Lately I have started commuting to work on my bike, and have been loving it. The ride is 28km each way, through rural countryside and the edge of town. I am dead lucky since the first road I ride on is a designated rural bike route (this year, it is slated for a paved bike labled lane comprising of the whole shoulder ). The next road is a gently hilly road that is about 8 or 9 km long, that takes me to a major artery heading into town. This road is one lane each way and goes into Kitchener - Waterloo via the landfill (Erb street for those that know). It also has a rural bike route designation, and has the paved shoulder in place - it is about the size of a narrow car lane - 10 feet wide. I love it! The bit of this road which does not have this lane is a treat to ride in on since at 6:30 am there is almost no traffic! Partially due to time of day and partially due to the route I picked, there is almost never any kind of motorist/cyclist conflict. I find it actually peaceful.

I have not been an active bicycle advocate in my area (but am an active cyclist and try to get the message of cooperation across - with various degrees of success! - by being a courteous rider) but am greatful for those in KW who have have taken the time to help produce the rural bicycle routes we have. These routes are not exclusionary (only the dimmest would argue that the routes are there, so dont ride anywhere else!) and are designed to remind motorists that bikes have a right to be there, and to provide an area on (relatively) high speed roads for bikes to move in safety. There is long precident for such things in the Waterloo region. One of the reasons we have a gravel shoulder in each direction that is almost a full lane wide is to accommodate the local mennonite population and their buggies. Almost every road outside the cities has this kind of shoulder, and while they exist in other parts of Ontario, they seem widest here. This kind of road design helps to reduce buggy/auto conflict and also makes it dead easy for farm machinery to be moved around.

Now get out there and have some pleasant experiences on your bike, and talk about what works.