Cycling in Canada

[Good Baklava]

Originally Posted by Franco401

Where?

Nationwide, the announcement was made in Halifax though.

[jamincan]

Does anyone else follow World Tour racing? It has been absolutely bonkers from opening weekend. Some of the best racing I've ever seen and with some of the most exciting riders we've seen in ages. It's almost certainly too good to be true, but boy has the racing been fantastic.

[Airboy]

Originally Posted by jamincan

Does anyone else follow World Tour racing? It has been absolutely bonkers from opening weekend. Some of the best racing I've ever seen and with some of the most exciting riders we've seen in ages. It's almost certainly too good to be true, but boy has the racing been fantastic.

Interesting the most powerful guys right now are cyclocross racers.

And the strade bianche finish. 1400 wats of power up that hill.

[jamincan]

Originally Posted by Airboy

Interesting the most powerful guys right now are cyclocross racers.

And the strade bianche finish. 1400 wats of power up that hill.

Talking about Strade, the front group - that unbelievably good front good group - all had off-road racing background except (as far as I know) Michael Gogl.

Name          Best Off-road Result
------------  ---------------------------------
van der Poel  4x and reigning CX World Champion
Alaphilippe   1x 2nd CX Jr World Championships
Bernal        1x 2nd XCO Jr World Championship
Van Aert      3x CX World Champion
Pidcock       1x 2nd CX World Championship
Gogl
Pogacar       1x CX Slovenian Champion

[Airboy]

Originally Posted by jamincan

Talking about Strade, the front group - that unbelievably good front good group - all had off-road racing background except (as far as I know) Michael Gogl.

Name          Best Off-road Result
------------  ---------------------------------
van der Poel  4x and reigning CX World Champion
Alaphilippe   1x 2nd CX Jr World Championships
Bernal        1x 2nd XCO Jr World Championship
Van Aert      3x CX World Champion
Pidcock       1x 2nd CX World Championship
Gogl
Pogacar       1x CX Slovenian Champion

And you have Skabar racing Paris Nice.

[Airboy]

And some Sunday Gravel again.
[IMG]2021-03-15_01-21-04 by [url=https://www.flickr.com/photos/[/url], on Flickr[/IMG]
[IMG]2021-03-15_01-20-48 by [url=https://www.flickr.com/photos/[/url], on Flickr[/IMG]
[IMG]2021-03-15_01-20-30 by [url=https://www.flickr.com/photos/[/url], on Flickr[/IMG]

[Airboy]

Another great weekend for riding, although Sunday was cool and windy, but still sunny. Total ride for the weekend was 130kms. So feeling it today.

Had a brush with 2 cars Saturday. Video looks real close. Posted to social media since the RCMP are useless in dealing with it.

[rousseau]

I honestly don't get the appeal of gravel riding. I understand wanting to ride trails on a mountain bike (though it's not for me), but gravel just seems like an annoyance.

Is it mostly about getting onto roads with less traffic? I suppose I get that, then. I think I'm lucky where I am, as the paved concessions out in the countryside aren't well travelled, so you get all the isolation and safety you want along with the speed and comfort of asphalt.

Edit: Is that a Hammerhead cyclocomputer?

[Airboy]

Originally Posted by rousseau

I honestly don't get the appeal of gravel riding. I understand wanting to ride trails on a mountain bike (though it's not for me), but gravel just seems like an annoyance.

Is it mostly about getting onto roads with less traffic? I suppose I get that, then. I think I'm lucky where I am, as the paved concessions out in the countryside aren't well travelled, so you get all the isolation and safety you want along with the speed and comfort of asphalt.

Edit: Is that a Hammerhead cyclocomputer?

Gravel gives us one more way to get out. We have quite a few paved roads but this just opens up an incredible amount of riding. The Alberta Gravel facebook group has some pretty spectacular rides posted. Most peope I know have a bike for every situation so we can change it up quick. I started MTB in about 83 , Gravel is similar to that but the bikes are faster. And No one is trying to kill you. They slow down and wave.

Yes that's a Hamerhead, The Karoo2. Have had them since they first started and can say I will not go back to Garmin.

Hopefully the link below works.
https://upride.cc/incident/wait-for-...dDHQDNOlFU01vc
[IMG]2021-03-22_12-34-16 by [url=https://www.flickr.com/photos/[/url], on Flickr[/IMG]
[IMG]2021-03-22_12-34-29 by [url=https://www.flickr.com/photos/[/url], on Flickr[/IMG]

[rousseau]

Originally Posted by Airboy

And No one is trying to kill you. They slow down and wave.

I only ever take gravel roads for one concession in between asphalt, probably once every three or four rides, but none of the farm boys in their jacked up pickups ever slow down for me. In fact, I always consciously shut my mouth to keep dust and potential gravel out of my throat.

Originally Posted by Airboy

Yes that's a Hamerhead, The Karoo2. Have had them since they first started and can say I will not go back to Garmin.

I just got the Karoo1 from someone who upgraded to the new Karoo2. It's funny how massive it is, but I love it and will not go back to Garmin either.

[Airboy]

Originally Posted by rousseau

I only ever take gravel roads for one concession in between asphalt, probably once every three or four rides, but none of the farm boys in their jacked up pickups ever slows down for me. In fact, I always consciously shut my mouth to keep dust and potential gravel out of my throat.


I just got the Karoo1 from someone who upgraded to the new Karoo2. It's funny how massive it is, but I love it and will not go back to Garmin either.

The 2 is the size of a 1030 Garmin.

Nice part, I can send the old one back for a discount on the new one. (They say, use the new one for a while then send the old one back).

[VANRIDERFAN]

Originally Posted by rousseau

I only ever take gravel roads for one concession in between asphalt, probably once every three or four rides, but none of the farm boys in their jacked up pickups ever slow down for me. In fact, I always consciously shut my mouth to keep dust and potential gravel out of my throat.


I just got the Karoo1 from someone who upgraded to the new Karoo2. It's funny how massive it is, but I love it and will not go back to Garmin either.

We're friendlier out west!

[hipster duck]

Originally Posted by rousseau

I honestly don't get the appeal of gravel riding. I understand wanting to ride trails on a mountain bike (though it's not for me), but gravel just seems like an annoyance.

Is it mostly about getting onto roads with less traffic? I suppose I get that, then. I think I'm lucky where I am, as the paved concessions out in the countryside aren't well travelled, so you get all the isolation and safety you want along with the speed and comfort of asphalt.

Edit: Is that a Hammerhead cyclocomputer?

In Southern Ontario there are hundreds of gravel rail trails that you can do touring vacations along. Some of them go substantial distances and you get to see scenery that you wouldn’t see otherwise.

If I ever do another big bike splurge, I’m wondering if I should get a road bike or buy a decent gravel bike like the Bombtrack Arise that I can use for some light touring.

[Nashe]

My first tiny equipment check ride last night (10k). Trails are still muddy so didn't go there. Stuck to the streets and it was really nice to get out again.

Commuted to work this morning for the first time this season, too. Weather won't likely hold for the WHOLE week, but I'm sure I'll be doing 4-5 days a week in April.

Originally Posted by hipster duck

If I ever do another big bike splurge, I’m wondering if I should get a road bike or buy a decent gravel bike like the Bombtrack Arise that I can use for some light touring.

I picked up a lightly used (demo) Felt Broam 40 last fall. Love its versatility.

[jamincan]

Where you are in S. Ontario, rousseau, gravel is pretty much for the sake of encountering fewer cars. But you've ridden a few rail trails and I don't think you can argue you'd get the same experience on asphalt roads. You'd never experience something like the Cambridge-Paris rail trail, winding alongside a river for kilometers on end.

All that said, the thing I really love about gravel riding is the adventure/exploration aspect of it. It's not just riding gravel roads; it's venturing onto trails, heading down unmaintained road allowances, fording streams - basically finding the path less travelled and seeing where it takes you. I've been on some spectacular rides - I especially love Dufferin County - that you just couldn't come close to experiencing on a road bike.

[J.OT13]

Bike networks in four of Canada's largest cities.








https://twitter.com/HansontheBike/st...45337907777549

[MonkeyRonin]

Any idea how old those are or what their criteria is? I see a lot of bike lanes missing from the Toronto map.

[Acajack]

Originally Posted by jamincan

Where you are in S. Ontario, rousseau, gravel is pretty much for the sake of encountering fewer cars. But you've ridden a few rail trails and I don't think you can argue you'd get the same experience on asphalt roads. You'd never experience something like the Cambridge-Paris rail trail, winding alongside a river for kilometers on end.

All that said, the thing I really love about gravel riding is the adventure/exploration aspect of it. It's not just riding gravel roads; it's venturing onto trails, heading down unmaintained road allowances, fording streams - basically finding the path less travelled and seeing where it takes you. I've been on some spectacular rides - I especially love Dufferin County - that you just couldn't come close to experiencing on a road bike.

Sorry if someone has mentioned this before, but I think there might be a bit of confusion between gravel roads (larger stones) and fine gravel trails.

I'd agree fine gravel trails are very nice to ride on - even better than asphalt as generally (well, if you're lucky) there are no cracks or holes.

Gravel roads are a totally different story and are even pretty dangerous unless you have fairly large tires on your bike.

I have a hybrid and so my tires are not skinny but not thick either. It's no fun on gravel roads, which I avoid if I am in areas where there are a lot of them.

[Nashe]

Originally Posted by Acajack

Sorry if someone has mentioned this before, but I think there might be a bit of confusion between gravel roads (larger stones) and fine gravel trails.

Sometimes we even get confused when we head out to them. All of these pics were from the same ride.









I didn't expect the 6" deep puddles or the rocks on that slope. Most of the riding was like the first picture. That said, a lot of gravel bikes are so light that "portaging" around the deeper water is a breeze.

I run 700x40 Maxxis Re-Fuse Silkworms and yup, they're slippery on mud, but if you go slow, it's surprising what the adventure frame can eat up.

[rousseau]

Originally Posted by jamincan

Where you are in S. Ontario, rousseau, gravel is pretty much for the sake of encountering fewer cars. But you've ridden a few rail trails and I don't think you can argue you'd get the same experience on asphalt roads. You'd never experience something like the Cambridge-Paris rail trail, winding alongside a river for kilometers on end.

All that said, the thing I really love about gravel riding is the adventure/exploration aspect of it. It's not just riding gravel roads; it's venturing onto trails, heading down unmaintained road allowances, fording streams - basically finding the path less travelled and seeing where it takes you. I've been on some spectacular rides - I especially love Dufferin County - that you just couldn't come close to experiencing on a road bike.

Yeah, I see now. I guess it's just not for me, save for the odd rail trial ride. For me, the speed and meditative nature of a road bike on asphalt is the ne plus ultra of the cycling experience.

Which is harder to appreciate if you're on a road with too many motorists, I admit.