What not to do to cyclists Episode 1

Posted on May 16, 2012 by Ken Walker

3 cyclists were injured today in Ottawa in the span of 40 minutes so I decided to post a couple of things they need to teach in drivers ed me thinks. I may get the standard “take your lane” for the truck but I had and then I saw/heard the truck approaching and decided to move over because I felt they were not going to. The car that took the corner off Colonel By cutting in front of me had to hammer on the breaks to avoid hitting the median after the turn. If they had simply eased off the accelerator, tapped the brakes to tuck in behind me they might have added 2 seconds to their commute time vs. almost hitting me and almost crashing their car. These both happened on Tuesday on the ride home.

Posted in Videos | 3 Comments

Envirocentre Cycling Presentation in Kanata Weds May 16th 7:30PM

Posted on May 11, 2012 by Ken Walker

Well, not quite half way through BikeToWork Month here in Ottawa and the team setup for the IBM Palladium Building is growing and contributing to our total kilometres travelled. The team is up to 18 people and a bit over 800Km already completed. I’m hoping the word spreads and we get a few more before the month is over. It’d be nice to get 10% of the building population. Personally at the end of today I’ll be at 300Km for May and around 1200Km for 2012. Biking to Kanata from Old Ottawa South is adding up ;-)

If you are in Kanata and want to learn more about cycling safety and gear there’s a free EnviroCentre Cycling Presentation run by a certified CAN-BIKE instructor. The session is at the John G. Mlacak Centre – Hall D, 2500 Campeau Drive on Weds May 16th at 7:30 PM.

I encourage anyone interested in cycling to work or around for errands to check this out. I’ve already seen a lot of new cyclists at Palladium this year and they’re all enjoying the ride.

Posted in General | Leave a comment

EnviroCentre Bike To Work Ottawa Event

Posted on May 1, 2012 by Ken Walker

The EnviroCentre is hosting a month long Bike To Work Ottawa Event/Contest. The idea is to pledge how much you might right in May and log your total accumulated mileage on their site. It’s really trivial to register an account and I also setup a Team for the IBM Palladium Lab. Hopefully together we can rack up a lot of kilometres.

There are also a lot of information sessions and available (for cost) training and skills sessions.

Help encourage people at your company to cycle to work. If you run a company, perhaps look at putting incentives in place or even infrastructure like showers, secure bike storage or biking tools.

Posted in General | 1 Comment

When does the Rideau Canal fill up?

Posted on April 30, 2012 by Ken Walker

I get all sorts of search site hits on that particular question. I guess because I posted a video on May 4th, 2011 of just such an event. Well today, April 30th. 2012, the Rideau Canal started filling. It’s 4 days early!

Rideau Canal Filling

Posted in General | Leave a comment

Mountain Equipment Coop Bikefest Ottawa – May 13th

Posted on April 21, 2012 by Ken Walker

Mountain Equipment Coop (MEC) is holding a Bikefest on Sunday, May 13th at Lebreton Flats 11am – 4pm

Deails on the event and registration can be seen here: MEC Bikefest

Posted in General | Leave a comment

CfSC – Tulips on Two Wheels – May 5th

Posted on April 17, 2012 by Ken Walker

Text borrowed from the link on their site ( CfSC – Tulips on Two Wheels )

Need a push to get your and your family’s bikes out of the garage? Why not join Citizens for Safe Cycling for Tulips on Two Wheels, our celebration of the joys of a new cycling season (and an excuse to admire the tulips)?

Saturday, May 5, 2012
10 a.m. to 3 p.m. (rain or shine – we’re hoping for shine!)

Look for the tent beside the Rideau Canal mixed-use pathway, near the Canal Ritz (near Fifth Avenue and the Queen Elizabeth Driveway). [map] We’ll be giving free tune-ups and cycling tips as well as leading two (or more if there is enough demand) guided tours to the best tulip views in town. Come for a tour, a quick tune-up, or just to say hi!

Posted in General | Leave a comment

Post on Red Light runners again

Posted on April 4, 2012 by Ken Walker

Guess I never get tired of this. It’s somewhat like the #ottwalk twitter hashtag where there are a lot of videos about bogus things drivers do to pedestrians. These red light issues are generic problems and effect anyone trying to cross safely including cars. I mean really, 4 people running the same red light? And one changing lanes? I’ll try to get the councillor for the Maitland and Garfield intersection to view this (and my many others at this intersection).

Posted in Videos | 2 Comments

Signed up for the GranFondo Ottawa

Posted on March 31, 2012 by Ken Walker

The GranFondo Ottawa looks like a lot of fun and since I neglected to sign up for the Rideau Lakes Tour I signed up for the GranFondo Ottawa 170Km ride instead. Maybe I’ll see some of you there too!

Posted in General | 2 Comments

Snowmageddon Day in Ottawa

Posted on January 14, 2012 by Ken Walker

Today started off with ice rain in the morning followed by something like 10-15 cm (4-6″) of snowfall. It wasn’t very cold though, around -2˚C. Riding in these conditions is a real workout and tests your balance, power stroke evenness and ability to unclip in an instant! Yes it’s a bit nerve wracking but usually on a street like Carling, that 3rd lane is abandoned anyway and you can just ride the rut left by OCTranspo buses. The bad incident was the driver of a Leon’s truck who clearly had no idea how to actually drive a truck. It first passed me too close then just started to merge over into me. I’m not a stationary object, I’m moving between 20 and 30 km/h. You can’t just pass with a big truck and then merge over. The bus drivers get this because they’re trained to manoeuvre large vehicles.

Posted in Videos | 4 Comments

First Snowy Ride for Fall 2011

Posted on December 3, 2011 by Ken Walker

First, well second actually, snowy ride of Fall 2011. Just put the studded tires on the night before. Seems every fall I have to figure out the layers I used to wear the year before. Like, oh it’s -5˚C plus a bit of wind so I need a T-Shirt plus an IceBreaker Merino wool long sleeved shirt and just the stretchy pants. Nope, don’t need the T-shirt if I can put up with cold for 10 minutes. Also, if I wear my winter bike shoes and it’s above zero my feet sweat like crazy. Was thinking I should write a web app that just tells me what to wear based on the temperature, weather. Anyway, a slightly longer video. I do try to keep them short.

Posted in Videos | 3 Comments