Activate Winter Mode!

Well, the forecast is calling for the first snow of the year here in Vancouver, and that means it's time to winterize! We're fortunate here on the west coast; our winter is temperate enough that you can pretty much ride straight through it. However, if you intend to do so, it's a good idea to make a couple quick upgrades to your ride before hittin' the slushy streets.

1. Fenders!
Both the most imperative and the easiest of winter upgrades, fenders are a life-saver when the streets get nasty. A variety of different types are available, and what you should choose depends on what kind of bike you ride, and how much coverage you desire. If you just want enough to keep the road gunk off your butt, and like something quick and easy to install, something like this will do you just fine. They're cheap, fit on any kind of bike, and keep your butt dry.

If you're looking for something with more coverage - to keep your legs and the person behind you dry - you're probably better off with something like this. A bit more money, and a bit more labour-intensive to get installed correctly, but they'll provide better road goo protection than a clip-on. A word of warning about full fenders, though: they're usually wheel-size-specific, so make sure you get ones that are intended for your wheels size!

2. Bearings
If you've got a bicycle that was made in the last few years, you probably don't need to worry about this - this point is more for those of you riding vintage road bikes, or other older bikes. If you have an older bike, it's likely that you have loose ball bearings in your bottom bracket, and maybe even in your hubs. Riding these in wet weather will destroy them, and it will do so rather quickly. If you plan on riding an older bike this winter, take it into your favourite bike shop, and get them to replace your bottom bracket with the more modern sealed-bearing type. You'll be able to ride a sealed bottom bracket in whatever weather you can find, without having to worry about your bearings getting mangled.

3. Tires
If you're planning on riding a mountain bike this winter, you can pretty much ignore this section; your bike will likely already be equipped with wide tires that will give you a good contact patch in slippery weather. If you're riding a road or track bike, though, it might be time for some different tires. Those 23c slicks are great for fast rides on dry pavement, but once things get slippery, a wider contact patch is a good idea. Many people are under the impression that slippery conditions call for a tire with a chunky tread, but this is not true. What you want is a tire with a large amount of rubber meeting the road, which means something wide and fairly slick is the way to go. Tires with blocks of tread are designed for loose terrain, not wet or icy pavement. A good bet for winter road tires is something like a Shwalbe Marathon; they're wide, they're relatively slick, and they're thick enough to offer some puncture protection against the road debris that inevitably builds up during the winter months.

4. Lights
This bit is mostly common sense, but I'll mention it anyways. It gets dark earlier in the winter! This means that your 5pm commute home will probably take place in low light conditions for the next couple months. Invest in a couple blinkies, at the very least. These can be had at almost any bike shop, for under $10, and will keep you visible during your twilight commutes. Some people opt for larger, more powerful (and of course, more expensive) lights, but it's my opinion that these aren't really necessary when riding in a well-lit urban environment.


Well, that's all for now. Hopefully this post will help at least a couple Vancouverites keep on commuting all year 'round. If you have any more winter preparation tips, we'd love to hear them! Drop us a line at districtxii at gmail dot com.


Ride safe,
DXII

Burrard Bridge Bike Lane Proposal: The Verdict

A decision has been reached on the burrard bridge bike lane issue. Of the three options available, city council has chosen the mediocre one. Only one lane will be closed to motorists; the west curbside lane will be southbound bike-only, the east sidewalk will be northbound bike-only, and the west sidewalk with have two-way pedestrian travel.

As cyclists, this works out decently for us. Not as well as the first option, which has two full lanes being closed to motorists, but not as terribly as the second option, which would have us biking amongst pedestrians when heading north.

Burrard Bridge Bike Lane Proposal: Back From The Dead?

As some seasoned Vancouverites may remember, there was a test conducted on the Burrard bridge back in 1996, in which lanes were closed to motorists and converted into bike lanes. Well, it seems the city council has decided to give it another go.

Obviously, this is great news for cyclists in general, and cyclo-commuters in particular. There is no question this will make life easier for those of us who commute into downtown from the south side of False Creek. However, there are some concerns that definitely need to be raised.

The current proposal contains three different options for the lane closures. One of them is great for cyclists, one is decent, and one is complete rubbish. They are as follows:

1. Close both curbside lanes, resulting in a dedicated bike lane in each direction. Motorists are relegated to the middle four lanes, pedestrians to the sidewalk.

2. Close only the west curbside lane, making this a southbound bike-only lane. Motorists get five lanes, southbound pedestrians get the sidewalk, and northbound cyclists share the sidewalk with pedestrians.

3. Close only the west curbside lane, making this a southbound bike-only lane. Motorists again get five lanes, pedestrians going both ways are allowed only on the west sidewalk, and the east sidewalk becomes the northbound bike-only lane.

Clearly option 1 is most favourable for cyclists. A lane each way all to ourselves is more than adequate for even peak-hour, fair-weather cyclo-commuting periods. However, reducing the number of motorist lanes by two will make motorists markedly displeased, so this one may encounter serious resistance when it goes before council.

Option 2 should be thrown out immediately and emphatically. Multiple studies have concluded that riding amongst pedestrians is considerably more likely to result in an accident than riding amongst cars.

Option 3 seem to be the happy medium. Motorists only lose one lane, and thus raise less of a fuss; cyclists get a "lane" to themselves in both directions, though one of these "lanes" is a repurposed sidewalk. Considering the low volume of pedestrians crossing the Burrard bridge, a single sidewalk will definitely suffice for pedestrian use.

The bottom line is that as cyclists, we should all be crossing our fingers and rooting for the first option; we should also be willing to accept the third. In the end, I think this issue will prove itself an effective measuring post with which to gauge how bike-friendly Vancouver really is.