Tag Archives: bikes

New benchmark!

15 Jan

10000

Just before the end of 2015, on December 28 in fact, I reached a new benchmark and the goal I was aiming to achieve by the end of the year: 10,000 km ridden on my FES bike in 3 1/2 years (4200 km in 2015 alone).  that’s a lot of distance covered by a pair of paralyzed legs! If you are able-bodied, how far did you cycle last year?

Here is a copy of the summary page of the online log of all of my rides, as recorded by the bike manufacturer. In addition to the total distance ridden so far (6329 miles as of January 15, 2016 = 10,185 km), you can also see the distance I covered in each session (in red, and by others with my same physical condition in blue), and the average power output during each session. I appear to be working much harder than others in my situation. I have no explanation for this other than that I love cycling!

160115-summary

I also manually log all of my rides on Strava, and you can see my profile and stats there.

 

I swear I lived

6 Jun

well, this pretty much says it all…

But until my moment comes, I’ll say…
I, I did it all
I, I did it all
I owned every second that this world could give
I saw so many places, the things that I did
With every broken bone, I swear I lived.

Helmets on in City Council

5 Jul

Cyclists showing their support for the motion to approve the Cycle Strategy by Calgary City Council.  BTW, it passed!

Image

via Seesmic

Rogue Polo

25 Jun

A variation on hard-court bike polo played by a group that calls this Rogue Polo, played at Highwood Community Centre.

Image

via Seesmic

Cars are slow

24 Jun

This traffic on the Deerfoot was moving at 10 km/h.  I was tempted to drop down there and pass a few hundred of them. 

 

Image

via Seesmic

Planning the Strategy

12 Jun

A coalition of all major cycling groups in Calgary met to analyse the just-released Cycle Strategy, and plan how to respond to it.   Tour de Nuit Society did not respond to an invitation, and did not participate.  The session was facilitated by former alderman Bob Hawkesworth. 

 

Image

via Seesmic

Folding bikes on Calgary Transit buses

8 Jun

As of July 1st, 2011, Calgary Transit will be allowing folding bikes (20″ or smaller wheels) on all of their buses and trains at all hours of the day and night (provided they’re in a bag).  Full-size bikes are already allowed on the C-Train outside of peak hours (6:30-9:00 and 15:30-18:00).    The light-hearted video below tells the story of two cyclist friends who decide to test use the new system. 

 

Slow Down!

5 May

Do you think this will have any impact on the motorists in Calgary? 

 

(Okay, it was actually for a good cause: the 2011 Bike To Work Day.  Thanks to Sarah Covey for the video clip). 

Bike Commuting in Downtown Calgary

20 Apr

I cycle to work every day through downtown Calgary.  My commute takes me under 10 minutes, as I live close to my office – less than 3 km – so this is clearly the best way to get to work.  If I were to drive a car, it would take at least twice as long, or longer, and cost me up $6000/year in parking.  Taking the bus would be cheaper, but again, much slower.   And neither of those two options are as much fun as riding my bike! 

Here’s a video clip showing my daily commute.  Now, when riding a bike I’m definitely paying attention to my surroundings, unlike some of the motorists I encounter. In the video I comment on some of what’s going through my head while I’m riding, and text captions indicate some of what I’m doing on the road. Your thoughts?

Fresh snow in Calgary

14 Apr

A little surprise awaited me for my morning commute: 25 cm of fresh April snow. 

Image

via Seesmic