schwiiz.org

This last month I’ve been learning how to develop software for the iPhone.  It’s been a lot of fun but stressful at the same time.  I’m close to finishing my first application, which is a tool to update maps from the road on MapMyTour.com.  I have the basic features working, and I’m now looking for beta testers.  If you have an iPhone and would like to help, then please write me an e-mail and I’ll get back to you.

In a few hours a small group of us will depart on our “Tour de Schwiiz” bike tour through Switzerland.  My bags are packed and the weather forecast looks good.  I’m ready!

This is the fifth “Tour de Schwiiz”, which has evolved into an annual tradition with my friends.  This year we’re cycling down the Rhein Valley to Chur before turning west and into the Alps.  We’ll go over the Oberalppass and Furkapass and continue along the Rhone River in Wallis.  Our final destination is around Lausanne or Geneva, some 500km later.  Here’s a Google Map of the approximate route.

I’ll be posting updates from the road at mapmytour.com.  Stop by if you’d like to monitor our progress.  Wish us luck!

The CBC News website recently featured a Q&A article on cycling called: Your Interview: Cycling tips.  Readers submitted questions and 17 were chosen to be answered by “celebrity” bike mechanic and coordinator Sherri Byer from The Community Bicycle Network of Toronto.  The article didn’t go into great detail on any topic, but did offer some disturbing advice (emphasis mine):

Question: I’m sick of stopping behind busses at every bus stop in the bus/bike lane, usually if I’m ahead of a bus I stay ahead of the bus. Is there a safe way to pass the bus?

Answer: Having not ridden in Winnipeg, I can only assume that lane configuration puts you in the same position — physically and legally — as the cities that I am more familiar with. It’s true: sometimes you fall behind them, sometimes ahead of them, and always we are traffic, just like motorized vehicles. The safest way to pass is on the right, when the bus is moving (that is to say not stopped with the doors opened for passengers).

Passing a vehicle -especially a bus- on the right is dangerous and stupid.  Let’s look at what’s wrong with this:

• Passing a bus on the right puts you into the driver’s blind spot.  This is the last place you want to be.  Although a driver might be able to see the cyclist in their mirror, the driver won’t be expecting a cyclist to be there, especially if the bus never passed the cyclist.
• Buses are wide vehicles and take up most of the lane.  A cyclist could easily be pushed into the curb while the driver tries to keep the bus within the lane.
• Buses usually approach the curb as they approach a bus stop, and thereby could collide with the cyclist or push the cyclist into the curb.
• A bus could suddenly turn right and cutoff the cyclist (see Collision Type #4 on bicyclesafe.com).

My advice is to always pass on the left when it’s legal and safe to do so.  If it’s not possible, then suck it up and stay behind the bus.  It doesn’t matter if it’s your legal right to pass on the right:  A cyclist always loses in an accident.

The excitement of what lies ahead comes in waves.  On June 3rd, in just under a week, we’ll be departing on “Bike Tour 2008″; a 3-4 week tour through northern France.  There’s a nice symmetry to this destination:  In 2006 I biked north to Stockholm and in 2007 I biked east to Vienna.  This year it’s west!

The tour will begin in Basel and go west through the Loire Valley and to the Atlantic Coast.  We’ll then turn north and continue along the North Sea coast to Brussels before turning south back towards Switzerland.  Here’s a rough sketch of the route.  I have no illusion about completing the full 3′000km circuit, so we’ll only go as far as motivation and time permits.  I’m particularly excited about the Loire Valley, which is full of gorgeous castles and wine estates.  However, my touring partner is more excited about the cheeses.

I’ll be updating our progress on mapmytour.com, so bookmark the link if you’d like to keep up with us.  Wish us luck!

A friend and I are a few hours away from a four-day tour along the Bodensee-Koenigssee Radweg. The route runs west-east in the far south of Germany, and connects the Lake of Constance (Bodensee) with the Koenigssee just out of Salzburg, Austria. I cycled a part of this route last September and found it to be a nice mix of lonely roads and lovely scenery. This will be a fully-loaded tour with tent and camping gear. We don’t expect to go the full distance, but perhaps at least 300 of the 400 or so kilometers. The scenic highlight will be on Friday when we ride past the famous Neuschwanstein Castle.

Progress of the tour will be logged on MapMyTour.com. Have a great weekend everyone!

The alps run west to east through Switzerland and create a weather barrier between the north and south. This weekend is one of those times when the north is wet and cold, and the south is warm and sunny. Guess where I’m going.

This will be my first multi day tour of the year. On Saturday we’ll have an easy ride from Airolo to Bellinzona where we’ll stay the night, and on Sunday we’ll continue to Lugano or Chiasso. I’ll be posting progress of the trip on mapmytour.com. Have a good weekend everyone! I’ll post photos when I get back.

On previous bike tours I’ve wanted to keep friends and family informed on my progress by updating a Google Map. It’s an easy thing to do, but updates only happen as often as I have internet access. The silly thing is, my mobile phone has a web browser, but I don’t know of any website for updating a map that is compatible with a mobile phone. That is, until now.

Map My Tour is the name of a new website that I’ve created. Updating a map is as simple as visiting the add waypoint page with your phone (see picture), copying the coordinates from your GPS, and submitting. The map is immediately updated. Have a look at a sample map from a bike ride last week, and feel free to create an account.

This will be a fun way to keep people updated on the progress of my tours. It now looks certain that I’ll get the extra leave from work so that I can go cycling through France this June. It’s time to start relearning French!