Take the Lane

Here's a challenging MTB ride

Now here's a downhill ride that is a challenge. Happy new year, and thanks to Mona Lynn for the link.

How to be healthy by not riding 23 1/2 hours a day

Here's a great video that makes the argument for an obvious "miracle cure" for many of society's health problems: simple, regular exercise.

Merging cycling and pedestrian expectations a gimme

In a recent post about next April's Complete Streets Forum in Toronto, I speculated that it wouldn't be long before groups like the Share the Road Cycling Coalition will merge their efforts with Active Transportation groups.

I suppose I can't claim prescience for the obvious. Shortly after the post appeared, Eleanor McMahon of the Share the Road coalition emailed me to say that she and Nancy Smith Lea of the Toronto Centre for Active Transportation are discussing a linked Complete Streets Summit and Ontario Bike Summit, details of which are currently being hammered out. Part of the summit will include a workshop on lobbying your provincial member of the legislature, a skill worth developing in a minority government.

McMahon says there are six regional bike summits on the 2012 calendar in Ontario communities, and there should be a number of new communities that qualify for Bicycle Friendly Community status to be announced at the April Bike Summit.

The louder the voices, the more we will be heard.

 

Why are helmets so hard to accept?

I don't really understand the roots of bicycle helmet enmity. While I suspect it is mostly about the battle between individual freedoms and state control, there appears to a sincere segment of the anti-mandatory helmet crowd who believe that bicycle helmets discourage cycling.

Is this like saying that wearing garden gloves discourages gardening?

Helmets just seem like a gimme, like wearing a life jacket on open water. And based on the reluctance of so many people to wear flotation devices, maybe that's a good comparison. Why do so many private boat operators have to be monitored by water police so that they will wear/carry life jackets? Why do so few people who take ferries or other public watercraft treat life jackets so casually?

Is it because it's uncomfortable? Surely, that is one of the big complaints about bicycle helmets. Too hot? Ditto for bike helmets. I look geeky? Well, if you are in a personal watercraft, like a speedboat or jet-ski, the odds are that you are nearly naked or are wearing a wetsuit, and you've already stepped out of the parameters of "normal," so what difference does a flotation vest make? And if you're a Lycra-clad road warrior, ditto.

Is it because wearing a safety device makes us feel that we are unsafe? This should be counter-intuitive. If I am wearing a safety device, I should feel safer. Jumping out of a place without a parachute: unsafe. With a parachute: safe. Not wearing a helmet in conditions where I could strike my head and do damage: unsafe. Wearing a helmet in conditions where I could strike my head and do damage: safe.

Is it hard to recruit construction workers because they have to wear helmets and steel-toed boots? (Although truly, we have all walked past job sites where workers have ditched their helmets for one reason or another.)

One company that strives mightily to put a positive spin on helmets is Nutcase. Thanks to their selection of bright, goofy and ironic street helmets, at least they are trying to make helmets fun. Their latest press offering is about their flower-power bike helmets, suggesting that while giving flowers to Mom for Mother's Day is nice, giving a floral-themed bicycle helmet is better. At least they are having fun.

At the Ontario Bike Summit in 2010, Phillip Darnton of Cycling England made in passing the point that the image of cyclists can be somewhat rumpled or rather nerdy. Cyclists don't have to wear helmets that look like salad bowls or alien space gear. Maybe making helmets fun would make them more palatable.

On winter streets, you have to be visible

I might have dismissed this article from Canadian Press on Wednesday about safe winter walking as unnecessary, until my partner came close to becoming a pedestrian statistic that same night in Toronto.

She was the central figure of a scenario we cyclists know too well: night, rain, lights shining on the wet streets, windshield wipers not clearing the water fast enough, the driver turns (in this case, left) and boom, there's someone between the headlights, in this case, my partner.

In her case, the motorist stopped, let her walk clear and then sped off. An apparent inconvenience for the motorist; it scared the daylights out of my partner.

Visibility at night has long been my hobbyhorse. Even when I see cyclists lit at night, they use pretty puny lights that, especially in urban settings, can be lost in the glare of traffic, signals, advertising, store signs. I'm not arguing for a searchlight (although that would be cool), but one light facing forward and one facing back may not be enough. Think about reflective armbands or striping on your jacket, and reflectors on your pedals or in your spokes.

And what about pedestrians? The fashion trend to black -- complete with black umbrellas -- means they are nearly invisible at night. How about a strip of fluoresecent material on a briefcase, knapsack, handbag or umbrella?

This wouldn't cost much or weigh much, but could be a lifesaver.

Cycling advocacy has evolved

Next year's Complete Streets Forum in Toronto is a reminder of how the politics of cycling has changed in a few short years.

In 2008, the event was a Bike Summit, and it attracted cycling advocates, planners and sweaty, Lycra-clad crazies bitching about right hooks and dooring. They may not liked to have referred to it as a war on cars, but cars were the enemy.

Cars are still the enemy, and the voices oppposing the vast amounts of tax dollars poured down the money-pit of the car culture have grown, thanks to the linking of the sweaty cycle crowd with the joggers, dogwalkers, parents with strollers and seniors with walking poles, all of whom want more respect, support and infrastructure for people-powered transportation.

So, complete streets and active transportation are the key phrases for non-motorized municipal infrastructure. What was Bike Summit 2008 is Complete Streets 2012 (and has been since 2010). The Region of Waterloo's cycling advisory committee has been supplanted by the active transportation advisory committee.

I would not be surprised to see the Share the Road Cycling Coalition and its heavily promoted Ontario Bike Summit, be replaced by a Share the Road Active Transportation Coalition. (And truth be known, the coalition's Active Communities Pledge has been part of its lobbying for several years now, also.)

As for the Toronto summit, it is open to planners, researchers, professors, professionals, all manner of accessibility experts, and of course, cycling advocates. Organizers are looking for new research and presenters who can make the pitch for complete streets.  Conference date is April 23, 2012.

Why it's better to bike

There is so much more that could be in this info graphic that lays out the costs and benefits of cycling, such as the cost of raw materials for creating bikes and cars, but it is nonetheless a succinct visual argument for two-wheeled culture. Check out this graphic and other articles about transportation alternatives at coexist.com.

 

Nasty virus delays decals

My apologies to those who have requested the Watch for Bikes decals that I mentioned in an earlier post.

I have been laid low by some kind of virus that thinks it is tougher than I am and haven't been able to do any mailings. Once I have conquered this bug, I'll get those decals in the mail to you.

Eight things cyclists want for Christmas

The recent snow and a small sidewalk traffic jam in "uptown" Waterloo (two bicycles, two pedestrians and too narrow a sidewalk) led to a few thoughts about Christmas gifts for cyclists:

The best gift, of course, is that you will ride with us. The next best gift is that you be just out of shape enough that we will win the sprint to the next hydro pole.

Failing that, here are some thoughts about what we want for Christmas, so we can ride all year long:

1. Fenders. We may peel these off in the good weather, but for slushy roads, nothing beats fenders. Make them light, plastic and/or rust-proof.

2. Winter riding gloves. I have been happy to use the full-fingered glove, but the lobster mitts are especially good on really icy February days.

3. Skull cap-style tuque to wear under your helmet.

4. Lower-face mask. I have used a neoprene face mask, but my glasses fog up. A polar fleece neck warmer that you can pull up to cover your chin and jaw-line will be effective.

5. Bicycle boots or boot covers. I hate having cold feet. And despite the fenders, your feet will be covered in slush in no time.

6. Lights. It's dark in the morning and the evening. Windshields are covered with snow and gunk. Visibility is a priority.

7. Wool socks. Not those grey, 10-pairs-in-bag socks, but good quality wool socks. Your feet will thank you. And finally,

8. Studded tires. The studs on the cheap ones will wear off after a season, but may be all your budget can bear.

May the shopping begin.

 

 

Explaining cycling to a non-cyclist

Add this video to your toolkit of explanations about why you ride a bicycle.