I have been thinking a lot about biking in Ottawa, mostly because I have been reading Copenhagenize.com. The guy witting the articles constantly complains about helmet lobby and how they’re killing the bike culture.

I wear a helmet when biking in Ottawa and will continue to wear it until I read a trusted medical (preferably from Canada or somewhere where biking situation is similar) study that indicates that the benefits of wearing one are just not worth it. However, if I went to Copenhagen or Netherlands or a similar place I would not consider wearing a helmet for a second. Also, I would probably bike much more, own one rather than two cars, get a slower, girlyer, bike and if I went to the Opera (which is pretty much the only time I wear high heels), I would probably bike there in heels and dress too. I would not do this in Ottawa because Opera (and everything else except my work, grocery store, library, friends houses and parks) is about 25 km away from my house and in full lycra and my fastish bike I can make it there at full speed of my little legs in a bit under and hour and a half. And then I need a shower.

There are beautiful bicycle paths in Ottawa, but they are intended and structured to be recreational only. For one thing, they are winding and out of the way, usually adding between 1 to 3 km to any commute that goes anywhere near them to begin with. There is a posted speed limit of 20km/h (with plates reminding you about it at all intersections) which is slower even than my modest speed. Finally, during rush hour they are somewhat deserted, which may or may not be a good thing. I, for one, would prefer to see a little bit more people on them to feel completely safe.

The roads are doable but difficult. The cars are not used to bikes (unless you’re crazy about cycling you can only comfortably bike six months out of the year). The buses use the same space as bikes and go at the same average speed so whenever they stop at a bus stop (every intersection) you have to bike to the middle of the road, get honked at by the car drivers who obviously don’t know how to deal with bikes (or possibly how to ride them if they ever wanted to), speed to overtake the bus only to be overtaken by the same bus half a minute later so you can repeat the process at the next bus stop. Add to this the pollution, bad city planning (even if the bike lanes are present, sometimes you have to weave into 80km/h rush hour traffic just to stay on the bike path) commute biking is for enthusiasts only with most of the population having the “better you than me” attitude about it.

So, I will continue to read Copenhagenize and dream about biking everyday and everywhere and stick to my helmet, lycra and shower kit in the real life. Sigh.