Showroom7561

As I was riding my bike through some local areas (Durham Region, Ontario), it was snowy/rainy and pretty miserable, but the birds of prey were all out!

First, I came across a Red-Tailed Hawk just chilling on a fence.

So chill that I was able to ride right by them without even getting a flinch.

Then as I'm heading home through a bike path that cuts through a small local forest, I see a Barred Owl (OP photo). This is the first time seeing an owl up close in the wild, despite knowing they are in the area. The only other time I've seen an Owl in the wild was on a very dark trail at night, and they flew into my line of sight just fast enough for me to catch a glimpse (later confirmed to be an owl from my bike's camera).

As I'm taking photos of this guy, I switch to video mode. He's relaxed, then starts darting his head around, looking up... then I see a Cooper's Hawk fly over head, land in a tree next to this one, and starts calling like crazy! He flew off shortly after, and I caught this (the owl is in the tree on the right):

I generally seek out birds of prey, but am rarely lucky enough to spot one in the course of a day. Seeing three different species in a matter of hours is super rare for me!

Doesn't Doug want to raise the speed limit on 400-series highways? A higher speed limit might have drastically worsened the outcome of this crash...

If I only allow "essential" trackers, it will ask me to enable targeted tracking every time I open the app... Not really a choice if it's forced.

I picked up a Burley Flatbed to compliment my Burley Travoy and Wike City cargo trailers.

The Flatbed seems to offer a nice bit of versatility when it comes to strapping rubbermaids to it.

I've seen 150L+ sizes, but I'm curious if anyone has actually been doing this. If so, any tips or things I should watch out for?

Obviously, securing the front and rear of the trailer (both sides are fully open) is probably going to be really important. LOL

Just to compare, this is the utopian dream for Toronto:

There are approx. 18 cars and trucks in that image.

They are taking up SIGNIFICANTLY more space, and are causing traffic.

Still, we keep saying, "give us more of this, please!".

Insanity or stupidity?

"Carbrain" is a real thing.

I'd be interesting to know what this is actually classified as, legally.

Riding on the sidewalk with a 500lb+ "mobility scooter" that's basically a narrow car seems like it could raise a lot of questions.

That said, I'd love to see these replace full-size cars for people who still want/need to drive around town for errands.

The screenshot was taken from a live stream at 1:30pm on a Wednesday, not during long-weekend rush hour.

The Gardiner, just like the 401 and the DVP, are a traffic nightmare nearly all the time, yet they don't have bike lanes on them.

This isn't some strange coincidence or conspiracy.

Car dependency, rather than people riding bikes, taking public transit, or walking, is the real problem causing traffic and gridlock.

What's maddening is that the area surrounding this new store is among the best for dedicated bike paths in the city.

Neuron’s rider survey for the year revealed just over 43 per cent of trips replaced someone taking a car. It also found nearly 17 per cent more trip resulted in riders buying some at a local business while the average spend per trip increased to $48, up from $37 last year.

Even though I haven't been a fan of how our shared e-scooter program has been implemented, it's hard to argue with the value it brings!

Side note: This is one of two providers who offer rental e-scooters; the other one, Bird, also offers e-bike rentals in the city.

Ignoring that my country doesn't allow Idaho Stops, or that my Provincial Government wants to actively kill cyclists by removing safe cycling infrastructure, I've always wondered if there's a reason why cyclists aren't allowed to simply ride through an intersection like the one in the photo.

I'm talking about the right side, where the bike lane could extend through the intersection without interfering with other vehicles, including those that are turning left.

This would not only keep those stops safer (clears the cyclist out of the intersection), but would just make sense from a transportation efficiency standpoint.

Is there something I'm missing, or do cyclists have to stop only because motorists would take a tantrum if they weren't required to?