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cherry ber
I am going to live in Burnaby. Is it safe and common to ride bike in December, January and February? are there bike trails everywhere in Burnaby for students?
And where in Burnbay you recommend for buying a good bicycle (prefarably with reasonable price too).
Answer
It's not uncommon for people to ride all winter. I ride my bike almost every day, winter included. The biggest challenge is staying dry enough for it to be comfortable. I have a set up I use that keeps me completely dry from the rain, and dry from sweat if my ride is under about 20 minutes.
For the best deal on buying a QUALITY bicycle, I'd recommend heading into Vancouver to the Mountain Equipment Coop. You can go to Zellers and such stores like that, but if you're going to ride regularly, especially in winter, you'll end up spending far more in repairs and have a less enjoyable bicycle than if you just get a good one to begin with. You can't afford a cheap bike. If you want to get a bike in Burnaby only, check out The Bike Doctor near Metrotown. You'd have the advantage of having your dealer closer by for repairs and such. But they'll service your bike anyways if you buy it from somewhere else, of course. MEC is probably the most affordable though for the quality. This is a great time of the year to buying a bike from anywhere mind you as most places offer big discounts on bikes in the fall and winter.
For safety, I would say it is safe if you have a good setup and you ride in a safe manner. If you've been a vehicle driver in the past, that will help as you'll be able to better anticipate traffic flows, etc. Stay on the roads and off sidewalks as vehicles in intersections don't look to the sidewalks for traffic (as you are on your bike.) Unless of course you find a good pathway off the road entirely. Ride in a straight line, don't swerve to the right every time there's a space between cars. It is safer to go straight so cars can anticipate where you are and avoid hitting you. Keep a safe distance from parked cars as drivers will occasionally open their doors without looking. Riding into a door could be devastating with a neck or knee injury. If you stay far enough away, this won't be an issue. Let the driver wait to pass you when it's safe rather than putting yourself too close to the cars. Move to quieter side streets if this is an issue. Follow the link down below for good bicycle route maps around the lower mainland. You can get small, foldable credit card size maps from bike stores with maps of the area. Also a mirror that attaches to the end of your handle bar is really great for comfort and safety. Seeing the cars approach you and you can glance just to make sure they're giving you enough room, (they almost always do.)
Be well lit up. I would recommend having a good bright white light for the front. (don't go for cheap here. minimum $35-$40 at a small dealer, or minimum $25 at MEC.) Get a good bright red rear light too. White in the front, red in the back. Using other colours at either end can trick a dozy driver into thinking you're heading away from them if you had a red light in the front for instance. Change the batteries often enough to avoid having them dim on you making you less visible on the road.
Get a good reflective, bright waterproof jacket. Wear a helmet of course.
Here are some tips for having your ride on the rainy days be more comfortable.
Boot/shoe covers that are wonderful for keeping your feet dry while riding. Waterproof pants of course. I don't bother with the waterproof/breathable pants for riding as they're not as durable as the waterproof/non-breathable pants and the WP/B ones will lose their breathability anyways unless you treat them regularly. Legs don't sweat too much anyways, compared to the upper body anyways, which is why I recommend getting waterproof breathable for a jacket. I've found the thicker/more-expensive waterproof materials in the jacket to be better at keeping the rain out and getting the moisture out (ie, simply being able to stay dry.)
The hands are another thing to keep dry. Most gloves aren't so great at this. If you get a waterproof breathable, fingerless outer mitt, which is designed as an outerlayer for snowsports, I've found that they work really well at keeping my hands dry in winter rain. The lack of the fingers isn't really a big deal at all on the bike as you can get all four fingers to the breaks in a split second anyways - faster than a foot to a brake pedal in a car.
Another huge way to keep comfortable on the bike is to get the quick-drying synthetic shirts. If you're not familiar with them, they're quite thin and they only hold like 10% of their weight in water (sweat) and a regular cotton shirt will hold like about 400 or 500% of its weight. They way you'll notice this is by feeling dry out there even when you've been sweating a bunch. In the days before these shirts were available, I'd go around running errands and such and feel kind of icky from wearing a sweaty shirt for much of the day. Now I don't feel it at all. Just comfort. These shirts are expensive most places you go, like up to about $50, unless you go to MEC, they start at about $8 last I checked, with decent quality. The long sleeved ones are
is it illegal to rollerblade without a helmet In british columbia canada?
Jeremy S
Im really pissed off
Answer
Yes, for rollerblading, bicycling, skateboarding, etc. you must wear a helmet under most municiple bylaws. I know that Vancouver and North Vancouver have adopted these regulations. Please check this web link out in regards to rollerblading in Vancouver:
http://www.inlineskatevancouver.com/
Cheers,
Petra M, Vancouver
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