Teaching and Learning

With Darling Daughter's new bike we've been riding together a lot more. These rides haven't gone exactly as I expected, for one thing riding with a nine year old has taught me more then I've managed to teach her. So, while not every ride has been a Great Day, they have all been pretty good.
The first thing I've learned how much I take for granted. There is a lot going on when you are riding a bike; balance, steering, pedalling, control and brakes. On top of this is of course situation awareness and route planning. All of these skills transfer from conscious efforts that require focus and attention to automatic, almost unconscious skills, but it takes time.
When Darling Daughter was riding with the Fast and Female ambassadors, she did great. She was riding smoothly, following instructions and trying new things. Basic skills, like braking, riding with one hand and riding beside another rider. I expected the ride home to be more difficult, on account of distance and her being tired, but it wasn't. Our next outing together wasn't so smooth of course, and I was not sure why.
A little reflectiion on the wrinkles, and I think I know why this other shorter trip was more trouble, it was more complicated. The ride home from the Fast and Female event was almost entirely on multi-use pathways. When we had to leave the pathways the street we joined was closed to cars for Alcatel-Lucent Sunday Bikedays. I also gave clear directions well in advance. The other ride was on local streets, joining a busy MUP and back to local streets. I didn`t give Darling Daughter much notice of route changes. Even when I gave her instructions clearly and in advance, crossing sidewalks or roads was confusing and difficult.
She survived that trip and we`ve had had several successful rides since, I`d love to give her the freedom that I had as a nine year old, unfortunately that is not going to happen. For now we`ll ride together, I`ll keep teaching signals and skills, and we`ll keep to quiet roads and paths for a while longer still.

Happy Canada Day!

It is a beautiful hot and sunny Canada in the Capital. I am fortunate enough to squeeze in a couple of bike rides in between visiting and lounging. I was hoping to get a ride in with Darling Daughter but Alcatel-Lucent Sunday Bikedays was suspended for Canada Day celebrations. She is focused on swimming today anyway.
Always a big deal Canada Day draws thousands to the city centre with lots of activities free concerts and fun. Unfortunately the crowds get so thick that cycling is not terribly practical, which may be part of the reason that Capital Bixi has closed several Bixi stations in the downtown core. Still cycling is a great way to get to the crowds, certainly better then driving.
Happy Canada Day! Hope you get to enjoy at least part of it on a bike.

Rideau Lakes Cycle Tour

This past weekend, June 9-10, I road my sixth Rideau Lakes Cycle Tour. This is one of the signature events for the Ottawa Bicycle Club and has been very well run for 41 years. This year's tour was no exception.
The tour is an organized ride from Carleton University, in Ottawa, to Queens University, in Kingston, and returning the next day. Attracting riders form all over, the tour accommodates 2,000 or so riders over four routes:
The Classic, by far the busiest route clocks in at 177km each day.
The Century, really the Classic route with the start moved to Perth. Still a respectable 100km each day
The Cruise, a more southerly route a little longer, maybe a little flatter then the Classic. Officially 179km each way.
The Challenge, 225km of hilly Eastern Ontario roads. Starting with the Classic, this route takes a northerly detour through Almont, Elphin and Boilingbroke before rejoining the Classic route before Westport.
This year I road the Challenge route on Saturday and the Cruise Sunday. Both days were brilliant. The weather was overcast, with a short period of light rain on Saturday. The rain came towards the end of my eight hours in the saddle, not so heavy as to make riding miserable. Just enough to motivate to end the ride as quickly as possible. Sunday was sunny and hot, a beautiful day with the danger of over heating. The Cruise route had good shade and everyone in our group managed to remain well hydrated. We finished strong and together. A great ride a great tour. Thanks OBC and the legion of volunteers that make this fine event possible.
I didn't bring my camera, so I'll link to a Fliker slide-show of the Ottawa Bicycle Club's Rideau Lakes Tour through the years.





If this inspires you, register early. The Tour sells out every year.

Cycling Culture or Cycling Infrastructure Which Comes First

A question flloated through my twitter feed this morning:

I quickly sent off a response: "Infrastructure; You don't need cycling culture. Citizens choose transport mode that works. Infrastructure tilts balance 2 bike".

Cycle Ontario responded: " but would the culture not create the need for the infrastructure thus making the political decision easier"?

Here we have it the classic chicken and egg dilemma. If we build cycling infrastructure will cyclists appear, out of nowhere to use it? Making the case for cycling infrastructure self evident. Unfortunately, it takes huge political effort to get even the most basic infrastructure built. Once built, as we've seen in Toronto, cycling infrastructure remains vulnerable to political fashion and whim. Wouldn't a vibrant cycling culture make the political heavy lifting easier? A vibrant cycling culture might be able to mobilize votes, or exert political pressure through lobbying. Votes and lobbying are the fuel of the political process, and probably not something "cycling culture" can deliver. I am not sure there is a "Cycling Culture" as a single thing that can be harnessed or mobilized. As Mikael Colville-Andersen of Copenhagenize states in the tongue in cheek, 18 Ways to Know That You Have Bicycle Culture. You likely have a vibrant bicycle culture if you never think of bicycle culture, and just ride your bike. 

There is a larger question of just how do you grow a bicycle culture. Portland's department of transportation published a neat graphic illustrating the four types of cyclists, by proportion of population:

If you focus on culture first, you're getting the <1% "strong and fearless" to convince "enthused and confident" 7%, and ignoring the 60% of "interested but concerned". I see a very big problem counting on such a small group to do any political heavy lifting. When you deal with the reality that this small group is split into several "cultures". Ottawa's cycling community supports the Responsible Cycling Coalition and Cycling Vision Ottawa. The former group is solidly against infrastructure believing, sincerely, that cycling infrastructure is a threat to cycling. The later group advocating strenuously for cycling infrastructure. If you are counting on "cycling culture" to deliver infrastructure, you had better get the right one.

If culture is not the answer, then is it really a case of "build it and they will come"? In a word no. Even is the most successful North American cities infrastructure has not pushed cycling's modal share above 10%. It is not enough to make cycling seem safe and comfortable, it has to make sense as well. Once again Copenhagenize has a good guide:

 

Private automobiles are a convince, there is no reason to prioritize them as well. The answer is not cycling infrastructure in isolation but in combination with a public transit and walking strategy that returns the city to a more human scale.