View Single Post
Old 02-24-10, 02:54 PM
  #15  
Fir
Senior Member
 
Fir's Avatar
 
Join Date: Feb 2010
Location: Saskatoon
Posts: 92

Bikes: Scott Lightflight MTB, Raleigh Sports 3 spd, Rocky Mountain Hammer, Raleigh Twenty 3 spd, Eaton's Glider 3 spd, CCM Galaxie ladies, CCM arch-frame mens missing model name, Miyata Terra Runner, numerous waggons, and various hulks begging restoratio...

Mentioned: 1 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 0 Post(s)
Likes: 0
Liked 1 Time in 1 Post
I totally hear you about the north end! I hauled a new toilet from Centennial Plumbing and a garden wagon from Princess Auto along 51st, in both cases I just went into my belligerent mode and took one whole lane. We do have the right to do so. The one time a car followed me like a guardian angel - I think they did it on purpose. If there is no sidewalk and the road is narrow I will take the whole lane. I feel that I have a right to shop anywhere, and a right to live without a car. My wagon is fairly large looking, so most drivers seem to understand. In fact a lot of drivers are hyper-courteous to me, letting me go when they have the right-of-way, etc. I'm always mentally prepared to write down a license number if I need to complain to the police about drivers who need a friendly chat with someone in blue.

As for 8th street, I tend to go along the alleys or streets parallel to it and then swoop into particular stores from behind where practical. I think 20 minutes in that traffic would like smoking a half a pack of Exports without the filters...

I think a bike is like a pedestrian uphill, so I tend to take the sidewalk going uphill, and like a car going downhill, so I tend to take the roadway coming down. When coming from the eastside with a heavy load I usually take the Victoria bridge. I wait up by that school for a long gap in traffic (not hard to find there) then I coast down the road and take the whole lane across the bridge. I just got so tired of picking my way across that narrow sidewalk there, from pedestrian to pedestrian!

But I definitely prefer to be on the MUTs and the quiet side-streets for sure. I go kilometres out of my way to take the Meewasin instead of car-streets. The air is so much healthier that way. When I have our 3 year-old in his Chariot, I stick to the sidewalk on the University bridge. He weighs about 30 lbs and SUVs weigh what, 4,000 lbs or so?

I plan my routes beforehand using Google Earth if I don't know the neighbourhood. And I'm making notes about what places "go." I mean, I am always looking for car-free places to bike and then trying to link them all together. It really saddens me to open up the paper and see a notice that they are closing another pedestrian walkway between cul-de-sacs in the older suburbs.

Tall curbs are an issue with a heavy load, hey? I would be inclined to bring a piece of wood to lay alongside the curb to make things easier on the trailer if there were any unavoidable tall curb-jumps on my regular routes - I see some people do that at the end of their driveways. It's definitely an issue to point out to city officials.

I guess the most important thing I've learned doing this is not to assume that car-drivers hate you. Cars like to know what your plans are. Communicate clearly with them in cases where they don't understand where you are headed. For instance, waiting at a red light, a driver might wait a car-length back for you. But you might not be planning to cross where they are making room for you. If you clearly point out in mime-ese where you are going and wave them on, they are more likely to be courteous to the next bike they see. Just a thought.

I highly recommend emailling the occasional note to your councillor about good/bad things you experience en route. Lets them know that people really do use the trails and encourages them to think about bikes when planning/budgetting.

We are near Holiday Park, above the water treatment plant, so the Meewasin is nice and convenient for us. What part of town are you in? Do you use studs?
Fir is offline