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+--- Thread: Cycling in Waterloo Region (/showthread.php?tid=186)
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RE: Cycling in Waterloo Region - tomh009 - 01-10-2017
(01-09-2017, 10:02 PM)danbrotherston Wrote: I'd rather not have a third of a bike lane that drivers can feel entitled to try and bully me into.
Right. In this case, I think no bike lane at all (in snowy conditions) is better than a small part of a bike lane.
RE: Cycling in Waterloo Region - Canard - 01-15-2017
Rode 30 km this weekend! Discovered the magic of a face mask to make my lungs not feel like someone's stabbing me in the chest with knives after 2 minutes of riding.
This is awesome!! Never thought I'd be riding a bike in winter.
RE: Cycling in Waterloo Region - chutten - 01-16-2017
For those of you like me who didn't immediately grok what Canard meant by face mask, but unlike me didn't just ask it of the goog a "face mask" could mean anything from some foam ninja-looking thing that's pretty neat, to just your bog-standard balaclava.
And I concur: wear the correct gear for being out in the cold. Lungs don't like the cold and dry air for some reason.
Now to see what the system drops on us tomorrow before I figure out if I can start biking to work again. Just got the new tyre and tube on, so I'm a brake pad adjustment from having a working bike again after about a month. Taking two buses isn't fun, and takes forever.
RE: Cycling in Waterloo Region - clasher - 01-16-2017
Wrapping a scarf over the lower face works well for me. I also use ski goggles if I'm gonna be out long or if it's -10 or colder. I have a balaclava too but haven't used it yet this year.
RE: Cycling in Waterloo Region - Canard - 01-17-2017
Different strokes for different folks
After talking with my hardcore biker coworkers, I think I'm just going to invest in a nice set of winter tires for my 700x35 wheels. I was thinking of buying a whole new bike just for winter (winter beater) but I think most of my riding will be limited to days like what we had in the weekend, where it's mostly dry, with the odd sketchy section (Waterloo Park) where a little extra traction than my hybrid tires provide safely.
RE: Cycling in Waterloo Region - clasher - 01-17-2017
The studs are nice on the ice but there are also some tires made with winter rubber that are supposed to grip better. Schwalbe and Nokian are the brands I'm aware of. I run the fattest tires that'll fit my frame and drop the pressure a bit for more grip. Dry winter days like last weekend aren't too hard on the wheels and brake pads but fenders are probably my favourite piece of winter kit.
RE: Cycling in Waterloo Region - chutten - 01-17-2017
fenders++
Today (yes, during the freezing rain) I spied hybrid-width tyre tracks on the MUT alongside Weber near Wellington (I assume it's a MUT). Surprisingly little skid apparent and looks like it pushed right through the wet ice to the concrete like the cars were doing on the asphalt. I wouldn't have dared.
RE: Cycling in Waterloo Region - Canard - 01-17-2017
The front tires on my smart fortwo are relatively narrow at 145mm, and have the same effect with a sturdy set of winters - slicing right through the snow to the pavement. I'll never forget the time when a huge snowfall hit during work, and out of 10 vehicles in the lot (including pickup trucks, SUV's and crossovers, yadda yadda yadda), my little smart was the only vehicle that could get out of the lot without a push. I ended up going out first and clearing a path for everyone else!
RE: Cycling in Waterloo Region - Canard - 01-22-2017
Picked up these puppies on Saturday at Ziggy's! As always, appreciated their prompt and courteous service, and getting them on my bike while I waited so I could continue with my ride. Same 700x35 profile I had before, just a lot knobbier for the winter time.
Also picked up a light for safety on those days when I'm out a little later than I thought I'd be... of course I had to get this one.
Question about batteries: My computer takes an A23 battery for the wireless transmitter on the wheel. It started acting spotty in the fall and I've finally tracked it down to a temperature issue. From what I've read online, it seems like Lithium batteries are the best for cold weather (and I'm pretty sure the battery I put in it is Alkaline - not so good when it gets cooler). Anyone have any experience or recommendations with this?
RE: Cycling in Waterloo Region - kwliving - 01-26-2017
(12-03-2016, 08:36 AM)jamincan Wrote: I wish they would experiment with the Copenhagen-style of bike line here in Waterloo Region. It has a number of advantages: being inside the parking lane (and also typically having a reasonable buffer between parked cars and the bike lane) reduces the risk of dooring, being inside of the parking lane and having a curb in other situations reduces the chances of vehicles parking in the bike lane, and being inside the parking lane provides separation from car traffic making the lane feel safer. I can see having a curb potentially making snow clearing more difficult, but even without a curb, positioning it so that street parking is to the left of the bike lane instead of to the right would still be an improvement in a lot of situations.
![[Image: IMG_0540_lane_inside_parkedcars.jpg]](http://www.streetsblog.org/wp-content/uploads/2006/10/IMG_0540_lane_inside_parkedcars.jpg)
This type of lane is great for bicyclists. One of the challenges with this type of design is accessible parking.
As you could imagine, in this type of configuration getting out of a car into a wheelchair poses a challenge of being in the bike lane, as well as a wheelchair having to be a certain distance away as there is a curb. I'm not sure if this picture is a raised curb between the bike lane and the parking lane, but those bricks look like a challenge either way.
As well, any vehicle with a ramp or lift would pose a challenge as it would deploy into the bike lane.
An alternative could be to find nearby places for accessible parking where a bike lane wouldn't interfere with anyone's safety.
RE: Cycling in Waterloo Region - danbrotherston - 01-26-2017
(01-26-2017, 12:04 PM)kwliving Wrote: This type of lane is great for bicyclists. One of the challenges with this type of design is accessible parking.
As you could imagine, in this type of configuration getting out of a car into a wheelchair poses a challenge of being in the bike lane, as well as a wheelchair having to be a certain distance away as there is a curb. I'm not sure if this picture is a raised curb between the bike lane and the parking lane, but those bricks look like a challenge either way.
As well, any vehicle with a ramp or lift would pose a challenge as it would deploy into the bike lane.
An alternative could be to find nearby places for accessible parking where a bike lane wouldn't interfere with anyone's safety.
There are few if any accessible spaces on most of our downtown roads anyway. However, this is easily fixable with more space. Generally, one would prefer a buffer between parked cars and bike lanes anyway.
And to be honest, I think this is a highly infrequent issue. I've never even seen it occur personally. And given that I see parked vehicles blocking bike lanes every time I ride, I know what the bigger problem is.
And besides, all of the taxi cabs I've seen with wheelchair lifts are on the back as well, so it's definitely not all accessible vehicles.
RE: Cycling in Waterloo Region - danbrotherston - 02-02-2017
Sadly, a cyclist was killed this morning on King St. just outside Conestoga Mall.
http://kitchener.ctvnews.ca/cyclist-dies-following-crash-king-street-closed-at-conestoga-mall-1.3267698
http://www.570news.com/2017/02/02/cyclist-serious-condition-crash-front-conestoga-mall/
I rode past there last night. Scary.
RE: Cycling in Waterloo Region - Pheidippides - 02-02-2017
Based on the other accounts it would seem as though the Record is blaming the victim:
http://therecord.com/news-story/7098894-cyclist-64-dies-in-crash-in-waterloo
"...his bicycle collided with a car..."
The article also does not tell me if the driver was using all their safety equipment as it did about the victim.
Based on images from the scene I wonder if the MUT was not clear of snow and ice and the victim was using the bare, but wet, road instead.
RE: Cycling in Waterloo Region - danbrotherston - 02-02-2017
@pheidippides. Yeah the first sentence is utterly wrong. The cyclist was struck by a much faster moving car.
As for the MUT I rode it last night and it was clear and we didn't get too much snow last night. But another article indicated he was around connestogo Blvd. The MUT doesn't go that far north. The real question is would the million or so more to extend it all the way north have prevented this tragedy?
RE: Cycling in Waterloo Region - Markster - 02-02-2017
Here is where the bicycle is laying in the photo from CTV:
https://goo.gl/maps/ciU5iKy1d7G2
That would mean the collision probably happened a little up the road.
My guess is that the cyclist was on the road, and was merging across the lane that enters in from the highway. It's pretty bad cycling up there, because you're going uphill, slowly, and then suddenly you're now in the middle lane instead of to the right, and the right lane now has people coming in at highway speeds. It's very difficult to get out the way of all the drivers.
The cyclist being in their 60s means they probably weren't familiar with the relatively new MUT. This is how they've always cycled up King St. The MUT does exist at this point. Though once you hit the ION station at Conestoga, they still haven't paved the sidewalk, so it would currently be a snowy mess after the Conestoga entrance.