pulled from www.bikecalgary.org -
November 23 Strathcona Bike Route Information Session
5 - 8 p.m., Strathcona Community Centre, 277 Strathcona Dr. S.W.
As part of The City's commitment to encouraging alternative forms of transportation, we are proposing improvements to bicycle routes in the Strathcona community. A public information session will be held to share the concept designs with interested members of the public and to gain feedback.
Contact: Mat MacDonald, 403-268-2196 or email: mathew.macdonald@calgary.ca
Nov 7, 2009
Andreas Taking Pictures
click on the title to see more of my 'lil man's photo work today.we rode over to the douglas fir trail for a hike this morning. it was beautiful out, maybe a little chilly, but wonderful to be out before everyone else.
Nov 4, 2009
Road Raging Driver Found Guilty
(photo from velonews)
a driver in california has been found guilty on all counts in the case involving him and 4 cyclists who he braked suddenly in front of to "teach them a lesson". the picture here shows you the bloody aftermath of that "lesson".
UPDATE - guilty on all counts!
for more info on this case, check out velonews, as they have been covering all aspects of this case.
one of the things that really resonated with me was the comments made by the doctor - that he wanted to teach them a lesson. what lesson was he planning on teaching these riders by impailing them with his bumper? that cars rule the roads? that he is entitled to the road because he is rich and driving a fancy car? that cyclists are second-class road users, and as such, can be crashed off the road at will? its too bad the officer didnt ask him what lesson exactly he was teaching them?
also interesting were the comments by one of the victims -"...to be honest, it's sad for both sides. I'm glad it sends a message to the community that it is dangerous and we have to watch out, but at the end of the day, I lost a lot of my time and my life, and he's losing a lot of his.”
who knows whether this case will resonate in the enforcement community - aka police, who, historically have tended to regard car-bike collisions as minor fender benders and not personal injury situations. ask almost anyone who has had a run-in with a motorist and quite often the attending officer - if one shows up at all - almost alway approach the the situation with a pro-car stance. dont believe me? ask around.
the reality is that is you are riding a bike and a driver decides to "teach you a lesson" you are going to find yourself on the receiving end of a personal injury while the driver might have dent in his sheet metal.
hardly equitable outcomes for the driver and cyclist.
this case illustrates a huge problem we have here in canada and the US. for 60 years now; governments and industry have been squeezing out other road users to accommodate the single occupancy vehicle to the expense of our health, our communities, and our future. beacause of this, motorists have been sold the idea that streets are the sole domain of vehicles only, when in reality, streets are in the public domain and are for use by everyone.
people. bikes. everyone.
add to that mix the media feeding us images of beautiful people in fancy cars, on wide open roads, travelling at a million miles an hour - and you can begin understand, to a point, why motorists are getting more frustrated and aggressive while behind the wheel. essentially, we have been lied to for 60 years by the car industry and - although people probably dont make those connections consciously, they are feeling it inside them and acting out in dangerous ways.
thankfully, some governments are beginning to awaken to the disaster that has been created and are trying to correct the imbalance. we have a long way to go but we are beginning to move in the right direction.
a driver in california has been found guilty on all counts in the case involving him and 4 cyclists who he braked suddenly in front of to "teach them a lesson". the picture here shows you the bloody aftermath of that "lesson".
UPDATE - guilty on all counts!
for more info on this case, check out velonews, as they have been covering all aspects of this case.
one of the things that really resonated with me was the comments made by the doctor - that he wanted to teach them a lesson. what lesson was he planning on teaching these riders by impailing them with his bumper? that cars rule the roads? that he is entitled to the road because he is rich and driving a fancy car? that cyclists are second-class road users, and as such, can be crashed off the road at will? its too bad the officer didnt ask him what lesson exactly he was teaching them?
also interesting were the comments by one of the victims -"...to be honest, it's sad for both sides. I'm glad it sends a message to the community that it is dangerous and we have to watch out, but at the end of the day, I lost a lot of my time and my life, and he's losing a lot of his.”
who knows whether this case will resonate in the enforcement community - aka police, who, historically have tended to regard car-bike collisions as minor fender benders and not personal injury situations. ask almost anyone who has had a run-in with a motorist and quite often the attending officer - if one shows up at all - almost alway approach the the situation with a pro-car stance. dont believe me? ask around.
the reality is that is you are riding a bike and a driver decides to "teach you a lesson" you are going to find yourself on the receiving end of a personal injury while the driver might have dent in his sheet metal.
hardly equitable outcomes for the driver and cyclist.
this case illustrates a huge problem we have here in canada and the US. for 60 years now; governments and industry have been squeezing out other road users to accommodate the single occupancy vehicle to the expense of our health, our communities, and our future. beacause of this, motorists have been sold the idea that streets are the sole domain of vehicles only, when in reality, streets are in the public domain and are for use by everyone.
people. bikes. everyone.
add to that mix the media feeding us images of beautiful people in fancy cars, on wide open roads, travelling at a million miles an hour - and you can begin understand, to a point, why motorists are getting more frustrated and aggressive while behind the wheel. essentially, we have been lied to for 60 years by the car industry and - although people probably dont make those connections consciously, they are feeling it inside them and acting out in dangerous ways.
thankfully, some governments are beginning to awaken to the disaster that has been created and are trying to correct the imbalance. we have a long way to go but we are beginning to move in the right direction.
Nov 3, 2009
Bike Industry Needs to Spend More on Bike Advocacy
the president of trek bicycles, john burke, presenting his ideas at the taipei cycle show last year. basically, he is saying that the bike industry needs to divert some of their R&D/Advertising dollars towards advocacy efforts that are going on around the world.
makes sense, right? i mean, if you are a bike company, wouldnt you want to support the efforts of those organizations that are trying to get more people on bikes?
found here
makes sense, right? i mean, if you are a bike company, wouldnt you want to support the efforts of those organizations that are trying to get more people on bikes?
found here
Oct 31, 2009
Riding to School
andreas loves our new whip and is begging to go for a ride in the madsen everyday.
i find myself making up reasons to take him out in it.
what a great problem to have!
Oct 30, 2009
First Grocery Run a la Madsen
yesterday had me heading out for the first grocery shop on the new bike. after dropping off Andreas at school (he giggled the whole way!) i headed out to the westhills shopping district, with staples, the post office, and superstore on the to-do list.as you can see in the top photo it was pretty chilly with a light dusting of snow on the ground and patches of black ice here and there (more on that in a moment). i live really close to a safeway, about 4 blocks, but decided that a longer trip out to westhills was needed to give the bike a better test ride. the ride over to my local safeway is about 5 minutes, the ride to westhills worked out to exactly 15 minutes.
one thing i have noticed (not sure if i am imagining this) is that cars are giving me more space than on a regular bike. i like this. i am guessing the reasons are that the bike is very visible, being bright baby blue and/or they are hanging back before passing me 'cuz they are checking out this machine they've never seen before. either way, i like this too.
so, nothing special to report about the stops at staples and the post office. upon arrival at the superstore, i locked up the bike and went looking for a shopping cart. i forgot that the carts here require a loonie to release them and i was without cash. so, off it was on foot over to the bank to get some cash.
well, as luck would have it, i wiped out on some black ice walking across the parking lot. walking, not riding. figures i crash walking, not cycling. probably should have been wearing my pedestrian helmet!
$150 later, we're loaded up and ready to go! success!
one thing i noticed when running errands with this bike is that there is nowhere on the bike to keep things stored securely, i mean, out of sight. this is a problem that needs to be solved, and i think i have a solution.
i am going to make a full deck that will sit right where the seats are now. it will fit snugly in where the seats are, except that when it is in place, you will not be able to see whats underneith it. once it is complete, i'll post some pics.
otherwise, the madsen is doing what it is suppose to do. nice.
Oct 29, 2009
Bike to Work Guide
this 52-page online magazine is packed full of very useful information on what to do if you want to start commuting to work. i would also suggest that this guide is very useful for people who simply want to add local bicycle trips (shopping, errands, etc) into their daily lives.
click on the picture and read through. also, make sure you pass this link onto those in your own community who need a little push to try biking again.
found here.
click on the picture and read through. also, make sure you pass this link onto those in your own community who need a little push to try biking again.
found here.
Oct 28, 2009
Madsen kg271 Bucket BIke
madsen is based in salt lake city and has been selling bikes for a few short years. this is their first model and enters that market as an affordable box bike.
it arrived at my door in the biggest bike box ever, was fully assembled and mostly ready to go. i had to do a few adjustments and tire seating before the first ride - that was about it. braking duties are handled by a cable disc brake on the front and a v-brake on the back. shifting is provided by a sram 8-speed rear derailleur. a bell, full fenders, chainguard, 2 seats and 4 seatbelts and super-sturdy kickstand are also standard issue. i am especially happy to have the seat and seatbelts for transporting andreas around.
being that this bike is slotted into the "affordable" category (under $2000) of box bike it does come with low-spec parts, tires and hardware, although, this doesnt seem to be noticeable when you are riding the bike. i will be curious to see how some of these parts hold up over the long term.
how does it feel? fast! man-o, this thing feels pretty fast, of course you have to consider its length and weight. the only bike i have to compare was my old xtracycle "tankbike" and the madsen feels much tighter, faster, and sturdier. it proudly states it weight limit right in its name - kg271 (thats almost 600lbs folks!) but definitely doesnt ride like a bike that is basically a pickup truck. the gear range is more than enough for me but others may find themselves wishing for one more easy gear on some of the steeper slopes around here and the sram shifter and derailleur performed perfectly.
my only real complaint (and its not really a complaint as i knew i would have to change a few things) is that the handlebar that it came with is too narrow for me on a big bike like this and the tires and saddle are pretty cheesy.
cant wait to do my first grocery shop and farmers market run soon. i hope andreas likes it too as this will be the way he gets to school everyday.
it arrived at my door in the biggest bike box ever, was fully assembled and mostly ready to go. i had to do a few adjustments and tire seating before the first ride - that was about it. braking duties are handled by a cable disc brake on the front and a v-brake on the back. shifting is provided by a sram 8-speed rear derailleur. a bell, full fenders, chainguard, 2 seats and 4 seatbelts and super-sturdy kickstand are also standard issue. i am especially happy to have the seat and seatbelts for transporting andreas around.
being that this bike is slotted into the "affordable" category (under $2000) of box bike it does come with low-spec parts, tires and hardware, although, this doesnt seem to be noticeable when you are riding the bike. i will be curious to see how some of these parts hold up over the long term.
how does it feel? fast! man-o, this thing feels pretty fast, of course you have to consider its length and weight. the only bike i have to compare was my old xtracycle "tankbike" and the madsen feels much tighter, faster, and sturdier. it proudly states it weight limit right in its name - kg271 (thats almost 600lbs folks!) but definitely doesnt ride like a bike that is basically a pickup truck. the gear range is more than enough for me but others may find themselves wishing for one more easy gear on some of the steeper slopes around here and the sram shifter and derailleur performed perfectly.
my only real complaint (and its not really a complaint as i knew i would have to change a few things) is that the handlebar that it came with is too narrow for me on a big bike like this and the tires and saddle are pretty cheesy.
cant wait to do my first grocery shop and farmers market run soon. i hope andreas likes it too as this will be the way he gets to school everyday.
Oct 27, 2009
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