Some comments on the Bike show

Interesting things at Salon de Velo

Velo Quebec tried to get peopl eto leave their car behind, and use the bike
as transportation to work. They showed a bike like no body rides, with
full reflectors and lights, chain guards, etc. Surprisingly not too many
companies make the really practivcal form of bike, they tend to stay with
cheapies that only a motivated cyclist will fit out properly for urban
riding, and believe me, lights and reflectors are VERY important.

The Monteregis region

This region that wraps around Montreal from Sorel to the east to Rigaud to
the west, and all along the sough side of the st laurence and ottawa
rovers, had their nice series of cyling maps, one for bike paths, and one
for suggested road rides. I gave them feedback on these maps

1) Pont jacques Cartier, a major axis tro cross the st laurence from
Montreal to Longueuil, has very poor bike connections on the montreal side,
and completely nionexistent bike connections on the south side. I suggested
they improve this, because it is an excellent nk between the two regions.

Next I gave them some feedback on their road rides, the road just weast of
St-Bruno was what I guarantee was the worst road I have EVER riden, ful of
holes bigger than a pumpkin, christmas turkey, or a large dog. Other bad
roads include their chateauguay valley ride, along the Rt 201 betwen
Ste-antoine abbe and Ormstown, this road is narrow, no paved shoulder, busy
as all heck, has a big holiday campground, and is a death road fr bikes.
I've alreasy flaged this as a road to avoid, and there it is on the
Monteregie road-ride map. This is another good example of some map company
putting lines on a map to crate a bike ride, and NEVER testing it "on the
ground" for crucial parameters like SAFETY.

Otherwise, don't get me wrong, the Monteregie is A GREAT region to go for a
bike ride. Just a few minor improvements needed wither to the roads or the
maps!

The womans world cup race in Montreal, the on Mont Royal on May 31st (for
the UCI world cup race) and thee week after for the Tour de Grande
Montreal, is athe only chance we get to see olympians here in Montreal.
The Mont Royal circuit is a killer, with hill climb after hill climb, and
Camelien Houde is the road to watch the race on. One of the great events in
the Montreal cycling calendar.

Bas St-laurent

Past quebec city is the oen water of where the St-Laurence stops being a
river and is more an open sea. The south side of the river is more cyclist
friendly than the extreme hills of the noth side, and you can trave (often,
with the wind!) for many many hundred kilometers all around the Gaspe
peninsula. There is an interesting lineay path called le petit temis"
which goes from Riviere de Loup to Edmonston New Brunswick. It is 130 km
long, and rides from sea level to 1000 ft in the middle, always with grades
of under 4% so anyone can ride it. There are villages and camping along the
trail, and it in one of my dream destinations. For 45 km it goes beside
lac temiscouta, and this has got to be nice. There are road ride
opportunities nearby also. This area really attracts me, and I hope I make
the trip there this year, since it has been on my list a loong time.


Bikes and Bike stores

I didn't spend much time in the bikes section, just browsing, because my
philosophy is that once you have a bike, get out and ride it. There's no
need to droop over hot ne bikes, the one you have alreay is probably
perfectly good, and is wondering why you don't ride it more!


On the other hand, if you don't have a good bike (loose definition: a bit
that fits you and probably costs over $1000) then the new bikes are of more
interest,. I support thee manufactueres and bike dealers who show up at
this event (where were specialised, and OGC?) A good bike dealer will help
you find the best bike for you, since bikes are quite specialised in terms
of their function.

I noticed a lot more "fast city bike, which I like. You can make a fast
bike strong, but you can't make a heavy bike fast...

There was a good buzz around one dealer that sold folding bikes, which some
people find very useful.


To my suririse there were a number of financial institutions with bootsh,
here's my take on this: if you want to spend your retirement riding your
bike, make sure you start saving early in your career! . It is never too
soon to save, and although a wisse man once noted that there is a leisure
class at both ends of the income spectrum, it costs money to buy toys, and
you'll be glad you saved for it.



many regions were not only publicising their efforts to create bike paths,
road bike ride maps, and other bike services, bu also they all semed to
have their own group ride or cyclotorutique event, and a few even have
sanctioned races.

(Spelling mistakes will be fixed later, sorry!)