After a month long examination of what makes me bike or not bike in Kanata I have come to a some conclusions (for now anyway). The following are the factors that negatively affect my chances of choosing to get somewhere by bike:

1. distance/time
2. weather
3. bad roads
4. lack of appropriate equipment
5. hills

The purpose of this exercise was to come up with ideas of what can be done in Kanata to improve walkability and bikeability of the neighbourhood so that more people would choose to get around in that way. My disclaimer is that I have no talent for understanding other people, especially majority of people so what works for me might not be relevant for anyone else.

Distance/time:
In Kanata the easiest way to get around is by car. There is no denying this and I don’t have an issue using the car to get places and do stuff. Roads are fast, usually not congested, there is plenty of free parking, you can dump a lot of stuff in the trunk, lock it and continue on your merry way. You don’t have to worry about the bad weather or heat or UV rays (unless you open the sun roof) etc… If you are going to bike for more than a kilometre, you need an excuse other than convenience. Most people would pick exercise or environment, for me is that I hate driving and that I want to encourage active lifestyle habits for my kids by setting a good example.

Weather:
Some people say that there is no bad weather, only bad clothing. I am nowhere near that level of zen especially in the light of the thunderstorms rolling through Kanata in the last few days. We do get nice weather though so you have to be ready to take advantage of it at the spur of the moment. Having an easily accessible bike that you can use in normal clothing really helps. We rearranged our garage so that the bike I use the most is quick to get out. It is not the perfect solution and I will probably lose my bike parking when we get the minivan (ugh!) but it is ok for now.

Bad roads:
Improving the infrastructure is key to increasing the level of cycling. There is a lot going on in Ottawa with respect to this (new lanes, etc…) but I am not sure how much of this is trickling down to Kanata. Does anyone know? I suppose I really ought to find out. I did join “Citizens for Safe Cycling” out of curiosity.

My conclusion from the last month’s experiment is that Kanata is pretty sweet biking wise in the residential interior, but as soon as you hit a major thoroughfare (March, Terry Fox, Hazeldean, Eagleson) there be monsters. Yes, some of these roads have bike lanes painted on, but that does not make them good infrastructure. Another issue is with shopping areas, particularly Centrum and the strip mall off of Carling (with Chez Cora). An exception and a honourable mention go to the Signature strip mall which looks like whoever designed it actually wanted people on foot or bicycle to shop there.

I am not really sure exactly how these problem areas can be improved. I think it is important for cyclists to be physically distant from cars or trucks rushing at 80km/h. I also think that cyclists should be able to bike as fast as they can (up to 30 or 40km/h) if they are to get anywhere from Kanata. One requirement nixes the painted bike lanes on existing rads, the other nixes multi use paths.

Equipment:
Between the two of us we own six bikes with original purchase price between $100 and $1000. The more expensive bikes have more mileage on them and are driven on almost daily basis, the cheaper bikes are taking up space in the garage and will probably be sold for change if we ever get around to it. It is a bit hard to give a good argument to someone considering bike as transportation without really being sure whether they will stick to it to take $600 or more to a specialized bike shop with staff old enough to shave (be they men or women) when there are so many nice bikes at Costco for $200.

Even with a good quality bike, bike transportation is not a given. A sweet $2000 road or mountain bike is no good for a shopping trip if you have to change into clip shoes, have no panniers and no mudguards if it starts to rain.

I was recently talking to a co-worker who has a 18 month old kid and he was wondering whether he should get a bike seat or a trailer. My answer is both, but I don’t think that it is the right option for someone who will only cycle occasionally for recreation.

(This paragraph sound very consumerist and I hate it for that, but I have had enough bad experiences with poor quality sports equipment to make me somewhat bitter. I have also struggled to use good quality equipment for uses that it was not meant for (i.e. trailers for short trips and shopping). I am trying to speak form experience and not from “look! shiny!!!” perspective.)

Hills:
I just have to live with hills.

When I first moved to Kanata my mom got me a second hand bike from someone at her work. It is a Fuji mixte mountain hybridy something or other with not too bad shifting gears but overall heavy and not my size. I rode it to work and sometimes other places but not exclusively and not, what I would call, a lot. This was at the time before I got my drivers licence and before Chris lived in Kanata and was able to drive me around at the drop of the hat so it was the perfect time for utilitarian biking, but I did not really do much of it. I was a little bit perplexed by that. Yes, Kanata infrastructure could use some bike-friending, but some can be said for Zagreb where I run errands on bike all summer. I attributed this to general boringness of Kanata and the the fact that I was wearing a helmet. I have nothing against helmets, I wear them on any ride I consider dangerous (March road anyone?), but that does not make me like them. In retrospect, the bike had a lot to do with it as well. It was the perfect bike at the time because it was there and it was free at the time when I had just started making money, but not the perfect bike for me. I still have that bike. The money I would get for it if I tried to sell it does not justify the effort and sometimes I ride it in the winter.

Biking in Zagreb – look ma, no infrastructure!

A few years later Chris and I got matching Rocky Mountain hybrids and our recreational and commuting cycling really took off. We routinely biked downtown or through the rural areas on weekends. These were the perfect DINKy bikes. We did not do any utilitarian cycling. The effort or tying up those bikes is unreasonably high. The bikes have quick release parts which make them transportable by car but you have to make a pretzel with a bike chain to secure everything. There is no appreciable cargo space. Riding these bikes in normal clothes is uncomfortable, indecent even in case of skirts (crossbar) and you’re bound to get chain grease on the legs. The bike handles poorly when it has to stop and start often (it likes to go fast for a long time) and the addition of the trailer made all of these problems more acute.

DINKy days

With kids my time and willingness to put in effort decreased and recreational and fitness cycling is just not something that I do very often. This is where Kona Africa comes in. It can carry kids close enough to me to be able to have a conversation with them, it handles well when stoping and starting often. I can cycle in regular clothes but there is still no room for groceries (as long as the kids seats are on the bike anyway). I am pretty sure I doubled (at least) the amount of utilitarian cycling I do just by using this bike. It is the perfect bike for now, but it is not the perfect bike. I’d really like something zippier that fits my geometry better.

This summer I am already starting to be a bit too big and wimpy with the pregnancy to bike longer distances (summers are uncomfortably hot when you are pregnant). Even short trips to the grocery store take twice as long with the bike and Chris is unlikely to be interested in joining us after doing his 40k commute. Next year, I might not be able to bike much because the baby will be too young. I will try and bike with the older two when I get a chance (how often will that be?). The year after that we will have to rethink our whole strategy. Will we get a trail-a-bike for Trev for recreational rides? Will we still do any recreational rides? Should I get a bike with extended rear rack so I can fit all three kids on a utilitarian bike? Would I even be able to pull a bike with three kids on it? Would I want to?

Some days I feel like utilitarian biking is just a pipe dream for this family… How to get out of this funk? I love biking, I love biking with kids, infrastructure in Kanata is not as bad as that, there are places to go to within 20 minutes, I hate driving the car etc, etc, etc. So what is it going to take to bike more?

I’ve had Kona Africa for a little bit over a year now, it is probably a good time for a review.

I’ve got this bicycle for express purpose of kid transport. Essentially, it is a compact cargo bike. I’ve had two bobike seats installed at the shop. The front seat interfered with the basket that came with the bike so it was replaced with a different (larger) basket. The rest of the bike is original.

I have never used an internal hub before, but I really like it on this bike as I can shift any time, not just when I am moving. Coaster breaks are something that I had the hardest time leaving behind when I moved from riding minibikes to hybrids. I am so happy to break with my foot instead of hand again. Installed rear wheel lock is another thing that I had on my childhood bike and am excited to have again. Admittedly, on my childhood bike, the wheel lock was loose and not actually installed. The bike mechanic refused to install it because he said I was going to break my spokes, but I think he was just being lazy and giving excuses. Africa comes with the installed wheel lock, so there is no fear of lazy bike mechanics. Besides, bike mechanics at Tall Tree Cycles, where I got the bike, are very nice and not lazy at all.

The bobike child seats fit well on the bike, though I had to order an extra part for the larger seat due to the non standard rear rack. The kids love riding and the bike is quite stable even with both of them on. Owen loves ringing the bell and while I think it is cute, I am not sure if that is a good thing. I suppose I can always move his hand away if we are in a situation where random bell ringing might be confusing to the rest of the traffic.

In terms of performance, this bike is the happiest when it is fully loaded. With both kids on, it rides like a charm, even going up smaller hills is a non issue. I have not tried any steep hills, and I am not sure if I would.

I do have two complaints about the bike. The first is that my thighs are too long so the horizontal distance between the seat and the pedals is uncomfortable. Interestingly enough, this is not an issue with both boys on the bike, it is a little bit of an issue with only one of them and it is a big issue when I ride alone. I don’t have a good explanation as to why. Maybe the bike stretches under weight? The second complaint is that the bike is slow. It might be possible to get it to be faster by replacing the standard heavy duty puncture proof tires with slicker ones, but I am not ready for that at this point.

The cost of the bike is at the lower end of what you would pay at a bike shop, usually a bit above $400. The child seats set me back about $300. Given that the cheapest kid carrying cargo bike for sale in Ottawa is $1500 (it was not available when I was looking two years ago though I could have gotten a different one in Toronto for $4000), I think I got decent value for my money. Plus, once the kids are too big, I still have a useable bike.