Cyclist Versus Drivers - Part 1

Every time a cyclists goes for a bike ride, either on city streets or country roads we entrust our lives to those drivers with who we are supposedly sharing the road.

This issue has become a heated battle in the city of Toronto in light of the recent scandal involving Michael Bryant, previous Ontario Attorney General. Bryant has been charged with criminal negligence resulting in death after having struck and dragged Darcy Allan Sheppard, a bike courier, down the street and purposely colliding with several trees and mail boxes in an attempt to rid Darcy from clutching onto his car.

Over the past decade, bicycle accident statistics involving motor vehicles in Toronto have remained relatively level - between 1,100 and 1,200 accidents per year. The City of Toronto has a new bike network plan which involves investing $70 million over the next ten years to provide more dedicated bike lanes, proper signage, bike racks on local buses and connection to adjacent municipality bike networks. Facilitating biking in Toronto is obviously a positive action; however, proper education on safety and etiquette must also take place, as it is equally important to ensure that accident figures do not increase with the increase in cyclists.

I have only been cycling on the road for one year but in that short period of time I have been honked at or yelled at undeservedly countless times, have been passed by vehicles well exceeding the speed limit so close that I feel like their side view mirrors are narrowly missing my left shoulder, and have seen two cyclists struck by vehicles. Before experiencing these events firsthand I would always slow down and pass a cyclist with caution. The last thing I want to do is hit anyone. So I ask, where has all the decency gone? Is the thought of slowing down for a few moments that aggravating to drivers that it causes you to stress out and become a completely different person? Why does road rage build up inside of you just at the mere sight of a cyclist? It wasn't a cyclist that hit your family pet when you were six. I just don't understand.

Just three days after 5 cyclists were struck by a minivan on a Sunday morning ride in Ottawa, I was involved in a clear display of ignorance breeding ignorance. I was biking within a dedicated bike lane and a 10-12 year old boy stuck is head out of the window and yelled at me, "GET OFF THE ROAD!!!" Naturally I was startled by the sudden outburst and then confused that a young kid would be the one doing this. At the next red light I passed the car as the boy watched me with a large devilish smile and repeated, "OFF THE ROAD!" I didn't say anything as I figured the father would step in a straighten his kid out. After a few minutes the boy was out of my head when again the car passed me. This time the kid just yelled, "BLAH!" in an attempt to startle me. Little bugger got what he wanted because I pulled up and almost swerved into traffic. 3 strikes and your out.

Luckily I caught back up to the car; however, this time I was on the driver's side. I stopped directly beside the vehicle and firmly said, "Listen, if you want to hit a cyclist you can easily just come straight from behind us and hit us already. You don't need your son to yell at us to scare the living hell out of us so that we swerve into traffic. Use your head and take control of your kid!". With an absolute look of astonishment on the father and kid's faces I got back on my bike and finished my ride.

I'm not a parent, but I do know that one of the main roles as a parent is to teach children right from wrong and this kid needed to be taught that cyclists have every right to share the road. Unfortunately, so did his father. Which is why one of the main objectives in the bike network plan for the city of Toronto needs to a focus on the education of both drivers and cyclists on proper road safety and etiquette. Although I am not sure you can teach decency I truly hope that you can otherwise there will be more and more anti-cyclists like tv chef James Martin behind the wheels.

I'd love to hear if anyone reading this has encountered similar problems while riding.

I also know there are two sides to every story, which is why I will later post a second part of this article that will focus on why cyclists are part of the problem and what they need to do in order to improve safety for everyone.

Andrew Nause


Photo found at http://thestar.blogs.com/maps/2009/03/map-of-the-week-bike-accidents.html

The Hills were Calling

5 hrs of mountain biking, 50km of single track, and a 5 hour energy shot – all in a days ride at Hardwood Hills.

Located just outside of Barrie and a couple hours from Toronto is the Mecca of XC mountain biking in southern Ontario, Hardwood Hills Ski and Bike Resort. And now that I have ridden there, it is also where you will find my blood, sweat, and tears. I’ve been itching to ride at Hardwood Hills for the past few summers, and this was finally going to be the year. I planned on racing in the Duke Epic 8 Hr as a solo rider there in July but bowed out because of nearly 2 feet of rain during race weekend. Then I was going to do the same race in the fall but again bowed out, this time not because I was afraid of a little water, but I will be vacationing throughout Europe and riding a couple days in the Swiss Alps - a pretty fair trade off I think.

Surprisingly, the day was rather uneventful with the exception of some pretty sick XC trails. By that I mean, that we managed to get through the entire day with no cuts, bruises or any accidents to report at all even though there were some good technical descents. Instead we just had a blast and put in lots of mileage.

There were two university races going on that day and because of the sheer size and layout of Hardwood Hills, we never came across the racers. Hardwood Hills is arranged with 6 different single track and uni-directional courses all with varying degrees of difficulty. The first and second place winners just happened to be riding Specialized S-Works bikes and looked like they were hauling some serious tail. Speaking of tail...I was quite impressed with the quality of the female contention at the race, especially those from the University of Guelph...sorry no pictures available. But honestly, it is good to see that more and more people (male and female) are getting into mountain biking her in Ontario and with races like these it is only good for the sport.

What was really nice about some of the longer and steeper climbs was that they put down old snowmobile treads in order to provide more grip, otherwise there was no real chance of getting up some of the hills.

Andrew Nause

Rolling in Mud at the DVP

I was just coming off being sick and playing in a baseball tournament (lost all four games), so I hadn’t been mountain biking in almost a week and I was biting at the bit to get going. But with a U2 concert and a Toronto Maple Leafs game going on, trying to drive through downtown Toronto to the DVP course was about as slow as a snail (more on snails later on so stay tuned).

While waiting I noticed that the IMBA (International Mountain Biking Association) will be performing some trail maintenance on Saturday, Sept 19 at 10:00 am on the DVP mountain bike course. So get out there and help out if you love mountain biking at the DVP. I know I will. They’ll provide tools and water, but you bring your own lunch.

There are a few spots that need some maintenance including a certain shoddy bridge that Ivan had some trouble with. Ivan was leading the pack and I couldn’t see him as he was on the other side of a crest - but I could definitely hear him. The sound of someone falling slowly off anything is unmistakable…whoa…whooooa…WHOA!!!!...ARGH! The bridge was only a little longer than a bike, but it was one of those bridges that if you stand on one end the other will lift up…not by design…just old and rotten. And some kids probably thought it would be funny to leave some loose sticks on there too, which didn’t help anything.

What was at the bottom of the bridge you might ask? Well, there isn’t a single answer to that question, but it didn’t smell like water - or mud for that matter. Let’s put it this way, we made sure that Ivan was down wind for the rest of the ride. Poor guy had a meeting with his real estate agent right after the ride too.

I wanted to get a picture of his bike still on top of him as he didn’t unclip in time, but instead I rushed down and saved his recently waxed Specialized Epic. Then I climbed back out of the “mud” and had a good laugh as Ivan rolled around a little more down below.

It wasn’t 5 minutes later that Ivan stopped and realized he had two slugs on his left arm. Lovely.

All in all it was a good ride, between Steve falling 20 feet down a hill and disappearing for 5 minutes, Ivan setting the mood for two lonely snails, and me cranking my left foot on a stump that jumped up and came out of nowhere. I love mountain biking.

Andrew Nause

Scottsdale and Mount Everest

It has been a couple of years since I've gone mountain biking at Scottsdale, and I am glad we decided to return because the last trip there left a bad taste in my mouth. The last ride at Scottsdale we ended up with 3 flat tires – mine being the last. And of course, the nail in the coffin was that we were out of tubes. Luckily it was only a slow leak, so I thought I would be able to pump it up a few times to get me out of the trail and back to Ivan’s house. As I was taking the pump off the valve, and amidst a story, I forgot to release the pump lock and managed to rip the valve straight off the tube. Stupid Bugger! Lesson learned – pay attention to what you are doing. So much for getting back to Ivan’s house easily.

So here I was last night at Scottsdale with 2 extra tubes and ready to rock. I was pretty excited as this was going to be my first ride with my friend Adam, who in the past has summited Mount Everest. However, he showed up late by an hour and half and one sunset. By then we were starting to work our way back out of the trail. Oh well, he still managed to get 30 minutes of riding in.

The trail has several entrances, but the easiest to find is the parking lot at the Scottsdale Farm (where they filmed part of the movie, The Recruit starring Colin Farrell and Al Pacino). The Scottsdale ride is part of the Bruce Trail, and also goes through Silver Creek Conservation Area. The trail was primarily designed for hikers, so it gets quite technical in places with rocks strategically placed on steep climbs, downhills and corners.

There is also a long downhill section of steps and rocks that I love and is a bit tricky to handle.


Here I just managed to get a picture of Keith before biting it pretty good.

No flat tires but still one broken chain. But that is mountain biking for you....got to love it!

Andrew Nause

24 Hr Race - Hot August Nights

August 22 and 23rd have come and gone and so has another 24 Hour Hot August Nights mountain bike race put on by ChicoRacing. The course was hit with rain the night before and again an hour before the race started and several more times throughout the race - a common theme this year in South West Ontario. Naturally, mountain bikers tend to be a bit twisted, so I think the idea of a mud run riled us all up a bit.

I rode the exact race course once prior to the event and plenty of other regular rides throughout Albion Hills, I figured I could handle anything the course threw at me…except maybe the 10 extra pounds of mud I carried from the guys tire in front of me. There were a few hours when the course was just down right nasty, unforgiving and the mud did a number on some people. Chicoracing also set up the "Shooting Gallery" - a fan favorite as it is an opportunity for riders to roll around in some mud and the watchers to drench us with hoses.

Smiles were still abundant though. This guy hit the deck before there were many people watching. It was a good thing Alex, our camera guy, was there and this blog to capture this moment forever. Classic...

I completed 5 laps with my best time being on the longer 15km (9 miles) first lap at 51:18. And I finished my last lap in 53:10 on the 14km course. As you can see, I was trying to push myself even when clipping out when entering the timing tent. I call this my “cross face chicken wing” style.

My team, “Doing it in the Dark” consisting of Ivan, Kurt, Allen and Keith had a tremendous time. We managed to pull off 6th place in our 32 team category (5 men ages 150-199). Keith, the trooper that he is, started the final lap with 1 minute before the cutoff and managed to be the second last rider on the course…followed only by one superstar with a flat tire and his bike hiked over his shoulder.

The Doing it in the Dark team will definitely be making another appearance next year for Hot August Nights in 2010. With Kurt moving to Edmonton in the fall, a couple of us are planning another return trip to Canmore, Alberta for the 24 Hrs of Adrenaline and the world solo championships…you have to love the solo riders for their stupidity, drive, strength and stupidity….I can’t lie, I’m a bit jealous of them.

My team had a professional photographer, We Stiehl Weddings, follow us around the course and snapped a ridiculous amount of photos. The photographer, Alex, was fantastic as he is a fellow mountain biker with plenty of experience and knew where to be to grab some great pictures. The full album will be loaded on Facebook and can be seen at facebook.com/andrew.nause.

Mountain biking in the middle of the night with nothing but the two LED lights, the sound of your breathe, and the faint smell of a skunk that ruined some poor riders night is an experience that every mountain biker should partake in...especially if you can do it during a race. It is ridiculous how much I love mountain biking.

Andrew Nause

Bright 'n Early at Puslinch

Puslinch is one of my absolute favorite trails in the Greater Toronto Area and probably one of the least known. There are several parking lots that access Puslinch; however the easiest is the South McDonald's parking lot off the 401 just east of exit 286. From there you have access to about 40km of single track, as well as, probably 20km of double track. There are two completely different sides to Puslinch; the flat, flowing and very fast glades sections where you cut and carve your way through a tight knit maze of trails. Then on the west side are some great climbs covered in roots and rocks that require some technical skills to manoeuvre.

Being the long weekend and most people escaping to cottage country or spending time with their family, it was only Steve, Kurt and I out for the ride. And since we all have girlfriends/wives we had to sneak out bright and early in the morning.

We recently jinxed ourselves and said that we haven't had any flat tires in a while...naturally it would be me to break that streak with 2 flats in the last 2 rides.

Oh well, it gave Steve a minute to walk his bike over to us after a tough climb. Steve has been complaining I haven't mentioned him in any of my blogs to date. There you go, buddy. Consider yourself acknowledged. Be careful what you wish for.

If you are looking for a fast ride with narrowly missing trees then Puslinch is the place to go. Trust me.

Andrew Nause

Specialized Trail Crew Application

Hello boys and girls and judges all alike at Specialized. This is my application to be a part of the Specialized Trail Crew – an opportunity for myself and Specialized. By choosing me Specialized will add a Canadian to the team, which means in the winter time I’ll be throwing on my parka along with some studded tires and doing some snow riding. And obviously this is an opportunity for me because I’ll be able to parade around in front of my friends on a 2010 Stumpjumper…oh I will parade.

Even though I’ve only been mountain biking for four years now, it has truly taken over my life and I’ve loved every second of it…except for maybe my four year streak of getting poison ivy or the countless nights of sleep-walking thinking I am racing my bike. I try to get on the trails 3 or 4 times a week, but I wish it could be more and my girlfriend probably wishes it was less. The more and more I ride, the more and more I come out of my mountain biking shell so to speak. I’ve been in a few 24 hr and weekly races, I ride with the Caledon Cycling Club (one of the largest cycling clubs in Canada), and I’ve volunteered to be an Algonquin Park Mountain Bike Ranger to maintain the trails, inform other riders on proper mountain biking etiquette as well as safety and park rules.

Along with the countless miles of single track within easy driving distance from my house, I plan on lugging my mountain bike with me for a few fantastic road trips to the Canadian Rockies and the Swiss Alps next year. It is unfortunate that two of my best friends and fellow riders have moved away to these places, but it is also provides me with an excellent opportunity to do some mountain biking in some pretty amazing destinations.

So that explains a fraction of my passion towards mountain biking - how can my love be expressed in words? From the social networking point of view, I am a bit new; however I am an electrical and computer engineer, so I doubt it will take me long to catch on – after all I’ve already started twittering and blogging, which led me to this contest. Plus, my girlfriend’s job is to represent her company on Facebook, Twitter and to start blog discussions, so I think I am covered.

So the only question that remains – does Specialized offer parkas?


You can follow or reach me at:
My blog at mtbaction.blogspot.com/
On Twitter at twitter.com/MTBAction
On Facebook at facebook.com/andrew.nause

Specialized Rider Club Membership

Andrew Nause