What streets do you like to ride on?
#51
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Side streets to get away from the cars
https://www.google.com/maps/@34.0304...edzd7VyIKg!2e0
You guys have some nice wallpaper material out there! With silky smooth asphalt that would be good enough for a racetrack .
https://www.google.com/maps/@34.0304...edzd7VyIKg!2e0
You guys have some nice wallpaper material out there! With silky smooth asphalt that would be good enough for a racetrack .
#52
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\
So it is a trick of camera angle. That makes more sense.
BTW -- there are a few roads not that far from here that present the same illusion to people riding on them. You'll be riding down what seems to be a long shallow grade, and struggling to maintain speed. I've gotten off and checked my bike a few times, but finally learned the secret by going the other way and coasting up.
So it is a trick of camera angle. That makes more sense.
BTW -- there are a few roads not that far from here that present the same illusion to people riding on them. You'll be riding down what seems to be a long shallow grade, and struggling to maintain speed. I've gotten off and checked my bike a few times, but finally learned the secret by going the other way and coasting up.
One street with such an invisible grade (E. Michigan Ave.) happens to be one of my favorite streets to ride on. It's five-lane arterial with metered parking on both sides, but the right lane is fairly wide. The speed limit is 30 to 35, so it's not at all scary. (No bike lanes) It has some cool things along it like good restaurants, coffee shops, and a great independent bookstore. Also "The Ave." links Lansing and East Lansing, and runs past a huge university campus. Riding west, you see the state Capitol building at the end of the Ave. along it's entire run.
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Last edited by Roody; 06-09-14 at 11:18 PM.
#53
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This is Hwy 93 between Castle Mountain and Radium Hotsprings.
Castle Mountain is on the intersection of the Bow Valley Parkway (1A) and Hwy 93. This highway crosses a bridge, goes over the TransCanada Highway, and then starts to climb. You climb for the next 8 km or so, with steep bits going up to 8% ... then you descend a bit, and bottom out on the valley floor where you follow the river for some time. You climb again toward the end, and then you are treated to a terrifying curvy 11% descent into Radium Hotsprings.
That photo was taken partway up that first 8 km climb.
This road is about 100 km long and remote. You can get supplies at Castle Mountain ... then again halfway along at Vermillion ... and finally at Radium. There is no phone service along the road ... no land lines, no mobile. So if you're going to ride it, you do need to plan ahead. I have never seen that road busy, but some people say they have ... all in the timing, I guess.
I've cycled it twice as Day 1 of the Golden Triangle Tour put on by Calgary's Elbow Valley Cycle Club (an excellent tour ... highly recommended), and several times as part of randonnees, including one night journey from Radium back to Castle Mountain.
Castle Mountain is on the intersection of the Bow Valley Parkway (1A) and Hwy 93. This highway crosses a bridge, goes over the TransCanada Highway, and then starts to climb. You climb for the next 8 km or so, with steep bits going up to 8% ... then you descend a bit, and bottom out on the valley floor where you follow the river for some time. You climb again toward the end, and then you are treated to a terrifying curvy 11% descent into Radium Hotsprings.
That photo was taken partway up that first 8 km climb.
This road is about 100 km long and remote. You can get supplies at Castle Mountain ... then again halfway along at Vermillion ... and finally at Radium. There is no phone service along the road ... no land lines, no mobile. So if you're going to ride it, you do need to plan ahead. I have never seen that road busy, but some people say they have ... all in the timing, I guess.
I've cycled it twice as Day 1 of the Golden Triangle Tour put on by Calgary's Elbow Valley Cycle Club (an excellent tour ... highly recommended), and several times as part of randonnees, including one night journey from Radium back to Castle Mountain.
Something for the bucket list, I guess!
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This is a collection of photos of the roads and scenery on Hwy 11, the Icefield Parkway, and the Golden Triangle route.
https://www.flickr.com/photos/machka...7619203595712/
Most of the roads in that part of the world are good. The shoulders on the Icefield Parkway do get a little broken up and bumpy from the erosion and traffic, but the scenery is worth it, and the best times to go are late May/early June or late August/early September when there aren't so many tourists around.
These are all Hwy 11 ...
https://www.flickr.com/photos/machka...7619203595712/
Most of the roads in that part of the world are good. The shoulders on the Icefield Parkway do get a little broken up and bumpy from the erosion and traffic, but the scenery is worth it, and the best times to go are late May/early June or late August/early September when there aren't so many tourists around.
These are all Hwy 11 ...
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#55
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Shouldn't those sheep have their own lane?
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Actually, it's not bad in that part of the world. There's more of an awareness and there's not much traffic. What you see in the photo is a traffic jam.
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#59
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So it is a trick of camera angle. That makes more sense.
BTW -- there are a few roads not that far from here that present the same illusion to people riding on them. You'll be riding down what seems to be a long shallow grade, and struggling to maintain speed. I've gotten off and checked my bike a few times, but finally learned the secret by going the other way and coasting up.
So it is a trick of camera angle. That makes more sense.
BTW -- there are a few roads not that far from here that present the same illusion to people riding on them. You'll be riding down what seems to be a long shallow grade, and struggling to maintain speed. I've gotten off and checked my bike a few times, but finally learned the secret by going the other way and coasting up.
Beautiful looking road. I always wonder when people mention climbs. Around me, when I take a picture of the road, the road runs out of the top of the frame. I've tried to take a nice shot of a road and have it head off into the distance, but I can never get a long enough section before it shoots out of the frame. I climb everything in my lowest Hybrid gear at about 4 mph. I so wish I had a road that looked like that to ride.
Take the right most lane that the bikes are in and add it to the shoulder, divide that in half for north/south or east/west lanes and you have my roads. Add the gravel shoulder shown in the shot and extend the road straight up through the top of the photo frame and that is what I have to ride on, LOL. Your one lane and shoulder are wider then our entire roads.
Then again, though I may be climbing in my lowest gear slower than a walking pace, I don't go more than half a mile at most, quarter mile average before I'm heading downhill again. What's it like to ride a long stretch of reasonable grade where you're not crawling at a snail's pace?
On the opposite end, the downhill, it's the same thing reversed. I get going way too fast for my liking if I pedal and it only lasts a few seconds. I'd love to have the other side of a long drawn out decent grade to get a reasonable pace going for more than 10 seconds.
EDIT: OMG! Then I get to the 3rd page and see more of your pictures. Your area to ride and the roads you have to ride on is breathtaking!
Last edited by mrodgers; 06-10-14 at 06:24 AM.
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While I love cycling in the Canadian Rockies ... the scenery is stunning ...
I also enjoy other roads.
There are many in central Alberta like the one in this photo: quiet, a bit of a shoulder, and still something of a challenge ...
I also enjoy other roads.
There are many in central Alberta like the one in this photo: quiet, a bit of a shoulder, and still something of a challenge ...
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Are you talking to me or FBinNY?
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#62
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And incidentally ... 1) that number is apparently the number of animals involved in collisions throughout Alberta, a big province, not just in the Canadian Rockies; and 2) that article says nothing about big horn sheep. 16,000 big horn sheep are not involved in collisions in Alberta. 3) You've posted a link to a hunting website.
Are you trying to hijack your own thread for no reason at all?
Let's bring it back onto topic ... What streets do you like to ride on?
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Last edited by Machka; 06-10-14 at 08:00 AM.
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Alberta has a lot of roads with wide shoulders. I was quite spoiled when I lived there ...
But there are also narrow, quiet country roads which are very pleasant ...
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Last edited by Machka; 06-10-14 at 07:19 AM.
#66
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That would be you with the breathtaking road pictures. I guess I used the quoted FB text as a beginning to my post on how he said it looked like it was downhill and I thought the same.
And, for some reason I had thought you were in Australia. So, it's Canada, then?
And, for some reason I had thought you were in Australia. So, it's Canada, then?
#67
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A good road to ride on...the lanes are narrow, but cars easily overtake cyclists by swinging partially into the center left turn lane.
Another good road. The super wide lanes are easily shared by cars and bikes, with room to spare.
(Actually, they're both the same road, a short distance apart.)
Another good road. The super wide lanes are easily shared by cars and bikes, with room to spare.
(Actually, they're both the same road, a short distance apart.)
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Last edited by enigmaT120; 06-10-14 at 02:10 PM.
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The thread is about our favourite streets (what streets do you like to ride on), so I thought I'd start with my No. 1 favourite, which is Hwy 11 in Alberta. Then I'll make my way around the world with more favourites.
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#70
Prefers Cicero
Your pictures are amazing but they aren't "streets" (although Roody did mention both streets and highways in the OP). Got any more conventional "streets" you prefer to ride around Taz for commuting or utility purposes?
Last edited by cooker; 06-10-14 at 04:58 PM.
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this is a picture of what is now the Spring Water Corridor, in Lents. Growing up here, we used to ride our bmx bikes down this trail when it was the old rail bed.
Other than this trail where I enjoy riding is more dependant on which bike I am using. But this stretch will always bring me into a good mood. Even when it is cold and wet and late at night.
Other than this trail where I enjoy riding is more dependant on which bike I am using. But this stretch will always bring me into a good mood. Even when it is cold and wet and late at night.
#72
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A few of my favorites:
#73
In the right lane
#74
In the right lane
Ok.. a utility image from earlier this year in Des Moines. Scenery is less lovely than above, but luckily the city replaced the steel plate with some new asphalt.
#75
Prefers Cicero
I don’t call these my favourite streets in the sense of I like them better than other streets, but rather in the sense that they are part of my preferred, easiest route to work. I took these pictures around 8:30 pm tonight biking home. It’s amazing how well cell-phone cameras work nowadays in dim light.
This is Shaw St. It seems wide with its grassy median, but the lanes are narrow. I used to see a lot of cyclists riding dangerously in the "door zone", as cars impatiently squeezed by, but since they painted the sharrows in, earlier this year, things seem better – more cyclists seem emboldened to take the lane, and the drivers seem more willing or resigned to waiting for a safe spot to pass.
Here’s Shaw a little farther up. This section used to be only one-way southbound, but it attracted a lot of “wrong-way cyclists”. I found that incredibly annoying as a “right-way” cyclist, because it made cars passing me squeeze over to the right and crowd me, in order to give space to the scofflaws. Now that the northbound riders have been legitimized by being given a generous lane (which I am now using too) things are better. Again, the southbound drivers have adapted to their narrower lane, and rarely try to pass southbound cyclists, although a few do cross the yellow line to do so.
This is Shaw St. It seems wide with its grassy median, but the lanes are narrow. I used to see a lot of cyclists riding dangerously in the "door zone", as cars impatiently squeezed by, but since they painted the sharrows in, earlier this year, things seem better – more cyclists seem emboldened to take the lane, and the drivers seem more willing or resigned to waiting for a safe spot to pass.
Here’s Shaw a little farther up. This section used to be only one-way southbound, but it attracted a lot of “wrong-way cyclists”. I found that incredibly annoying as a “right-way” cyclist, because it made cars passing me squeeze over to the right and crowd me, in order to give space to the scofflaws. Now that the northbound riders have been legitimized by being given a generous lane (which I am now using too) things are better. Again, the southbound drivers have adapted to their narrower lane, and rarely try to pass southbound cyclists, although a few do cross the yellow line to do so.
Last edited by cooker; 06-10-14 at 08:48 PM.