Day 2

While I use a bike exclusively to get around, I often forget to just get out and ride for fun! I let it slide... get into bad, lazy (why would i leave the house if I don't HAVE to" habits and next thing I know it's been TWO YEARS since I last went out for a road ride... or it's been summer for a few months and we haven't gotten out our flatland bikes yet!? Well for the month of August I've decided to get out and go for a road ride with The Boy every day (or perhaps we'll throw a little mountain biking into the mix at some point). I also promised The Girl that I'd get out and flatland with her every day... (I did actually start with the flatlanding a week ago (or so...).

 

We got The Boy this Kona cyclocross bike (which I then hunted down some slick road tires for) in the spring when Amanda signed him up for the Horizon 100 Club Youth Cycling Program. He did go (just about) every week, but hasn't been on the bike since...

Given his lukewarm enthusiasm about the Cycling Club, I wasn't sure how excited he'd be about going for rides with me... but yesterday we went out for a bit over an hour...



...and today we were out for and hour and forty minutes (I really got to get a bike computer back on one of our bikes so we can start clocking the distances and such) and he seems pretty excited to go out every day this month.

He was TIRED when we got back today - and conveniently we got back just as Amanda and The Girl were getting up and making oatmeal - so the boy got to have "second breakfast" (hobbit style!).



I did get out and do some flatlanding with the girl yesterday, and after lunch we'll do the same again...

Protected Bikes Lanes in Saskatoon - again

The city of Saskatoon has created a short video to inform citizens how the Protected Bike Lane on 23rd Street is supposed to work:




That's me and my kids (and a woman who works for the city) in the video!

Flat

Back at this again... 

Protected Bike Lanes in Saskatoon

I rode downtown with the kids this morning for the official grand opening of the 23rd Street Protected Bike Lane Demonstration Project in Saskatoon.



We actually USED the lanes to get downtown.



Don Cook, Manager of Long Range Planning at the City of Saskatoon speaking to a rather large crowd of cyclists!



His Worshipleness Don Atchinson, Mayor of Saskatoon, was present for the ribbon cutting. Sadly he didn't jump on a bike and ride the new lane with everyone else... at least he didn't drive down it in a convertible...



After the ribbon-cutting we did a complete tour of the lane from city hall to Idylwyld Drive, back all the way to Spadina Crescent and back to City Hall.



I'm pretty excited about these. My only concern was the placement of the turning boxes 9for cyclists travelling along the bike lane - like the one in the pictures above and below... then look a bit... exposed...?




The cyclist basically has to turn into an area where there could be cars going straight through the intersection...



This turning box - where there's been a traffic calming bulge installed - worked out a lot better.

It's a new development for Saskatoon and there will be some growing pains and lessons to be learned - which is why it's called a "demonstration project"...



of course, it being Saskatoon, we couldn't have an official opening of a bycicle facility without at least one person parking their car in the middle of it... (actually a bus stop they've pulled into and parked...)



or two... (again, bus stop...)



Oh and these signs, that are supposed to be reminding people driving motor vehicles to watch for - and yield to - cyclists in the bike lane... can you see it there? In the mess of parking signs...? yeah, I'm not entirely sure anyone in their car is seeing it - I rode half the length of the bike lane before I noticed them... If I were king of the world I'd try and put them in the buffer zone between the cars and the cyclists.

Overall I'm feeling pretty positive about the whole project at the moment (I was a bit apprehensive at first, for... reasons...). Overall I think the city's done a pretty darned good job at this one and I'm relly looking forward to them adding 4th Avenue next summer!

This may become my new route to get down to the library!

New Bike for The Boy

Amanda signed The Boy up for the Horizon 100 Cycling Club Youth Program, so I thought maybe we ought to get the lad an actual road bike... 

I found this Kona Jake 24 instead... close enough...

It has since had the tires replaced with 24" Schwalbe Duranos. Hopefully this will get me our road riding again this summer!