Cycling Thread 2

[ken0042]

You are far braver than me. Down south we had a dusting, just enough to hide any ice that may have been lurking. I ended up taking the bus.

[Fuzz]

I went for a run on Sunday through the park, so I knew where a few danger spots were, and after years of riding I'm pretty good at remembering potential trouble spots. Even still, I got surprised a few times, but didn't go down. Just rode like a granny!


Hoping this snow is enough to firm up on top of the ice, but I'm not sure it will be.

[Bigtime]

I'm like Fuzz, riding the same route(s) almost daily lets me feel better about days like today. Grip it and rip it with the studs.

[pope04]

I did ride in today........but with studded tires front and back. I found the am ride a little easier than the ride home.

[BurningYears]

The slopes must also be protected as they have some of the most threatened grassland ecosystems on the planet. This is the same reason that we have fenced off parts of the slopes to prevent bikers from damaging the endangered grasses further.

https://seanchu.ca/nose-hill-update-ward-411/

This is very chu of him...

Ugh

[Fuzz]

Fences that are placed to stop bikers from off-roading on the slopes where the park staff have placed new dirt, and grass seeds on some bike paths, are often cut and bikers damage the work done. This ends up costing taxpayers, as we have to do it again.

No, you don't have to do it again. You have to stop wasting my tax dollars on stupid ideas. Whoever is managing the pathways up there is absolutely clueless, and should maybe attend a trail building course.

[81MC]

Finally took the fat bike out for a brief ride along the river tonight. Almost forgot how peaceful that can be.

[Northendzone]

i love riding my fatty when it is snowing gently, it oddly relaxing and everything seems to quiet

[Fuzz]

On the plus side, all the ice is nicely buried under the fresh snow!


Some idiot snow removal company parked their truck and trailer in the 7th st cycle track to remove snow from in front of Scotia Bank. Like, ya,that's ok...

[Bigtime]

Was very happy to see that the City did indeed talk with the new snow removal contractors after all the 311 requests. The last two mornings they have already been clearing the north Bow river pathway when I hit it at 6am. Nose creek wasn't cleared yet but I expect that, and with way less volume of traffic on it I was simply cruising through some nice powder this morning.

[Fuzz]

That seems to be the only one they are doing well then! Last year was so much better. But I've noticed even the ones they do plow, like the river path, only get one pass, so it is narrower than usual.

[Bigtime]

Ah, I though perhaps I was catching them early enough that they had only cleared a half since they were going one way, and would come back and clear the other half.

[RichieRich]

The snow squads have definitely done a MUCH better job this week.... phew!! That said there's still room for improvement to get to end of last years standards which include:
- where the path ends at a road... don't leave a pile of snow there. Move it to the side. It's not just for the cyclists.
- where paths join, don't plow in a "Y" shape where that little "v" at the top gets a pile of snow.
- please clear full width of path. Yes I know you *might* be coming back later... but please come back.
- once snow stops falling... go back and PLOW approx 18"-24" from the edges of the path. This allows meltwater to stay off the path. It always melts, and nothing worse or more dangerous than ice that slowly builds on the edges complete with a bit of a melt-ramp.
- Peace Bridge... sigh...where do I start... both ends still need a LOT of work to clear it so one can ramp effectively on and off realizing that bikes don't turn at hard 90° angles. We cut corners. Also on the south side... we need that short ~75m stretch between the Bridge and the actual bike path cleared as it gets real nasty real quick. Bikes are now starting to ride on the pedestrian area (where we used to ride all the time before that dedicated lane came) in order to ride safely.

All that being said... after a rough first outing last week... this snowfall is a significant improvement. I try to give a friendly wave to the folks in their little vehicles as I do actually appreciate their efforts.

[Bigtime]

Just saw it on twitter this morning, but Lime pulled the bikes from Calgary as of yesterday for the winter. This fact was at the end of a Global report on November 1st talking about the scooters going away for the winter. I thought Lime had intended to keep them going all winter just like last year.

Sucky news, they even put the pogies on them last year and the bikes handled pretty well in the winter conditions thanks to their weight.

[KTrain]

I’m heading out to Bragg tomorrow afternoon to give fat biking a try. I know it’s short notice but are there any trails we should try? Maybe with a map? Most of us are strictly roadies so we don’t know what we’re getting into.

[Northendzone]

k-train - congrats on taking the first step in fulling the n+1 equation - there are likely some pre-christmasd sales on fatbikes right now.

anywyas, if you go on the facebook and find the group "ride-the-rockies trail reports", it can provide a lot of good intel.

as of yesterday one rider commented on how West Bragg is riunning nicely with white tail and bragging rights both groomed and packed. merlin (which runs off of bragging rights) was a little tougher.

downlaod the trailforks app to your phone, it will help you navigate the trails.

if you ride whitetail and bragging rights, you may note these two trails run somewhat parallel - and you may just say - hey i am going to stick to bragging rights - be forewarned that the climb up bragging rights is a real workout - taking whitetail up to the intersection of whitetail, bragging rights and long distance is a little more enjoyable

will be interested to see your thoughts on fatbiking.

fish creek is a nice alternative as you don't have to drive and not as much climbing.

[KTrain]

Calgary Cycle 22x in Bragg has free fat bike rentals until the 15th if anyone else is interested in giving it a try. That's why we're riding out there.

[Ryan Coke]

Have fun and give us the report after! I love mountain biking but haven’t yet craved being out there in the winter.

That is cool that they’re doing free rentals though.

[Northendzone]

Originally Posted by KTrain

Calgary Cycle 22x in Bragg has free fat bike rentals until the 15th if anyone else is interested in giving it a try. That's why we're riding out there.

that is interesting, also dropping the bike back off gives you a good reason to stop at the cinnamon spoon for a post ride treat

as I think more about it snowy owl is also a popular winter trail

[KTrain]

If anyone else is interested in taking advantage of the deal, here's the coupon.

You need to be signed up to their email newsletter to get the deal.