How was your ride today? Week of April 19th, 2010

Submitted by pinkrobe on

The sun is shining, birds are singing and the roads are dusty. Tell us about your daily ride...

Forums: 

Feeling slow

Submitted by pinkrobe on

After a weekend of doing far less riding than I had planned, I still felt really slow today. My speed appeared to be the same as always, but it just felt - meh. I don't know why. In other news, I got to work in great time, wore sunglasses for the first time in 6 months, and am content in the knowledge that my favourite mtn biking trails are drying up at an astonishing rate.
___________________
Who causes accidents?
Fancy Pants

Smooth sailing

Submitted by majchers on

Smooth sailing. Very nice ride.
P.S. When will the City start coordinating their efforts with gravel removal? Clean grass first and then the curb/gutter, not the other way!

Fine day

Submitted by InglewoodGuy on

Good ride in this morning, warm weather and easy traffic.

The only thing that soured my mood is CMLC had a notice up that they are closing even more of the river pathway on the south side heading east out of downtown. Looks like it will be closed from west of Edmonton Trail bridge past Ft. Calgary to the 9th Ave bridge into Inglewood until the end of the year. Most of this has been closed for nearly two years already, and work progresses at a snail's pace.

For all the good words CMLC shovels out about liveable communities when talking about the East Village, they sure make it a pain to get through.

Sorry for the rant, just getting a touch frustrated with this project.

I too felt slow

Submitted by BCDon on

When I looked at my average speed coming in, it was slower than when I head home BUT, it was pretty consistent with my "heading in" speed. PLUS, where'd that NorWester come from. That's a head wind all the way for me! I figure that cut at least 2 KPH average off my speed.

Started out a bit cool at 6:30 but got warm on the bike within a few blocks other than getting hit by the wind which I really notice cycling along by Glenmore. The reservoir is still covered with ice so when the wind comes across it, you get cooled off rapidly.

IF this wind were to stay from the same direction I'd have a wonderful ride home but it apparently is going to be a SE wind by the time I head home. That means headwind all the way home :(. And, the weather channel is saying 10KPH, based upon history that means 20 to 30 KPH. At least when I went out Saturday afternoon I got a tail wind as I head North before turning around and getting all tired out.

I felt fast!

Submitted by amf673 on

I brought out the road bike today and I felt like a hero. I guess that extra 15 pounds and those fat knobby tires make a difference! it felt like I had a tailwind the whole way and I cut five minutes off my commute.

Al

Leisurely

Submitted by litui on

I felt like I rode more leisurely than the last couple times, but ended up making it in the same amount of time. Wind must have been lighter today.

While going westbound on 42nd Ave SE after having made a right turn onto it from 39th Ave I was passed while riding in the centre of the centre/left turn lane by a crazy in a pickup truck. He gave me an angry look as he raced by fully in the oncoming traffic centre lane. For my part I was there because I had to make a left onto 1st and for the ~200m I have to be on that road I didn't think it made sense to ride the curb most of the way and change lanes at the train tracks. If I were a car he would have had to wait for me to turn left anyway. I'm sure the guy vastly improved his commute time with that stunt.

Ah well. Otherwise it went well.

http://rnkpr.com/a50hz2

RunKeeper is cool.

Submitted by BCDon on

But, as I'm a Blackberry guy (work), I can't participate. Besides, I have a Garmin which has pretty well all that stuff (except the live update which my wife might like to keep track of me :) - hmmmmmm, maybe not).

Runkeeper just released Android version

Submitted by litui on

Runkeeper just released their Android version so I had to test it out today.

I've been jumping around between a few pieces of software (Google My Tracks, SportyPal, Trimble Outdoors/AllSport GPS, and Runkeeper) trying to decide what works best. The major limit is largely the crap GPS in my phone (Rogers Dream) but how the software processes drops in GPS (huge spikes in max speed reported in SportyPal and Trimble Outdoors) makes a big difference.

If you can export or convert to GPX from your Garmin you can post it to SportyPal or Trimble Outdoors for free. The best feature of the latter is that it has the option of using survey heights instead of GPS-reported. I don't really like the site, but the survey heights are handy for planning a trip. GPX import is also a hugely requested feature on Runkeeper so I expect they'll implement it eventually.

I'm not at the point where I'm prepared to pay for live update yet.

One of these days I'll take out a survey grade GNSS rover from my company, put it on our reference network and do a sub-cm accuracy trip around town. =)

Hit and Run

Submitted by Julie Gregg on

you think it will never happen to you and then, oops, it does! I was hit by a half ton truck today making a right turn on a red, guy never even stopped. Another cyclist was there and saw it - came to my aide. We both waited for the police to arrive (they got there fast) The other cyclist saw the plates (out of town , BC) Other than being VERY shook up I am uninjured but my bike needs some work. I was in fact on my way to a doctor's appt ...irony! That was only about 2 hours ago and I am already starting to stiffen up.

That's horrible news :(

Submitted by winterrider on

That's horrible news :( Although its good to hear you weren't seriously injured. Where did this happen? And how bad is the bike?

It makes my morning commute seem like a breeze. I had to ask a bus driver twice not to run over myself and a mother with three kids (two in a chariot, and one on a bike) who were in the bike lane on 5th street waiting for the lights at 14 st nw. The bus wanted to turn right, and even after knocking on the door since the driver clearly didn't know we were there (she opened the door and had a word with us while we all waited), she still tried to right hook us all when the light went green. The second knock on the door got an angry look but at least she stopped before taking out the bikes.

Best of luck Julie, I hope you feel better soon.

Location: Intersection at

Submitted by Julie Gregg on

Location: Intersection at 14th street NW and Kensington Blvd. I rode from west to east on the river pathway then came up to 14th street, headed to the old Grace Hospital location, crossing Kensington (on the sidewalk) with the green light in my favour. Truck was on Kensington making a right turn on the red to go south on 14th street.

Bike: He hit my back wheel and now it feels like something is rubbing, shifting is not good but sort of works. Brakes seem OK. Once the police were finished I carried on and rode to the doc's office and then on to work. I want to get it looked at and don't want to leave it in case I am doing more damage when I'm riding.

Me: Hurting just from the shock and stiffness that settles in but mostly am REALLY P#*sed OFF!

Just to clarify...

Submitted by mercator on

Julie, sorry to hear you got hit, I hope everything works out ok. But from your description of the incident, it sounds like you were traveling North in the crosswalk on the West side of 14 St, is that correct? Were you walking your bike?

yes, you are correct, I was

Submitted by Julie Gregg on

yes, you are correct, I was indeed travelling north in the intersection and I was still on my bike, I fully admitted to the police that I had not dismounted to cross the intersection (against my OWN rules) and they were less concerned about that than the fact that the driver drove off. They were actually very empathetic. I had actually stopped and then proceeded but still on the bike. Another error on my part was to not confirm full eye contact with the driver, also against my normal riding style....it was an avoidable mishap for sure. Just an FYI I was wearing my highlighter yellow jacket that I was "bragging" about last week.

Scary

Submitted by sherryrunswest on

I consider myself a cautious rider but you can never be prepared for something like this. OMG! Scary! I do hope you recover quickly (even though there are no apparent injuries right now - stiffness = ??) and that your bike isn't out of commission for too long. Thank goodness another cyclist was close by to witness and help you out. This driver needs to know what he did, hopefully they catch up with him. Take care.

Julie, glad you are OK.

Submitted by BCDon on

The really tough thing is to forget about it and get on with life. I was involved in a "trifecta" last year (got sideswiped but stayed up, T-Boned a car that cut me off and then just "fell over" when I got home).

The sideswipe was someone with no signals on and not looking and in a line to turn left who suddenly decided to turn right. I managed to turn a whole bunch sharper but still cleaned off the side of his car.

The T-Bone was an idiot who to this day I think lined me up. BUT, I could have stopped had I thought he was doing that. Unfortunately I thought he'd be like all the other cars. I had enough time to brake a bit but still hit him, left a nice scratch on a white car. He stopped but just argued it was my fault. No damage to the bike other than my rear rack is a bit off center now but it all works fine. The only way to report this kind of stuff is to go down to the police office and do so. As I wasn't hurt I didn't. I wanted to report it online but there isn't a facility to do that.

Since that time I've had my usual close calls but I guess with 3 in one day I had enough to be OK for "awhile". :).

Oh and hitting you in a crosswalk is MAJOR if reported to his insurance Company. Oh, I forgot, it ICBC - he won't face much of an issue then.

Where's a sledge hammer when you need it?

Bob, are you at work right

Submitted by Julie Gregg on

Bob, are you at work right now? I bought my bike at Bow cycle and usually get maintenance done there. I want to take it over just to be sure it's OK to ride it, do you think I can squeeze it in for a real quick check?

Work

Submitted by BowCycle on

Hi Julie,

I am sure we can squeeze you in. I am in 9 - 6 Monday to Friday and til 8 on Wednesdays.

Bob G.

“Bicycling is a big part of the future. It has to be. There’s something wrong with a society that drives a car to workout in a gym.” – Bill Nye, the Science Guy

bikes@bowcycle.com
www.bowcycle.com

Sorry to hear

Submitted by Spinner on

about the incident, good to hear you're OK Julie. Handy being on the way to the Doc, probably saved you a 5 hr wait in Emergency. Sounds like may be just a bent/broken rim. Fingers crossed on that.
I can't see how this person couldn't have known they make contact with you. Perhaps blame can be shared for the incident, but leaving the scene will be a pricey fine if they are found.

Pinkrobe, thank you for that

Submitted by Julie Gregg on

Pinkrobe, thank you for that kind offer, I will make a note that you are available for emergency repairs!! hahah

Thanks to everyone who expressed concern and sent good wishes. As mentioned I am physically uninjured but very stiff and sore, but not more than if I had done a big work out at the gym or some other form of excessive exercise. Rode this morning and had to get over my nerves....funny how that is. Bow Cycle had a look at the bike last night and the rear wheel had been knocked out of its socket (or whatever you call it) and the disc brake was bent. I'm a little embarrassed I couldn't diagnose that myself....time for a bike repair course. The shifter is wonky, am booked in for a tune up first of the week........

Happy and safe riding everyone!

day off ride took me to cafe

Submitted by denimjeff on

day off ride took me to cafe rosso, down spiller to the river, over to goodlife with some old parts to donate, down the north side of the river to edworthy and back home with a quick stop at community and mec. still a couple of icy patches along the south edworthy path but the dirt/gravel trail over the ice was easily ridden on the road bike. felt sorry for the lady on rollerblades trying to navigate the ice with no hand holds...it looked funny though! yesterday made me glad that i kept riding all winter and am in good shape now that the weather is good...

Heal up Julie

Submitted by bclark on

It sounds like you suffered no long-term injuries. Hopefully they find the driver and hold them accountable for leaving the scene.

Thought I'd post this as well...there are resources out there for anyone concerned about collisions:

http://www.albertabicycle.ab.ca/recreation-transportation (resources link on right)

http://www.calgary.ca/docgallery/BU/trans_planning/cycling/cycling_safet... (lots of basics that most regular riders probably know but useful to pass on to newbies)

http://www.bicyclelaw.com/p.cfm/legal-issues-for-cyclists/about-bicycle-...

We are legion

Submitted by pinkrobe on

I saw loads of cyclists out today along our route. All kinds of bikes, all kinds of people, male and female. The bike room at Banker's Court is starting to fill up. If anyone wants a warm, dry, 24-7 keycard access bike parking stall in a new building attached to the +15, it's totally worth it.
___________________
Who causes accidents?
Fancy Pants

BAD MIKE

Submitted by umgray on

Okay my bad, almost nailed a jogger on a bridge that I should have walked over. Way too fast, off a hill curved into the bridge and he was there. I missed obviously but he was more freaked out than anything and I did not stop and apologize? Why? I have no idea. Now I feel terrible. Sorry I have put bad kharma in the bike commuter tank. Will have to do many good deeds this week to re-fill the good kharma. Learned my lesson - LOOK - DISMOUNT IF SOMEONE ON BRIDGE - SLOW DOWN as there are a lot more people on the pathways now!

Its getting Busy out there.

Submitted by BCDon on

It is getting busier out there for sure. Most of the bridges I go over are wide enough that there is room although on a couple if I meet someone I stop and let them walk past.

Putting sharp corners in at the bottom of hills and having bad sight lines is just rediculous. I've got a couple of those on my commute.

I've just switched to an on

Submitted by winterrider on

I've just switched to an on road route for the summer. My winter route is 6km on Bowness Rd then 5Km on the path and then I'm downtown. The new route goes through the neighbourhoods north of Memorial. It's slower since I now have to deal with traffic lights (particularly waiting to cross crowchild when the bike path just breezes under it), but there are no pedestrians and I'm not worried about a speeding ticket on the pathway :)

I'm not sure yet if it is any less stressful than the path. The new route has more cars, but so far I have not had any grief on the new stretch of Road. Whereas I have already had two cars telling me to get the **** of the road this week on Bownesss Rd. That makes 5 incidents for the year so far.

I may join you there (once

Submitted by Julie Gregg on

I may join you there (once my bike is fixed and I can count on it to give me the torque I need when I ask for it)...as crazy as this sounds, the road may be more predictable. Are you going on 5th Ave? What do you do at 10th street? or do you go past the Safeway to that little one way street beside the tracks?

My route

Submitted by winterrider on

Julie, this it my route.

If you can handle the brief stint on Bowness road by Shaganappi then the rest is easy. I will say though that this is not a cycle friendly spot. East bound in the morning is not too bad, I take the left lane before the lights and hold it until I turn. I usually try to hit 45 or 50 going west under the overpass to reduce (not eliminate) the number of drivers honking at me. That said at least they see me! Also, I now always take the lane. I came up on the right side of the road once when traffic was stopped (going east), and a guy veered at me after the lights to send me a message. He actually stopped and waited for me to tell me that! Former city bus driver and some sort of safety commissioner in the neighbourhood of Montgomery.

But my main reason for this route is that I like to go too fast to be safe on the MUPs (I slow down when I do hit them though).

I take Bowness Road past Shaganappi

left on Veterans Way (just past the lights at shaganappi)

Veterans way turns right, and then I take a left just before the park (no street name on google earth) behind a building that looks like a small school (I don't know what it is). Hop a curb at the end into the parking lot for Woods Homes, and then head west on 7th Ave. 7th is nice and quiet, and goes all the way to crowchild with only a single stop sign (to cross 29th street).

South on 24A St to 5th Ave

West on 5th Ave after a long wait at the lights on Crowchild.

South on 10th

West on 3rd Ave, just south of the safeway since I think a left turn on 4th is illegal (I could be wrong).

South on 9a street and head for the MUP bridge hanging underneath the C-train bridge.

Yikes, forgot to thank you

Submitted by Julie Gregg on

Yikes, forgot to thank you for this. My objective is to avoid the masses now on the pathway so options are to take roads instead of path or start out earlier. I like the route you have described so now it's up to me to figure the best plan to suit my purposes! The river path is so nice in terms of being one with nature but that ceases to be the case when all the extra traffic emerges on to it. Thanks again

legalities

Submitted by RichieRich on

legally cyclists should be on the road.
That said it isn't always safe to do so, but Bowness road is more than wide enough to share. If motorists have that much problem passing how do they manage to park their vehicle between the lines? oh yeeah, these are probably the same idiots that don't know how to park.

My troubles on Bowness road

Submitted by winterrider on

My troubles on Bowness road always come from people who don't think I should be there because I always take the lane when there are two lanes. For those who don't know, Bowness Road west of Shaganappi goes back and forth from 1 to 2 lanes, and really only needs one.

When there are two lanes I always take the inside lane as they are less than 3.5m wide (this width is set by the city I believe as I found it on their website), at which point I am within my rights to take a lane, and after a years riding I would be crazy not to.

When I ride on the right I get fewer cars honking, but more close calls. I've nearly been hit twice by cars passing too close. When I take the lane I get more people honking and swearing at me, but have not had a close call yet. I have actually seen a study on-line that was looking at drivers reactions to cyclists' lane position which reached the same conclusion.

What I would really like to see is an awareness campaign about how to ride (for cyclists), and to give cyclists the room they need (for motorists). I think a lot of my problem is that most cyclists do not take the lane, and this educates drivers to think we should be in the gutter. So then they see me and think I'm some sort of jerk who needs to be taught a lesson.

That said, take the lane, the abuse I put up with is no where near as bad as a car almost creaming me.

Agreed

Submitted by bclark on

On both counts...

1. Roads ARE more predictable in a lot of cases. At least judging from the jogger running east in the westbound lane of the river pathway near downtown this morning.

2. Bikes DO belong on the road so don't blame yourself if someone honks at you for riding along properly. I often used to ride Bowness Road through Montgomery enroute to the river and only was honked at once. I switched to a sidestreet recently but more because I like to stay out of peoples exhaust.

Mostly on Road.

Submitted by BCDon on

I get a good mixture of on road and on pathway. Leaving the SW I'm on road pretty well till Glenmore, then pretty much on path from Heritage to over the dam but not too much traffic. Then on road down to the Bow River, pathway across under Crowchild and pathway West till I turn North to head up by Foothills. THAT section of pathway is the busy one but I'm going uphill and generally have a head wind so aren't all that fast. From there I'm on road and some path to just north of the University.

Heading home I generally head down University Drive (so on road) and then go West to get to the crosswalk to get onto the pathway on the Bow, take that to Crowchild, go under and head a bit East, then North through residential streets, cross 15th Ave S and continue on "on road" bike paths tracing my morning commute back.

I'd say that the most stressful part is on the pathway on the Bow, the rest isn't an issue.

Whereabouts are you?

Submitted by crazycga on

Hey BCDon:

Can't remember if I ever asked this, but which neighbourhood are you in? I'm in Woodbine, and take 24th St. / 98th Ave. down to the reservoir, then paths north until Elbow Drive, and follow Elbow to 4th St. Takes me through Sandy Beach, and over that smaller wooden bridge (which I unclip and walk over while sitting on my bike; I take less room that way.)

But I've been looking for a different route to the SW from downtown. Any suggestions?

I mostly use the roads too.

Submitted by amf673 on

Partly from necessity and partly because the pathways are too clogged up these days. I find busy pathways quite stressful.

That said, road riding is no picnic either. Fortunately I have a pretty good route: south on 10th ST NW, west on 5th Ave (bike lane), south on 19th ST (It has sharrows, but I think cyclists and drivers would have been better served if 20th had been made into a bike road. Far less traffic, goes directly to the overpass), then the pathway to the Crowchild bridge, up the hill to26th ST, 26 Ave and Sarcee road to campus.

The only 'trouble' spot is 10th St, mostly between 16th Ave and 23th Ave, northbound. It is a two-lanes each direction road, but the lanes are not all that wide so I take the full right hand lane -- if I ride in the gutter I get squeezed regularly. Riding in the middle I get honked at and yelled at, but they do keep away. There are quite a number of cyclists who use the sidewalk along there, so maybe they feel I should too. Drivers seem to want to squeeze in front of my approaching the lights, but I know to watch for that. I figure since there are two lanes each way, drivers can use the other lane quite comfortably as traffic is not that heavy. I stay healthy and they are not slowed up. Should be easy.

Southbound is usually easier as it is downhill so I can go faster and it is morning which seems to be more civilized. But the other morning I actually hit a car, with my fist. A woman in a station wagony thing passed me close enough that I could pound on her side window, twice. That's too close, I feel. I was in the middle of the lane doing about 25 and it is a school zone.

Still, I usually prefer a road route as I can crank it up if I want and I don't have to worry about dogs, geese, joggers, and all that.

Bridge encounters

Submitted by amf673 on

I had a bridge encounter yesterday, of a different kind, that made me think.

I was crossing the memorial drive overpass and a family was in the middle of the bridge. Two adults walking and two small kids on little bikes. I slowed to a crawl and was happy to inch my way by them. When the adults saw me they scrambled to get the little ones out of the way and apologized twice. I assured them that there was no problem and commented how nice an evening it was to be out biking.

It made me feel sad that anyone would feel that little kids would be in danger from me or that someone would think I would be upset or inconvenienced by some kids on the path.

I also has a similar

Submitted by scottmeyers on

I also has a similar encounter with a family stopped on the side of the path I gave ample warning and made eye contact with the little girl. I was moving along slowly and was pretty convinced that the little lady and had a made a mutual agreement not to hit each other. After all I am pretty sure she recognized the implications of stepping in front of the giant man on a yellow bike as well as I did with hitting a little path way user. Then enter mom and dad... The freak out at the little girl yank her out of the way like I was some giant hellsatan bearing down like the four horseman... and then apologize to me. I was a little perplexed. Had they left well enough alone all would have been fine, but now I am pretty sure the little lady is terrified of yellow bikes... I kindly recognized there actions and assured them no apology was necessary.

Please support my ride to Conquer Cancer

ski goggles??

Submitted by sj_mckenna on

great ride home last night (and again this morning). But in the 20C weather on the way home I saw someone dressed for subzero! Ski goggles and all. Thought it was a little strange...

It may have been

Submitted by gyrospanner on

one of the guys where I work. I saw him leave yesterday with them on!

That's way too hot for me, I hate sweaty eye sockets.

Unless it's brought on by some nice hot spicy food.

two season riders

Submitted by umgray on

They are two season riders who think this weather is extreme biking....ohhhh plus 4!

No seriously, I guess they still think it is cold?

All of my office mates are always complaining at how cold the office is and I have a fan on me all winter (I am the only guy in the office but hey that's innapropriate to say)

Reasonable commute

Submitted by litui on

Relaxed and went in a bit slower than yesterday. Greatly enjoyed the t-shirt weather and absorbed as much sun as I could.

Had another annoying driver on 42nd Ave SE yet again. This time I rode by the curb (just outside the gravel line) until ~30m from my left turn spot, signalled, changed lanes, crossed the tracks, rode up next to the centreline, signalled and waited to turn left onto 1st St. A guy in a car was waiting at the stop sign on 1st to make a left. I waited for the first opportunity and made my left and watched as he decided to make his at the same time. I sped up and he narrowly avoided hitting the back end of my bike. I'm pretty sure he was in control and came in that close just to spook me.

http://rnkpr.com/a51q0p

The mornings have been great!

Submitted by gyrospanner on

The afternoons are better! I'm down to sunglasses, sleeveless vest & shorts. Had a bit of tailwind yesterday. Same thing today - +21 and sunny, WOOHOO.

Tonight I'm hauling 3 of the banners home in my pack for Bike to Work Day, which need to be hung on Sunday.

For that, I am gonna' reward myself with a nice cold beer when I get home!

Ow

Submitted by pinkrobe on

I went for a mtn bike ride last night, and now I'm a bit sore in the behind zone. I haven't been logging much saddle time away from my daily commute, so I guess I should expect this. Regardless, I stood for a fair bit of my ride today.
___________________
Who causes accidents?
Fancy Pants

Moosepackers

Submitted by pinkrobe on

Last night I tried a ride around the Moosepackers loop. Sulphur Springs was dry, Pneuma started off dry but then got a bit squishy as I climbed up to the SLF exit. I took the road the rest of the way to the top, but ran into this once I was on the Fire Lookout trail:

It was getting late, so I headed back down to Pneuma, and them Brakeless. For updates on local trails, the best place to go is one of only two good threads on Pinkbike. Go to the last page in the thread and start reading backwards to get the scoop on what's good.
___________________
Who causes accidents?
Fancy Pants

MTB trails

Submitted by RichieRich on

Search online:
- MMBTS for some trails in Bragg Creek (DH oriented)
- Bragg creek trails
- Kananaskis trails

Buy: Backcountry Biking the Canadian Rockies

busy, busy.......

Submitted by Julie Gregg on

This warm weather is awesome but it has brought the crazies out of the woodwork....and I am talking about cyclists....I'm thinking to come in a bit earlier these days to avoid the peloton.

I saw salmon, hot dogs and jackass stew all in a manner of minutes!

The crazies must sleep in...

Submitted by sherryrunswest on

I head out the door at 5:30 and am at the gym by 6 so by no means a long ride. But rarely do I see more than 5 other riders on my route and those 5 are during peak fair weather times. I am dragging my feet by Thursday because of the early mornings but so worth it when you can ride in and not really think too much about it, you just ride in peace.

ha ha, Sherry, you're

Submitted by Julie Gregg on

ha ha, Sherry, you're probably right, they do sleep in! I have been going to the gym at the end of the work day but have been considering going before work.....I may just have to make that change in my routine.

Workout later too

Submitted by sherryrunswest on

When I get to the gym at 6 or so I simply shower and head to work, leaving my bike stuff in a locker all day. It works perfectly because the change room/showers are empty cause everyone is working out at that time. I hate working out in a crowded gym! Because of the early start I get to leave early at the end of the day. I'm out of the office at 3:15 and back to the gym to workout (and at this time of day it is nearly empty). Once done with the workout I change and hop on the bike home just after 4pm. Found that this routine works best for me.

It IS getting busier.

Submitted by BCDon on

I'm leaving the house at 6:30, into the office by 7:30 but sure see my share of people who have similar time frames. Leaving the South I see a few but not many. However, once I get to the Bow Vally, around 7:00 or a bit after, it is full of commuters. I head in the opposite direction (Cycle West from Crowchild) so have to be extra careful of oncoming groups passing, getting a bit wide, going around joggers etc.

Although I can barely haul my butt out of bed for a 6:30 start I'm thinking of stepping it up to a 6:00AM start which would put me in the river valley around 6:30 to 6:40 to see what that'd be like. The biggest problem is that in order to get up at 5:30, I need to get to bed early enough and the sun is still up making it harder to get to sleep. PLUS, with our proximity to the mountains, even though it may get up into the 20s during the day, it is down into lower single digits come morning.

Coworker ride

Submitted by Jaykay65 on

I met up with a co-worker as well.

As we were passing the southern edge of our company's land we considered that we should just keep on pedaling south and see where we end up.
But alas here I sit..

Osprey/falcon nest

Submitted by Dionysis on

Riding west last night on the north side of the Bow and just as I was approaching Crowchild, I noticed a few people standing off to the side of the path and looking up. Turns out the city has placed a tall telephone pole in the open space there (just west of the pedestrian bridge that goes over top of Memorial) and on top is a nest for osprey/falcons.
These birds used to nest at the top of the light poles at the soccer field a little east of their current site but since the poles have not been replaced after a few toppled over in the wind last year, the birds needed a new nesting site.
I was wondering why I was not being attacked by geese along that stretch - now I know! Anyone know what species the birds are?

Last night in Bowmont

Submitted by gyrospanner on

I went by the platform and there was a lady walking her little dogs there and the Ospreys were really pissed off. They were circling and squawking up a storm.

And, I went off on one of the trails on the west side of the old Klippert operations and I finally saw the pheasant I've heard down there all the time. Just caught a glimpse of him out of the corner of my eye - they are quick little boogers.

Osprey

Submitted by umgray on

They are osprey and there are lots of nests along the bow. Two which are well known is the soccer field light group and the zoo group (at the end of the zoo island). As a fly fisherman and paddler of the Bow you see lots of them but it is amazing to watch them fish especially when they get a trout that's a little too big for them - makes for a real interesting show!

The only worry with osprey is maybe getting hit by a dropped fish but that's a one in a million shot - unless they were aiming for ya! then your in serious trouble :)

quiet ride this morning

Submitted by olivier on

Seemed unusually quiet this morning. Perhaps yesterday's forecast for a light shower today made people stay home? Oh well, it was a pleasant cruise into work this morning. Since the forecast has been updated, it looks like another beautiful ride home this afternoon.

Amen

Submitted by RichieRich on

It was nice to have a few less "tourists" on the path this morning... either that or the huge tailwind was helping them all keep a reasonable speed. That said one provided amusement by staying in middle chainring peddling furiously. Just wish more riders could hear the bells of others by not cranking their headphone tunes.

Nosecreek going home yesterday was really enjoyable (huge tailwind) until you get just past McCall golf course with the city of Calgary's exceptionally pathetic detour scheme (either long long way through hilly neighborhood, or running a short 150m gauntlet on a barely-there track going counterflow to vehicle traffic).

Ridgeback

Submitted by RichieRich on

how were trail conditions? what route direction would you recommend? is it bedding in nicely? how does it compare to Sulphur Springs? Pneuma?

411

Submitted by pinkrobe on

Ridgeback is soft and gushy in spots, really dry in others. It's a new trail [completed in November 2009], so there haven't been many riders on it. I would say that it is best ridden in a N --> S direction. The Fire Lookout trail had a foot of snow on it Tuesday night, but the Moosepackers switchbacks are in pretty good shape. A quick look at the map and elevation profile gives a pretty good indication of which direction is easier:

Pneuma is drying out very quickly. From the intersection with Sulphur Springs to the wellsite, there are almost no soft areas - that stretch has seen a lot of traffic in the last few weeks. Between the wellsite and SLF it's a little more variable, but still pretty good. The softer conditions mean that you have to work harder to climb. The higher you go, the softer it gets. I'd say that Pneuma is about 7-10 days ahead of Ridgeback in terms of dryness.

Sulphur Springs is dry, except for the bit after the creek crossing. I have only done from Station Flats to the road, so I can't comment on what the rest of the loop is like. However, based on the number of people coming back into the parking lot in clean, dry kit on dusty bikes, I'd say that the SS loop is in mid-summer condition.

Tom Snow is muddy, even some of the climbs. Surprise!
___________________
Who causes accidents?
Fancy Pants

elbow drive

Submitted by umgray on

Was running late this morning and decided to take to the roads and take elbow drive (it cuts 15 minutes off my commute time) and it was relativly okay albeit it is friday. I only take this road if I am late and really feel the need to speed. I dont like it due to the amount of ahole drivers that think your bike is an plight against their life and getting to work. Besides the upside of this route is you almost always catch up to them at the next light. I am starting to get better at my "your kidding me right?" look. However trying not to antaginize is a lot of work. I now DO NOT filter past them at the lights as I find this ends up pissing someone off after 4 or 5 lights and honestly, some people are most nervous drivers when passing bikes. Anyways bored at work and rambling.....Have a good weekend everyone!

My weekly count for "Near Hits" or "Near Misses"

Submitted by gyrospanner on

This isn't typical, but it is humorous...

1) Me & Cars
Dum-A Drivers 0-5

A right hook by a car speeding to wherever? and a left jab by a Big Unit (his truck, not something in his pants, although he may have felt otherwise) - both in the same block on Tuesday. This happened when I was going to get the Bike to Work Day Banners that I need to put up tomorrow.

Some guy in a van kept squeezing me against the curb when I was trying to get down 3rd Avenue to get to work. A new route for me because of the Peace Bridge construction. He squeezed me 3 times at 3 different corners! (Borderline Assault? - If a 50 cal. gun wasn't so heavy!!....... Just Kidding!)

A right jab by a guy in the merge lane who tried to beat me to the lane (he probably thought that "Hey! I can't go over 20k on my bike, so how could this guy?).

Some guy tried to run a red light early and just missed me by about 2 feet. That woulda' been a free trip to the hospital for me! This again was another detour for me because of the Piece Bridge! (sp intentional!).

2) Me & Wildlife 1-1
I ran over a garter snake on a trail in Bowmont earlier this week
I missed a duck that popped out of the bushes in Edworthy.

I fully intend on taking my bike to hand the banners tomorrow! Weather & Drivers notwithstanding!

EDIT - You'll notice that this bridge caused me problems twice this week because of my re-route. I read the Sun this morning and Rick Bell devted a whole page to the bridge. 3 lights in 3 blocks on Memorial. Note to self - never drive there ever again.

http://www.calgarysun.com/news/columnists/2010/04/25/13711306.html

Cheers

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