Cycling in Canada (when you are Dutch)

Elmine writes about her experiences cycling (and watching we Canadians cycle) here in Canada. In part:

All in all my conclusion is that riding a bike safely in various parts in Canada is still a dream. From my Dutch perspective I seriously doubt if the places I visited ever will be able to be a dream places for cyclists. Canadian roads were designed for cars. It will take a tremendous effort to ‘un-design’ that. But it’s not just the roads that needs a redesign. It will take a generation to retrain everyone driving the road, both by car and on bike.

I think she’s right about the “retraining” that we need, but I think it applies not only to the practical skills related to safe and efficient bicycling, but also retraining our habits so that we shift all or most of our short-distance travel from driving to cycling.

Meanwhile, Oliver and I went out to West Covehead to look at a gently-used Tri-Rider this afternoon, and he took an immediate shine to it:

Oliver on a Tri-Rider

Comments

Elmine's picture
Elmine on June 17, 2019 - 06:51 Permalink

Looking good!

Frances A Rukavina's picture
Frances A Rukavina on June 18, 2019 - 10:10 Permalink

Amazing! Did you buy it?

Peter Rukavina's picture
Peter Rukavina on June 18, 2019 - 10:12 Permalink

No. We came close, but we ultimately decided to look for another model, because:

  1. It used an older lead-acid battery style rather than lithium ion.
  2. It uses a throttle rather than “pedal assist,” which seems less safe, as it doesn’t tie physical effort to speed.

But the trike form-factor was a big success.

Roland Tanglao's picture
Roland Tanglao on June 25, 2019 - 03:46 Permalink

yes our culture has to change in order to allow bicycles to be respected and more useful!