Bikes and Trains

This past weekend we were blessed with some mild January weather. I decided to experiment with taking my bike on the GO train. I have been wanting to do this for a while. Taking the train is a way for me to expand my bike riding perimeter.  I have visions of riding the GO train to distant destinations and then riding back or vice versa.

GO Train

For a test run, I rode to Clarkson Station and put my bike on the GO train to Exhibition station.

When I went to purchase my ticket I asked how much extra it costs to take my bike. The response “Bikes are Free”. Then I asked if there is a special bike car. The response “Ride any car except the handicapped car”. I went to the platform and waited a few minutes.

The Bad Boy waiting on a train

Then I loaded my Bad Boy onto the train.

Bad Boy on GO train

I forgot about my Garmin GPS until it started beeping as the train clicked off the kms. I looked down and the train was doing 92.9 km/hr. My Bad Boy and I were covering some distance seriously fast.

I arrived at Exhibition and rode across Lakeshore to the Waterfront Trail heading downtown.

Crossing Lakeshore

I have ridden to the CN Tower from my house several times over the summer. It is an 80km trip and it takes several hours. Riding the GO train is great away to save some time and still get into the city for touring.

My first experience taking my bike on the GO train was great. I’ll be doing this again.

Lance Andre – One Tough Cyclist

Lance Andre - One tough Cyclist

You may know who Lance Armstrong is but do you know who Lance Andre is?

Lance was one of 50 participants in the 2011 Iditarod Invitational which is a 350-mile bike race through the Alaskan wilderness.

Lance came in 8th of a field of 50. That’s pretty damn good considering that he broke his leg, and kept riding, then he broke his arm, and he kept riding, and then he fell and had a concussion, and he kept riding, and finished the race beating 80% of the field. Swear to god, talk about guts, perseverance and intestinal fortitude.

Here is the news article from the Alaska dispatch.

Check out Lance’s Saved by the Bike Blog.

This is information on the 2012 Iditarod Invitational.

I am in awe of this guy.

Bike Blogs I Like

I recently discovered two bike blogs that I enjoy reading. I have added links to these blogs to my Bike Blog page. Check ’em out.

All Seasons Cyclist

There and Back Again

There and Back Again

Bike Spotting

I came across this bike as I was entering the Cawthra Hockey Arena for my son’s hockey game this afternoon. This is a tandem bicycle with an electric assist. It looked heavy … like a bicycle bus. I thought it was interesting so I took a pic.

Electric Tandem at the Rink

There was one large battery mounted but it looked like you could mount two batteries. That is one serious powered rear hub.

Biking in South Africa

Rethinking my bike trip to Africa.

He was hit by an Antelope.

A Cycling Book that I Enjoyed

I just finished reading this book.
I really enjoyed it.

Summary from Amazon.com

On 15 February 2008, Mark Beaumont pedalled through the Arc de Triomphe in Paris. 194 days and 17 hours previously, he had set off from Paris in an attempt to circumnavigate the world in record time. Mark smashed the Guinness World Record by an astonishing 81 days. He had travelled more than 18,000 miles on his own through some of the harshest conditions one man and his bicycle can endure, camping wild at night and suffering from constant ailments. The Man Who Cycled the World is the story not just of that amazing achievement, but of the events that turned Mark Beaumont into the man he is today. From the early years of his free-spirited childhood in the Scottish countryside, he had been determined to break records, cycling across Scotland and then from John O’Groats to Land’s End by the age of fifteen, raising thousands of pounds for charity. After leaving university, he had been equally determined not to settle for an average existence, but to break free and see the world from a saddle, to follow his dreams. This is the tale not just of one of the last great circumnavigation world records, and of the incredible endurance it took to accomplish it, but an insight into many of the world’s cultures from a unique perspective. From Paris to Istanbul, through Turkey, Iran, Pakistan, India and south-east Asia to Singapore, then across Australia, New Zealand and the United States before the final legs in Europe, all at a hundred miles a day, this is the story of a quite remarkable adventure, by a quite remarkable man.

If anybody would like to borrow my copy the offer is open.

Dutch Cycling Embassy

The Dutch really have biking figured out.

• There are 18 million bicycles in a country of 16 million inhabitants
• 26% of all traffic movements in the country are by bicycle
• 14 million bike trips are made every day in the country, totalling 15 billion km
• 40% of Dutch primary school children cycle to school (vs 25% by car) which rises to 75% of secondary school students (aged 12 to 17 and versus 6% by car)
• The Netherlands boasts more than 29,000km of segregated cycle tracks
• 1.1 cyclist fatalities per 100 million km cycled, compared to 3.6 in the UK (with a 2% cycling modal share) and 5.8 in the US (about 1% mode share) show that the more cyclists there are, the safer cycling becomes.

Check out this Cycling Mobility Blog for more information.

The 39 Stone Cyclist

I have been following this guy’s blog for a few years. He posted a Youtube video today that really summed up his efforts over the last three years. He is a feel good story and an inspiration for change.

Pedal Powered Lawn Mower

I found this picture when browsing the Arkel Pannier Company website. I just got a kick out of it and thought it was pretty clever.

Bike Mower

Stay in the bike lanes

This one is a beauty.

via YouTube – bike lanes.