2302 replies to this topic

[Tom Braybrook]

It's amazing how many unexplored pockets there are in Victoria that you never see because there's no arterial streets and no commercial. You can live here your whole life and know your way around every municipality but you turn off a feeder street and suddenly you're in this unfamiliar territory. A bike is the perfect way to find them. Garage sales are a practical way to explore. 

also...Secret Beaches of Greater Victoria .... https://www.thriftbo...30&b.oos&b.list

[Victoria Watcher]

On a Saturday night in July, Aidan O’Connell, 21, locked his Norco CCX to a Herald Street bike rack and proceeded to meet friends for dinner. When he returned three hours later to collect it, the bike—and the pole—were gone.

 

“I’ve had every single bike that I’ve ever owned stolen,” O’Connell told The Capital.  “It was pretty crazy. They actually pulled the bike poll out of the ground—I’ve never seen that before.” 

 

The bike had belonged to O’Connell’s father. “He’s been gone for six years and I’d been riding it ever since,” he said. Little did O’Connell know, by the time he filed a police report, his bike might not even have been on the Island anymore.

 

https://www.capnews....-capital-region

Edited by Victoria Watcher, 04 August 2020 - 06:54 AM.

[Nparker]

The bike may still be on Vancouver Island, but likely as parts spread far and wide (or just somewhere in a CoV park).

[mbjj]

I still don't understand what happens with all these parts. Do people actually buy them?

[Rob Randall]

A lot are sold but a lot of parts are simply swapped out in order to make the bike unrecognizable. When my stolen bike was recovered 20 years ago I remember some parts being arbitrarily replaced, like the seat post.

[Mike K.]

That’s what the chop shops are for.

[On the Level]

I am sure some blame market supplied bicycles that prevent the marginalized from owning a $5,000 rig......that and John A MacDonald.  

[rmpeers]

On a Saturday night in July, Aidan O’Connell, 21, locked his Norco CCX to a Herald Street bike rack and proceeded to meet friends for dinner. When he returned three hours later to collect it, the bike—and the pole—were gone.

“I’ve had every single bike that I’ve ever owned stolen,” O’Connell told The Capital. “It was pretty crazy. They actually pulled the bike poll out of the ground—I’ve never seen that before.”

The bike had belonged to O’Connell’s father. “He’s been gone for six years and I’d been riding it ever since,” he said. Little did O’Connell know, by the time he filed a police report, his bike might not even have been on the Island anymore.

https://www.capnews....-capital-region

This is the cornerstone of the mayor and council's economic recovery plan, I assume.

[E2V]

tristin hopper had mused the other day about finding the shortest path (car or bike) required to touch all 13 municipalities in one trip.

 

that sounds like a job for aastra.

 

i think it would look a bit like a backwards "L" with the top end touching north saanich and the left leg end touching sooke.  the 90-degree angle corner would touch oak bay.  the horizontal would need a bit of a blip up into highlands.

 

screenshot-www.google.com-2019.11.14-19_31_45.png

The line seems to pass north of the Gorge which means it doesn’t include Esquimalt.

[Victoria Watcher]

did it take you nearly a year to come to your conclusion?

[kxl]

The line seems to pass north of the Gorge which means it doesn’t include Esquimalt.

If we’re going to take this map at face value (which is more of a rough line drawing than an actual path one can travel by road) it doesn’t touch Oak Bay or Colwood, either.

[marks_28]

https://vancouverisl...toria-1.5179045

Cyclist killed in Victoria on Friday night at the Gorge Road and Harriet intersection. Judging from the photos it looks like the incident occurred in the slip lane turning from Gorge to Harriet. Those are super dangerous to cyclists and pedestrians, and the city needs to take a serious looking at starting to shut them down.

[On the Level]

https://vancouverisl...toria-1.5179045

Cyclist killed in Victoria on Friday night at the Gorge Road and Harriet intersection. Judging from the photos it looks like the incident occurred in the slip lane turning from Gorge to Harriet. Those are super dangerous to cyclists and pedestrians, and the city needs to take a serious looking at starting to shut them down.

Horrible for her and her family for sure. I am not sure if it was the defining factor here, but it did say she wasn't wearing a helmet. And to think we have people advocating to not wear them or extra bright clothing as a way to "normalize biking". Criminal.

[Brantastic]

Ahh yes, blaming the death of a cyclist on the lack of a helmet. Nothing to do with how we have failed to provide safe infrastructure. I expect no less from VV. Mass shootings are also unfortunate, BUT no one was wearing a bullet proof vest!

While we're at it, why is this thread called "issues with bicycles and cyclists"? Where's our "Issues with motorists" thread? Last Wednesday, a driver intentionally turned into on-coming traffic while my friend and I were walking across the crosswalk at Begbie and Vining at night, just to terrify us, then quickly swerved into the correct lane, laughed about it, and drove off. Our hearts were pounding. I was nearly hit a few weeks back trying to cross Johnson and Blanshard, when a driver on Johnson went to turn left without stopping, and slammed on his brakes at the last minute. I recently had to jump out of the way of a delivery van at Douglas and Fisgard, which turned without stopping just seconds after the "walk" signal came on. Recently, I was nearly hit on my bike riding on Haultain when a taxi driver on Shakespeare ran the stop sign without even looking my way until he was half-way through the intersection. A few weeks back when riding on the painted Jacklin Rd bike lanes, a large truck suddenly took a right turn just a few feet in front of me at the last minute without a signal, assumedly without shoulder-checking. Recently, while biking on Belleville in front of the legislature, after signalling for at least 5 seconds that I was about to switch into the left lane to turn onto Government Street, a large truck in my lane chose to speed up without any room for myself and crowd me out of my lane. I ended up wiping out on the sidewalk as there was nowhere else to go. The frequency with which I have to take a moment on the side of the road to regain my breath after narrowly escaping death, just by trying to walk or bike from A to B in this city is unconscionable.

[Mike K.]

Do we know who was at fault?

Helmets save lives, though. There’s no reason not to wear one. And you really should have called 911 when the car was heading for you in an oncoming lane. That’s a serious crime.

[Brantastic]

Oh certainly, I always wear a helmet in Victoria as it's pretty scary not to. The last time I went without a helmet was a year ago in Amsterdam, where I felt no need to. 

I'm not sure what good calling 911 would do without a license plate number. I didn't have time to process that information.

[Mike K.]

A description of the vehicle and the driver is sufficient. That’s reckless endangerment, driving a vehicle purposely at a person.

And you’re foolish to think you don’t need a helmet in Amsterdam. Helmets protect you from all sorts of accidents, including mechanical problems (like I experienced, falling off my bike when the crank snapped).

[North Shore]

I rode my bike back from my local bike store the other day - without a helmet.  I haven't not worn one in years...the feeling of wind-in-the-hair freedom was tremendous, finely tempered by the vulnerability of 5 blocks on Shelbourne.

 

Some years ago, I had a conversation with my brother (ex- Olympian skier) about wearing a helmet for skiing.. "how much is your head worth?" was the summation.  It carries over to cycling, also...

[On the Level]

Ahh yes, blaming the death of a cyclist on the lack of a helmet. Nothing to do with how we have failed to provide safe infrastructure. I expect no less from VV. Mass shootings are also unfortunate, BUT no one was wearing a bullet proof vest!

 

I am not blaming the cyclist, and mentioned it was tragic.  We don't know what happened here.  Did the drive not see her or did she not see the driver....we don't know.  We also don't know if wearing a helmet would have made a difference in this case.  Regardless it is reasonable to commenting that not wear a helmet is akin to driving without a seatbelt.  It is risky behaviour that does, under certain circumstances, increase the chances of death.

Edited by On the Level, 08 November 2020 - 10:57 PM.

[marks_28]

Not related to this specific case, but more so the helmet discussion, not the greatest vote of confidence when a leading helmet manufacturer notes that their helmets aren’t designed for impacts with cars.

https://www.forbes.c...ing-maker-giro/

That being said, I’m not saying we shouldn’t wear helmets (I always do), and it very well might save you with an incident involving a car. But just find it interesting to hear this point of view, and perhaps it’s time the media stops pointing out this possibly irrelevant piece of information in their articles.