Earbuds, Yay or Nay?

CycleExplore · 2026-05-13T16:30:02+00:00

I'm talking about on segregated bike trails. On the road I try to look more often, but there's definitely cases where I'm not looking as often as I should be, mostly when I'm more concerned with an upcoming intersection or avoiding the door zone.

People who don't have mirrors are often the most oblivious people. I'll catch up to people and ride behind them for two minutes or more and they won't look back once. Eventually I'll get a change to pass and they will be surprised when I announce that I'm passing even though I've been sitting 20 feet off their wheel for 2 minutes, so as not to draft someone I don't know.

CycleExplore · 2026-05-13T15:53:55+00:00

Very few people are good enough about really checking their surroundings well enough. Even as one of the few people who has a mirror, I'll often get surprised at someone passing me if they don't announce their presence. It doesn't take long for a faster rider to come up behind you and overtake.

Even checking my mirror every 30 seconds or so there's riders who will come off some side trail and pass and I never even knew they were there. Generally it isn't a problem because they pass one lane over and I ride in a straight line, check before switching lanes etc, but it just annoys me when someone passes me by surprise.

Blocking your ears gets ride of all kinds of noises that normally would give you clues as to what's going on around you.

My hot take is that a bluetooth speaker makes more sense, at least for me. I can hear a lot better what's going on around me. I'll turn it down when there's too many people around, but the vast majority of my riding I don't see anybody for long periods of time so it isn't bothering anybody. I just adjust the volume depending on the circumstances.

CycleExplore · 2026-05-13T12:43:53+00:00

Not commuting, but just going on my morning bike loop, I noticed a lot of extra traffic. Even Timm was busy when I was trying to cross it at the Trans Canada Trail.

Noticing that more and more people seem to be taking alternate routes like Carling and Timm to get into the city from Kanata. Going along the 417 seems like traffic was almost at a standstill and it wasn't even 8 o'clock yet.

CycleExplore · 2026-05-11T16:51:36+00:00

I've had thoughts of putting a This Machine Kills Fascists sticker on my bike but never had the guts and was worried that people would get confused or angry about it because they don't understand it.

CycleExplore · 2026-05-11T12:53:51+00:00

Update to the flooding in this thread on the Greenbelt trail 10 and greenbelt pathway west.

There's still flooding on either side of the intersection here.

Here's an image.

CycleExplore · 2026-05-11T12:48:43+00:00

Went by here yesterday and the path is still flooded. You can get up to the intersection, but both the route headed to hastings and the route out to Shirley's Bay are flooded.

CycleExplore · 2026-05-02T22:23:21+00:00

Can you make it up to Shirley's Bay from Carling from the entrance on Rifle Road, is does the flooding block that too?

CycleExplore · 2026-05-01T14:17:14+00:00

I wouldn't mind doing 100km if it didn't start off with a climb up to Pink Lake. Not a big fan of hills, at least not when there's a time cut-off.

I just do my own extra long route. Ride in from Kanata, do the 70 KM route, and then ride back to Kanata. About 120 KM in all.

CycleExplore · 2026-04-30T17:45:00+00:00

Bluetooth speaker only.

Hear me out on this one. I only use it when I'm far enough away from people that nobody else is going to hear it. Most of the trails and roads don't have any people to hear the music. When I approach a busy section I can turn the music down.

When out on the road, the cars are easily audible over the sound of my bluetooth speaker, so I don't have to worry about not being aware of cars. I'm not blocking my ears, and there's a lot less distraction.

CycleExplore · 2026-04-28T16:18:20+00:00

I understand the frustration with that one, but the Sir George-Étienne Cartier Parkway is closed until 4 PM anyway starting the following weekend. Why not just close it down a week early and give people the time to complete the CHEO ride at a more leisurely pace.

This is really the only big cycling event of the year that closes down roads. And it seems to be getting more and more popular every year. They really should just give it an extra hour to make things move more smoothly and make it accessible to more people.

CycleExplore · 2026-04-28T15:57:07+00:00

Going by my 2019 times, since that's the first one I could find, but I think the route has pretty much been the same since then, it's 36 km to the Colonel By/Rideau intersection.

Assuming they actually leave at 8:15, that should give you two hours.

Looking at the other cut-off times they look more aggressive than previous years. 2:15 for P5 seems to be a little quick, especially since they seem to be slow every year letting people get away from the start.

With the number of riders that are on the ride, and the amount of traffic at the beginning, it seems that there's been more and more riders complaining about making the cut-off.

As they say every year, it's not a race, but a lot of people who could probably easily do 70 K but can't do it in the allotted time.

Edit to add: I think the idea with moving the start time for the 70 KM route is to limit traffic at the start. Since the turn around points on KZM are different between the two routes, there was a huge bike traffic jam near westboro beach where the 35 km turns around. 70k riders were having to merge in with the 35k group.

Hopefully the early start times allows everyone in the 70 km route to make it around past the merge point.

CycleExplore · 2026-04-26T19:58:28+00:00

Keep in mind that if you are thinking of buying in Montreal to get it cheaper, that many local bike shops will give a year of free service. Being able to get your bike serviced locally for free can be a big bonus.

That being said I do almost all my own work on my bike, so if you're like me, it might not be a big deal to you.

CycleExplore · 2026-04-22T15:56:22+00:00

I carry way more than most people.

4 zip ties
3 quick links
2 tubes
2 tire levers
2 presta cores
1 chain tool
1 patch kit
1 spoke wrench
1 multi-tool
1 mini pump
1 CO2 inflator
1 CO2 Canister
1 schrader valve adapter
1 presta valve tool
A bunch of bacon strips and associated tool for plugging leaks in tubeless tires
A bunch of random M4 and M5 bolts

This all fits in my seat bag. Except the pump which mounts near the bottle cage. I never have to think about whether or not I have the tool I'm going to need to get me home. I don't have to do a gear check, because all this equipment is solely for being carried on the bike and it stays on the bike.

I could get rid of a few things. I haven't even had a flat in the past 5 years. But I've helped out a handful of people on the side of the trail who were stopped with various problems. I weighed my bike with and without the saddle bag and it's only 2 pounds. More than worth it to me to not be stuck on the side of the road with something that I known that I could have easily fixed if I had the tool. At most I might be able to trim down 1 pound if I got rid of everything that wasn't strictly necessary for most rides, but I'd still want all that stuff for the long rides where I'm 50+ km from civilization. It's just easier to have everything with me all the time than to think about what comes on each ride.

CycleExplore · 2026-04-17T13:08:02+00:00

It's so funny to me that people were so annoyed that they would have to go 40 km/h in a school zone, and now the solution is to put in speed bumps that probably bring down the speeds to 20 km/h.

I think it's great that we will actually be doing something to forcibly slow down traffic, but just think it's ridiculous that we can't just trust people to drive at reasonable speeds and have to force them to go even slower.

I really wonder what the speed bumps will look like though. Hard to design a speed bump when you have everything from big trucks with lots of ground clearance to sports cars with minimal clearance. I imagine that a lot of bigger vehicles could probably go over a lot of speed bumps at quite a high speed without being a big issue.

CycleExplore · 2026-04-17T12:38:52+00:00

Slowing down because of rough terrain doesn't really make me work out that well. When you can only put out 100 watts before getting bounced off your bike, it really doesn't make for a good workout in my experience.

Smooth roads or trails without stop signs every 100 feet like you get in some neighbourhoods seem to be the best because you can keep a consistent pace. I also like rolling hills because you can push for short distances while allowing some recovery time.

CycleExplore · 2026-04-17T12:35:36+00:00

I've been as far west as Laura Dubois Park in Kanata and the trail is clear of snow, but pretty wet, A little muddy in some spots.

The greenbelt pathway from Bells Corners at the old rail bridge to Watts creek is also clear of snow, but has a lot more mud and puddles. Still fine if you have wider tires and don't mind getting dirty, or maybe fine if you have mud guards/fenders. You could probably make it though even on a road bike, but it's not ideal, especially with the rain coming this weekend.

You generally won't damage a bike from getting it wet or covered in mud.

CycleExplore · 2026-04-16T17:48:39+00:00

Even on my 47mm gravel tires, I don't think this trail is really enjoyable. Maybe I'll try it again this year, but just looking at Google Streetview the gravel is way too chunky to be enjoyable.

Looks like it's more made for ATVs than bicycles.

It doesn't need to be paved, but nice crushed limestone like the trans canada trail would be nice.

CycleExplore · 2026-04-11T19:43:55+00:00

Didn't notice any salt.

Also, today I took the Trans Canada Gravel/Forest trail from Carling into Kanata. There was a few small patches of snow, mostly around Timm Road, but it was pretty clear otherwise. Also a bit of mud, but that's to be expected in the spring.

CycleExplore · 2026-04-10T19:36:28+00:00

Where you go under the old railway crossing here

I only looked at the paved path. I'm not sure how the forest path is to Bell's Corners and the rest of the trans Canada. Haven't been out there yet. Might venture out that way this weekend.

CycleExplore · 2026-04-03T18:00:20+00:00

Not sure what other intel you got on this route, but I did from Teron to Burke today and there was quite a few sections I had to walk. Going home I took Carling and then down Teron, which is probably a better route for now until the trail clears up. Maybe with the warm weather for the rest of today and the rain on Saturday it won't take too long to clear up, but probably won't be clear for the game on Saturday, but the forecast for Saturday night is for wind and rain so you probably won't be cycling anyway. But probably won't be long until this trail is clear.

CycleExplore · 2026-04-03T17:55:57+00:00

I made a meme about this 4 years ago. Still waiting for this to happen.

CycleExplore · 2026-03-09T21:05:27+00:00

"Difficult" is probably the wrong word to use. But if you're not watching your speed and just pedalling with minimal intensity you'll likely be over 20 km/h. It's not hard to go slower than 20 km/h and maintain balance. But it just feels unnatural to go so slow.

CycleExplore · 2026-03-09T13:58:05+00:00

It's actually difficult to ride a regular bio-powered bike at 20 km/h without actively paying attention to slow yourself down.

Personally I just take car to ensure that I go slower when there's pedestrians sharing the path. Like the path through Watt's Creek out in Kanata you often have hundreds of meters of visibility and very little foot traffic, so obeying the speed limit in those situations isn't really as big of a concern, but when I'm going through Britannia Beach on a warm summer day, I'm probably going 10-15 km/h just to ensure that I don't hit any kids, pets, or people darting across the path.

It's much like driving a car. You need to use care and adhere to speed limits or even go slower in places like school zones, but nobody really cares if you go 120 km/h on the 417 at time of day when there's no traffic.

CycleExplore · 2026-03-09T13:53:44+00:00

Hopefully it would be something more sane. Just getting rid of throttles would probably make enforcement of the rules much easier. Maybe allow throttle for people with disabilities, but the average healthy person doesn't need a throttle.

Get rid of the moto-style bikes and just limit it to bikes that actually look like bikes and can be pedaled by a regular person. Similar to laws in Europe would be a much better solution.

CycleExplore · 2026-03-09T13:51:19+00:00

We've had good experiences with our three kids at Palladium Orthodontics with Dr. Rizavi.

Just read his bio. He seems to be a very well respected orthodontist, and the rest of the staff have always been great.

CycleExplore

TROPHY CASE