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Winter studs – 100% a personal choice. There have been a few winters in Calgary when I haven’t used studs at all; the snow comes late and doesn’t really stay on the pathways much. Even with a little snow a regular Cross tire is fine. However some winters heavy snow packs down into icy ruts and roads and pathways are treacherous. Studs are a great solution to terrible road conditions.
Some routes near the downtown are very well maintained, but this does change form year to year depending on the contractor and weather. If you’re lucky enough to be riding these pathways and roads you probably won’t need studs.
I personally would wait until you absolutely have to put on studs to ride safely. They’re so damn inefficient and noisy! I’ve got a 10 year old set of the Winter marathons and they’ve done pretty well for those times when it’s just too sketchy for rubber.
I ran into, literally, one of those electric skateboards the other day. He came around a corner towards me in my lane. He saw me but couldn’t turn the board as he was obviously new to the device. We came to a screeching halt in front of one another. I had no words to share.
I agree that it’s a poor attempt by the City in the event of a closure of the bike lanes. They don’t seem to value the bike lanes if they just close them without a viable cycling option. I had the same experience when they shut down the pathway by Repsol for high water. There is simply no option for cycling. It shows that the City still thinks of cycling as a luxury and not used by serious people trying to get places.
FYI City of Calgary- walking with your bike for several blocks is not a viable option when cycling!
Yes, that’s the location, and the underpass has been opened since the high water subsided. It was closed for about 10 days? It’s my impression that a legal pedestrian crossing exists at every intersection Calgary. Here we have the intersection of the pathway and McLeod Trail. I agree that when Parks closes the underpasses, Roads needs to designate a cross walk here to alert cars that people are crossing. There is no other feasible option here for a cyclist as the sidewalk is the only exit from the talisman Centre. But we all know how dangerous it is for cyclists on sidewalks, not to mention illegal. I would prefer not to ride on McLeod trail as it’s absolutely not a safe place for cyclists.
I don’t think the scooters are dangerous… they just attract a certain type of user. Riding home in the early hours last week I noticed how many people were climbing onto scooters at closing time of the neighbourhood pubs. You still need a little bit of coordination to ride them!
I agree, it is preposterous. And it makes riding on the pathways a criminal offence. Just try riding down Nose Creek pathway at 20 km/hr with a tailwind! Ridiculous and no evidence that it improves safety for anyone. The one-size fits all speed limit for the pathways has got to change at some point, or it’s going to become too expensive to ride on them at all. I’ll stick to the roads where I can travel at a reasonable speed thank-you.
The City had a backhoe out today trying to bash the glacier into submission. Looked to me like the glacier was winning.
BSNYC has a lifetime of great anecdotes. Having recently ridden a bicycle around NYC, I don’t have the focus or the energy to stay safe under those conditions. Happy that we have the pathways here for some respite.
I made the leap! Put on the summer tires today, pumped them up to 60 psi and am ready to rumble! I realize that it might snow again, but they’ve begun to sweep the pathways I ride so I’m taking the plunge.
Agreed about the “no right on Red”. Cars are in wayyyy too much of a hurry and don’t bother looking.
Does anyone dare changing out winter for summer tires?
Very much against any motorized scooter sharing lanes with bicycles. They’ve allowed that in Ontario and it has become a hazard for cyclists especially in touristy areas where people don’t understand the rules.
Skateboard are fine but roller blades are a terrible idea to allow. The stride is too wide and they leave no room for passing.
That’s my vote!
The plow didn’t get much of the last snow fall and with last weekends temps a nasty rutted ice has formed. The pathway around Reposol Place is pretty bad with a few refrozen ponds and some hard ice/snow sections. Elbow River around Stampede is ok with packed snow and ice, and a couple of tricky ice patches on hills under the overpasses.
The quality of snow removal makes such a huge difference to the long term travel-ability of the MUPs. One poor clearing can leave a winter long rink that doesn’t clean up until longer days and much warmer temps arrive.
After a couple months of verify pleasant riding I had a strange encounter this morning. A Pedestrian was standing in the middle of the pathway and wouldn’t let let me ride past. I was riding on the MUP Just west of the Repsol Centre. He waved his arm and told me I wasn’t allowed to be there! He claimed that I “shouldn’t be on the sidewalk”. I was riding the portion of MUP adjacent to the bridge connecting to 22 Ave SW. It’s a short stretch of MUP installed behind the condominiums. He was around 30 with a young aggressive pit bull in tow. I tried to explain the difference between Sidewalks and Multi-use pathways but he would have none of it. When I did go by his pit bull was aggressive and had to be restrained.
This character is going to be a hazard if he’s going to try and police the MUPs with his muscular companion.
