Ride the Road Tour

On June 5, W & I attended the Ride the Road Tour. It was an organized bike ride through the streets of downtown and surrounding areas - however, we had a police escort that basically closed the streets to vehicular traffic in order for us to pass through. As a result, we got to cycle some busy streets that many people might not normally have the courage to ride on!

The ride started at Stanley Park and went through Elbow Park, Mission, Beltline, around the downtown core, then to Inglewood, Ramsay, past the Union Cemetery and the industrial park, then back to Stanley Park. I'm not sure what the exact distance was, but it was maybe around 15km. The ride itself was nice and leisurely and took us about an hour to complete.

Stanley Park is far from where we live so we took the train:

We met up with Daorcey and Natalie and headed to the meeting spot at Stanley Park before heading out on the road. We figured there were about 150 people on this ride!

Cycling down Elbow Drive. Crazy!

Here I am with Natalie. Note my slouchy Po Campo bag. I can't seem to figure out a good way to anchor it onto my rack without it wanting to slump to one side. Oh well, it stays on but looks a little precarious.

More pics of us on streets that I would not normally want to ride on due to crazy traffic:

Made some bikey friends but I'm terrible and forgot their names! They had beautiful bikes and we had a great conversation about biking in the city, the (slowly) changing attitude towards active transportation, and other events around the city to raise awareness (like the monthly Critical Mass rides). Here we are, so caught up in conversation that we drifted way to the back of the pack:

Traffic stopped on Macleod Trail for us to pass through:

And back to Stanley Park:

Then the four of us left and had a delicious greasy lunch at Broken City.

All in all, it was a tremendously fun day. To be honest, I was a little apprehensive about the police escort - I was unsure how we would be received when motorists had to stop what they were doing to let us through. However, I didn't notice any hostility (not blatant hostility, anyway) and many of the curious people along our path waved at us.

In any case, it was an excellent opportunity to see what it's like to ride around the city. Obviously the police escort amps up the safety factor, but there are many safe and efficient ways to get around. From the turnout at this event, it's clear there is growing interest in cycling in Calgary. This all closely coincided with the release of the City of Calgary's Cycling Strategy - hopefully more good things come our way!

Dutch Bike Co. Chicago & Po Campo

A few weeks ago, W was in Chicago and stopped at Dutch Bike Co. Chicago:

He says it's a great atmosphere with friendly and knowledgeable staff (thanks to Vince for all his help!). I wish I had been there with him... seems like a fantastic store with lots of excellent products like these Workcycles:

I love those Brooks saddles. W came home with a B67 for his Brodie. And he also got a little something for me - a lovely rack tote from Po Campo! These bags are designed in Chicago; it's nice to support local businesses. Here is the front view (note the reflective strip along the side - nice touch):

And the back, with a small pocket for your phone or whatever else you need to keep handy:

Beautiful leather details:

The handles close together with magnets. The zippered main compartment is lined in a lovely purple fabric:

The interior is very roomy - more than enough room for anything I'd need to bring with me on a daily basis. It has one of those small flat zippered pockets that I never know what to do with, but maybe one day I'll have something to put in there. I personally prefer little pockets for stuff like lipgloss, keys, and whatever else I don't want to dig around for, but it's not a big deal at all. I usually end up putting those kind of things in another smaller bag and stashing that inside my purse so it's all together and easier to find. And there is also that handy little pocket on the outside of the bag for those kind of things so I guess I'm really reaching to find anything remotely negative about this bag (it's extremely difficult!!). I didn't take pictures, but I can fit my wallet, phone, sunglasses, lock, tire kit, a book or magazine, and a snack - with plenty of room to spare.

I love the details and practicality of this bag.  In order to attach the bag to your rack, you unclip the straps from the front of the bag, loop them under your rack, clip the straps back to the bag, and tighten them to secure. I think newer versions of the bag also have rack straps on the sides of the bag for further security, which I would have liked, but we'll see how this one does for now. The shoulder strap is also detachable but I think I would generally keep it on. You can also clip a light onto the reflective side loops. The fabric is water-resistant - I'd definitely leave this bag at home on rainy or snowy rides but it does seem to be durable enough for most conditions. I'll post another review once I've had more time to really see it in action. All in all, a very functional but stylish bag. Beats having a sweaty back.

The obligatory inspection by Yoshi:

He tried to climb inside of it, so that means he approves.