Hamilton

Photo: Vic Gedris: More on Vic's site: vic.gedris.org/pics

When one is obsessed with cycling one tends to bring the bike everywhere. The GF and I brought our bikes to a wedding in Ancaster this last long weekend. The GO bus and its bike rack took us and our bikes to McMaster University, Hamilton, where upon we mounted our steel horses and rode up the "mountain" as they like to call it in the "Hammer". (Sorry, forgot the camera!)

Ancaster is full of nice people, being a bedroom community of Hamilton and a nice place to bike. They've got waterfalls nearby. Their main street bike lane seems to be a bit of an afterthought with a painted bike symbol over the wide paved gutter. Still, no on complained as we took our part of the road. Most of Ancaster's roads were bike-friendly.

York Blvd., Hamilton

On the Sunday of the Victoria Day long weekend, after doing some camping and hiking at Bronte Creek Provincial Park, Jen and I rode to Hamilton to visit family. Riding to Hamilton is actually a relatively frequent trip for us, and for the majority of the ride it's really fun and scenic.

On Sunday I noticed this sign for the first time, while riding eastbound on York Blvd. into downtown Hamilton. I had to stop and turn around to take a picture because it cracked me up.

Seriously...what does this sign really mean? Are we expected to stop sharing the road after this point? Is it OK for a motorist to just run right over a cyclist anywhere beyond this sign? Should we have pulled over and walked our bikes along the sidewalk the rest of the way?

It reminds me of the signs I see around Toronto: "Community Safety Zone....Ends!"

Anyway, besides this little chuckle, we actually had a nice time riding around Hamilton. Sometime soon, I will post another article and photos of a new bike lane that was installed on a more westerly portion of York Blvd. in Hamilton.