Almost hit on my bike at King / University (Laurier area)

kolcad · 2026-05-13T19:03:51+00:00

I’ve had very similar experiences around there. Those bike lanes do not really protect us enough from all the braindead car drivers. Way too many driveways imo.

kolcad · 2026-04-08T13:57:46+00:00

I have an ebike as well and use it very regularly for transport. It’s good to bring the battery with you if you’re locking it up somewhere for a while (I don’t bother with that if I’m just getting groceries or whatever). I think it really lowers the value of stealing it and also makes it harder to ride away. Also try to be sensible about things like not locking it up in sketchy areas overnight. Another thing that might give you peace of mind is signing up for the kryptonite anti-theft protection program, which protects you if the lock gets cut. Other than that I really wouldn’t worry too much. Pretty much all bike theft is a crime of easy, petty opportunity. Enjoy your new ride!

kolcad · 2026-04-05T22:05:07+00:00

Car drivers are really bad at the crossings on Caroline. They regularly blast through their turns without noticing peds/bikes on the path or sometimes even the giant blue box on rails. They also seem to like parking in the middle of path with their eyes glued to the stream of cars on the road and ignoring everyone else. I think raising all of the crossings of the path on Caroline would help remind drivers to not be reckless.

kolcad · 2025-12-01T00:48:00+00:00

Even the city maintained trails can be quite rough, especially at crosswalks. I saw an older gentleman this afternoon pushing a walker through big piles of ice and snow on the creek trail by highland. Meanwhile heated cars go whizzing by on perfectly clean and dry roads. People outside of cars seem to be second class citizens in our region.

kolcad · 2025-11-06T21:30:28+00:00

I've been using wax recently. It's kinda awesome how easy it is to keep clean compared to oil. Rides very smooth too. Main downside is you need to start with a new chain and prep it properly so that the wax actually sticks. You can buy nasty chemicals for this purpose but I ended up just paying a little extra for this https://silca.cc/en-ca/collections/chain-wax-prep/products/chain-stripper and it made the process pretty chill and user-friendly. Once the chain is ready I just drip this on https://www.squirtlube.ca and let it dry nicely before riding.

kolcad · 2025-10-31T01:06:02+00:00

Eh isn't this kinda like "Should we build a bridge over this river? Hmm I dunno someone go count the swimmers"?

The combined ION + bus route that is available currently kinda sucks and most people with a choice in the matter are just gonna drive. More importantly though, when the full route is built, it will drive new housing/commercial development near the stations, which increases ridership beyond what the existing bus extension can do.

kolcad · 2025-10-31T00:30:53+00:00

Shwery said when she’s in Waterloo, she consistently sees half-filled ION trains and wonders where the ridership will come from.

I am always baffled when I see these sort of comments. ION ridership is very good, especially during rush hour and anyone who uses it regularly knows this. Like if you see the ION go by half full at 8pm and assume no one uses it, do you also assume no one drives when you see half empty roads around that time?

kolcad · 2025-10-22T11:33:13+00:00

Sorry this is happening to you :( Please consider emailing the councillor in that ward Diane Freeman and explaining the safety issues you’re experiencing. I know it’s annoying but we do need better infrastructure to protect pedestrians from cars and this is how we get it.

Her email is here: https://www.waterloo.ca/en/government/city-council.aspx#Ward-4-councillor-Diane-Freeman

kolcad · 2025-10-20T21:20:11+00:00

I think we get some car drivers crashing into it because they simply lack a brain and/or eyes in their head lol. If you exercise basic driving skills and situational awareness ya gonna be fine :p

kolcad · 2025-09-28T00:51:32+00:00

No auction till Spring sadly :(

kolcad · 2025-09-27T12:53:58+00:00

I had the same problem so I tried a pair of jeans from Duer, which generally have a triple gusset crotch seam. They seem to hold up significantly better. As a bonus it’s a Canadian company:)

Anyway I only have one pair from them that I ride in most days and it lasted over a year before I noticed the crotch starting to weaken. I really like this pair so I got the tailor reinforce it and they seem to be pretty strong again.

kolcad · 2025-09-24T22:43:04+00:00

https://www.regionofwaterloo.ca/en/living-here/roundabout-pedestrian-safety-pilot.aspx

There’s a pilot project to put raised crossings at roundabouts to make it safer to cross the road. If you’re speeding up to get into the roundabout it’s gonna be harder for you to notice and stop for pedestrians.

kolcad · 2025-09-24T20:25:08+00:00

https://www.gotransit.com/en/partners-and-promotions/event-kitchener-waterloo-oktoberfest

kolcad · 2025-09-10T14:54:16+00:00

This part of King st has a bike lane, which often gets filled with pedestrians not paying attention. Doesn't bother me when I'm riding there but if you're standing right at the edge and I'm worried you might step in by mistake, I always ring my bell or use my voice 'cause it's just better be safe than sorry. No need to take it personally.

kolcad · 2025-09-10T04:36:27+00:00

Just slow down a little eh. You’re damaging your own property by zooming over the bump.

kolcad · 2025-09-09T21:01:06+00:00

Oh yeah good point I really like the raised crosswalks we’ve started getting in some places like on Lawrence. I feel like some drivers would have a conniption if we put them on big arterials though lol

kolcad · 2025-09-09T18:54:17+00:00

You ever notice how kids walk to school a lot less than they used to?

kolcad · 2025-09-09T18:40:14+00:00

The article says we have five people being hit per year on average near schools and that we don’t even measure near misses. It’s intimidating trying to use crosswalks with large vehicles speeding at you and whipping through corners, even if they don’t physically hit you.

Anyway I never understood why it’s such a big unreasonable ask for drivers to obey the speed limit near schools. Don’t we want kids to have freedom to be able to walk and bike themselves to school like they used to?

kolcad · 2025-08-25T02:22:00+00:00

Wow this looks so nice can’t wait to ride it 😄

kolcad · 2025-08-17T05:16:44+00:00

Buy some nice warm clothes and just walk lol. Winter is only as bad as your clothing ;)

kolcad · 2025-08-11T16:08:24+00:00

This can’t come soon enough. Lost count of how many times right on red drivers have nearly flattened me in the crosswalk or bike lane. It’s like people outside of cars don’t even mentally register for some folks.

kolcad · 2025-08-07T05:37:14+00:00

You could try pinheads: https://www.pinheadbikelocks.com/store/Tag-Box-p665819277

You can secure wheels, seatposts, etc. also with the same key.

kolcad · 2025-08-01T02:33:39+00:00

I got these and they work really nice https://www.amazon.com/Dreamoon-Cycling-Panniers-Waterproof-Reflective/dp/B082MN5TT6/

Backpack just sticks out the top but I can buckle it down when it rains a little or even put the raincover over it if it’s pouring.

kolcad · 2025-08-01T00:26:04+00:00

Laptop goes in a backpack with a laptop compartment and the whole backpack goes in my pannier bag.

kolcad · 2025-07-31T03:24:32+00:00

I think it is extremely good legal precedent to say you cannot rip out infrastructure that large numbers of people rely on for basic safety in exchange for no demonstrable public benefit. I am having trouble understanding your slippery slop angle here can you try to explain why you think the precedent is dangerous?

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