How was your ride this weekend? June 25-26

Did you get out to Cyclepalooza this weekend? Hit the MTB trails in K-country? or did you participate in the ride to conquer cancer? Tell us about it.

Forums: 

Lotsa riders

I have a friend who's a team captain on the Ride to Conquer Cancer. She said there were 2200+ riders at the start this morning. Say, that's about as many as have registered on BikeCalgary!

Out to Cochrane and back

Just a 60Km ride from the Bearspaw area (Rocky Ridge) out to Cochrane, then up the hill North to the Shell station and East, back to the start. A bit cool heading out, especially with the headwind, a lot nicer coming back with the tailwind. A few other riders out so not everyone was in the ride for cancer.

Bunch of bikes near Bowness

Had to bike from DT to Bowness this morning for a beekeeping workshop and on my way back on the pathway I ran into what I thought was a Cyclepalooza event - about 15 people riding their cruiser bike! Turns out it was just a birthday party! Way to go Calgary!

Tonight I'll be taking part in F/50! http://cyclepalooza.ca/

I've taken up smoking

I was working an evening shift yesterday, and thus missed the f/50 ride - I think i would have loved to have gone. On my way to work, taking the Princess Island detour through the photographers, musicians, enamoured couples and so on, I happened to see a family of five on bikes, who had stopped because of a brake issue. When I pulled out my tools and began adjustments with their consent, the wife asked me if I work for the city, and why I carry tools. She really seemed confused, almost interrogative - I just said I do most of my own repairs and maintenance, and that you never know when you might need them. I should have gestured towards the Toys R' Us bike I was fixing. Then, about 10km later, I came up on a mother and daughter on their bikes. The daughter thought she'd try and see how fast she could serpentine, or something, and ended up laying her bike down at a good speed. Skinned her knees and wrists - I stopped and told the mother I had gauze and tape in my bag, but she politely declined. I thought with the detour and the stops, I'd be late for work, but I made good time.

Today has been good for biking, save for the smoke; you'd think it would keep the bugs at bay, but alas, no. My upper airway has actually become a bit irritated, so I'm telling people that I've taken up smoking. Hooray for funny looks. I could go on and tell them that I'm actually a chain smoker -- three or four chains a year, lately. Heehee. I'm tired today, and there's really no reason other than perhaps today is a Sunday, or maybe its the smoke?

Oh! I was caught in a flash rainstorm near Connaught, the other day, and I thought I'd take cover in this new artisan doughnut place 'Jelly'. There was no bike rack in site! The only thing I really came across was a window that said 'PLEASE DO NOT LEAN YOUR BIKES AGAINST THE WINDOW'. The rain let up, so I just left, sans doughnut, wondering why they wouldn't have a bike rack. I almost want to communicate with them the benefits of having a bike rack, and how cyclists generally love doughnuts. I still want to try a doughnut or two at that place....

working on it

I'm meeting downtown Calgary to discuss bike racks. Since I've already made racks, I've got contacts and designs in mind. Each business who wants a rack has to get a city permit though, which is time-consuming and costly. I'm looking into stream-lining the permit and process.

The City

The City certainly shouldn't be making getting a rack difficult for businesses. As a matter of fact, businesses should be getting some kind of tax incentive for installing them. This is the type of chenge we need to start making.

This is not the Bike Rack

This is not the Bike Rack Sponsorship Program, though, right, where you call 311 and ask the city to install a staple-style rack? I think those are provided by the city. This is if a business wants multiple racks, like there are outside of the Plaza Theatre?

I've been there

It's strangely inhospitable. The chairs are very uncomfortable. The place is cold - a common criticism of modern design architecture. It's like they want a pretty *space* but the people involved are an inconvenience.

I'm unsurprised by the sign about not leaning your bike against the window. It fits with the "don't stay any longer than you must" ambiance.

great ride Saturday morning

Did my usual route from Edworthy Park down to the Inglewood Bird Sanctuary and back. Started out cloudy but turned sunny on the way back and there was very little wind to fight.
On the way back, I found that the path from the east end of Point McKay to Edworthy was blocked off for a run and walk. I was surprised they would block off both bike and pedestrian paths at 7 A.M. and for such a short route. Worked out well, however, because then it gave me a chance to ride around Montgomery.
Anyone know what this event was for?

Edworthy

I discovered that too, on my long run - it was the Canadian Nationals Track and Field - race walk on Saturday morning, maybe other events later.

F/50

We had a great time at F/50 - we saw 10 deer, 8 pelicans, 1 bat, 1 porcupine and 1 hawk! It took us 3:30 hours. Critninja, can you post the pictures you took (either here or on the Cyclepalooza FB page)?

Canada Track & Field event Edworthy/Pt McKay

The racewalking event for the Canadian Track & Field Championships were held on Saturday morning. The 20 km event started at 0700, the 10km at 0900. A couple of people who volunteered at the bike swap are racewalkers. Chris, the instigator of Calgary bike swap, holds the master's national 1500m record in race walking.