AlmostIslandViewVille
On Friday afternoon I swooped down to the river and crossed over under the Canada Line tracks to Bridgeport, 10 km, to put the bike on the front of the bus to Tsawsassen. Once safe on the Republic of SouthVanIsle it was 29 km in to Town and Country (or whatever the heckfire stupid name it is called now) on the Lochside Trail before the Westward turn and another 11 km out to my Dad's house on the Galloping Goose.
Saturday, it was 15 km each way into Victoria proper and back to spend an afternoon looking at slides and stuff with a fellow science geek.
Then Sunday it was Friday in reverse, which included a mad dash off the Spirit ship to the bus because, suddenly, with the nice weather, there was a whole passel of fellow cyclists looking for one of those coveted two slots on the rack at the front of the double decker back to Bridgeport.
On Friday afternoon I swooped down to the river and crossed over under the Canada Line tracks to Bridgeport, 10 km, to put the bike on the front of the bus to Tsawsassen. Once safe on the Republic of SouthVanIsle it was 29 km in to Town and Country (or whatever the heckfire stupid name it is called now) on the Lochside Trail before the Westward turn and another 11 km out to my Dad's house on the Galloping Goose.
Saturday, it was 15 km each way into Victoria proper and back to spend an afternoon looking at slides and stuff with a fellow science geek.
Then Sunday it was Friday in reverse, which included a mad dash off the Spirit ship to the bus because, suddenly, with the nice weather, there was a whole passel of fellow cyclists looking for one of those coveted two slots on the rack at the front of the double decker back to Bridgeport.
Total for the weekend - 130 km, all mostly enjoyable except for the fact that the ride on Lochside was into a reasonably stiff breeze both ways.
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On the return bus ride I talked to a nice lady, not quite as old as me, who had a sleek little e-bike that she could easily hoist onto the rack....I lifted it - about 30 lbs with the battery out and in her pack for the trip. So, as the knees start to give up the ghost completely over the next couple of years I just might take GarFish's and my brother's advice and succumb to the battery assist...But not quite yet!
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10 comments:
I enjoy that Lochside ride!
Good one Ross. How are you finding the traffic behaviour now there is a law in place giving cyclists and other road user 1 metre and up clearance from a vehicle.?
If Vancouver is any indication, it helps a bit, but close passers gonna close pass. Proper enforcement is needed.(my two bits)
nice way to spend a weekend!
If you decide to get an ebike do a deep search. Although uncommon, there have been some issues with the batteries exploding causing fires and explosions. Likely more chances of getting clipped by a car but it's always best to do your due diligence.
Me too - especially the portion that runs from Island View to Mattick's Farm. Seems like old-timey Victoria to me.
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To be honest, I haven't noticed any difference. The issue, I reckon, is that even if you get 90% uptake you've still got to worry about the 10% as it only takes one.
On the flip side (and I've moaned about this before)...The thing I've really noticed, post-COVID shut-down is how many more vehicles use bike-routes, especially East/West Lotuslandian ones to skirt main arterial bottle necks, etc. and then feel that they have need to grant bicyclists any leeway, either when overtaking or in the oncoming direction. The latter situation is often the worst given that these small side streets often have parked cars on both sides of the road which makes for a pretty narrow passage. And then, of course, there is the issue with cross-traffic at round-abouts... I better stop before this becomes a full on rant.
I hear you JP - thanks.
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Batteries have to come from reputable suppliers. For years I used only LiFePO4 batteries, my last pack has been a Li-Manganese based battery, much higher capacity but not as safe. These days, good quality batteries come with certifications, (UL, CSA, ETL, etc). I buy my Batteries from a local company, Grin Technologies. You get what you pay for.
Thank you for that Garfish
Rant away Ross.
Cyclists are often viewed as a nuisance by the car centric culture of N. America I base that on having ridden 1000s of race training miles in Europe, Canada and the States. i follow a couple of bike related blogs, and given bike shops a hand wrenching when they get busy on the mainland and here on the Island. It doesn’t take long for a customer or blog participant to relate a near miss or worse based on the car centric principle of screw you, me first. And it doesn’t seem to matter how defensive one rides or the drivers that give you the space and time, as you said it’s the other 10%, pickups often being the worst of that 10%.
If you can knock out 130 kms. over a couple of days on your commuter bike, you don’t need an electric bike, instead something a bit lighter, quicker, set up for you and hand made by a craftsman
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