Time to get your bike out!

Published: May 5, 2020

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Spring is always a good time to reconsider your transportation options. One of the best ways to prevent health problems and boost your immunity is to stay healthy.

Bicycling is probably the simplest way for you to maintain cardio-vascular health on a daily basis. When we are back on campus, you can get to work sustainably and save money and time. In addition, taking your bike will mean you don’t have to worry about traffic or parking. Your ride will not release greenhouse gas emissions, and you will be generally happier.

Help to get you biking or biking more often

Here is some information to help you get on your bike more often, back on your bike or to take up biking.

Vélo-Quebec’s website offers basic advice, answers the questions you might have about choosing the right bicycle, provides information about how to dress and more:

http://www.veloquebec.info/active-transportation/The-ABCs-of-Active-Transportation/

Pandemic’s quiet streets great for practicing

The pandemic has also meant excessively quiet streets. If you are uncomfortable riding in traffic, this is indeed a great time since there are so few cars. If you live close to Dawson and have always wanted to ride, this is a great time for you to test your itinerary.

If you have any questions about what roads to take, Google Maps has a bicycle icon which can suggest a route for you. Keep in mind the flexibility of a bicycle: if a route isn’t working for you, just try something else.

Good routes

If you have any questions about good routes, please do not hesitate to write to me at rdugas@dawsoncollege.qc.ca for personalized advice. We hope that when we go back to work at Dawson, we will be able to set up small groups of riders to show you our favourite itineraries from different neighbourhoods.

If your bike was in working order when you put it away in the fall, it should be near fine (in hopes you kept it indoors for the winter).

Two things you must do for your bike:

• Inflate your tires. It is normal for tires to lose pressure with time, be sure to inflate these to the recommended pressure (indicated on the sidewalk of the tire). In case you haven’t a pump, you can go to a bicycle store and you will be able to regulate the pressure of your tires.
• Lubricate your chain and moving parts

For a good how-to, follow this link:

https://www.parktool.com/blog/repair-help/

Keep in mind that Park tools is a tool maker so they naturally are trying to sell you their bike repair and maintenance products. Many of the specialty cleaning brushes and solvents can be replaced with more ordinary brushes (such as old toothbrushes and ordinary rags) and ordinary dish soap. That being said, the Park Tools site is full of advice and smart tutorials about fixing different bits of your bicycle.

For more complicated repairs, you may want to take your bike to your local bike shop, which has been identified as an essential service!

Bike-able distance to Dawson

Our greenhouse gas inventory reveals that transport is by far our biggest cause of emissions. We know that nearly 50% of Dawson staff and students live within 10 kilometres, a very bike-able distance.

We aim to facilitate your journey to work by bicycle. Please share your ideas about how we might help you ride your bike to Dawson!