Spandex alert!!

[the truth]

imo, they should clean the lanes year round if they want people to go green year round ,should they not

put proper tires on your bike and its not an issue the same idiots crying about some dirt on the bike lanes are usually riding with lightweight extra thin racing style tires that go flat if you ride over a pebble

so people riding there bikes to get around are idiots now, really

[dirtybiker]

[quote="the truth" a year round street sweeper to keep the bike lanes clear ,for those who do ride there bikes in the winter[/quote]

The amount of monies spent towards a futile endeavour for a select few.

Yup, sounds like Government.

[the truth]

select few, i think not

[LTD]

complain about a little dirt in the bike lanes outside where there is dirt ya that makes you an idiot with a capital I

[Even Steven]

put proper tires on your bike and its not an issue the same idiots crying about some dirt on the bike lanes are usually riding with lightweight extra thin racing style tires that go flat if you ride over a pebble

It's not the question of tires being too thin, it's the question of wiping out. I have trail tires on my bike, and if I ride over a layer of dirt, I have trouble controlling my bike. Hence sometimes I have to ride in traffic or fairly close to white line.

City would be happy to clean the lanes year round if they had a budget for it, be sure to volunteer extra money for it next tax season.

[LTD]

try using tires with some tread ive heard all the excuses and that's all they are excuses I used to race bikes on believe it or not DIRT it can be ridden on, if crashing is a concern do what you would do in your car slow down ride to the conditions

[Even Steven]

try using tires with some tread

Thanks poncho, great advice. I have lots of it, thank you very much.

[spooker]

i get what your saying ,but it does not change the fact that if the city of kelowna is serious about wanting to go green they need to commit to a year round street sweeper to keep the bike lanes clear ,for those who do ride there bikes in the winter

Agreed ... the other issue is that they don't have a "snow removal" policy, bike lanes are "snow storage" ...

I've talked with the operations dept and they are willing but need more budget ... it was good to see them doing better plowing the off-street infrastructure though there were some hurdles that have to be gotten over for next year ...

It'd be nice to have an instant solution ... but the ways of government never work that fast ... top-down or bottom-up we have to meet in the middle

p.s. I ride with 2.10" tires on my bike and there are a lot of bike lanes I won't ride in as the sand doesn't make for efficient or safe surfaces ... too often it hides worse crap you can't see ...

p.p.s. street sweeping in winter with regular equipment doesn't work due to the freezing temps, dry sweeping would impede traffic for the dust cloud generated ... gotta get creative

[spooker]

The amount of monies spent towards a futile endeavour for a select few.

Yup, sounds like Government.

The response to "a select few" is that those "select few" will be out there no matter what ... the real reason to do this is that it will help grow the numbers that will ride in winter ... the government is in the long game, most people are thinking short ... it's not what will help me right now, but what will help my daughter when she gets to be my age ...

[Grandan]

try using tires with some tread ive heard all the excuses and that's all they are excuses I used to race bikes on believe it or not DIRT it can be ridden on, if crashing is a concern do what you would do in your car slow down ride to the conditions

When I was a young man and rode my bike everywhere I was on my way to the dentist and rode along the side of the road through wet sand and later when I was booting it around a corner to enter Lougheed Mall, the sand which was on the sidewalls of my tires turned into roller bearings and sent me to the pavement leaving a bloody bruise on my hip. I then had to sit in the dentist chair in pain from my fall while I underwent dental treatment. Not fun. I should have slowed down, who races to a dental appointment anyways.
Anyone remember Benvoulin Road from the '80's when there was a 12" strip of asphalt on the edge of the road and no bike lanes?

[60-YEARS-in-Ktown]

imo, they should clean the lanes year round if they want people to go green year round ,should they not

put proper tires on your bike and its not an issue the same idiots crying about some dirt on the bike lanes are usually riding with lightweight extra thin racing style tires that go flat if you ride over a pebble

which one of you is Tom B?
Using your logic , why clean them at all ?

[GordonH]

Knowing both City & provincial highways contractor snow removal pushes everything to the right. Once off the roadway it piles up on road side, today a lot of those side of road are bike lanes. So if that is then pushed to right it ends up on the sidewalk, knowing how well homeowners (majority don't) are at clearing off the sidewalk.
The ones being screwed are going to be the pedestrians, thats nothing new. Biggest ones being screwed are those with mobility issues.

So if clearing off bike lanes becomes the normal, then the City had better hire large crew to be handing big fines to homeowners who are to damn lazy to clear off the sidewalk.

I know not going to happen

[Grandan]

Knowing both City & provincial highways contractor snow removal pushes everything to the right. Once off the roadway it piles up on road side, today a lot of those side of road are bike lanes. So if that is then pushed to right it ends up on the sidewalk, knowing how well homeowners (majority don't) are at clearing off the sidewalk.
The ones being screwed are going to be the pedestrians, thats nothing new. Biggest ones being screwed are those with mobility issues.

So if clearing off bike lanes becomes the normal, then the City had better hire large crew to be handing big fines to homeowners who are to damn lazy to clear off the sidewalk.

I know not going to happen

There is no sense of civic responsibility in a whole generation of people who are not homeowners and have no pride of place.
The sweeping of walks, clearing of snow and maintenance of common areas is someone else's responsibility, usually the landlord, never mind the homeowners sloth. I am happy to see bike paths were cleared regularly by city crews on my road.

[Urban Cowboy]

i get what your saying ,but it does not change the fact that if the city of kelowna is serious about wanting to go green they need to commit to a year round street sweeper to keep the bike lanes clear ,for those who do ride there bikes in the winter

That's not feasible nor sensible. Bike riders are a danger to themselves, and everyone around them, when attempting to ride in winter conditions.

I haven't noted any studded bicycle tires.

Fortunately most riders are sensible enough to concede that riding in the winter is not the best decision.

The two that do fall into the same category as the handful of goofs who insist on going out and about in motorized wheel chairs when there's 6" of snow on the ground.

That's not an exaggeration either. I've seen one character out in such conditions numerous times, and always in the car lane, and getting stuck every ten to twenty feet, after which good Samaritans get out of their vehicles to give the guy a push so he can go another ten feet.

Clearly in such fools there's a short circuit in the cranial wiring.

[dirtybiker]

There is no sense of civic responsibility ....... have no pride of place.
........ is someone else's responsibility,

No truer words were ever scripted !

This is so far reaching to many different area's of life.

"Civic Responsibility" "Pride Of Place"

Learn it ! Live it !



Personally, I learned to ride on dirt, the nearest asphalt was miles away, I never had the opportunity
to ride on asphalt till we moved to the city.

I don't get why everyone is so scared to venture off to the right because there is a little grit.
I would rather ride safely in the ditch than be brushing elbows with cars and semi's

Want to run track tires ? Go to a track !