Big Bike Ride!

Today I am heading out with the Ziggy’s FreeWheels Project crew for a bike ride to Cambridge. The sun is shining, and the views will be fantastic along the grand river. This will probably be my longest 1 day kilometer tally. I am thinking it will be around 50kms. Yippee!

I really enjoyed having a bike. I tried to use it as much as I could. Sure helmet head at work wasn’t the greatest, but I was able to sleep in a little longer since I could now get there in 1/3 the time. I enjoyed cycling so much that I even sold my motorcycle because I didn’t use it all summer! Being a participant in the regions cycle study was also exciting. I am glad that my data will be part of the master plan.

Well, I’m off to eat a healthy breakfast before the big ride!

Ciao fellow bikers!

GPS Unit

On Thursday I will be picking up my GPS Unit to collect data for the region of Waterloo. It sounds like a great project, and I am very excited to be a part of it.
I have been continuing to ride my bike everyday to work, and making excuses to take it everywhere around the city. I am really enjoying it. I have even decided to sell my motorcycle, since I have no use for it anymore!!

Wednesday night drive home…

Wednesday night was interesting. I left the Athletic Complex at WLU and started my journey on King street towards downtown. There was a young lady riding her bike behind me, which was nice, it feels more ‘secure’ to ride with others on the road. At a stop light she pulled up beside me and immediately asked if I was riding “one of those Ziggy bikes?”. I knew what she meant. Of course I said “Yes! And I love it!”. During our short conversation, the light turned green and right as we stepped on our pedals to start rolling, the grey car behind us honked their horn. Geeze! Give me a break!
The nice cyclist and I departed ways (with a ding of my bell!) as I turned left into the Valumart parking lot beside the Rude Native restaurant. The grey car behind me ended up turning in the same parking lot, and was quite rude behind me. Speeding up and pumping her brakes often. I didn’t know what her problem was, since she had plenty of time and opportunity to pass me on the left. Impatience!
I didn’t have my bike lock with me and I needed to purchase some hamburger buns for dinner, so I got off my bike and walked inside the mall with it. A security guard immediately came up to me and said “You can’t have your bike in here!” I was a bit surprised. What was I doing with my bike that was so wrong? What is the difference between my bicycle and a stroller? I told him that I needed to go into Valumart and pick up some hamburger buns, so he said that he would watch it outside the store. He did. But I am still confused. It made me think about the question that was posted on the ziggy’s facebook page – Who has the larger burden of responsibility to provide bike racks to cyclists? Is it the City who furnishes the streetscape, or the private sector who have to accommodate their customer’s choice of mobility? I am not sure who should have the larger burden, but as a consumer I will support a business who accommodates my choice of mobility, over those that don’t. I will even bike further to give them my business!

The Record – Friday July 30

Wow! Lots of interesting stuff in the paper today!

I agree with the idea that if you make people pay for parking then it will encourage them to consider public transit, car pooling and cycling and other ways to commute. I hope that this also means that cyclists will get more respect on the road, and the city will become more cyclist friendly. It would also be great if the city provided secure bike racks near commercial areas so people can have a safe place to put their bikes.

There is also an article about the “Plan to connect Kitchener’s trails”. Gil Penalosa is quoted saying “Walking and cycling on trails reduced the green house gas emissions that cause climate change, help people stay active and fit, and knit together a city like nothing else”. The proposed parks master plan recommends the city increase spending on trails by $1 million over 10 years. If adopted, the city would spend $5.3 million over the next 10 years on community trails.

This is small fraction compared to what the city spends on roads, but hey, it’s a start! What do you think?

Group Ride

On Thursday I met up with 3 other participants and John for a group ride around RIM park. I rode my bike to RIM, which was about 9kms. I had made a wrong turn (darn inner compass failure, once again), which cost me almost 2 kms! Whoops!  I wasn’t too concerned, I like racking up the kms. It starting raining a little on the way, but I was determined to keep going. Upon arriving, we waiting a few minutes and then headed out on the trail.  The trail is beautiful. (check out the video John made! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KdNs8LYouvw) I would recommend it to anyone!  If you have young children and you would like a nice family ride, RIM park is the place to go!   The trail is about 5kms one way, but a very easy and flat. If you want to make a loop, the trail ends at a road, and you can take it around. However, there is a huge hill to conquer, which is always fun. he he *evil laugh*

John and I biked together on the way home and survived University Ave when it crosses the express way. Yikes!  When we made it past, we both had to take a breather, it was pretty intense! Along the merging lane there were cars on either side of us, merging in and out. I just stayed focused and kept pedaling. That area is definately a biking hazard!

I ended up biking 33kms on Thursday, which is the most I have ever done in one day. And I know I could do more! I think I will plan a long ride sometime soon!  My odometer is now over the 200km mark, which I was pretty happy about, until Kevin informed me that he is almost at the 1000km mark! Wow! Good for you!

Today I signed up for the Region of Waterloo GPS Cycling Study. http://www.region.waterloo.on.ca/web/region.nsf/0/e9926a0cf076fc54852577180063f494?OpenDocument   I will carry a GPS with me in September. It’s a FANTASTIC project. You should check it out!

So long fellow cyclists…

Night Riding

On Monday nights I play baseball and tonight I decided to ride my bike to the car pool location. My friends house is about 7 kms away, and I knew that the ride home would be in the dark. The ride there wasn’t too eventful, except that there were some roads closures and detours. However, since I was on the bike I was able to cut across some driveways (with permission of course!) and bypass the construction. He he he, the benefits of biking!  

Have you rode your bike along University Avenue between Erb and Fischer Hallman?  I knew that there wasn’t lights on this road, and I also knew that it was pretty flat, so I decided that I would take it on my 10:30pm ride home.  It was the first time that I used my flashy lights, so I was pretty excited.  It was still pretty dark though and I learned quickly to keep my mouth shut. ha ha.  I think I was going at a pretty good speed, or at least it felt like I was!  

Overall it was a good odometer reading – 19 kms! That is the furthest that I have rode my bike in one day.

Looking forward to Thursday night! See you all there…

Ottawa

Going to Ottawa for Canada Day has always been something that I have wanted to do, and this year I made it a reality.  Wow, what a celebration!  John is right, Ottawa is a great city.  I was most impressed with all the bike paths and people using them.  They actually have patrols and signs to indicate how to properly use the bike lanes since there are so many people using them. The paths go right along the canal, and through central areas. Its great!  Since I was there on a holiday, the paths were full of families travelling in and out of the city centre. I was also excited to see a secured bike parking lot, right near the parliament buildings. Talk about prime space! I have a picture, and once I figure out how to paste it on this blog, I will be glad to share it! lol This parking lot is a fantastic idea. What better way to encourage people to bike, knowing that they have somewhere secure to put their bikes?!  Next time I will definitely bring mine!