Tag: Community

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Tackling Cancer on a Brompton Folding Bicycle

A metal display features a silhouette of someone holding a bike above their head. The text "The Ride To Conquer Cancer" appears below that. A man is standing next to the sign. He's smiling and looking at the viewer.

The only thing worse than having cancer is having cancer and needing to drive on Ontario’s awful Highway 401 to get treatment. That was my initial thought after learning about a clinical trial in Toronto around 110 km east of my home in Waterloo, Ontario. I’d recently been diagnosed with cancer, though it was early enough that there had been no spread. The prognosis was good for an otherwise bad kind of cancer to get. And the clinical trial looked like a promising fit for me. I was lucky, if that’s the right word to use when writing about having cancer.

A travel challenge

Not having spent much time in Toronto in recent years, though, travel challenges were foremost in my mind for the trial at Princess Margaret Hospital, one of the world’s leading cancer treatment and research hospitals. I was a little worried about the logistics of regular travel to and from the hospital; Highway 401 is a significant mental barrier for me, as well as a decidedly physical one as it’s usually so congested with heavy traffic.

A view of a multilane controlled access highway, looking ahead towards cars in three lanes of traffic. A sign over the lanes reads "401 East. Toronto."

After my first visit to meet the clinical trial team at the hospital, though, I started to reevaluate my options.

Bicycle Coach

Traveling by GO Transit train had easily taken me from Waterloo to Toronto and back again, and I had noticed that bikes could be taken on board. I started to think about taking my bike with me on my train trips. It turns out, though, that only some coaches will take bikes, and then only two bikes on a coach. 

A composite image that shows bike icons on two GO Trains. The icon on the train on the left shows a bike in silhouette in a whte circle with a green border. Beneath the icon there's text that reads "2 only seulement". The icon on the train on the right shows a bike in silhouette in a white circle with a red border and a read bar through it. There’s text that reads “GO Plus. Free Wi-Fi on this coach. Wi-Fi gratuit dans cette voiture.”

That’s not really practical for planning a predictable trip. But as an avid cyclist, biking from home to the local train station, riding the train to Toronto, then biking to the hospital and other locations remained particularly appealing.

How about a Brompton?

I then started to look into folding bikes in general, and Brompton bikes in particular. I’ll confess that much of my limited knowledge of the Brompton had come from the bike’s wonderful comedic appearances in the BBC TV show W1A. But I was intrigued enough to investigate more.

A metal display features a silhouette of someone holding a bike above their head. The text "The Ride To Conquer Cancer" appears below that. A man is standing next to the sign. He's smiling and looking at the viewer.

I soon discovered Pedaal, a Brompton dealer in Toronto (and Canadian Brompton distributor) that’s not that far from the hospital. 

A view into a retail space. At the back there's a counter with various drinks available. There are two people standing at the counter. The ceiling has plants and mini banners hanging down. It's all quite colourful.

One day after a hospital visit, I headed over to the shop. There, co-owner Eric Kamphof looked after me, letting me test ride multiple bikes on neighbourhood streets and answering my many questions. That initial visit gave me lots to think about.

An obvious choice

Once I was home it didn’t take me long to conclude that an Electric G Line would be the perfect choice for me, and a great investment in my own health. I could take it with me on my GO Transit train trips to and from Toronto.

Sixteen cubby hole shelves hold folded Brompton bikes and bags. A ladder rests against the shelves.

And it would give me the flexibility to get to multiple locations in my healthcare journey. Plus the smooth pedal-assist boost would keep me cycling for years to come. I made arrangements with Eric to purchase the bike and return to Toronto to pick it up.

Kitting out the Brompton

I didn’t get too many accessories for the bike to start, as I wanted to spend more time riding it to better understand what I might need. And the battery bag that it came with did have room to carry a few things. I did, though, get a lock, and a loud electric horn to use when car drivers are being awful. And I got a mirror as I always use one for general situational awareness. I also got a cool Fidlockwater bottle that mounts to the bike with magnets on a low-profile attachment point. These accessories gave me a ready-to-explore urban bike, one that’s fun to ride and feels safe.

In the foreground, there’s a Brompton bicycle leaning against a storefront. Behind the Brompton in the store window, there are multiple posters, including one for Cycling Guide.

To finish off my initial set-up, I already had a helmet and Quad Lock case for my phone, as I use them with my regular bike. I got a handlebar Quad Lock mount for the Brompton, as the Cycling Guidemobile app that I work on is so important to me when cycling to new places. The routes are great here in Waterloo, and I’m also discovering how they are in our currently-limited Toronto-area testing. I always prefer our routes to those from the big map app players.

Getting home

My first day riding my new Brompton in Toronto after taking delivery of it was exhilarating. Downtown Toronto is a profoundly car-centric environment, but at least there are multiple streets with physically separated bike lanes. 

In the foreground, there’s a Brompton bicycle leaning against a storefront. Behind the Brompton in the store window, there are multiple posters, including one for Cycling Guide.

Cycling from Pedaal to Union Station to catch the GO Transit train was straightforward and surprisingly fun, with those separated bike lanes providing a safe space for me and many other cyclists to ride in. The subsequent train ride back to Waterloo was relaxing and issue-free, with my Brompton folded on the floor next to me. Cycling home from the Kitchener GO station was a breeze.

Gearing up

As I rode my new Brompton here in Waterloo and in Toronto, I gradually came to better understand my riding needs. On the less-exclusively-bikey side, I picked up a light rain jacket for the Toronto trips when there was rain expected. That worked out well, though I’m happy to have missed the worst of an intense storm that hit one day, seeing only a little light rain when I was riding.

A three quarter front view of a bike. There's a large bag hanging on the front. The bike is leaning against a raised vegatable garden bed..

I wanted to use an old-school milk crate on the rear rack to make grocery shopping more practical. I added a couple of bungee cords and it’s ready to haul! The crate has worked great both at a favourite farm market and favourite independent grocery store. The 45º orientation of the crate on the rack ensures that my heels don’t hit it while I’m peddling.

A 3/4 overhead view of a bag on the front of a bike. Various groceies can be seen filling the bag.

More recently, I decided to address a minor limitation that became apparent over the last few months. The small battery bag can carry a few items, and the milk crate can carry a decent load of groceries. I found, though, that I needed something in between to handle running errands that included a smaller shopping haul while folding the parked bike. That led me to the Brompton front basket, which is open-topped like a traditional basket and has decent capacity. It’s been a wonderful and practical addition to the bike so far.

The Bottom Line

That pretty much sums up the physical bike and its accessories. This set-up is ideally suited to my current needs, and the Brompton is clearly an adaptable bike that’s more than capable in a variety of riding contexts.

A view of a subway train approaching passenger platform. There's a white tiled wall on the left, with the station name that reads "QUEE'S PARK. COLLEGE STREET."

In multiple rides since getting it, my Brompton has emphatically confirmed for me that I’d made the right choice. It’s exceeded all my expectations and been a joy to ride. Traveling with it on the train has been revelatory. My cancer care team has been impressed with it too! And each of my three sons has ridden it and they love it as much as I do.

As a person who cycles for day-to-day transportation, I’ve been delighted with its practical utility. Clearly the Brompton isn’t just for train rides! It’s been great for grocery runs here in Waterloo, and just running errands in general. It’s also been a fun conversation-starter for people who see it, especially on the train and at the hospital. 

But those stories are for another time.

This post was initially published at the Pedaal blog. And it includes text adapted from an earlier Getting to know my new Brompton folding bicycle post here.

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Getting to know my new Brompton folding bicycle

In the foreground, there’s a Brompton bicycle leaning against a storefront. Behind the Brompton in the store window, there are multiple posters, including one for Cycling Guide.

I’ve written about my recently acquired Brompton Electric G Line bike few times on Mastodon. I thought an update on some of the specifics of my experience might be interesting. 

I bought the bike in July after spending time testing various models at Pedaal, a Toronto Brompton dealer (and Canadian distributor). At that point, I didn’t get too many accessories, as I wanted to spend more time riding the bike to better understand what I might need.

The battery bag that it came with had room for a few things. I did, though, get a lock, and a loud electric horn to use when car drivers are being awful. And I got a mirror as I *always* need one for general situational awareness. I also got a cool Fidlock water bottle as it attaches to the bike with magnets on a low-profile attachment point. These items gave me a ready-to-explore urban bike, one that’s fun to ride and feels safe.

An overhead view of the handlebars of a bike. From left to right theres a mirror, a button for a horn, a bike controller, a horn, a phone on a mount, and a bell. There's a waterbottle mounted on the tube leading to the handlebars. There's a large bag hanging off the front.

I already had a helmet and Quad Lock case for my phone, as I use them with my regular bike. I got a handlebar Quad Lock mount for the Brompton, as Cycling Guide is so important to me when cycling to new places. The routes are great here in Waterloo, Ontario, and I’m also discovering how they are in our limited Toronto-area testing. I prefer our routes to those from the big players.

An overhead view of the handlebars of a bike. From left to right there's a button for a horn, a bike controller, a horn, a phone on a mount with a map on its screen, and a bell. There's a waterbottle mounted on the tube leading to the handlebars. There's a large bag hanging off the front.

As I rode the Brompton here in Waterloo, and in Toronto after travelling there via GO Train, I slowly came to better understand my riding needs. On the less-exclusively-bikey side, I picked up a light rain jacket for the Toronto trips when there was rain expected. That worked out well, though I’m happy to have missed the worst of the storm that hit on Wednesday, seeing only a little light rain when I was riding.

I wanted to use an old-school milk crate on the rear rack to make grocery shopping more practical. I added some bungie cords and it’s ready to haul! The crate has worked great both at a favourite farm market and favourite independent grocery store. The 45 degree angle ensures that my heels don’t hit it while I’m peddling.

In the foreground, there’s a Brompton bicycle leaning against a rural mailbox. There’s a red milk crate mounted on the back of the bike, such that the sides are at a 45º angle to the rack it's on. There are flowers and other plants in two gardens, and trees in the background. It's a sunny day.
A view of a bike parking area, a Brompton locked to a post-and-ring style parking spot. A large crate is mounted on the rerar rack of the bike. In the background there’s the wall of a building. On the wall the words “Central Fresh Market” are prominent.

More recently, I decided to address a minor limitation that became apparent over the last couple of months. While the small battery bag can carry a few items, and the crate can carry a decent load of groceries, I needed something in between to handle running errands that included getting a smaller grocery haul while folding the parked bike. That led me to the front basket bag, which is open-topped like a traditional basket and has decent capacity.

A 3/4 overhead view of a bag on the front of a bike. Various groceies can be seen filling the bag.
A three quarter front biew of a bike. There's a lrage bag hangng on the front. The bike is leaning against a raised vegatable garden bed..

That pretty much sums up the physical bike and its accessories. I’ll follow up soon with some details on how I use it here in Waterloo and in Toronto. But as a preview, the Brompton has exceeded my expectations in every way!

You can read this post in its Mastodon thread form as well.

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A change of direction for this blog going forward

A pole has four blue wayfinding signs, each pointing in a different direction. Each sign indicates what can be found by traveling along the trail in that direction.

I’m trying something new. For years, now, this blog has been far less active than when I started it. And most of the more-recent posts are re-blogged from other places where I was/am more active — Cycling Guide currently and, in the past, Fluxible and Zeitspace.

I find posting on Mastodon, where I have a small community of people I follow and who follow me, to be a much more enjoyable place to write and engage with people. And I just don’t think I have much of importance or interest to capture in a blog post, other than the reblogged posts about Cycling Guide. Given that, what to do with this blog? Should I just let it exist in a dormant state? Or try something else?

I’m going to change my approach. I’ll try writing longer threads on my Mastodon account, and then assembling them for publication here on my blog. We’ll see how it goes!

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Cycling Guide at the Ontario Bike Summit

A view from a rider's perspective of the handlebars of a bike. A phone is mounted on the handlebars, and a map is visible showing a route being followed.

Spring is tentatively arriving in Southwestern Ontario, though not without periodic swings back to wintry weather. As biking without snow and ice looks more feasible, here at Cycling Guide Foundation we’re also turning our own attention to the Ontario Bike Summit that’s happening in the City of Waterloo on April 3–5. It’s pretty exciting that this event is happening in the city where our Cycling Guide mobile app was initially conceived and created and where we continue with design and development work.

I’ll be doing a presentation about the app on April 4 as a part of a set of presentations focused on “Encouragement Strategies”. Here’s the event description for my presentation:

Low-stress, cycling-friendly routes to get more people onto bikes

In a US survey in 2016, “Revisiting the Four Types of Cyclists: Findings from a National Survey“, Jennifer Dill and Nathan McNeil found that 60% of adults wanted to cycle more, though were “Interested but Concerned”. That’s a large part of the population who would like to cycle more than they do now if they felt more confident.

And those are the people who we believe will get the most out of Cycling Guide, using its low-stress, cycling-friendly routes to get around. Cycling Guide is a free mobile app for iPhone and Android.

This case study will show how we created the app in Waterloo Region, and how it delivers low-stress routes based on the Level of Traffic Stress (LTS) framework that was first presented in a 2012 paper by Maaza C. Mekuria, Peter G. Furth, and Hilary Nixon called “Network Connectivity for Low-Stress Bicycling“.

If you’re at the summit, please say hello!

This post was originally published on the Cycling Guide Foundation site.

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Looking back at Cycling Guide in 2023

A desktop has some cycling-related artifacts: the Cycling Guide app icon, 6 cycling-related books, a phone with the Cycling Guide initial screen, and a model bicycle.

We’re pausing to reflect, and looking back, 2023 was a year of major transition. 

  • We created Cycling Guide Foundation to be a permanent and sustainable home for our free Cycling Guide mobile app.
  • We launched the app in Apple’s App Store and in Google Play, with geographic coverage in Waterloo Region and Guelph, Ontario.
  • We released new versions of the app, addressing issues and adding small improvements.
  • We built relationships with cycling advocacy groups across Canada.

While it’s always easy to wish we had accomplished more, it’s important to recognize progress and milestones. Getting Cycling Guide into the hands of more cyclists is an achievement that we’re proud of. And the feedback that we’ve received from people is gratifying. For example:

“I use it often. Anything to avoid the roads these days.”

“I used this app yesterday to find my way to downtown Waterloo from where I live in Inverhaugh. It was excellent routing me through the dedicated paths and shared roads!”

“I’m always on the lookout for safer and smoother routes to ride for my commute, as well as lovely casual rides!”

“I really like the explore options to see new loops close to me.”

“I’m loving your App! I use it often! I very much appreciate the Cycling Guide.”

The relationships that we’ve been building behind the scenes are crucial to our goal of expanding Cycling Guide coverage to more areas. People who advocate for cycling in particular and active transportation in general are working to improve the world. And we love working with them. We’re excited about our progress, and will share more in the new year.

It may be winter here where we live and work (though there’s little snow to show for it at the moment), but we’re still thinking about cycling and how we can make it easier for folks to ride as a part of their daily lives. 

See you next year!

This post was originally published on the Cycling Guide Foundation site.

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August Cycling Guide update

A pole has four blue wayfinding signs, each pointing in a different direction. Each sign indicates what can be found by traveling along the trail in that direction.

It’s been a busy summer for us here at the Cycling Guide Foundation. We’ve been working away on many behind-the-scenes aspects of the Cycling Guide mobile app, and have just released the newest version to everyone via the App Store for iPhone and Google Play for Android. Be sure to install it now. This release addresses many small issues and provides big performance improvements, while also laying the foundation for exciting new future updates for the app.

Many of you will have first used Cycling Guide in its beta form, starting in late July of last year. The feedback that came in from our testers was instrumental in helping us improve the app in general and its routing in particular. Often the improvements came via updates to OpenStreetMap data, and generally we’ve been able to get those data fixes made fairly quickly. Of course the app became more widely available back in May, and I expect that most of the people who had been using the beta version switched to using the May version of the app. We continue to get great feedback from folks using the widely available version of Cycling Guide.

But we still value the feedback to early versions of updates and new features before they are released widely. In support of that, and recognizing that not everyone in the original test group may want to continue with it, we’re opening up a brand new beta program. If you enjoyed testing early releases, here’s your chance to sign up to do just that! As always, we do respond to the feedback we receive, so please do keep it coming.

Join our new beta program now.

Thanks for your continued interest in Cycling Guide. 

Happy cycling everyone.

This post was originally published on the Cycling Guide Foundation site.

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Cycling Guide mobile app is now available

A pole has four blue wayfinding signs, each pointing in a different direction. Each sign indicates what can be found by traveling along the trail in that direction.

We have some exciting news today. 

The initial release of Cycling Guide is now available in the App Store for iPhone and in Google Play for Android. That means anyone can install and use the app now to get great low-stress bike routes.

It’s been a long ride (!) to get here, but it’s been worth it. Working closely with CycleWR and supported by extensive real world cycling by our beta testers we’ve created an app that will appeal to people who would like to cycle more but feel like they lack the expertise, experience, or knowledge to do so comfortably. (Of course, it will be a great experience for more seasoned cyclists as well.)

Here are some more details on what you’ll be able to do with Cycling Guide:

  • Get great low-stress cycling routes
  • Find bicycle parking to support your rides
  • Try curated recreational rides from Explore Waterloo Region
  • Find cycling-friendly businesses, courtesy of Ontario By Bike

Simply put, Cycling Guide provides low-stress cycling routes to anyone who wants to cycle more in Waterloo Region. And now we’re all looking forward to a summer of fun cycling.

By the way, while it’s not in Waterloo Region, the geographic coverage area for Cycling Guide also includes Guelph and parts of Wellington County. That means even more people can find low-stress routes. And we hope to see Cycling Guide reach other communities as well.

So whether you use an iPhone or an Android phone, now’s the perfect time to install Cycling Guide and find out just how liberating a low-stress bike ride can be. Happy cycling everyone.

This post originally appeared on the Zeitspace blog.

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Responding quickly to feedback for Cycling Guide routes

An urban street scene with cars parked at the side of the street. Between the street and the sidewalk there is a raised cycleway.

David Trueman, of CycleWR, wrote at the Zeitspace blog recently about OpenStreetMap (OSM) and why we use its data in Cycling Guide. One of the reasons is that we can update OSM as new cycling infrastructure opens in the real world or as we discover issues in its data. Here’s how data-related improvements to our routing happen.

A big part of our testing early on was riding our bikes and experiencing Cycling Guide routes directly ourselves. That doesn’t scale, though, and we invited other people to get early access to Cycling Guide in order to test it and provide feedback. That testing has been a great success, especially in revealing issues in our routes. Here’s a recent example of feedback from one of our early access testers: 

King St between Marshall and Regina is finished construction and has above grade bike lanes that are pretty good although you have to be cautious of pedestrians and parked vehicles. Routes are avoiding that section and taking inferior streets .

I’d been watching King Street North in Waterloo over the summer wondering when the opening would happen, and hadn’t realized that it had. Neither had David. He checked OSM and saw that there was nothing in its data yet about the new north-bound and south-boud cycleways. It was time for a quick reconnaissance trip. I cycled over to King Street South and Willis Way, and from there headed north on the dedicated cycleway. And as reported by our Cycling Guide tester, the new section is now open and I was able to ride all the way to University Avenue. I was able to ride back as well on the southbound cycleway, with the exception of a short segment between University and Bricker.

Having confirmed the physical state of this bit of the world, I let David know. He made an update in OSM, which is now awaiting review by other OSM contributors. We’ll see those cycleways on Cycling Guide routes and maps soon.

But updates to OSM aren’t the only way that we improve our cycling routes. We’ve had multiple testers let us know about rough trails that aren’t really suitable for many cyclists. They’re not appropriate for cargo bikes, or bikes pulling trailers, or simply just for less-experienced or less-confident cyclists. Here’s one report:

Route did not suggest going directly down Doon South but rather to take a trail just after Winding Wood Cres. The trail had an intense, steep hill that would be challenging for most cyclists.

To address this recurring issue, we’ve been updating the way that we process OSM data for use in our routing. As a result, we’re avoiding more and more of these kinds of rough trails. As I’ve mentioned previously, reports of real-world experiences from our group of testers is a big part of making sure that Cycling Guide routes are as good as they can be.

Here’s part of another recent example of a routing challenge that was quite tricky to diagnose, but simple to resolve:

I’m surprised that it didn’t suggest using the bike paths north of University Ave (near MacGregor Cres.) since that route takes about half the time and has less interaction with cars. I’m wondering if this route was intentionally avoided or if those paths just aren’t included in the map. 

The routes that Cycling Guide provided in this case were far more indirect than they should have been, and it wasn’t at all clear why. This one was trickier to track down, but it eventually turned out that in the OSM data one short segment of the Laurel/Forwell Trails didn’t explicitly allow bikes, while all the other segments do. That prevented Cycling Guide from using those parts of the trails. This feedback resulted in another quick OSM update by David (again, pending review by other OSM contributors).

Sometimes we get reports of problems that are already close to being addressed. Here’s some recent feedback we received from another of our early access testers:

The road from Wellington at Walter to Park St, that runs between the GRH helipad and the badminton club, is a private road with gates. A route tried to take me through there today, but it is not passable.  

I checked, and the issue was that we weren’t handling that private road correctly. That is, the OSM data is correct, but the way we were processing it needed improvement. The good news is that I checked with the newest internal routing data, and confirmed that we already have a fix that excludes private roads like this one from routing. That fix will be out in the world soon.

Engaging with people who joined our early access to Cycling Guide group has been, and continues to be, a great success. Sometimes the problems people have reported have fixes that apply across the Region because of improvements in how we process OSM data. Sometimes the fixes are to OSM data itself. In all cases, though, the result is better cycling routes for everyone.

If you’re interested in getting early access to Cycling Guide yourself, sign up right now at CyclingGuide.app. We’d love to hear from you.

This post originally appeared on the Zeitspace blog.

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Why Does Cycling Guide Use OpenStreetMap?

A map of Kitchener Ontario, with a green line representing a cycling route. The line enters at the top of the map and ends by a large black marker in Victoria Park.

Some of you will have been following along as we work with CycleWR to create Cycling Guide. It’s a big project, with plenty of work to do to bring it to Waterloo Region. One of our close collaborators has been David Trueman of CycleWR, who among other things brought to the project an appreciation for and deep understanding of OpenStreetMap. In this guest piece, David shares more about OSM and its importance to Cycling Guide. 

I want to tell you more about how Cycling Guide is built atop OpenStreetMap (OSM.) First of all, what is OpenStreetMap? 

OSM is a map of the world, created and maintained by volunteers and free to use under an open license. OSM provides map data for thousands of websites, mobile apps, and hardware devices. Virtually every online map that you see, other than Google, is based on OSM. That includes Apple and Facebook.

OSM is the Wikipedia of map data. Not only is it free to use but any member of the public is free to update it to add to or correct local information.

OSM is well aligned with one of the goals of Cycling Guide: to provide a hyperlocal resource for anyone who would like to find their way on a bicycle in Waterloo Region, no matter what their experience or confidence level. Cycling Guide will be open-source software; the source code will be available to examine and use by anyone who wants to.

Open data, open source software, open knowledge and OpenStreetMap share a common theme: we can and should all benefit from community efforts rather than having the fruit of those efforts locked up for private benefit. If knowledge of prior intellectuals had not been openly available, Isaac Newton would not have been able to declare in a 1675 letter: “if I have seen further [than others], it is by standing on the shoulders of giants.”

So, that’s all the theory. How is OSM working out in practice?

First of all, the map data in OSM is remarkably complete and accurate (although not perfect!) This means that, as we tune Cycling Guide’s handling of the OSM data, the app is generating fantastic routes that, wherever possible, avoid the need to travel with heavy traffic.

Because Cycling Guide volunteers can directly change the OSM data, we are able to add new cycling facilities right away. We observed this directly with the new Farmer’s Market Trail. On the day the trail officially opened, we were already generating routes that use it — long before the apps from big companies which don’t have this tight local connection.

More often we are able to fix small inaccuracies quickly. Just the other day I was using Cycling Guide and noticed it was directing me to ride on the sidewalk on a quiet local street. It turns out that the OSM data for that sidewalk was wrong and I was able to correct it the same day.

Feedback from users is prominently featured in Cycling Guide, and our intention is that when users report less than optimal routing, we will be able to make corrections in a timely way and demonstrate results

Like Wikipedia, we have the benefit of peer review to ensure accuracy and consistency. On more than one occasion I have made a small error in my OSM changes and other local OSM editors have been quick to point out the error so I can correct it.

When you sign up for early access and use Cycling Guide, now you’ll know that you will be standing (riding?) on the shoulders of giants.

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Cyclists from around Waterloo Region are now testing Cycling Guide

A bicyclist's view looking down at a phone mounted on bike handlebars. The phone's screen shows a map with a marked route on it.

The Cycling Guide mobile app, which Zeitspace is creating with CycleWR, has reached a milestone. After an extended period of internal testing, we’ve put it in the hands of several people who are experienced and confident cyclists to see how well it works for them. But the app is actually aimed at people who aren’t experienced and confident cyclists. Why have we gone with these experienced and confident cyclists for early testing? It’s because we’re particularly interested in learning about the quality of the routes that Cycling Guide provides, and we want to start with people whose cycling experience and knowledge of cycling in Waterloo Region will better equip them to assess those routes.

Here’s a little bit of an overview of the routes. One of the things that we want Cycling Guide to do is provide low stress routes for people who otherwise may not feel confident or comfortable enough to ride in Waterloo Region. The routes that Cycling Guide presents on the map show cyclists what they can expect in terms of stressful (or not) car traffic when cycling along a route.  When creating a route, the app classifies streets and paths into four groups:

  • Good for anyone
    You’ll ride with few or no cars
  • Good for most cyclists
    You’ll ride in lighter car traffic
  • Good for confident cyclists
    You’ll ride closer to cars
  • Good for strong cyclists
    You’ll ride in heaver car traffic

The resulting Cycling Guide routes are often low stress, using protected cycling lanes, shared paths, and other car-free options. That is, Cycling Guide routes will typically favour the lowest stress paths and streets, the ones that are good for anyone. That’s great for less experienced cyclists.

Of course, this is what we intended. How close have we gotten to achieving this? So far the feedback is great. Here’s what some of our testers are saying:

  • “Passed through a park with construction on the trail which was not noted on the map. It was passable but looked like it had recently been closed.”
  • “Route did not suggest going directly down Doon South but rather to take a trail just after Winding Wood Cres. The trail had an intense, steep hill that would be challenging for most cyclists. Doon South at least is flat. Then lost the trail/route through a GVTA trail that was not appropriate for cyclists. Felt out of the way and not very direct.”
  • “I hit a dead end near a pond looking for this route, and couldn’t see it. I ended up getting back on Laurel Trail, to land near the top of this mystery segment, so I got back on track.”

And finally:

  • “I just want to emphasize I really love the problem this app is looking to solve.”

As the first three examples show, we have plenty of room to improve. But it’s great feedback as it all addresses exactly what we’re looking to learn about in our current testing phase: the quality of Cycling Guide routes. I also like the fourth piece of feedback, as it confirms that we’re going in the right direction!

Our work continues, and Cycling Guide improves every week.

If you’re interested in getting early access to Cycling Guide yourself, sign up right now at CyclingGuide.app. We’d love to hear from you.

This post originally appeared on the Zeitspace blog.