badgers Nose]

NVM - problem solved.

[Kybosh]

Does anyone wear a camera or any other device for safety? Got any recommendations? I’ve had more negative interactions with drivers this year than all my years commuting by bike in total. People blaring on their horns or cutting close to me isn’t cool when it’s just me but it’s especially uncool when I have my kids behind me.

[powderjunkie]

Originally Posted by Kybosh

Does anyone wear a camera or any other device for safety? Got any recommendations? I’ve had more negative interactions with drivers this year than all my years commuting by bike in total. People blaring on their horns or cutting close to me isn’t cool when it’s just me but it’s especially uncool when I have my kids behind me.

I've been thinking the same, but kinda don't want one more thing to turn on/off and charge or whatever. From my cursory research, it seems like a GoPro or similar is probably the easiest and best (the stabilization tech is important), though there are some bike specific dashcams out there I think.

I also feel like it might be more annoying to have a bunch of evidence of ####ty motorists and feel like I should submit it even though it's almost certainly futile.

I'd be interested to hear what solution you try

[Johnny199r]

I'm leaving in a few days for a bike tour of Croatia, Bosnia and Montenegro. Over the last year and a half, I've also cycled Jordan and SE Asia. I can't wait to go. Cycle touring has been my favourite way to travel.

[Bigtime]

Outstanding weather today for the 2 Year Birthday of Critical Mass in Calgary. Ride leaves from ContainR in Sunnyside at 6:30pm. Ride ends at Lindsay Park.

[Johnny199r]

Originally Posted by Johnny199r

I'm leaving in a few days for a bike tour of Croatia, Bosnia and Montenegro. Over the last year and a half, I've also cycled Jordan and SE Asia. I can't wait to go. Cycle touring has been my favourite way to travel.

I’d upload pictures but every time I’ve tried in 11 years on this board, it’s never worked. Not sure why it’s so complicated here vs every other place that exists on the internet.

[Bigtime]

Originally Posted by Bigtime

Outstanding weather today for the 2 Year Birthday of Critical Mass in Calgary. Ride leaves from ContainR in Sunnyside at 6:30pm. Ride ends at Lindsay Park.

That was a great ride, easily 500 or so rolling. And so glad we had the great weather and not the smoke that has rolled in now.

[Mazrim]

Originally Posted by Johnny199r

I’d upload pictures but every time I’ve tried in 11 years on this board, it’s never worked. Not sure why it’s so complicated here vs every other place that exists on the internet.

Okay grandpa let's get you to bed.

(upload to imgur.com, use the BB code embed link generator on the site)

[Johnny199r]

Originally Posted by Mazrim

Okay grandpa let's get you to bed.

(upload to imgur.com, use the BB code embed link generator on the site)

Thanks for the first comment. Love positive people.

[Flabbibulin]

Cyclist was killed going westbound 17th ave on the multi-use path, crossing 101st SW. For those unfamiliar, a fairly new section of roadway that was built alongside the ring road developments. The old section of 17th here was pretty sketchy to cycle, but now there is a nice safe path and a pretty significant shoulder on the actual road as well. Crossing the intersection on the path though requires you to zigzag all over the place, and will certainly obscure you to a larger degree than just being on the road, where you and oncoming traffic will have a nice clear view of each other. Anyway, damn… RIP to the cyclist and sorry to the driver that has to live with this. Other details we probably don’t know, but seems like both the driver and cyclist could have maybe been a little more attentive and aware of what was going on in front of them.

[powderjunkie]

Originally Posted by Flabbibulin

Cyclist was killed going westbound 17th ave on the multi-use path, crossing 101st SW. For those unfamiliar, a fairly new section of roadway that was built alongside the ring road developments. The old section of 17th here was pretty sketchy to cycle, but now there is a nice safe path and a pretty significant shoulder on the actual road as well. Crossing the intersection on the path though requires you to zigzag all over the place, and will certainly obscure you to a larger degree than just being on the road, where you and oncoming traffic will have a nice clear view of each other. Anyway, damn… RIP to the cyclist and sorry to the driver that has to live with this. Other details we probably don’t know, but seems like both the driver and cyclist could have maybe been a little more attentive and aware of what was going on in front of them.

Horrible. I presume the cyclist was going westbound/downhill, so the first thing he had to worry about was crossing the slip lane with potential cars coming behind him (I have one like this daily and it sucks), so then he'd have very little time to assess the next crossing. I don't want to come anywhere close to victim blaming because this is absolutely a case of optimizing designs for car speed and convenience over everything else, and very likely poor driving. It really sucks as a pedestrian/cyclist these days to come upon an intersection with 'don't walk' already flashing (typically way earlier than it needs to) - we know we have plenty of time to get across, but it adds a bit of urgency and makes the pedestrian ROW murky (this guy was mounted so one could technically he didn't have ROW, but that in itself is a dumb and murky situation and the LandRover certainly didn't have ROW to run him over).

Just tragic and sad how insanely vigilante we need to be out there.

[bossy22]

US is to ban all products made by Giant Manufacturing in Taiwan from entering the country.


https://www.cbp.gov/newsroom/nationa...cturing-co-ltd

[Icantwhisper]

Originally Posted by bossy22

US is to ban all products made by Giant Manufacturing in Taiwan from entering the country.


https://www.cbp.gov/newsroom/nationa...cturing-co-ltd

Canada will follow as well if proven to be true, once bill S211 passed publicly traded companies have to report this sort of thing. Not sure if any bike shops meet the reporting requirements but the importers probably do. Sucks if you have a giant and need repairs or warranty parts

[Locke]

Originally Posted by bossy22

US is to ban all products made by Giant Manufacturing in Taiwan from entering the country.


https://www.cbp.gov/newsroom/nationa...cturing-co-ltd

Finally! The true Villains emerge! It was always the cyclists.

[Bigtime]

This sad news was starting to circulate earlier this week while it was still unconfirmed. The Alberta cycling community lost a giant with the tragic death of Dr. Darren Markland while mountain biking out in the Nordegg area.

Known around the Edmonton area for his coffee machine/pizza oven cargo bike, towing a canoe by bike to commute partially to work on the North Saskatchewan river, his passion for shredding mountain bike trails just as easily as commuting to his shifts at the hospital by bike.

He was also a tireless advocate for proper healthcare spending in this province, and his tweets as an ER doc during the pandemic were a glimpse into a world of chaos that he seemed to be able to navigate with grace, and words of hope that struck a chord with so many.

I was lucky enough to meet him once, back when Calgary hosted the Winter Cycling Congress in 2019. He brought down the coffee cargo bike, and at the usual Friday morning "Coffee Outside" gathering he slung the beans and chatted with everyone. He is also the rider that introduced me to the world of heat exchanger masks for the cold winter riding.

We lost one of the good ones for sure, gone far too soon. RIP to the good doctor.

https://cyclingmagazine.ca/mtb/edmon...rren-markland/

[Lubicon]

This is messed up.

https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/calga...ered-1.7642927

[Bigtime]

Originally Posted by Lubicon

This is messed up.

https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/calga...ered-1.7642927

Yes, yes it is. Personally I have encountered the east gate at this spot unexpectedly across the pathway on my early morning commutes. Clearly not put in place by a city employee. Even at my slower speed (~20km/h) it comes up on you very fast in the dark, especially since you are looking all around as you go under the Reconciliation bridge for debris/people/other issues that are a constant around there.

My latest brush with this was just two weeks ago.

City secures these gates to a post on the opposite side with a flimsy small chain and padlock. Easily dealt with by the tools a lot of the folks in this area seem to keep on them. They need to bulk up the security. I've filed a 311 request to that effect, and urge anyone else to do the same to get some actions taken on this.