Cycling in Waterloo Region

[KevinL]

Quite the tone-deaf response here:

The City of Waterloo declined to comment on Fedor's case, saying they have yet to speak to him, but did point out the city offers cycling courses.

[robdrimmie]

Quite the tone-deaf response here:

The City of Waterloo declined to comment on Fedor's case, saying they have yet to speak to him, but did point out the city offers cycling courses.

I had the exact same reaction (even posted about it before realizing I hadn't refreshed in a bit). Once again, betraying the deep systematic assumption that the problem is uneducated cyclists.

[Bob_McBob]

Posted on Reddit. Second comment: "Although the drivers have (assuming all) been in the wrong making an improper right turn, maybe he needs to start riding a little more defensively?" 

[creative]

I am not afraid to admit that I am a defensive driver, cyclist and pedestrian!

[danbrotherston]

Re Drop Bike:

I have used it several times. Never had a problem with actually checking out bikes, gears have always worked, I've never been charged for improper parking, and I've always been able to adjust the seat, but I've found brakes very weak, and the bikes, owing to their foam tires are extremely slow, like riding through sand.

I would suggest you follow up with them on your parking problem, you're supposed to take a picture of the bike parked, so it shouldn't be hard to prove one way or another. I am curious as to what the fault was.

Re the cyclist who was hit:

The victim blaming doesn't surprise anyone I'm sure.

[MidTowner]

CBC has an article up about the cyclist who live tweeted after being hit by a car last week. He's apparently been hit four times in the last 3 years. I still can't believe the driver refused to even get out and check if he was ok or acknowledge him in any way.

https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/kitchener...-1.5179974

That part wasn't mentioned in the article. I just checked out the twitter updates linked therein, though.

That is astonishing. He would have to be sick or something to just idle his vehicle for 35 minutes while someone he just struck with his car is on the ground by the side of the road.

[Walrus]

Posted on Reddit. Second comment: "Although the drivers have (assuming all) been in the wrong making an improper right turn, maybe he needs to start riding a little more defensively?" 

[panamaniac]

CBC has an article up about the cyclist who live tweeted after being hit by a car last week. He's apparently been hit four times in the last 3 years. I still can't believe the driver refused to even get out and check if he was ok or acknowledge him in any way.

https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/kitchener...-1.5179974

That part wasn't mentioned in the article. I just checked out the twitter updates linked therein, though.

That is astonishing. He would have to be sick or something to just idle his vehicle for 35 minutes while someone he just struck with his car is on the ground by the side of the road.

It took police/emergency services 35 minutes to respond to a cyclist hit by a car?

[ijmorlan]

Posted on Reddit. Second comment: "Although the drivers have (assuming all) been in the wrong making an improper right turn, maybe he needs to start riding a little more defensively?" 

Yep, and women need to be more careful about where they walk at night.

I would say “unbelievable” but unfortunately I have no reason to disbelieve.

[bpoland]

Re Drop Bike:

I have used it several times.  Never had a problem with actually checking out bikes, gears have always worked, I've never been charged for improper parking, and I've always been able to adjust the seat, but I've found brakes very weak, and the bikes, owing to their foam tires are extremely slow, like riding through sand.

I would suggest you follow up with them on your parking problem, you're supposed to take a picture of the bike parked, so it shouldn't be hard to prove one way or another.  I am curious as to what the fault was.

Ahh, didn't even think about the tires.  The gears were definitely messed up but even when I had the right gear it still felt sluggish.  I guess that's why.

I have tried using in-app chat and email to contact them but have not gotten any response 2 days later.  I would also like to know what I did wrong.

[timc]

I thought i was working harder because of my seat position, or just that the bike was heavy. I also didn't think about the tires.

[KevinL]

The tires are foam? Well, that explains the sluggish ride. Ew.

[Spokes]

Quite the tone-deaf response here:

The City of Waterloo declined to comment on Fedor's case, saying they have yet to speak to him, but did point out the city offers cycling courses.

I finally had time to read the article.  That comment is just, wow.

[nms]

I am about to embark on taking my 10-month-old daughter on bike trips in town, but I don't have room to store a trailer in my townhouse.  I'm looking for advice on mounting a front child bike seat on my bicycle. (eg here is what Thule offers). Does anyone have any advice, or a recommended local bike shop that would carry this, and/or be able to install it if necessary? My current bike is a 25-year-old Raleigh Discovery mountain bike.

Thanks.

[jwilliamson]

I am about to embark on taking my 10-month-old daughter on bike trips in town, but I don't have room to store a trailer in my townhouse.  I'm looking for advice on mounting a front child bike seat on my bicycle. (eg here is what Thule offers). Does anyone have any advice, or a recommended local bike shop that would carry this, and/or be able to install it if necessary? My current bike is a 25-year-old Raleigh Discovery mountain bike.

Thanks.

We have a Yepp Mini. It's a great design. A few things to watch out for:

1. Clearance between your kid's helmet and your chest. Depending on the geometry of the bike, their helmet might push against your chest while riding. This will get worse as they grow bigger. I had to swap the handlebars on my bike to support a more upright position because of this.
   
2. Mounting bracket. There are two different types of mounts that attach to the bike. One has a plate in front of the steerer tube, another behind, and they are held in place with friction. This requires about 7cm of open space on the tube. The seat can rotate about the axis of the tube when pushed hard, and is held in a fairly upright position. The other mount requires you to remove the stem from the tube, then put a plate with a hole in it onto the tube. The plate is held in place by a shackle over the stem. The seat is more reclined with this mount.
   
3. Multiple bikes. We have a mount on both my and my wife's bike. The seat can be switched between them in a few seconds. I would strongly recommend this if you both ride.