Western Canada - Spring/Summer Cycling in Saskatchewan

So, as per Rhoadabikes suggestion, I thought I'd start a thread where us Saskatchewan people can discuss our riding in all the Non-Winter Seasons in Saskatchewan.

One of the Aussies at work tells me that the four seasons of Saskatoon, starting in September, are as follows:
- Almost Winter
- Winter
- Still Winter
- Road Construction.
I didn't ride to work today because I needed to let my sore knee heal. Yeah, that's it. That's my excuse and I'm sticking to it.

One of the Aussies at work tells me that the four seasons of Saskatoon, starting in September, are as follows:
- Almost Winter
- Winter
- Still Winter
- Road Construction.
I didn't ride to work today because I needed to let my sore knee heal. Yeah, that's it. That's my excuse and I'm sticking to it.

Actually, we have 11 months of Winter and one month of bad sledding (as my father would say).

I rode today. It was still cool, but at least most of that snow is gone. Although, there was a patch on the path along Preston that had snow. That was a bit slippery. But otherwise it was fine. I am thinking that I will need a second water bottle cage as it warms up... when it is cool out like it was today, I don't go through a lot of water. A bottle can last me round trip. But as it has warmed up a bit, I'm finding that I'm consuming more of my water. I imagine this trend will only continue to escalate as Summer approaches. Maybe Bike Doctor will carry something that can fasten to the frame without having the built in mounting hardware. I have one waterbottle mounting point, but that has already been used up. I suppose I could mount to my handlebars, after all, the way they are made should leave some room for that.

There's a back-of-the-saddle mount made for water bottles on triathlon bikes. If you don't have anything back there, that would be an option. Does your bike have a sloping top tube, as most bike do now? There was definitely more room for bottles on the old style square frames.
My knee is taking it's time to get better, so I've decided to take a week off and get it truly healed. The swelling, popping, and clicking are finally subsiding. I think it was going over those steps at the railway bridge down at the weir that re-injured it, the initial problem being caused by swimming breaststroke (whip kick). From now on it's only dolphin kick for me on the short-axis strokes.

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Here's a photo of Spring cycling in Wainwright AB on the 14th of April 2010. It's better now. I think I'll ride the 117 km to Lloydminster on the 17th.

I think 33rd would be a bit of a nightmare, sorry to say... Also, you'd be mingling with some of the least 'bike-tolerant' types of people in that vicinity, if I can be alllowed a bit of sterotyping... Kelsey is nearby, and so there are plenty of obnoxious early twenties guys in trucks and beater cars speeding around (not that they're all a problem, of course, but the only times I'm ever harrassed, it's almost always 'that guy'). I've also heard that the Mayfair neighbourhood near Idylwyld is starting to have a prostitution problem, and that probably also means drugs, gangs, and violence. As a single female bike rider, I'd take a large detour to avoid going through there every day.

-This was from the Winter Thread. I had an experience tonight that pretty much confirms this assessment. While I have been hollered at before on 33rd at Night, never quite this much. Of course, the guys in their truck were behind me at a red light, and were continuously hollering at me (although I couldn't make out what was being said). Really scared me though. In the end, once I was through the intersection, they passed me and sped off into the night. Perhaps just some rowdy guys who get their kicks out of trying to scare people.

What are your guy's thoughts concerning 33rd? For me, it seems to have been fine (other than the odd honk) during the day, and the occasional harassing holler at night. However, I am thinking I may plot a new route.

I think you can find yobs in pickup trucks almost anywhere. We were tailgated down central avenue (in our van) the other day by a yob in a red truck, who then roared past well over the speed limit to tailgate another driver. However, 33rd does go through a few iffy neighborhoods, so perhaps the chances are greater there. Riding at night possibly increases the odds of encountering a yob as well. (My husband refers to it as "truck mentality" and we used to see it in Calgary as well.)
What part of 33rd were you on at the time? I was hoping to ride to the Harry Bailey center to swim before work a few times a week, and would be on 33rd between the river and Ontario avenue for that.

I believe that happened at the 33rd and Idylwyld intersection, pretty close to the swimming pool. You know, I actually wouldn't be surprised if these are the same guys who drove past me on a few other evenings on 33rd yelling who-knows-what as they passed me (the other times it happened on the stretch of 33rd between Spadina and Warman Rd). But this has only happened to me at night... around 10:30-11:00pm. So if you were riding there during the day, I wouldn't worry about it. Heck, I was probably worried for nothing that night, since there was enough traffic at that hour that people would notice if they tried anything funny. Still, it was very unnerving when it did happen. Consequently, I did call the cops to report them and their license plate number when I got home. I figured, if nothing else there will be a report on file and if these guys are in a habit of harassing people and enough folks call it in, then something can probably be done about it.

Well, I finally went to the pool by bike. Took 30 minutes, including dragging the bike+luggage up over the railway bridge. I've been thinking I need more resistance training and upper body work, so I guess lugging some 40 odd pounds up and down the stairs qualifies. Next time I might try the longer way around and see how long that takes.
On Sunday my better half and I rode out towards Aberdeen on highway 5. We turned around at the little church on the corner of the Clavet road. I really should get my road bike out and put back together. The 35 lb IGH bike isn't really ideal for that kind of ride. I was spun out on 8th gear a couple of times when the wind was behind us.

The wooden stairs on the east side of the train bridge sketch me out a bit when it has been raining (or in winter when there is snow packed into almost ice on them). Thankfully, never slipped and fell in my time commuting on them. Since the getting yelled at on 33rd thing, I've found a nice route across the river that is only a bit longer in total than my previous commute (taking the university-bridge now). In all, I think it may actually be a bit faster, since I don't have to dismount and carry my bike up and down the long flight of stairs or yield to an onslaught of pedestrians on that narrow walkway at all hours when the weather is nice... Plus, this new route is a much more scenic route going to work, and I love it!

So, you're bike is internally geared? I assume it is a Shimano Nexus 8 speed then, yes? Since shortly before college I fell in love with internally geared bicycles myself. I ran an old Shimano 3 speed hub up until a few months ago when I bought a new Sturmey Archer 3 speed hub for my new wheel (I figured if I am going to build a new wheel, might as well get new parts that should be of good quality). If I ever do it again, I will definitely be getting something with more range, since I sometimes find that I don't have a high enough gear (mostly going downhill or with the wind). But since I have a small sprocket on the front crank, a 3 speed mostly suits me fine (otherwise, it would be geared way too high). Although I know how to adjust derailleur's to prevent them from self destructing these days (something which helped prompt my love affair with internally geared), I don't see myself going back. I just like internally geared way to much.

Anyway, out of curiosity, does the Aquatic Center have a good spot to shackle up ones bike? I've thought about possibly going there by bike sometime and have been wondering about this for some time. Also -assuming you use a set of Paniers like I do - are you aware if there is there adequate space in lockers or anything to store that sort of stuff safely?

Yeah, I'm not too crazy about the wooden walkway and steps either. It's not bad at about 5:30 a.m., when there are few pedestrians about, but later on it's less hassle to go the long way around and use the Circle Drive underpass.
Yes, the bike has an Alfine hub. I'm sort of lukewarm about this bike, it's a very rigid harsh ride and about 10 pounds heavier than the old steel touring bike that it replaced.
There is a decent bike rack at the Harry Bailey center. Unlike the Shaw Center, which appears to have been designed with only car travel in mind.

Well, correct me if I am wrong, but the Shaw Center is way out in the boonies near that new super Walmart. As it is, 22nd Street doesn't have much for bicycle traffic, probably less so once you are in the periphery of the city. Also, being in the boonies, I could see there being less perceived need to accommodate cyclists in a more recently developed area than in places near the downtown core of the city. That being said, if there are people who live near Confederation Drive area who cycle to and fro, then I could definitely see that lack of bicycle rack becoming problematic there.

I do like that Circle Bridge underpass... very nice to ride on, and gives a beautiful view of the river. When I first started trying to commute, I took that bridge across the river (before a friend showed me that there was a more direct route by going to the train bridge). The one thing I wish is that you didn't have to wander through so much of the middle of nowhere to connect with that bridge from anywhere on the east side. So for my commute I found it to be fairly impractical (that, and those dog paths can get pretty busy during the daytime).

When we were house-hunting, one of the houses we looked at was on Fairlight Drive. Very nice house, but even though it was close to the Shaw center as the crow flies, it was necessary to wind and twist twice that distance around a maze of streets to get to the S.C. on foot or by bike. Of course, there was no really good way to get out of there on a bike to commute to points east, either. Typical 70s maze neighborhood, designed to be driven. We've ended up in a late-80s maze neighborhood, but luckily it's closely connected with Sutherland with it's straight grid streets.

They've re-paved 33rd St.! I was about to invite my middle brother, the one who does motocross racing, to practice his jumps on the gravel "patches" in front of the flour mill.

What? There is no summer in Saskatchewan?..... :P

just moved to saskatoon from winnipeg....holy crap this place is soooo much more friendlier to cyclists....unfortunatly i work till 530 and dont get home till round 6....why do all the bike shops close so early?
wrecked my cheap CT store raliegh and pickd up a pretty decent GT Serengheti for like 40bux on kijiji....i wanna swap the front rigid fork for a suspension fork....wouldnt mind figuring out my options if any....

Most of the bike shops have at least one week night when they stay open late, usually Thursday or Friday. You'll have to phone around to find out when and where.
I don't know if you'd radically change the frame geometry if you went from a rigid fork to a suspension fork. City Park Cycle might be your best bet for that kind of operation.

Howdy, I used to live in Regina and I encourage you to bike year round. I finally got into winter cycling during my last year in Regina and wish I had always done it. Saskatchewan has an advantage in that they don't put salt on the road so your bike isn't going to dissolve on you. Of course not all days/weeks or months are bike days, but I found once the roads were cleared, it wasn't too cold and I was prepared it was so much fun. I didn't fall once-promise.

I guess it's time to revive the Saskatoon fall/winter cycling thread, since the vernal equinox has passed and we're now definitely sliding into winter.
Today was a last, lovely bit of summer though. I rode to the Harry Bailey for a masters swim session (I've just joined Saskatoon Masters Swim club), then down to Diefenbaker park afterwards in hopes of seeing the last laps of a cyclocross race. I was too late to see the race, but passing through downtown I rode through piles of golden leaves, saw a tree-climbing contest for professional arborists, spotted a woman walking two beautiful silver/cream colored Salukis, and just generally had a trip that I never would have had if I'd driven my van. Coming home the tailwind was so strong going up Preston that I was in 8th gear most of the way.

Yeah... sadly winter is approaching. On the bright side, it means that I won't have to worry about getting rained on once winter is in full swing.

One thing that did surprise me for my summer riding here is that the on-road bike lanes on Preston Ave (Particularly the Northbound lane) never did get cleaned out of all it's rocks and debris and stuff. I expected that by July for sure they would have swept that street. Maybe it's all this rain we had that put a stop to that... Kind of annoying, since it is super easy for screws and nails to hide in that sort of stuff. I got a flat in spring that way (on 23rd street shortly before 2nd ave near the 7-11). That was kinda sucky. Taught me not to ride in crap like that, though.

Well, once we get some snow, I'll have to see about putting them winter tires on. I'm hoping to put more miles on this winter than I did last... and to not wuss out and use my car so much... especially seeing as how I no longer have an ingrown toenail as an excuse not to ride. Boy... I had almost forgotten how great it can be to ride instead of drive.

Anyway, sees you all in the winter thread!