Here’s the first half of my ride home from UCalgary campus through the streets of NW Calgary – sped up about 3x. I was averaging between 30-40km/h for this portion of the ride.

(video doesn’t show up in RSS feed. grumble.)

I still have a few things to figure out – the clamp isn’t quite level, so I need to MacGuyver a way to level the thing so the footage isn’t all leaning to one side – but it’s getting close.

I took my cheap little Flip Ultra video camera, stuck it on the rear rack of my bike, and fastened it in place with a pair of bungee cords. It wasn’t ideal, but should have been good enough, as long as I didn’t wipe out or hit anything big.

I took the longer route home, climbing the big fracking hill at the south end of my home community. And Patrick Kelly joined me for the first part of the ride (you’ll see him a minute or so into the video). The video is sped up – it was a 45 minute ride, compressed into under 9 and a half minutes. I gave up on fancy titles and music, so you get the raw (but time-compressed) version here:

I’m still trying to whip up a flash version of the video for proper embedding, but in the meantime, here’s a QuickTime version.

Update: there’s now a Flash Video version of the movie posted to Vimeo.com. I still haven’t been able to get Google Video to play nicely though…

I’ve been riding my bike as primary transportation on my commute for a couple of years now (started really doing it again in 2006, after a few years of not riding very much). I ride just over 28km per day, every weekday, so have managed to rack up the kilometers pretty quickly. I had set a target for myself to ride 3,500km in 2008, trying to beat my 3,100km ridden in 2007. Looks like I’m on track to blow that away, and might hit 4,000km if I’m able to keep going. That’d be like riding from Calgary to Quebec City. Or to New York…

I’ve ridden through blizzards, monsoons, hail, lightning, and the regular traffic filled with aggressive and psychotic drivers.

But I wouldn’t give it up. I’m so much happier riding. The smells of spring. The sounds of the birds. That would all be missed if I was trapped in a bus or car. It’s just so much better to be riding. And, I’m in the best physical shape of my adult life – I’ve lost almost 30 pounds from my all-time fatass peak. Feeling great! Here’s hoping I can do another 2,000km in 2008

On campus, they’re going to set up greeting/refreshment stations (with prizes!) on all major entrances, and there’s a workshop being put on by the bike club at the Mac Hall loading dock to show basic bike maintenance.

I think I might even pack the camera as well. Should be fun! I’ve already ridden over 900km this year, on track to hit between 3500 and 4000km by the end of 2008.

Now, if there were more bike-friendly routes (i.e., fewer cycle-homicidal bus & SUV drivers) there might be more people willing to risk riding their bikes to work or school…

I was riding my bike home from work today, and pulled up to a 3 way stop on Scurfield Drive and Scenic Acres Boulevard NW. As I was stopping, a bus pulled up behind/beside me (I was in the right lane traveling north on Scurfield Drive, the bus was in the left). I waited for my turn to enter the intersection, and the bus followed me through. I stayed in the right lane, and the bus remained in the left lane through the intersection.

After proceeding through the intersection, the bus started to pass me, and then started entering the right lane as it accelerated. It was not approaching a bus stop, and was driving half way into the right lane, coming within a foot of my handlebars. I had to swerve to the right to avoid being hit.

After the bus finished passing me, it returned to the left lane, and then swerved back into the right lane ahead of me, kicking up a cloud of dust and gravel as it did so. It then returned to the left lane and continued driving up the hill along Scurfield Drive away from me.

There were no obstacles in the left lane. There were no pedestrians or animals. There were no other cars or vehicles moving in either of the two lanes.

I can only imagine 2 scenarios.

In scenario #1, the bus driver was simply unaware that I was there. If so, that is extremely dangerous, as it came up from behind me, and followed me through a controlled intersection. If the driver was unaware that I was in front of the bus (in another lane), it suggests a dangerous level of negligent and erratic driving.

In scenario #2, the bus driver was fully aware that I was driving in front of, and beside, the bus. This would mean that the bus driver intended to enter my lane in an attempt to crowd me off the road or into a parked car. If this is the case, it suggests malicious, dangerous, and aggressive driving.

I ride my bike cautiously, observing all traffic laws. I can think of no action or behaviour that I had taken that might have provoked a driver to attempt to push me off the road, leaving their own lane to do so. The fact that it appeared as though a professional Calgary Transit driver did so is extremely disturbing.

I am extremely concerned about this kind of behaviour. This is now the second time that my life has felt threatened by Calgary Transit drivers.

Unfortunately, at the time of the incident, I was too shaken to remember the bus ID number. It was a #37, traveling north along Scurfield Drive at 5:18pm on Friday April 4.

If there is anything I can do to help ensure that this kind of incident isn’t repeated, please let me know. I couldn’t find anything on the Calgary Transit website about filing a formal complaint, but am interested in doing so if such a process exists.

Getting up, I shared some pleasantries with the driver (a profound “WHAT THE *ahem* ARE YOU DOING? *jebus* *cripes*!”) I pulled the bike off to the sidewalk to inspect the damage, and everything looked OK. I thanked the driver for his care and attention, and continued riding home.

This incident brought home three things for me.

1. assume every car on the road is full of braindead cretins hellbent on your destruction.
2. assume every car on the road is about to open its doors.
3. claim the lane. don’t ride so far to the right that an open door will kill you.

For the rest of the ride home, I tried to remember to claim the lane. It’s harder than it sounds. Riding in the lane, rather than along the edge. It’s intimidating, picturing traffic piling up behind. I was able to keep pretty close to traffic speeds, so that wasn’t a problem (except on a couple of uphill stretches). But, I’m going to keep claiming the lane.

I stopped a few km later to inspect the bike. There was no real damage, except for a chunk smashed off the rear fender from when it bounced off a car. Nothing fatal, but I’ll want to fill the gap so when riding in rain I don’t get a rooster tail.

Things could have ended so much differently. If I had failed to react, or if I’d been only a few mm to the right, I’d have had at the least a smashed right hand. At the worst, I’d have taken the full impact on his door with my head, or bounced off the taxi.

Update: It didn’t dawn on me until later that evening, but of the dozen or so cars stopped at the red light when I got doored, not a single person got out to see if I was OK. The driver that doored me asked “are you ok?” as he closed his door, but not a single person got out. Are people so insulated in their cars that they just don’t care? Did it all happen so quickly that they didn’t have a chance to snap out of their commuter comas in order to react?

Not a single person. This city can kiss me where I don’t have a tan.

The year’s riding started while on Maui, when I rode about 60 miles down Haleakala – starting at over 10,000′ and descending to near sea level. As I rode through the year, it’s like a switch got thrown – I wasn’t making myself ride my bike to work, it was just how I got around. I didn’t have to give it much thought. And, because I was riding on my commute, I was making far more time for exercise than I could have otherwise (with a family at home that needs attention as well) – but because I have to spend time getting to and from work, it was really simple to just convert that into some great exercise. I wound up losing almost 20 pounds of flab without really trying, and without paying any attention to what I was eating.

The season’s almost over for the year (never thought I’d be thinking the season wasn’t officially over at the end of November!) and I know I’m going to miss it during the deep winter months. I’ll try to ride earlier in the season – maybe starting in March 2008? All I need is a pair of waterproof riding pants, and I’m good to ride through the spring rainy season…

There are a few sections of my ride that have to cross or follow relatively major streets, and that’s where things get a bit interesting. The worst street I ride on is 32 Ave, between the fire hall and the University. It’s only about 4 blocks, but it’s by FAR the scariest part of my ride. I’ve lost track of the number of times I’ve been almost run off the road by aggressive and dangerous drivers – occasionally with undergrads gleefully shouting “get a car!” (btw, I have a car. a pretty nice one. I leave it at home so my family is mobile – I choose not to drive to work). On this stretch of road, I’ve been nearly run over by Hummers, Escalades, giant monster pickup trucks, city buses, and puny foul-belching shitboxes driven by students.

After 32 Ave, the rest of the ride is pretty tame. Even crossing Nose Hill Drive is pretty simple, given enough patience (I did something REALLY stupid at that crossing early in the year, and almost got creamed as a result. now I’m perfectly happy to wait patiently for a break in traffic before crossing, rather than trying to aggressively steamroll through).

One thing I’ve come to realize is that there are 3 basic types of drivers in Calgary.

1. safe, friendly, and courteous
2. mildly dangerous, oblivious morons
3. completely dangerous, aggressive assholes

Unfortunately, the ratio seems to be roughly 1:100:10, with morons outnumbering assholes, who in turn greatly outnumber the safe drivers. There are some really great people out there, who are aware that there are people outside the boundaries of their SUVs or minivans, and work with the bike riders to make things go smoothly. Then, there are the complete assholes, who blow aneurysms if they have to let off the gas pedal for more than 1 second, and drop the hammer to accelerate as fast as they can as they pass a bike. They have no problem with cutting off a bike, or crossing traffic to get in front of them. I had one Hummer H2 accelerate around a corner, passing me on the right, then gunning it to turn left directly in front of me (without signaling or braking around the corner). I almost caught up to that one, but he got away. Probably for the best, since I’m not sure what I would have said to Asshole Hummer Driver if I managed to catch up to him on my bike.

I’m not sure most drivers are aware of what to do when they encounter a bicycle on the street. Some just choose to ignore it, resulting in close calls and dangerous situations for the bike. Some want to give as much room as possible – even if it means crossing the solid line into oncoming traffic to avoid getting close to the bike. It seems like many drivers don’t have an awareness of the size of their vehicle – they aren’t sure how much room they need to give to avoid hitting a bike, so they just give as much as possible. That is almost as scary as a close call, because the bike rider isn’t sure what the driver is going to do (are they going to pop back over quickly? are they going to see that car coming toward them and then freak out?) It’s best to just give a bit of room without going overboard. On most streets, there is ample room for parked cars, bikes, and a car, as long as everyone is aware of their surroundings.

And cell phones. Jebus. Can we PLEASE pass some legislation to ban their use while driving? Again, I’ve lost track of the number of times I’ve been nearly killed by drivers who have a phone wedged against their head, driving with one hand (or less, sometimes! I’ve actually seen a driver with cell phone in one hand and a Starbuck’s coffee in the other, trying to work the steering wheel with a free finger!) and not paying attention to the world outside their monster trucks (or SUVs, or minivans). I think I need a Make: project to build a cell phone jammer to stick on my bike…

In September, I picked up a new bike – a 2008 Kona Dew FS hybrid commuter – and that completely changed how I thought about the ride. I’ll write up a post reviewing that bike when I get a chance. In short: I LOVE IT. Before, on my heavy decade-old Sport Check special Scott Head mountain bike, I’d have to be careful because I couldn’t trust the bike (would the gears shift when I needed them, or wait a minute to pop in after I was up/down the hill? would the chain throw as it shifted? I actually threw a chain going up a hill once, and it got pulled through the spokes yanking a couple out). Now, I trust my bike, and it’s so much easier to ride with the giant 700c wheels and 27 speeds. Over the last couple of months, I’ve chosen to ride a longer route because it’s so much more fun to ride. It takes me a little longer than the short route, but I get to ride along the river valley instead of through suburbia. Calgary’s got a really nice bike path system, along a gorgeous river valley. It’s great to be able to take advantage of that. The quiet streets in Scenic Acres and Varsity are a pleasure to ride, and there are always people out walking along the pathway making it feel like a nice and welcoming community.

The city is in a constant state of construction. The northwest has been under continual road construction for the last few years. It’s for the best, in the long term, as eventually the LRT will come to within a few blocks of my house. In the meantime, crews are working on major intersections, including the main entrance to my community. When they’re working on the street, they’re careful to reserve open lanes so traffic can get through. But, when working on the pedestrian bike path, they just blockade it. Find another way. No entrance. Of course, none of the bike commuters pay attention to the signs – we all just continue through the construction zone, going slowly and carefully to watch out for open pits and moving equipment (I was chased up the hill by a dump truck one morning – fun way to start the ride). Hopefully the construction gets completed over the winter, or they recognize that this is the only way for bike commuters to get into the community, unless they want to ride on the major ring road that Stoney Trail has become. I sure don’t want to ride on Stoney. I’d rather risk a showdown with a bulldozer than try to ride with the convoys of speeding dump trucks and monster SUVs racing up and down Stoney…

Another thing I’ve noticed, and I’m not sure if it’s a valid observation or something clouded by my zero-carbon-emissions smugness. The likelihood of a vehicle displaying a yellow “support our troops” sticker/ribbon seems to be directly proportional to the size of the vehicle. I haven’t seen one on a Prius. Only a handful on small cars. And on a sizable proportion of giant pickup trucks, SUVs, and larger vehicles. I’m wondering if it’s tied more to political leanings (are individuals in the right wing more likely to a) drive larger vehicles and b) want to show support for the troops) or to the price of gas (are individuals who drive gas guzzlers more likely to support the troops that are fighting for cheaper oil?)

The bicycle commuting community, for whatever reason, has a bit of a “small town” feel to it. If I stop on the path to take a photograph or stow a jacket, I’ll almost certainly be asked by a passing bike rider if everything’s OK, and can they help. If I was driving a car, and pulled over to the side (say, to talk on a cell phone) I’d likely risk some road rage. Completely different feel. Is it something about removing the protective shell of a vehicle and placing a person back into their environment? Is it the slower pace of a bike, as compared with a car on a freeway? is it something about the type of person that is inclined to ride a bike? Regardless, it gives me hope that people in this city are still good, and that it’s possible to recapture some civility. Maybe if everyone rode their bikes…

I picked up a bike computer on the weekend, so I don't have to track stuff manually (or through my blog). It turns out that the ride is actually farther than what Google Earth calculated. It's just a hair over 13km, as opposed to the 12.54km I'd thought it was.