This Blog no longer active

We haver merged our activities with Transition Town Sooke, also known as Transition Sooke. Please follow us there on the webpage, Facebook and Twitter
Thanks!
http://www.transitionsooke.org

Meeting of the Juan De Fuca Cycling Coalition

Sunday April 28th at the Stick in The Mud Cafe, Sooke.
Come and share your thoughts, ideas and help shape the direction of the JDFCC. This will be an important meeting to see where we go from here and if there is community support for what we are doing.

Video Night at The Little Vienna Bakery

Join us for another evening of short videos, discussion and socializing. the theme this time is on Permaculture.
Saturday Feb 16th, 7-9PM at the Little Vienna bakery in Sooke. See poster for details

Major causes of bicycle accidents

Here is the results of a 2002 study in Long Beach, the 5 main causes of bicycle accidents:

1.   Bicyclist riding on the wrong side of the road against oncoming traffic;
2.   Bicyclist making an unpredictable and hazardous move (e.g., darts in front of a moving vehicle);
3.   Bicyclist running a stop light or stop sign;
4.   Motorist running a stop light or stop sign; or
5.   Motorist making a right or left turn in front of a moving bicycle.

2012 Sooke Slow Food Cycle fast approaching!

Help spread the word! Check out the webpage and share the poster!

Bike Share, Helmets, Infrastructure, and the Cycling Culture

Here is an excellent interview from the CBC. Worth a listen
It covers one of the biggest controversies that is brewing now, particularly in BC, since Vancouver is trying to implement a bike share program.

Riding Safely around Trucks

Here is a good article about safety around trucks
The first video is also worth watching

Video and Dessert and the Little Vienna Bakery

The Juan De Fuca Cycling Coalition & Sooke Transition Town Society is putting on an informal evening of short videos on a range of subjects from cycling, to Permaculture, Transition Towns and more. It is meant to showcase positive and constructive ideas, as well as to be entertaining and informative, with time for discussion and socializing.

This is also a great opportunity to try out some of the Little Vienna's Bakery goodies, along with coffee and tea, all available at a special price for the evening. I have also asked Michael of the LVB to explain a bit about their baking. Some of it might surprise you!

CRD Pedestrian & Cycling Master Plan

Here is the CRD Pedestrian And Cycling Master Plan. It is a fairly extensive document that promotes all 13 of the Communities within the CRD to work together to create a regional network of cycling trails and routes, as well as addressing design guidelines, mapping, facilities,  education, transit integration, enforcement, planning and funding.
There are huge benefits of having all the communities work together on this. As well the CRD can take a role in coordination, helping to eliminate duplicated efforts, and to help in securing funding.
Take a look, and remember that there is always the need for continual public input.

The Greater Victoria Cycling Coalition has set up a committee to monitor and provide ongoing input to the plan. They are looking for volunteers from each community. I will be planning to participate as the Sooke and JDF Regional District representative, but would love someone to assist me on that. My schedule often has me out of town when meetings happen, so it would be good to have a back up person.

A lofty but attainable goal for Pacific Marine Circle Route

One of the goals of the Juan de Fuca Cycling Coalition is to encourage the creation of a world class cycling destination in our region. We have the foundation of that already with the Galloping Goose Regional Trail and the Pacific Marine Circle Route. What is needed now,  is to build on that with a safe network of trails, bike lanes and suitable accommodation alongside the existing camping facilities that exist along the route.
Check out what has been done across the border in Washington State with the Olympic Discovery Trail

Locally made bike rack

One of our local, highly talented, and generous citizens(Maywell Wickheim), along with Communities in Bloom have created a wonderful new bike rack. The first of these has been installed in front of the Stone Pipe Grill, wit a couple more to come. Watch for them!
The top trough will be used to plant flowers...or maybe as a watering trough for our local horses that sometime wander the downtown area!?

Sharrows come to Sooke!

Sooke now has Sharrows. These are located on Rhodenite St. It is a fairly quiet residential street, but it does see a fair bit of traffic around school start and finish times. Lots of kids are walking or biking on this route. There are no sidewalks here at this point in time. The road was slated to get bike lanes 2 years ago but the local residents were very vocal in opposing them. 
I believe this is a good solution for now until the road eventually gets sidewalks and parking pullouts.

The idea is that a cyclist should “take the lane”. In other words, ride the bike in the area of the markings. This is designed so that the cyclist is in full view of motorists, and far enough away from the curb and parked cars so that there is no chance of them running into an opening parked car door.

For motorists, this means sharing the road with bicycles, slowing down, and passing only when it is safe to do so. On a street like Rhodenite, the speed limit is 40k, so this really should not disrupt traffic flow in any significant way. Particularly in this area there can be many young children on bicycles, so please slow down (well below the speed limit in many cases) when you see children on their bikes and pedestrians)

Please feel free to leave your comments!

Sooke Bike Boxes Beautification

Here are photos of the newly painted Bike Storage Lockers that were provided by BC Transit for the Sooke Park N' Ride. Thank you to the students from Edward Milne Community School who did the painting!

Great ride up Harbourview; Sooke Mountain Park

This area I live in keeps amazing me with all the beautiful places! Today I finally got to ride all the way up Harbourview "Road" to Sheilds and Grassi Lake. What a gorgeous day with a relaxing swim in the lake and some great views.
I think this area is going to become a major Mountain Biking destination when more people discover it. It offers trails for all skill levels, and there are lots of them!
Check out my route on Bikemap

Sooke Slow Food Flyer; Please Print and Post where you can. Only 35 days left until the first annual Sooke Slow Food Cycle!

We are not Cyclists....we are People Riding Bicycles!

Here comes the Sooke Slow Food Fashion Contest!

Sooke Slow Food Cycle October 9, 2011

We are getting ready for the Sooke Slow Food Cycle on October 9th, 2011! Check out the Website and tell us what you think. It is still a work in progress but most of the info is up and running.
We are on Facebook as well!

Taking the Lane

Here is a good little animation about the dangers of riding too far to the right on a road. (Thanks for the link Colin)

Transition Towns

The Juan De Fuca Cycling Coalition is looking at working closer with the Sooke Transition Town Initiative. We have very similar goals with overlap in many places and this creates the opportunity to share resources and like-minded membership! I think this is an exciting opportunity for all of us to broaden our sphere of influence.

Pedal Points; Riding the Sidewalk

Even though it is illegal in most municipalities, many people ride their bicycles on the sidewalk, either for convenience or fear of traffic on the road. However, by riding on the sidewalk, cyclists can make themselves more vulnerable to an accident than might be readily apparent. Many collisions between cyclists and motor vehicles occur at intersections of sidewalks and parking lots, driveways and cross streets.

Often people ride the sidewalk going opposite direction to the normal traffic flow, which presents a problem for vehicles pulling out of driveways or coming up to intersections. As car drivers, what direction do we first look when approaching a cross road? Usually to the left. That is where we expect vehicles to be coming from. We don’t expect a cyclist to be approaching from our right side, so we might not see them until it is too late, particularly if they are moving with any speed. Even with same direction traffic, a cyclist on the sidewalk is out of a motorist’s normal field of view and vulnerable to collision when the car turns onto a cross street and the cyclist enters that street. (no matter which direction they are riding) See diagrams

There have been studies done showing that it can be twice as dangerous riding on the sidewalk than riding on the road.

The other reason for not riding on a sidewalk is for pedestrian safety and comfort. Don’t underestimate the potential to harm a pedestrian with a bicycle. Even if you have complete control of your bicycle and don’t hit anyone, it makes some pedestrians (particularly the elderly) nervous having to share a sidewalk with a bike.

One of the challenges that many communities have  is that the roads are not safe for cyclists due to a lack of bike lanes or wide shoulders, debris, poor pavement and high speed motor traffic, so people elect to use the sidewalk.

Some municipalities have bylaws that allow cyclists with wheel diameters of 24” or less to use the sidewalk (i.e.; children’s bikes).  Even with good bike lanes or shoulders it might not be a good idea to let your child ride on the road due to traffic volume, speed etc.

There are also times when a cyclist wants to ride a very short distance down the road, but in order to follow traffic flow they would have cross the line of traffic, only to cross back again a very short distance later. This puts them in much more danger than simply staying on the sidewalk to go against the traffic flow and getting to their destination in a much more direct line. (I certainly do this at times) After all, it is a bicycle and should have some more flexibility and advantage over driving a car!
So, here we see some reasons that people riding bikes might want to use the sidewalk. In this case there are a few things we can do to make it as safe as possible, for everyone. First, and often the best option is to get off and walk your bike, particularly if there are pedestrians using the sidewalk! (Did you know it is also illegal to ride your bike across a pedestrian crosswalk?) If you feel the need to stay on your bike, move slowly and under control with due regard to intersections, driveways and other sidewalk users. Remember that pedestrians often stop or turn suddenly and can turn right into a cyclist. If somebody gets hurt you can count on the cyclists being the one held responsible in this case.

I have seen many instances where pedestrians and cyclists can use the same piece of pavement safely and efficiently, but that involves using common sense and courtesy. Nowadays we often see mobility scooters using the sidewalks, and in my mind they are vulnerable to the same dangers as a cyclist on the sidewalk, so these same procedures should apply to them. We also have to remember that even though we are riding in a safe and courteous manner we might upset some pedestrians by our presence on the sidewalk with a bicycle, because legally, we shouldn’t be there. Unfortunately there are also some people who believe people on bicycles shouldn’t be travelling on the road either! This is not true. A bicycle has the right to be on all roads except some highways posted as such.

To sum it all up; It is usually much safer to ride on the road than on the sidewalk, but don’t do anything your instincts tell you is not safe. Take a course on safe cycling, to help give you confidence riding on the road if you are uncomfortable with it.

If you feel you must ride on the sidewalk, use common sense, courtesy and beware of the traps that this can lead you into, and be prepared to defend your actions to law enforcement officials if need be.

Remember to;

·      Think ahead

·      Use common sense

·      Be aware of your surroundings

·      Make yourself visible and act like you are invisible

·      Make your intentions known, be predictable and make eye contact with drivers

·      Be courteous, smile and have fun!