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  #221  
Old Posted Sep 28, 2020, 3:25 PM
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Originally Posted by rousseau View Post
I know that lately the trend has been toward 25 and 28 mm wide tires on road bikes, but I'm using 23s. They're fine on the Hamilton-Brantford trail, though I'll admit that it's always a relief to get back onto the asphalt once I make it to somewhere like Jerseyville.
25 to 28 are good for the roads around Edmonton, I use 26 Pirellis. Running at 90PSI.
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  #222  
Old Posted Sep 28, 2020, 3:35 PM
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To clarify my post

The first 5 are from Banff, Bow valley Parkway. A great ride right now since most of it is closed to traffic.

The next 7 are from Windemere BC, South of Radium. This is the route west of the Lake Windemere. In the Columbia valley.

The last 5 are from Edmonton, Running on the Paved trails in the river Valley. This was on a 70km loop. we were hoping for the 100km but ran out of time. But you can easily do 120 on paved paths along the river.

about the same if you want to do all mountain biking.

Headed out on country roads yesterday but was forced to head back to the bakery since the winds were stronger than forecast. 20-40 forecast but we had some 60kph gusts.

Last year at this time I was racing Cross in the snow. This year no cross but lots of road, Gravel and Mountain riding. No rain for the last 7 weeks.
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  #223  
Old Posted Nov 10, 2020, 3:29 AM
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Originally Posted by jamincan View Post
I started in Galt (Cambridge) and headed south to Paris on the Cambridge-Paris rail trail. This is a beautiful, canopied trail that follows the Grand River.
I did this ride with my dad today. The colours are pretty much over but it was still gorgeous out there in the warm weather, and lots of people were taking advantage of it.

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Originally Posted by rousseau View Post
Lovely, stirring shots. Is the stone on the Cambridge-Paris Rail Trail fine? Is it essentially the same as the stone on the Hamilton-Brantford Rail Trail, if you've been on that one?

I ask because taking your road bike on the H-B trail leaving from Ancaster is perfectly fine, it's either fine stone or hard earth. But sometimes these trails are more gravelly than you'd want if you're on a road bike.
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Originally Posted by jamincan View Post
The rail trail *should* be fine on a road bike, I think, especially if you're running 28s or larger. I am familiar with the Hamilton-Brantford trail and it's really not any worse.
I had a great time on the ride today, but I wouldn't do it on a bike with 23 mm tires again due to the fairly rough sections with gravel. I think the surface of the Hamilton-Brantford Rail Trail is generally smoother and easier going for a road bike than the Cambridge-Paris Rail Trail. This being moot if you're on a gravel or cross-country bike, of course.

The C-P trail is very scenic and enjoyable because so much of it follows along the river. The sun-dappled water today was uplifting and postcard-worthy. Can't think of a better way to spend a couple hours with my pops.
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  #224  
Old Posted Nov 10, 2020, 10:24 AM
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Glad you enjoyed the route. I think what elevates this above other rail trails is the fact that it follows the river and has so few road crossings.

If I can recommend another one to do, the Tay Trail out of Midland is a great rail trail as well and paved between Midland and Waubausheen. I think Coldwater is a better bookstop to the route and requires only slightly further on gravel similar to what you'd find on the Cambridge-Paris route.
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  #225  
Old Posted Nov 10, 2020, 10:27 AM
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Originally Posted by rousseau View Post
I had a great time on the ride today, but I wouldn't do it on a bike with 23 mm tires again due to the fairly rough sections with gravel. I think the surface of the Hamilton-Brantford Rail Trail is generally smoother and easier going for a road bike than the Cambridge-Paris Rail Trail. This being moot if you're on a gravel or cross-country bike, of course.
Sorry about being a bit off on my assessment. I've only ever ridden both on my cx bike, and the difference in surfaces is scarcely noticeable in that case so I really had to wrack my brain hard to try to remember if there was a notable difference.
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  #226  
Old Posted Nov 10, 2020, 3:51 PM
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Originally Posted by jamincan View Post
Sorry about being a bit off on my assessment. I've only ever ridden both on my cx bike, and the difference in surfaces is scarcely noticeable in that case so I really had to wrack my brain hard to try to remember if there was a notable difference.
I find my CX bike is the best around bike. If I have 33 or 35s on I can pretty much ride anything here other that the Black Diamond MTB trails.

And Sat . the abrupt change of bikes. Everyone parks their summer bikes and pulls out fat bikes. 20cm of snow will do that.
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  #227  
Old Posted Nov 10, 2020, 6:57 PM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by jamincan View Post
Sorry about being a bit off on my assessment. I've only ever ridden both on my cx bike, and the difference in surfaces is scarcely noticeable in that case so I really had to wrack my brain hard to try to remember if there was a notable difference.
Not at all! I had a great time yesterday, and wasn't meaning to suggest that I was holding you accountable for what was in reality just a minor quibble. And really, road bikes are meant for shiny tarmac anyway, so any ride off road is going to be rolling the dice to some degree.
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  #228  
Old Posted Nov 10, 2020, 6:59 PM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Airboy View Post
I find my CX bike is the best around bike. If I have 33 or 35s on I can pretty much ride anything here other that the Black Diamond MTB trails.

And Sat . the abrupt change of bikes. Everyone parks their summer bikes and pulls out fat bikes. 20cm of snow will do that.
I've never ridden a fat bike. This winter I intend to rectify that by renting one from my local bike shop.
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  #229  
Old Posted Nov 10, 2020, 10:03 PM
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New express bike line on St Denis St.

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  #230  
Old Posted Nov 17, 2020, 9:52 PM
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I've never ridden a fat bike. This winter I intend to rectify that by renting one from my local bike shop.
So I bit the bullet. My current winter bike. My old 2002 Trek MTB is past the point of being repairable at a cheap cost. so I broke down and bought a fat bike yesterday. Talked to a shop owner I know. (the biggest dealer in Edmonton). They had 12 FBs left in stock. Went back in yesterday and 1/2 were gone since Sat. Got the one I wanted. Owner said he has 2 containers coming from suppliers. One shipment is not coming yet because they could not get a container on a ship. The other container is supposed to be in but the rep said only half the bikes ordered made it on the shipment.

Another rep said he only go 2 bike of one model. He ordered 20.

Still have to order my new MTB for next season. May be doing that sooner.

Having to wait for part for my old Cross bike. converting it to full on gravel. The components are currently not available. May be in by Feb.
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  #231  
Old Posted Nov 17, 2020, 9:54 PM
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I've never ridden a fat bike. This winter I intend to rectify that by renting one from my local bike shop.
If you do get a Fat bike switch the tires out from the 4.8 they come with to 4.0. it rides better.
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  #232  
Old Posted Dec 4, 2020, 3:55 PM
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So N+1 day.

I was able to find some Studded tires as well. First ride today.
[IMG]2020-12-04_08-50-43 by Tim Taylor-Smith, on Flickr[/IMG]
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  #233  
Old Posted Dec 4, 2020, 6:32 PM
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Sweet tires bro.
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  #234  
Old Posted Dec 4, 2020, 7:04 PM
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Sweet tires bro.
Winter riding in Alberta requires some grip. especially when we have warm day like now. Plus people need to learn how to ride soft. and not use your brakes as much.

You can only ride this area in the winter, In the summer it is usually to swampy to get in.

[IMG]2020-12-04_11-59-49 by [url=https://www.flickr.com/photos/[/url], on Flickr[/IMG]
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  #235  
Old Posted Dec 4, 2020, 10:06 PM
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Here are some phone snaps taken while cycling around town over the past couple of months. These were all taken in a relatively small area around the Plateau and Rosemont.

Laurier/Saint-Denis – already a busy cycling intersection, now that the REV St-Denis is open it will get even busier.




Bellechasse – a somewhat controversial branch of the REV because it removed most street parking in order to create two uni-directional bike paths. You can see one of the electric Bixi bikes here.



The REV St-Denis was completed a few weeks ago and it is already quite busy, although there is still some signage and road markings that are missing.





Laurier Street East is one-way for vehicular traffic but two-way for bikes.




Laurier West only has painted bike lanes, but it's wide enough that cars always give you lots of room and the lanes aren't in the dooring zone.



This is leading up to the protected bike path that runs along St-Laurent underneath the CPR tracks. The railway is a big barrier to north-south travel and the underpasses that run beneath it were always very dangerous for cyclists. The St-Laurent path was built in 2014 and it has been a huge success with more than 10,000 bike trips on peak days. It's already showing its age, though, because the signalling and intersection design on both ends are completely inadequate.





This is the corner of Park and Bernard which has a lot of bike traffic, as well as a lot of vehicular and pedestrian traffic, but absolutely no bike infrastructure. It can get a little hairy.



Most of Montreal's bike infrastructure still consists of painted lanes, which aren't ideal, but over the past couple of years the city has been adding these bollards to keep drivers from straying into them. Better than nothing I guess.



Here's Rachel at St-Laurent, one of the original 80s bike paths. It was originally seasonal and protected only by bollards, but around 2014 the city built concrete medians to separate it from traffic. They're planted along much of the length which has added a lot of trees and greenery to Rachel, which was previously very denuded.



There are so many cyclists in Montreal who ride at night with absolutely no lights, which pisses me off to no end. Now that it's getting dark at 4pm I have a three-light setup: a blinking red light at the back, a blinking white light at the front, and another light pointed down and to the left which helps make you even more visible to passing drivers.



Finally, here's my ride. It's a simple three-speed city bike with an internal gear hub and some folding baskets I installed on the back, which are ugly but very practical for hauling groceries and beer home.

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  #236  
Old Posted Dec 7, 2020, 4:50 PM
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Nice to see the amount of bikes on the streets.

Here is some shots from a beautiful weekend for riding. Started -9 ended +4. only 2.5 hours.
From Friday night.
[IMG]2020-12-07_09-12-06 by [url=https://www.flickr.com/photos/[/url], on Flickr[/IMG]
[IMG]2020-12-07_09-12-15 by [url=https://www.flickr.com/photos/[/url], on Flickr[/IMG]

From Sunday
[IMG]2020-12-07_09-11-33 by [url=https://www.flickr.com/photos/[/url], on Flickr[/IMG]
[IMG]2020-12-07_09-10-58 by [url=https://www.flickr.com/photos/[/url], on Flickr[/IMG]
[IMG]2020-12-07_09-10-08 by [url=https://www.flickr.com/photos/[/url], on Flickr[/IMG]
[IMG]2020-12-07_09-09-52 by [url=https://www.flickr.com/photos/[/url], on Flickr[/IMG]
[IMG]2020-12-07_09-10-35 by [url=https://www.flickr.com/photos/[/url], on Flickr[/IMG]
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  #237  
Old Posted Dec 7, 2020, 7:34 PM
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Originally Posted by PhilippeMtl View Post
New express bike line on St Denis St.

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That looks wonderful. I wonder if there was any pushback about reducing St. Denis to one lane each way?
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  #238  
Old Posted Dec 7, 2020, 7:56 PM
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Originally Posted by Kilgore Trout View Post
Here are some phone snaps taken while cycling around town over the past couple of months. These were all taken in a relatively small area around the Plateau and Rosemont.
Terrific pics.

Quote:
Originally Posted by Kilgore Trout View Post
Bellechasse – a somewhat controversial branch of the REV because it removed most street parking in order to create two uni-directional bike paths. You can see one of the electric Bixi bikes here.
Ah, you answered my question in a previous post.

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Originally Posted by Kilgore Trout View Post
There are so many cyclists in Montreal who ride at night with absolutely no lights, which pisses me off to no end. Now that it's getting dark at 4pm I have a three-light setup: a blinking red light at the back, a blinking white light at the front, and another light pointed down and to the left which helps make you even more visible to passing drivers.
Can I recommend that you keep your headlight on solid instead of blinking? Blinking white lights are unnecessary in a city (or anywhere, actually), as oncoming traffic will notice your light due to your movement. More importantly, they're obnoxious and potentially dazzling. Have you ever been at an intersection where multiple oncoming cyclists are waiting with blinky headlights? It's unpleasant and a form of visual pollution, and really only serves to draw the potential ire of motorists (with whom we need good relations).

Sorry for the rant, but it's a pet peeve of mine. Most cyclists I mention this to agree with me, but it has never occurred to them before because it's considered axiomatic that you can never have enough bright and flashing amenities drawing attention to yourself. I think it's clear that you can go overboard.

It's analogous to the Harley riders who claim that their loud exhaust makes it safer for them because you can hear them coming. It's not really true, or at least, it hasn't been quantified, in spite of how intuitive it may seem at first.
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  #239  
Old Posted Dec 7, 2020, 8:02 PM
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Originally Posted by Airboy View Post
2020-12-07_09-09-52 by [url=https://www.flickr.com/photos/[/url], on Flickr[/IMG]
This year I'm definitely going to pop my cherry and rent a fat bike for a day out on the snow. I'm sure it'll be great fun, but I can't justify buying one, especially since the one I can rent at my local bike shop will be a heckuva lot nicer than the one I could afford to buy.
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  #240  
Old Posted Dec 13, 2020, 7:48 PM
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Can I recommend that you keep your headlight on solid instead of blinking? Blinking white lights are unnecessary in a city (or anywhere, actually), as oncoming traffic will notice your light due to your movement.
It's true, when they're angled upwards it can be hazardous for other cyclists. What I've been doing lately is using the blinking light during the day (since it's been so dark and gloomy in the afternoon) but switch over to solid light when the sun sets. But yeah, in the future I'll just stick to a solid light.
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