Hamilton, Meet Linus.

Hamilton, this is Linus.  For the first time ever, these classic French inspired city bikes are available in Hamilton, carried exclusively by (what is in my opinion) the city's best bicycle shop, Downtown Bike Hounds (DBH).

Perhaps it was pre-destined, or perhaps it was serendipitous chance, but Linus came to Hamilton at the exact moment I began looking for a new commuter bike.  From the moment I laid eyes on Linus, I was transfixed and no matter how many other bikes I came across, the clean elegant lines of Linus remained entrenched in my minds eye. 

I researched, oh how I researched.  I learned about Linus' durable hi-tensile steel frame that would last for years and years, its shimano nexus internal hub that would mean little maintenance and exquisitely smooth shifting, the genuine hand-stitched leather grips, and the double wall alloy rims with stainless steel spokes.

On paper, Linus was perfect.  But how would it ride?  To find out, I went over to DBH for a test drive.  The store's owner, Sean, graciously lent me one of his shiny new floor models to take for a spin, a 3 speed Roadster Sport.  I kid you not, the moment Linus and I set out a grin spread across my face, a grin so wide that at the end of my longer-than-it-should-have-been test drive, my teeth actually hurt from the exposure to the cold spring air.  Oh yes, this was the bike for me.

I'll admit...I was hesitant at first.  Would 3 speeds be enough in a hilly city such as Hamilton.  After all, I was a youngster in the '90s when, for some reason, bicycle manufacturers convinced the public that mountain bikes were the way to go - and the more speeds the better!  At least 15, if not 18 or 21 speeds were needed, weren't they.  The answer is no.  Unless you are using your mountain bike to, uh, ride up and down mountains, chances are you don't need more than 3 speeds.  In fact, purists will tell you that a single speed is all you need.  Either way, I went with the 3 speed and now we are pretty much inseparable. 

Here we are at Hamilton's beautiful Bayfront Park:

And in front of the Gore Park fountain, right in the very heart of Hamilton's downtown:

And even though we didn't feel the most welcome, here we are on Main Street, separated from Hamilton's City Hall by 5 lanes of speeding one-way traffic :

Linus and I don't drive down this road yet, but we're hopeful that Hamilton's long-entrenched car-culture dominance will continue to subside, making way for complete streets; streets for everyone, whether young or old, motorist or bicyclist, walker or wheelchair user, bus rider or shop keeper.

Until then, Linus and I will happily ride (most) of Hamilton's streets.  And if someday you are driving your car and briefly get stuck behind me, feel free to wave (and not just with one finger).

-kyle

Citified Biking

One of my favourite things about living downtown is being able to bike to work.  My 2 km daily ride is the perfect way to wake up in the morning and an even better way to de-stress after a long day at work. 

I'm sure this will be the first of several bike-related posts.  Today I want to focus on what I've found to be one of the most important aspects of daily bike commuting - having a safe place to lock up.  It's not that I have an expensive bike or anything...actually my bike is pretty crappy.  But, now that my bike serves as my primary means of transportation, it feels like it is worth so much more than simply its monetary value, so knowing it will be there when I leave work is huge.  That's where this place comes in:

 I know what you're thinking...that's a parking garage...for cars.

Yup...there's that giant encircled P...the universal sign for vehicular parking.

Hmmm...what's this?  No bikes and no pedestrians allowed?  Just cars I guess.  But wait?  What's that green sign glimmering in the distance?

Yessssss....a cage with a green P and a bike on it!  Let's ignore the contradiction with that previous sign and revel in the beauty of this cage for bikes.

The door's locked, but good thing I have one of these handy dandy fobs on my key chain.  You can have one too for just $60/year.  Details can be found here.  (and yes, I realize that the form found on this link says it only costs $50/year, but city workers apparently find updating forms each and every year when fees change to be an unnecessary exercise...sigh)

Yes!  We're in and lucky me, my office is less than half a block away.

Oh how I wish this photo was filled with wall to wall bikes, but truthfully, this is as full as I've seen it since I started parking my bike here in January.  With spring finally here, hopefully all those 'fair weather' cyclists will soon be filling all those empty spots.  Still, I'm so glad I live in a city that is at least starting to invest in an infastructure that supports cycling.

We may be a long way from having scenes like this or this in Canada (those crazy Dutch), but with gas prices going no where but up and up...hopefully more people will see that the bicycle is much more than a recreational weekend toy.  Good for your health, good for the environment, good for your wallet...it's a triple win situation.  Who's crazy now?

-Kyle