can't help it: from cyclist's perspective/bikeability when visiting new places

[shootingstar]

You know you've crossed the threshold of cycling embedded into your life/lifestyle:

When you visit a new city, region, or country, you can't help but start to casually assess a place for cycling/bikeability. The quality and grades of the roads/paths, traffic patterns, places for cyclists to easily stop to do stuff and whether or not, there any signs of people cycling around or walking casually around with their bikes.

And I'm talking about just walking around a place or being in a car.



*In Toronto, a place I just returned from visiting (and once lived for 25 yrs.), now only visit once a year --it's really noticeable the volume of cyclists has increased. Bike racks usually completely or half full downtown, lots of non-spandex folks on bikes (a real indicator of some culture change).

*And looking at photos of Montreal where dearie was a few days ago: I had forgotten how walkable and bikeable it was in the core of the city. (And how European in ambience/architecture.)

*In a suburban city 30 km. west of Toronto, where I visited a friend, I couldn't help but assess the distance of friend's neighbourhood from lakefront bike-path, commuter train station, stores, etc.

*And even where I live, new neighbourhoods where I've never cycled, my brain can't help but wonder where can cyclists safely bike, can park their bike, etc.

I wonder if I will ever lose that perspective.

[Bike Writer]

It's so true, I find myself doing something similar. Since I've started biking a few years ago I really pay attention and notice other bicis and considering the municipal background I really pay attention to infrastructure.

[emily_in_nc]

Absolutely - we do the same thing everywhere we go!

[shootingstar]

Have also been curious about the city where I grew up.. in terms of local cycling. It may be slightly more representative (sort of). A medium-sized city by now (100,000), with 2 universities and a college.

But still, I was dismayed after they redesigned the downtown core (we lived a 10 min. away from it) in the past decade, to be more pedestrian friendly, etc., it doesn't look like it's encouraging much change in that way nor for cyclists. Aerial shots of huge freakin' parking lots downtown from local advocacy group.

Horrible that I am...but I now judge "progress" of a city/town for its walkability at the very least. (Cycleability is still a stretch for many places in North America.)

[colorisnt]

I usually do this now. I definitely did this in Manchester when I was there this summer. I went to bike shops, looked at cyclists going around in the rain, asked about transportation options. Buses accept bikes no problem. Bike lanes and paths are very common and it's rather flat. If you can handle the weather, it looks awesome. Ottawa was another place I really looked at (mainly because if I moved somewhere, it'd be Canada). Lots and LOTS of paths, tons of cyclists, bike parking, bike share, you name it. I am going up there for work in a week and a half and I'm psyched. Bringing the bike! Also gonna ride in Toronto (less bike-friendly but also fun). Can't wait to do the path around the canal in Ottawa and cross over into QC just to say I've ridden "across" province!

[shootingstar]

Hope you enjoy Ottawa...I've been there twice by bike and also cycled in the Gatineau area. If at all possible, consider Montreal.

Where in Toronto will you be staying, colorisnt?

[colorisnt]

Shootingstar,

Yeah I always love Ottawa. A lot of people hate on it but I enjoy the Anglophone-meets-Francophone flexibility up there. Plus, I'm a doctoral student studying Canadian public policy so it's a playground. I will "force" myself to ride to Gatineau and buy pastries and speak French (even if it takes me a long time to get what people are saying due to accents). I know I can always fall back in and out of English but the people in that area are so fun to talk to. It's good to refresh my memory once a year with a Francophone trip. Last year, I was in Rwanda doing fieldwork. I am never done with French! I would love to get up to Montreal this time but I am hoping the people I will meet with will give me another chance to come back longer-term with funding so I am praying I can make another trip out of this. As it stands, I am going to Stouffville to meet a friend and her parents at their property out there. Staying there and then leaving for Ottawa for a couple of days, and then hitting Toronto proper to stay with friends on the way back. One of them is a cyclist who is going to show me around. Then, I'm stopping in London on the way back to my parents' to meet with another academic at Western.

I always have loved Canada since I was a kid and this year my team is in the finals for the Cup. I am hoping for a game 6 on top of ALL of this so I get to root for my Hawks at a proper hockey bar. It's gonna be a fun, crazy, and cheap trip. I'm really in need of a break and I will get data as well as good company and riding in on this trip. Usually, I fly. This time I'm taking the plunge and driving so I can stop more places and bring the bike!

[shootingstar]

Shootingstar,

Yeah I always love Ottawa. A lot of people hate on it but I enjoy the Anglophone-meets-Francophone flexibility up there. Plus, I'm a doctoral student studying Canadian public policy so it's a playground. I will "force" myself to ride to Gatineau and buy pastries and speak French (even if it takes me a long time to get what people are saying due to accents). I know I can always fall back in and out of English but the people in that area are so fun to talk to. It's good to refresh my memory once a year with a Francophone trip. Last year, I was in Rwanda doing fieldwork. I am never done with French! I would love to get up to Montreal this time but I am hoping the people I will meet with will give me another chance to come back longer-term with funding so I am praying I can make another trip out of this. As it stands, I am going to Stouffville to meet a friend and her parents at their property out there. Staying there and then leaving for Ottawa for a couple of days, and then hitting Toronto proper to stay with friends on the way back. One of them is a cyclist who is going to show me around. Then, I'm stopping in London on the way back to my parents' to meet with another academic at Western.

I always have loved Canada since I was a kid and this year my team is in the finals for the Cup. I am hoping for a game 6 on top of ALL of this so I get to root for my Hawks at a proper hockey bar. It's gonna be a fun, crazy, and cheap trip. I'm really in need of a break and I will get data as well as good company and riding in on this trip. Usually, I fly. This time I'm taking the plunge and driving so I can stop more places and bring the bike!

Stouffeville, a suburban place north of Toronto is a different place. I went to Western/UWO for my 2 degrees. (Frankly, they shouldn't have rebranded it to just Western. Too meaningless...just an adjective.) I didn't have a bike (because I couldn't afford it), when I went to school at London (ON). But I understand from a cycling advocate who has family there, that London has some great bike routes. It must be through the park system by the Thames River, in Springbank, etc. Across Canada, from the broad cycling advocacy community, one does not hear about London's cycling effort at all.

Living in Toronto at the time, I was never under the impression that people disliked Ottawa. At least Torontonians appreciated Ottawa's cycling routes. They just found the city more quieter than Toronto...which it is. In Toronto, I did work for 2 provincial govn't organizations (one of them the courts), so there was higher level of awareness of English-French bilingualism.

[Crankin]

I do the same thing, ShootingStar. We always visit bike shops when on vacation.
The most interesting was in Siena, Italy. We were going to rent bikes for a day and it was going to be cold in the morning, so DH wanted to buy some toe covers. We went to a shop outside the walled city (not where we rented the bikes). Thankfully our son was with us, as we were there to visit him when he spent a semester there, because he was able to talk to the owner and his wife in Italian. This couple was like 80 years old and took us in the back and showed us pictures of him racing back in the 40s.
Last summer when we were in Seattle, I marveled at the ability of the riders to come to a stop and take off on those 20% grade hills downtown.

[colorisnt]

Stouffeville, a suburban place north of Toronto is a different place. I went to Western/UWO for my 2 degrees. (Frankly, they shouldn't have rebranded it to just Western. Too meaningless...just an adjective.) I didn't have a bike (because I couldn't afford it), when I went to school at London (ON). But I understand from a cycling advocate who has family there, that London has some great bike routes. It must be through the park system by the Thames River, in Springbank, etc. Across Canada, from the broad cycling advocacy community, one does not hear about London's cycling effort at all.

Living in Toronto at the time, I was never under the impression that people disliked Ottawa. At least Torontonians appreciated Ottawa's cycling routes. They just found the city more quieter than Toronto...which it is. In Toronto, I did work for 2 provincial govn't organizations (one of them the courts), so there was higher level of awareness of English-French bilingualism.

Haha yes, S-ville is where my friend's parents have retired and they keep her horses there. She lives in downtown with a bunch of people who can show me around. I'm stopping there to see her new place on the way back and going to her parent's place on the way up. It's a beautiful, quite property and we camped there last time. I also saw Peterborough, too, when I was there last time because she had previously been a student at Trent.

Maybe people from Toronto don't hate on it much but every American I come across that has a contact with Canada seems to hate on it. It's a lot nicer than D.C., IMO. Way more walker-friendly and people actually live there. I know there is a lot more cycling in D.C. these days but I still don't think it matches up with what they have up there. Capital cities are not all created equally for cycling, apparently. I wish I had more time to spend in London but, again, I'm just headed up there for a stop-off meeting over lunch this time. Fingers crossed I will be in Ontario more permanently in a year or so. Good to hear, though. And the name change throws me and other academics off, too, because I still call it the University of Western Ontario colloquially. Glad to see an alum from there saying the same because it still confuses me. My parents call it UWO or University of Western Ontario so I think that's why I say it. They used to camp up there a lot and go up to Statford and seem to remember cycling up there a lot but that was a LONG time ago so I took it with a grain of salt.

[tulip]

Maybe people from Toronto don't hate on it much but every American I come across that has a contact with Canada seems to hate on it. It's a lot nicer than D.C., IMO. Way more walker-friendly and people actually live there. I know there is a lot more cycling in D.C. these days but I still don't think it matches up with what they have up there. Capital cities are not all created equally for cycling, apparently.

I like Ottawa. I've ridden from Ottawa to Quebec City; it's a beautiful ride and I highly recommend it. One does need to be able to speak French in Quebec, however. At least get the basics and try. Nothing worse than people not even learning the very basics and not even trying!

As for your comment about DC, that is unfair. People--lots of people--live there and have for generations. It's a real city. Next time you go, go check out the different wards and neighborhoods. It's a really great place to live, although it's pretty much unaffordable. I cycled there 12 years ago when I lived there and it was on a bike that I learned so much about the city. Now there are bike lanes and many bicyclists, which is great for DC and great for bicyclists.

Having been a cyclist for over 30 years, I have always looked at cities with a cylist's eye. I'm glad to say that more and more cities are becoming walkable and bicycle-friendly.

[colorisnt]

I didn't think DC was the most bike friendly place but this was way prior to commuting. Didn't live there. It's just very different from Ottawa for me. It was also a long time ago. My parents were recently there and said they saw a lot more biking infrastructure this time and now riding by bike is the "cool" thing to do so transit is having a hard time keeping up with options. They seemed impressed. I just didn't see a lot of people living there. Granted, I was talking to bureaucrats - a lot of people who live in NoVa and MD not D.C. proper. Coming from the suburbs myself, I didn't consider these to be parts of DC but the surrounding area. Did not mean any offense by that. That was just my experience as a person visiting and talking to people who worked at various agencies.

I would LOVE to ride from Ottawa to QC. I know you don't have to speak French but I force myself to try because if you don't use it, you lose it and I really have to learn how to listen for different accents. It's good for my brain even if I feel nervous doing it! I don't get much practice living in Missouri, unfortunately. I would love to venture further out into the province but just don't have the time right now. So many places I want to bike!