Take the Lane

I'll know more about my future in September

As some of you know from earlier posts, I'm carrying around an abdominal aneurysm the size of a parsnip, likely thanks to my heavy-duty cycling of a decade ago.

I've been off the bike for the past year, to see if the growth of this aneurysm can be attributed to cycling. If no cycling means no growth, then I will be likely off the bike for the foreseeable future. If the aneurysm continues to grow in diameter, than cycling may not be the contributing factor and I can ride again, although some form of surgical intervention becomes more likely, with all its consequences.

So, my CT scan is set for September. I'll hear from the doc later in the month. If the news is "good" (which I interpret as, "well Bill, cycling seems to have had no impact on the growth of your aneurysm"), then I'll be riding around Waterloo Region again, and what a joy that will be.

If the news is "bad," (that is, "Bill, your aneurysm has not grown in size and we attribute that to you not riding"), then I will be off the bike for the foreseeable future. I have already begun checking out e-bikes as an option, because I believe in two-wheeled transport as a significant factor in our future transportation options, and plan to be a part of that, in any way possible.

For complete transparency, I should note that my family sees non-cycling as longevity, for me. So they are happy if I get an e-bike, whatever the doctor says.

I foresee an e-bike future. I'll keep you up to date. Keep your fingers crossed for me.

What's the loudest bike bell?

See comments on Cool bike bell post. JC is looking for a loud bike bell. Suggestions?

Cool bike bell

Cool bike bell.

Seen on Charles Street, Kitchener, across from the bus terminal.

Critical Mass riders make an Olympic mistake

I will probably be accused of being a Critical Mass opponent again, but here goes: did the London Critical Mass ride have to bump up against the police cordon around the Olympic Park during Friday's opening ceremonies? See the Associated Press story here.

Sure, the area may have been on the usual Critical Mass route, but the area was closed for a special event. The police had apparently given advance notice that the group was to stay clear of Olympic Park during the Opening Ceremonies, but they rode into the area anyway. And there were arrests, and drama, and bad publicity.

Sheesh. Is this the best way to get out the message about alternative transport? Or do London's cyclists think angry cabbies are getting all the ink?

 

Looking to teach kids about assemblying bikes?

If you're a Toronto-area bike mechanic with time on your hands, you might like to check out this posting on the Green Jobs website.

Charlie's Bike Shop, which runs the Charlie's Freewheels program that allows young people to experience how to rebuild a bicycle and provides free bikes to kids in Toronto's Regent Park, is looking for someone or some people to helm two one-week stints of leading 10 young people (aged 13-16) in the stripping and assembly of a bicycle. The first stint starts next week, so move fast if you are interested.

Even if you can't volunteer, you might linger a while on the Charlies' Bike Shop site and read about Charlie Princep, the young cross-Canada cyclist who was killed in 2008 after being overtaken by a driver in Alberta, and who provided the inspiration for both the shop and the program. Princep's blog, Double Cross (a reference to his ride back and forth across the continent in 2007) is still accessible.

Distracted driver gets a $100 wrist slap

I'm going to blame being out of the country in April for having missed this story in the Kenosha (Wisc.) News, about the wrist slap for a deadly distracted driver, although I have been watching the progress of the case of Devin Kunich, who was run down and killed back in August 2011.

Kunich's dad, Gary Kunich, has been campaigning for awareness about the impacts of distracted driving through his contacts with legislators and his motivation of his son's family and friends through his Facebook site, Devin Kunich will live forever in our hearts. 

In my original post on this case, I wrote that the driver, 18-year-old Quashae Taylor, was blind in one eye, not wearing corrective lenses, talking on the cellphone, in foggy conditions, when she hit what she thought was a deer. Although she was charged with negligent homicide and faced up to 10 years in prison and a fine of up to $25,000, she pleaded no contest to a traffic ticket for inattentive driving and was fined $100.

According to the defence, the dead cyclist was wearing black, had alcohol in his system and was "probably listening to music." As is so often the case when the only witness to a crash that kills a cyclist is the motorist, the prosecution was unable to prove that the motorist was in the wrong. So infuriating.

Gary Kunich is still working to make people aware of the impacts of distracted driving, and loobying for change in the U.S. For instance, he is asking his group to respond to Tennessee Congresswoman Diane Black, who sought the removal from the recent U.S. federal transportation bill of incentives to state  whcih strengthen laws against texting and cellphone use while driving. The Republican mantra is that this is federal government pushing states around. Kunich was trying, rightly, to point out that it's about better laws.

Finally, secure bicycle storage in downtown Kitchener

If you've been longing to get behind bars in Kitchener's downtown, wait no longer.

The City of Kitchener is inviting cyclists to apply for access to the "secure bike parking facility," aka the bike cage, in the parking garage on Charles and Benton streets. The bike cage has been finished for some time, but has basically been a storage place for the steeds of the Community Access Bicycle project. Now, those who have swipe card access will be able to park their two-wheelers here.

You can read about the parking facility and download the application form for a swipe card here.

I know that it must sound like our bicycle infrastructure is lame-o when I can get worked up about the addition of a single secure public bicycle storage, but our advances in this area have seemed to be very incremental, so I celebrate each one.

And of course, one need not be reminded that no one wanting to keep their bike for more than a day leaves it in bike cage without locking it up. Take a lock!

Group ride offers emission-free transportation to Hillside Festival

Full marks to the Guelph bicycle advocacy group GOTBike, which is partnering with the Guelph Police Service and the Hillside Festival to provide a motorless transportation service between Guelph and the festival location at the Guelph Lake Conservation Area.

According to this article in the Guelph Mercury, GOTBike is organizing a group ride from Guelph to the festival site and back all three days of the festival. Of course, you must bring your own bike.

The group ride leaves St. George's Square at 5 p.m. Friday, and at 10 a.m. on Saturday and Sunday, and returns from the bike racks at Guelph Lake at 11:15 p.m. The after-dark return trip comes with a police escort, for added safety.

What a great opportunity for a "cycle chic" ride.

 

 

Peel Region borrows Waterloo experiment to boost cycling

The Region of Waterloo is spreading its bicycle expertise past its borders into the GTA, with the Region of Peel taking up the GPS bicycle route study that was pioneered on our bicycle-ambivalent streets.

Peel is launching a Peel Region GPS Cycling Study, based on the recent Waterloo Region/University of Waterloo GPS cycling study, and administered by the University of Waterloo-sponsored Waterloo Public Transportation Initiative. Peel is looking for cyclists who will agree to carry GPS locators while riding, so that the study group can track cycle behaviour.

The region, which includes such dense urban-suburban communities as Brampton, hopes to increase the number of daily cycling trips by 46,000 within the next five years. This study is intended to find out how cyclists are moving through Peel now, and what the obstacles are for future cyclists.

WPTI will be helming the Peel study, so the results and conclusions will be flowing back here, to solidy the Waterloo group's reputation as a source for bicycle infrastructure data.

Ow, that hurts: crosswalk cyclist hit by truck and ticket

Two cyclist injuries; two legal outcomes.

In the case from last Friday, a motorist has been charged with an unsafe turn after a motorist turned left into a cyclist on King Street North in Waterloo.

And in this case, a cyclist has been charged after being in collision with a truck today in Waterloo.

The difference? The cyclist today was riding through a crosswalk, which is a Highway Traffic Act offence, punishable by a $110 ticket. If you are going to ride your bikes on the sidewalks, you must dismount to use a crosswalk at an intersection. As yet, no charges against the motorist