Category: Commuting

Commuting is getting to and from work. This category is about biking to and fro as well as associated equipment, facilities, and what your company can do to encourage biking to work.

Bicycles, Community, Commuting, Kitchener, Maintenance, Waterloo3 Comments

Yo Winter, Smell Ya Later

Graham Roe

It’s looking like Winter gives up its last gasp today and what a winter its been. This year I finally went out and got winter footwear, goodbye day hikers, goodbye frostbitten toes. It was my favourite winter purchase! (Warm footwear was my top lesson from the 2014 winter season). Idea for next year: The communal Plow. I’ve got 8 months or so to build a few. Would anyone be interested in pulling? Inspired by Calgarians who forced their cities hand into winter maintenance. Continue reading Yo Winter, Smell Ya Later

Community, Commuting, Kitchener, Safety, Waterloo

Advice to a new cyclist?

Graham Roe

Every now and then a new cyclists stumbles across this site looking for advice on how to get started commuting by bicycle. I think the best advice is to just start, but with cycling its often a bit more complicated cause you first need a bicycle. Here’s our correspondence….. I stumbled on this website through Facebook and the winter cycling booth.  I’m a young student who would like to start biking, but I don’t know where to start! I have a brother in Toronto that is encouraging me to start but I would like some help in understanding what the … Continue reading Advice to a new cyclist?

Bicycles, Commuting, Gear, Kitchener, Waterloo8 Comments

Lessons from the Winter of 2014 – Screw fashion

Graham Roe

Although I’ve been winter cycling since 2004, the winter of 2014 taught me some new lessons. Screw fashion and the discerning cyclist (at least when it’s below -15C) New Lessons Exposed skin sucks, especially below -15C My general purpose blundstones are not warm enough even with 2 pairs of socks. When it gets cold my body seems to cut off circulation much faster these days, I’m getting older. Need a better winter bike cleaning routine (setup, tools, approach), unless you want to buy a new chain, freewheel and derailleur every winter. Facial hair, if you can grow it, rocks for … Continue reading Lessons from the Winter of 2014 – Screw fashion

Bicycles, Community, Commuting, Kitchener, News

Ontario’s $25M for Cycling Infrastructure

Graham Roe

A drop in the bucket or a step in the right direction? Today at Share the Road’s Ontario Bike Summit, our Liberal Minister of Transportation announced $25m for bicycle infrastructure improvements for municipalities over 3 years. At first glance it seems good, but when I started to think about it I couldn’t help but be cynical. For sure it’s a step in the right direction but it’s also a drop in the bucket, a very empty bucket to citizens (voters) who are apparently hungry for cycling infrastructure. [This announcement kind of over shadowed Share the Road’s silver award handed to … Continue reading Ontario’s $25M for Cycling Infrastructure

Bicycles, Community, Commuting, News, Waterloo4 Comments

King Street Redesign Update – April 2014

Graham Roe

Remember that petition for protected bicycle lanes? Well it hasn’t been forgotten … yet :) I attended the Waterloo Advisory Committee for Active Transportation meeting last week and received a very encouraging update from city staff. Waterloo has indeed proposed protected bicycle lanes to the Region and is waiting for Regional approval of the plans before presenting to for another public consultation or to City and Regional councils for approval. The region has asked for a number of refinements to ensure the protected lane’s re-integration into traffic across the various intersections are safe. It’s something that hasn’t been done in the Region and they … Continue reading King Street Redesign Update – April 2014

Bicycles, Commuting, Waterloo

My Goals For Cycling this Season

JJ Losier

My Fall/Winter biking season didn’t go over so well. Shortly after my last excited blog post, I got sick, and ran into a few complications. While I could have biked sometimes, I just wasn’t feeling so well the rest of the time. Luckily, I’ve made it through surgery and am ready to get back on my bicycle! I will say that I am afraid of biking during the winter. Not just during the winter, but at night in the winter. A lot of my normal commuting bike trails seem un-rideable and I’m faced with using busier roads, which means the … Continue reading My Goals For Cycling this Season