Castanet

Mtn Biker wrote:Kind of sad that this type of story generates 2 pages of comments and yet a person is pummeled by two others, taken to hospital and no discussion. Says a lot about Kelowna and its priorities. Cyclists before thugs.

spooker wrote:Lot's of assumptions here ... as usual ... nothing in the article said that he left them sitting there in the lane ... yes, I would expect (hope) that he'd take a foot and brush them off the lane ... but I like to think people are reasonably good on the whole so I could be completely wrong ...

Like techrtr, I see worse on a daily basis but that is definitely road debris (not going to get into the crap that people throw out their windows) ... but with the advent lately of more incidents that seem targeted at cyclists I wouldn't completely dismiss this ... I've heard complaints from drivers about cyclists in this area ... coming over the hill I love seeing if I can break any speed limits and will usually merge into the traffic so as to not be surprised in the bike lane with someone coming out of Longhill ...

And considering last fall I had a tire and tube skewered by a flat piece of non-sharp metal that was in the bike lane along Enterprise these might not be as quick to damage as nails and tacks but with the speed coming down that hill it could put someone in the hospital ...

Green-light wrote:This was CLEARLY NOT sabotage.
What this is, CLEARLY IS another disgruntled spandex princess that missed the ball.
Missed the ball.
Sugarplum fairy balls are gross.
Our mayor is a bent-over, pushed over plastic wall flower not worthy of his seat.
Another fully embarrassing display by our so called leader.

Utterly pathetic that this pansy-arse wants the city to clean up what mess he left behind.
If he walked away from this life endangering hazard without picking up the blades and disposing of them, then he not only left them behind, but is at least as guilty if not more guilty than the person who used to own the blades.

As for what the bike riding pansy should have done about it. How about pick them up and carry them in one hand while walking your bike with the other hand directly to the nearest disposal bin, basket or box. Place deadly flat blades in the receptacle and ride away knowing you've saved a whale, a seal and elephant and all we know of humanity. We can only wish to have had such saviors before the dodo went MIA.

Mtn Biker wrote:Kind of sad that this type of story generates 2 pages of comments and yet a person is pummeled by two others, taken to hospital and no discussion. Says a lot about Kelowna and its priorities. Cyclists before thugs.

Whether you disagree with me reporting it to castanet etc or not, I’m glad that 1) it got cleaned up quickly and 2) there’s some debate over this. Matt, Lee, and Mike I respect your opinions and how you think you would have handled it. I just want to add a bit of detail of what happened that morning. As you could hear from my voice I was pretty alarmed to see so many blades in the bike lane. I ride down Sexsmith most mornings and yes I regularly roll over bit of glass, screws, nails and other debris. I know it’s normal to run into that stuff as a commuter cyclist. Because I was going so fast down the bend that morning I actually thought I had simply run over bits of a halogen bulb and it was just an unfortunate flat. *bleep* happens. After I managed to safely stop beside cemetery to examine the damage, I saw my rear tire and tube were sliced clean rim to rim, sidewall to sidewall. I was pretty amazed but I still thought nothing of it. I put in a new tube and Macgyver’d the tire enough to get home. I grabbed my 2nd bike, and rode back the same way. My jaw dropped when I realized it wasn’t a halogen bulb on the road, but box cutter blades. I didn’t see a box, blade handle, or a blister pack that would indicate it rolled off a truck. The blades being so close to the intersection on Longhill was quite alarming. It’s possible that a less experienced cyclist could swerve the wrong way or be unable to maintain control through the intersection. One could also imagine what could happen if a very fast group ride rolled through all those blades.

In any event, my reptilian brain thought the best course of action at the time was to escalate it quickly to prevent anyone getting hurt. Maybe it’s sensationalism to you, but I prefer to think it’s helping to prevent the worst.

Maybe you’d handle it differently, that’s fine, but I did what I thought best at the time. Like everyone else, I also hope it was just an accident and there isn’t an actual psychopath trying to hurt cyclists. Regardless I’m glad the community is talking about it and thinking about what they’d do in case it happens to them. Cheers.

spooker wrote:This was posted by the cyclist in another forum I participate in:

Whether you disagree with me reporting it to castanet etc or not, I’m glad that 1) it got cleaned up quickly and 2) there’s some debate over this. Matt, Lee, and Mike I respect your opinions and how you think you would have handled it. I just want to add a bit of detail of what happened that morning. As you could hear from my voice I was pretty alarmed to see so many blades in the bike lane. I ride down Sexsmith most mornings and yes I regularly roll over bit of glass, screws, nails and other debris. I know it’s normal to run into that stuff as a commuter cyclist. Because I was going so fast down the bend that morning I actually thought I had simply run over bits of a halogen bulb and it was just an unfortunate flat. *bleep* happens. After I managed to safely stop beside cemetery to examine the damage, I saw my rear tire and tube were sliced clean rim to rim, sidewall to sidewall. I was pretty amazed but I still thought nothing of it. I put in a new tube and Macgyver’d the tire enough to get home. I grabbed my 2nd bike, and rode back the same way. My jaw dropped when I realized it wasn’t a halogen bulb on the road, but box cutter blades. I didn’t see a box, blade handle, or a blister pack that would indicate it rolled off a truck. The blades being so close to the intersection on Longhill was quite alarming. It’s possible that a less experienced cyclist could swerve the wrong way or be unable to maintain control through the intersection. One could also imagine what could happen if a very fast group ride rolled through all those blades.

In any event, my reptilian brain thought the best course of action at the time was to escalate it quickly to prevent anyone getting hurt. Maybe it’s sensationalism to you, but I prefer to think it’s helping to prevent the worst.

Maybe you’d handle it differently, that’s fine, but I did what I thought best at the time. Like everyone else, I also hope it was just an accident and there isn’t an actual psychopath trying to hurt cyclists. Regardless I’m glad the community is talking about it and thinking about what they’d do in case it happens to them. Cheers.

WalterWhite wrote:I wonder how many of the cycling groups/clubs in Kelowna are part of the Adopt-A-Road program through the City of Kelowna? Do any of the local clubs hold monthly/bi-weekly meetings to hold cleanups of the bike lanes they seem to feel are kept in sub-standard condition for their use? Why not try to be stewards of their community cycling areas and hold community cleanups - rather than simply whining? How about holding some fundraising, or even approach one of the local retailers to support your endeavors by procuring a portable magnet sweeper you could tow behind a bike during one of your cleanup events. Look at what groups such as the Okanagan Forest Task Force have been able to accomplish with a bit of direct help through these very forums.

spooker wrote:

WalterWhite wrote:I wonder how many of the cycling groups/clubs in Kelowna are part of the Adopt-A-Road program through the City of Kelowna? Do any of the local clubs hold monthly/bi-weekly meetings to hold cleanups of the bike lanes they seem to feel are kept in sub-standard condition for their use? Why not try to be stewards of their community cycling areas and hold community cleanups - rather than simply whining? How about holding some fundraising, or even approach one of the local retailers to support your endeavors by procuring a portable magnet sweeper you could tow behind a bike during one of your cleanup events. Look at what groups such as the Okanagan Forest Task Force have been able to accomplish with a bit of direct help through these very forums.

That's a very good idea ... I still have my safety vest, pylons, and work broom that I purchased back in 2010 to try and spur that very activity ... there were a total of 2 other people that joined me to sweep the lanes along Sutherland free from the winter sand ... after that the numbers didn't swell ... couldn't get the moral outrage generated to engage more people ...

If we adopt Enterprise, how will drivers like it when we pylon off the work area during the day? need at least an extra 4 feet of clearance while sweeping and you know that regular people aren't going to be that fast ... sort of a damned if we do and damned if we don't ...

Cyclists are already giving money to the City to keep roads clean, why do they have to add sweat equity?

I say all this but I still go out and clear the lanes when it gets really bad near my house and I have an extra half-hour ...

WalterWhite wrote:Interesting you say moral outrage needs to be generated before cyclists will participate in any form of clean up. Do cyclists not simply have any civic pride in bettering the community they live in? I don't hear about Boy Scouts or Girl Scouts - or any of the many other community groups requiring moral outrage before they organize their Adopt-A-Road clean ups. Why do cyclists need to be outraged before they feel motivated to take action?

Maybe Enterprise isn't the best choice of roads to adopt. I don't think the traffic is too bad there on an early Sunday morning. Organizing a clean up for a Monday during the morning commute certainly wouldn't be the best for anyone.

Your sweat equity is required because the road cycling community is the only one complaining that the roads - bike lanes specifically aren't clean enough. Most other residents don't have an issue - and don't use them like road cyclists do.

spooker wrote:

WalterWhite wrote:I wonder how many of the cycling groups/clubs in Kelowna are part of the Adopt-A-Road program through the City of Kelowna? Do any of the local clubs hold monthly/bi-weekly meetings to hold cleanups of the bike lanes they seem to feel are kept in sub-standard condition for their use? Why not try to be stewards of their community cycling areas and hold community cleanups - rather than simply whining? How about holding some fundraising, or even approach one of the local retailers to support your endeavors by procuring a portable magnet sweeper you could tow behind a bike during one of your cleanup events. Look at what groups such as the Okanagan Forest Task Force have been able to accomplish with a bit of direct help through these very forums.

That's a very good idea ... I still have my safety vest, pylons, and work broom that I purchased back in 2010 to try and spur that very activity ... there were a total of 2 other people that joined me to sweep the lanes along Sutherland free from the winter sand ... after that the numbers didn't swell ... couldn't get the moral outrage generated to engage more people ...

If we adopt Enterprise, how will drivers like it when we pylon off the work area during the day? need at least an extra 4 feet of clearance while sweeping and you know that regular people aren't going to be that fast ... sort of a damned if we do and damned if we don't ...

Cyclists are already giving money to the City to keep roads clean, why do they have to add sweat equity?

I say all this but I still go out and clear the lanes when it gets really bad near my house and I have an extra half-hour ...

spooker wrote:This was posted by the cyclist in another forum I participate in:

Whether you disagree with me reporting it to castanet etc or not, I’m glad that 1) it got cleaned up quickly and 2) there’s some debate over this. Matt, Lee, and Mike I respect your opinions and how you think you would have handled it. I just want to add a bit of detail of what happened that morning. As you could hear from my voice I was pretty alarmed to see so many blades in the bike lane. I ride down Sexsmith most mornings and yes I regularly roll over bit of glass, screws, nails and other debris. I know it’s normal to run into that stuff as a commuter cyclist. Because I was going so fast down the bend that morning I actually thought I had simply run over bits of a halogen bulb and it was just an unfortunate flat. *bleep* happens. After I managed to safely stop beside cemetery to examine the damage, I saw my rear tire and tube were sliced clean rim to rim, sidewall to sidewall. I was pretty amazed but I still thought nothing of it. I put in a new tube and Macgyver’d the tire enough to get home. I grabbed my 2nd bike, and rode back the same way. My jaw dropped when I realized it wasn’t a halogen bulb on the road, but box cutter blades. I didn’t see a box, blade handle, or a blister pack that would indicate it rolled off a truck. The blades being so close to the intersection on Longhill was quite alarming. It’s possible that a less experienced cyclist could swerve the wrong way or be unable to maintain control through the intersection. One could also imagine what could happen if a very fast group ride rolled through all those blades.

In any event, my reptilian brain thought the best course of action at the time was to escalate it quickly to prevent anyone getting hurt. Maybe it’s sensationalism to you, but I prefer to think it’s helping to prevent the worst.

Maybe you’d handle it differently, that’s fine, but I did what I thought best at the time. Like everyone else, I also hope it was just an accident and there isn’t an actual psychopath trying to hurt cyclists. Regardless I’m glad the community is talking about it and thinking about what they’d do in case it happens to them. Cheers.