Take the Lane

Dorel to open concept store in New York

I was a little surprised to see the Canadian Press story about Dorel Industries planning to open a boutique store in New York City.

The Quebec-based company's name is probably more familiar to anyone who has ever shopped for a child's car seat, but Dorel also includes Cannondale, Sugoi, GT, Mongoose and Schwinn in its list of cycling name brands.

But Dorel has been largely a wholesaler, not a retailer. It already sells its products through boutique bike shops, like Ziggy's in Kitchener.

According to the report, Dorel is not intending to launch a string of retail stores. The New York operation, complete with a bike-fit component, will be a "concept store" that other bicycle retailers can gaze upon and emulate.

Can't help but think that this will put pressure on other bicycle retailers who are already being squeezed.

Related articles

Dorel set to open concept bike store in New York City

Cycling gets kooler in Kitchener

Bicycle infrastructure baby steps began last week on Kitchener's downtown section of King Street as city crews began installing yellow street signs indicating that it's "single file" on the stretch from Madison Avenue to Victoria Street.

That, and some hastily painted white chevrons on the road surface, let the cycling community know that something exciting was about to happen.

That excitement continued on Tuesday with the application of the first cycling "Sharrow" on King. The people at CKCO did a little piece on it Wednesday (see it here)

I took a cellphone photo of it Tuesday night, all nice and reflective and new.

While the sharrows might hit you in the face, the new bicycle racks might be dismissed as another city art project. (Apologies for the out of focus cell photo. No prize-winning photography here!)

The bike-symbol stands are scattered around the downtown, in a variety of colours. Very cyclist-friendly, except perhaps for the ones that parallel the road and are mounted near the curb. Wouldn't the cyclist attaching a bicycle to the street-side of the rack have to stand in the street to do so?

Maybe that's a part of the Share the Road philosophy.

Add to the baby steps the recent signage on the Iron Horse Trail and street signage that points to area bicycle lanes.

This place is getting cooler and cooler.

 

 

Bicycle Film Festival. Start.

Yeah, Bicycle Film Festival.

It starts now, it starts next month, who cares. It starts when you start.

Kitchener's Bike Fest: bring your bike and park it

Some of the details are coming together for Kitchener's BikeFest on Sunday, May 26.

Here's the Facebook page, and here's the City of Kitchener website.

There's a certain amount of weirdness in a bicycle event that is contained to a space (in this case, the Kitchener Civic Square). But I suppose it is no different than going to an air show and looking at planes on the ground.

The event lineup includes bike tuneups (don't knock free mechanicals!), free food, live music, cycling skills training, bike polo and more.

 

CAA wants to hear from cyclists about Ontario's Worst Roads

I may have missed this in previous years, but it appears that the Canadian Autombile Association is asking cyclists to nominate Ontario's worst roads.

CAA Ontario has a Worst Roads campaign every year, mostly to shame the provincial government into doing something about the network of potholes and washboard we sometimes mistake for a highway network.

This year, the invitation letter I got at home read, "Whether the issue is traffic congestion, potholes, timing of traffic lights, road signs or pedestrian and cycling safety, we want to hear from you." The word "cycling" was not highlighted in the letter, but certainly in my mind.

In Waterloo Region, so much material to work with: the junction from Park Street to the Laurel Trail; the Iron Horse Trail crossing on Victoria Street, the washboard on Ottawa Street under the Expressway, the bike lanes that dead-end on busy and crowded Westmount Road . . . I could go on.

Have your turn by participating. You can go here to vote for the Worst Roads in Ontario.

You might want to gloss over the fact that your participation includes you in a draw for a daily draw on a $50 Petro-Canada gift card and a final draw for a prize of gas for a year. Perhaps "fuel" for a year could have been a gift card to Swiss Chalet...

What about a "Jane's Ride" of our dowtowns?

My partner and I went on a Jane's Walk on the past weekend, the Sunday walk hosted by Grand River Car Share, looking at travel alternatives in downtown Kitchener.

I wonder about next year, hosting a bicycle "Jane's Ride" of Kitchener (and Waterloo?), looking at the ways bicycles have worked in the urban core in the past, present, and likely, future.

There would be a lot to include from the present: the varieties of bike security (ring and post, bike lockers at the Charles Street station, the bike cage on Charles), bike lanes and signage, bike travel extensions (the racks on the GRT buses) and so on. It would be interesting to talk about how bikes were used to deliver tings in the downtown in the "olden days" and how they are still used by couriers, how street people use bikes for their bottle picking, the dynamic between pedestrians and cyclists, and cyclists and motorists, the bike shops that are still downtown (I do miss Braun's). And then thee's the future: more bikes, the LRT involvement. I foresee a friendlier future for cyclists.

Think there would be any interest?

Hey, I saw cyclists with lights!

Riding home from work last night, I saw something that totally threw me: cyclists with bicycle lights.

Not just one, but one more, a young couple, one on the sdiewalk, another riding against traffic: all with white lights on the front and red lights on the rear.

Are cyclists getting the message (or have the regional police been issuing warnings)?

The other point is that at 10:30 p.m in the evening, there were almost as many bicycles on the road as there were cars. Now that would be a critical mass.

Annual ride will remember the lost and promote safe cycling

The turnout for the memorial ride for Barrie Conrod last year was so encouraging, that the people involved with that ride are thinking about having an annual event to remember those who have been lost to cycling accidents, and to show the larger community that cyclists are users of our regional and city roads.

There's an organizational meeting planned for next Thursday, May 9 at the Seven Shores Urban Market in Waterloo at 7 a.m. It'll be short and sweet -- just a chance for people to talk about the when and the where, who will ride and who will help with the organizational details.

Vy Waller, who was the prime mover behind last year's memorial ride, hopes a good turnout will help develop and demonstrate that we have a strong and safe cycling community. Scott Nevin, a member of the Waterloo Cycling Club and director of policy development for the City of Waterloo, is also involved in the project.

No reason not to ride this May

Here's a shoutout to our American cycling friends, who are celebrating National Bike Month this month, unlike we northerners who wait until the somewhat more predictable weather of June to do our national biking thing.

With the weather this week, there's no reason not to get a jump on Bike Month here -- just ride! Wednesday, May 8 is Bike to School Day in the United States. Based on the forecast, no reason not to encourage your kids to ride to school on Monday, and if you have the time, you can join them.

In the U.S., National Bike to Work Day is Friday, May 17, but there may be fewer of us riding in conjunction with them. It's the Friday before the Victoria Day long weekend, and the migration out of town begins that day. The roads will be jammed with people eager to leave the city -- not the best of circumstances for the occasional rider.

Still, there should be fewer cars in the city that weekend -- ideal conditions for cyclists. Take the lane.

Region launching its own Bike Month

If you (in Waterloo Region) were ever envious of the plethora of cycling events in Toronto's annual Bike Month, you need be envious no longer.

The Region of Waterloo is promoting the month of June as Bike Month. This commitment involves a change in loyalties: the Region is basically withdrawing its investment of time and staff in the National Commuter Challenge, the one-week effort to promote commuting alternatives to the one-person/one-car approach.

If you have been a workplace co-ordinator for the Commuter Challenge in years past, you probably already got the email this week, inviting you to continue your efforts and pointing you to the Commuter Challenge website for materials or online support. But there won't be a regional co-ordinator or local training sessions for workplace co-ordinators.

The shift to promoting the whole month as Bike Month ties in to the regional efforts to get more people walking, biking or busing as an alternative to driving. It's all part of the Region's Active Transportation Master Plan. So, the Region is asking residents, if not to bike in June, to walk, car-pool or take the bus and to commit to these alternatives via its online Pledge webpage.The Region is also planning to sponsor a Bus and Bike photo contest and a Leadership Bike to Work Challenge during the month.

As well, the Region is hoping to link to other cycling events in the area, including the Kitchener Bikefest on Sunday, May 26; the Cambridge Tour de Grand on Sunday, June 9; the Commuter Challenge, Sunday, June 2 to Saturday, June 8; and the Tour de Waterloo on Sunday, June 23.

It doesn't exactly fill your daybook for June, but it is a framework for other events to join in, such as Waterloo's Open Streets festival on Sunday, June 16; and the Iron Horse Trail Animate the Trail event on Sunday, June 2.

You have to start somewhere.

Related articles

Biking dropped from Bike and Hike for Heart