05-08-2018, 07:01 PM
(This post was last modified: 05-08-2018, 07:02 PM by danbrotherston.)
(05-08-2018, 05:29 PM)KevinT Wrote: I biked to work for the first time in probably a decade today. Some observations:
Time now for the ride home...
- There didn't seem to be any good connection to the Iron Horse Trail from the bike lanes on Manitou. I illegally biked on Courtland's sidewalks until I was past the expressway. That road just did NOT feel safe to bike on.
- No clear cycling detour to get from Victoria to Glasgow with the IHT closed. Did I miss a sign?
- No clear path to get from Park to Caroline when the IHT ends. I crossed Park and used the sidewalk (illegally) to get to Allen, once on Caroline at Allen it's also awfully narrow to bike down but empty enough that I didn't use the sidewalk.
- Once past William I sheepishly stuck as far to the right side of Caroline as I could, then realized I was probably supposed to be on that MUT-looking thing on the other side of the Ion tracks. Again, signage to guide me there from the IHT would be great! (Did I just miss it?)
- With the promenade through Waterloo Park closed I thought I'd take the forest trail between the ball diamonds and creek to get around. Its way smaller, more discontiguous, and a heck of a lot muddier than I recalled. Not doing that again!
- Even once that trail joined the official cycling detour, the formal trail between the ball diamonds and creek bridge was still quite muddy. Ugh, grade that ****!
- The hot dog vendor at University Plaza is back. I've been going to this guy for hot dogs off and on over the past 20 years as both my job and his 'spot' have moved around. Great to see him again and it made for a great lunch stop on my route (as I didn't have a packed lunch with me today).
- I saw no Ion vehicles testing as I rode the trail from the Laurier-Waterloo Park stop to the R&T Park stop. Alas.
Well you picked a great day for a ride! And that is quite a ride, good for you.
A few thoughts.
Courtland is a nightmare to bike on...don't blame you one bit for taking the sidewalk, I usually do, even on weekends...although even the sidewalk is terrible at points. I bike this area a fair bit so have figured out a number of different routes which I added to the map below. Not sure of your specific routes but maybe something helpful in there. FWIW, it's more or less the route I take down to Cambridge every other weekend or so.
https://drive.google.com/open?id=1Ss7Yr1...tBzswNvU3Y&usp=sharing
There are signs for the detour on the IHT, but they might be missing after the wind. Too bad, they weren't terrible...unlike the detour.
The lack of signage and continuation of the IHT at Park is a shame, and it's been that way a long time, thank the city of waterloo for selling the trail property to the condo developer, with no clear plan for continuity. Expect many more years of this. Park does have a bike lane, but it's not a very good bike lane.
The sidewalk on the west side of Caroline is indeed a MUT, definitely use it, it's better than being on the road, and in fact, the only legal way to actually get into the park as a cyclist (given the left turn prohibition on Caroline and Erb).
The park is a challenge these days, but soon it will be magical...until then the project manager (John Griffin) has been tweeting out daily updates on the status in the park https://twitter.com/uu_john He's set a new standard in communication of cycling detours...really really good job.
MMmm...hotdogs.