No bikes in winter at 17 Wing because of THIS? Please, tell me its not true!

[PViddy]

Hey guys,

Interesting thread.  I currently work at a rather large bicycle retail conglomerate here in Ontario, we have tons of customers that ride year round, as said before if you have the right equipment and follow the rules of the road it can be done relatively safely. 

I was reading this, and thought of a catalogue i was fliping through at the shop the other day.  You want a bike for the winter? check this rig out!

http://www.viciouscycles.com/frames-thunderwing.php3


cheers

PV

 

[Bruce Monkhouse]

DO NOT RIDE YOUR BIKE ON THE SIDEWALK IN MY GENERAL DIRECTION AS I WILL KNOCK YOU OFF IT IF YOU GET TO CLOSE TO PEDESTRIONS.
SIGNED:
STILL BITTER FATHER AT THE ASSHOLE WHO BROKE MY 4 YEAR OLD DAUGHTERS ORBITAL SOCKET IN 3 PLACES, ALMOST COST HER THE MOVEMENT IN ONE EYE AND THEN JUST HOPPED BACK ON YOUR BICYCLE AND LEFT HER THERE IN A POOL OF BLOOD

 

[geo]

feel for ya Bruce.
Trouble with cyclists, to a certain extent, are being crowded off main street circulation and some have decided that sidewalks are safer for them.... without thinking about what it will mean to pedestrians.
And then you have these bicycle messengers that are a menace to cars & pedestrians

 

[darmil]

I'm big into mountainbiking, its a bike not a car I don't think it belongs on the road.I  ride on the road if the streets are not busy I don't trust drivers.If I ride on the sidewalks, I move out of the way for pedestrians.But I mostly ride off road so its not a big problem for me.

 

[TCBF]

"This is no problem AT ALL from a safety perspective,"

- No, just a problem of violating Base Routine Orders in which the local MSE Safety cell put in entries in the spring and fall regarding bikes.  I used to do this in Edmonton and 'push' the envelope a bit, but stopped.  I then rucked or jogged to work during the 'off' season.  It bites, but what can you do.

Tom

 

[combatcamera]

- No, just a problem of violating Base Routine Orders in which the local MSE Safety cell put in entries in the spring and fall regarding bikes.  I used to do this in Edmonton and 'push' the envelope a bit, but stopped.  I then rucked or jogged to work during the 'off' season.  It bites, but what can you do.

Hey Tom,

I feel the same way about guns.  Just register them.  It bites, but what can you do.

 

[GO!!!]

Anybody else remember the cyclist who was riding his bike in a X walk in Edmonton this year?

He got taken out by a car - broke both legs etc, was then ticketed x5, and sued by the driver for a new hood and windshield.

You are not allowed to operate a bicycle in a crosswalk. If you do, and have an accident, it is 100% your fault, and your car insurance goes up!

That's why I only drive my Safety Utility Vehicles  , and bikes with names like Honda, Buell and HD.

 

[Scoobie Newbie]

Sucks to be that cat.  Now I know why guys dismount and walk across.

 

[Jarnhamar]

It seems that some overblown general got caught behind a cyclist in his oversized gas guzzling SUV and couldn't get by immediately due to the roads being somewhat narrower because of the snow. Obviously flushed with his own power, he immediately decreed that bicycles were banned during the winter. Not very enlightened to say the least.

Chickey writting that is an asshole. Way to make shit up on the fly.

Bicycling sucks cause there's no happy medium. You can't go on sidewalks because of people walking and biking on the street puts you in the way of retarded drivers.

Bike paths are are one solution, though walkers and rollerbladers use them a lot. Worst still is the asshole skidooers who race up and down them in the winter at warp 2.    Not long ago a skidooer almost creamed some kids playing along the bike path, think one got clipped and hurt.  Few nights later a guy got hurt on a skidoo cause someone put a poll across the path and he slammed into it, wreched his ride.  Not saying it was the right thing to do (I'm guessing a parent did it) as well a couple of years ago someone lost their head from someone doing the same but I'll tell you they really slowed down around here.

 

[combatcamera]

I'd love to meet this guy as he seems like a real piece of work. I'm sure we'd have absolutely nothing in common but I'd like to try and understand the mentality that could come up with a ruling like that. I guess that's a case of know thy enemy. So if you got a few minutes to spare General Lardass drop by for a chat."

by Lindsay Gauld - Jan 5, 2006
http://www.cycling.mb.ca/

That's actually pretty good writing!

 

[WO2 Gubbels]

  I mostly go on the roads, I live up by bathurst and steeles in TO (and area)  I  am on the road for all the backroad sections, but on all of the main roads like steeles, yonge, bathurst, dufferin, etc I stick to the side walk,  I consider my saftey to be key and don't trust drivers at all.  I have been hit once by some retard, I do dismount to cross busy intersections, I am the odd guy out there that wears a helmet,  and when I pass pedestrians I either go on the grass, or go super slow in the winter.  I really wish there were other options on the bike, and when possible in nicer weather I go on this little pavement portion right beside the road (when there is one) but what i hate about these is I have to dismount to get back on the otherside.  I do enjoy biking, it is cheaper, enviroment friendly etc, but biking on the roads up here is just mad in my opinion, there are so many crazy drivers who don't think about bikers at all.  I do see some people on the road, but they tend to bike alot faster then I do and kinda keep up with traffic a bit better, plus it is never in the maddening rush of 730 am.  I have also seen another guy just follow the bus which I could normally keep up with moreless, depending on my energy level and number of stops. 

 

[geo]

gubb... can understand your frustration
wish I could figure out a solution to satisfy everyone.
Bad Riders & bd riders brings out the worst in everyone.

 

[combatcamera]

Gubb,

I also bike to work in a city - Ottawa - in very heavy traffic right on the roads.  I am fortunate because there is a bus lane for much of my route.  I usually tend to ride along the right-hand side of it, or right down the middle when my safety warrants it.  Sometimes this pisses off the bus drivers, but what can you do.  Downtown, I'll usually occupy the entire lane since traffic is so slow. 

One of the pieces of safety kit I have on my bike that is really useful is what I call my ****-off flag.  It mounts to the side of your bike, but REALLY works in keeping the traffic away from you.  I can't say enough about it.  I also use LOTS of lights.  Two sets of red-and-white strobes on the front as well as the back, plus motion driven lights on the tire frames.  They work great.  Since you live in Toronto, you can pick these up at MEC.  I also use reflective DOT tape on my backpack and helmet (same kind as used on tractor trailers).  Other riding tips include throwing your clothes in the dryer before a winter ride when it's -30 below. 

The main thing to remember though, is you ALSO own the road and to ride like it at EVERY opportunity!  I do.

 

[beach_bum]

  I mostly go on the roads, I live up by bathurst and steeles in TO (and area)  I  am on the road for all the backroad sections, but on all of the main roads like steeles, yonge, bathurst, dufferin, etc I stick to the side walk,  I consider my saftey to be key and don't trust drivers at all.  I have been hit once by some retard, I do dismount to cross busy intersections, I am the odd guy out there that wears a helmet,  and when I pass pedestrians I either go on the grass, or go super slow in the winter. 

It's funny, because as a pedestrian I also consider my safety to be key.  That's why I walk on sidewalks!  I have been hit by cyclists (as has my child) while walking on the sidewalk.  (I'm glad that you go on the grass etc, but you are a rare breed)  Sorry cyclists don't (or can't) trust drivers (I know I don't either), but the sidewalk is no place for a bike.

 

[George Wallace]

Funny what a cane, walking stick, or any stick for that matter, will do if stuck in the spokes.  I, too, have had the distinct honour of being in the way of cyclists on the sideWALK.  I am not impressed.  I can understand a preschool youngster learning to ride, but an adult who should know better, is a different story.

 

[combatcamera]

George,

My heart "truly" bleeds with the "Safety-101" stories about bikes and sidewalks .......    Usually, when cyclists are required to use the sidewalks in winter, the pedestrians are walking on the friggin' streets!  Please, I too can regale you with stories of anal pedestrians or driver's on my roads.

 

[PViddy]

I think the biggest problem is:

1. The average Joe on a bike doesn't know, or is even aware that the road rules apply to them (usually not commuters or the serious cyclist).
2.  Are to ignorant that they don't even care.
3.  Ontario, actually North America as a whole has been a little slow in catching up with the rest of the world with regards to installing bike lanes at the sides of roads etc. (now this won't really help you in the winter, but...).  I am happy to see this changing as we speak, gives the average recreational cyclist a place to ride (bike paths etc.)

At my shop, we service our entire regional Police forces bike fleet, and my do i get to hear some stories! i am happy to say that people do get fined around here for not having a bell on there bike (which is an offence under the Ontario HTA), and i have seen a car get pulled over by a bike cop...classic!

I do not usually use any of my bikes for commutting purposes, but when i am on the road bike, things get a little hairy somtimes when i am out of the citty on a century ride and cars come blazing by me without giving me any room.  I think the key thing here is a little education on both sides-drivers being aware that a cyclist is for all intensive purposes classed as a motor vehicle when on the road, and i guess the exact thing for cyclists- they can't blaze on and off the road as they see fit.  i am very quick to explain the rules to many of my customers, we even have free hand out rule books from the Ontario Gov.

Mountain biking is also no different, yeild and dismount bike for horseback riders,yield to riders on a climb, slow down for hikers, and always give a friendly hello!

my 2 cents...


cheers

PV

 

[TCBF]

One of the things my wife and I recall best about Volksmarching in the Netherlands was the well organized and marked bicycle routes.  Picture miniature highways with painted lane markers.  No reason why we cannot do that in the new subdivisions we build, and in the refurbishing of 'stale' urban areas.

Some bases already have a 'Multi-use Trail' around it's urban footprint.  We should encourage the expansion of those for PT/Bikes/Forced Marches and so on.  The typical Defense Construction 1951 Ltd base layouts generaly have lots of room (they were layed out with nukes in mind) to build multi-use trails that would allow one to bicycle to work in the winter.

The Three Rules of Erratics:
1.  Cars are erratic.
2.  Fellow bicyclists are more erratic than cars.
3.  Pedestrians are so bloody erratic, they might as well be Zombies, looking out for niether cars nor bicycles.

Tom

 

[armyvern]

George,

My heart "truly" bleeds with the "Safety-101" stories about bikes and sidewalks .......    Usually, when cyclists are required to use the sidewalks in winter, the pedestrians are walking on the friggin' streets!  Please, I too can regale you with stories of anal pedestrians or driver's on my roads.

On this Base anyway those 'pedestrians' in uniform or PT strip, either running or marching on the streets, year round, have the right-of-way over all vehicular traffic, and I'm pretty sure that the max speed you can go around them at is 15kms/hour when it is safe to do so.

Nothing like running late and being behind a CAP course out for their morning ruckmarch on the road in a blinding blizzard.  ;D

 

[combatcamera]

I think the biggest problem is:

1. The average Joe on a bike doesn't know, or is even aware that the road rules apply to them (usually not commuters or the serious cyclist).

That statement just doesn't apply to winter cyclist's.  They, like the bike courier who wrote the letter to the editor, are probably THE MOST experienced biker's you will find out here.  Why is it PERFECTLY LEGAL to ride a bike on city streets in the winter, but not on a Base?  Give us a break.  I've driven a bike in most major cities in Canada, around  Europe, and New York City too.  One of the mosty bike-friendly cities I found was Minneapolis.  I also like the European concept of banning cars entirely from the downtown core.  How cool is that, eh!? Canada has a way to go.  :blotto: