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Letter: Cyclists who go fast in Burnaby have no options

Editor: Re: Tour de France wannabes are a menace on Burnaby pathways , NOW Letters The recent letter by a disgruntled Burnaby resident about cyclists on the Central Valley Greenway highlights the inadequacies of the current cycling infrastructure in
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Photo Dan Toulgoet

Editor:

Re: Tour de France wannabes are a menace on Burnaby pathways, NOW Letters

The recent letter by a disgruntled Burnaby resident about cyclists on the Central Valley Greenway highlights the inadequacies of the current cycling infrastructure in Burnaby.

While I consider myself included in the passive aggressive description of "Tour de France' wannabes," I agree with much of the sentiment expressed in the letter. Other performance road-cycling enthusiasts should be more conscious about obeying road signage and communicating with other road users and pedestrians - your weekend ride isn't a race and getting a PR Strava isn't an excuse for this kind of behaviour. 
However, I believe that the majority of their gripes stem from the fact that if a cyclist is traveling at speeds where it becomes difficult to co-operate smoothly with others on a shared-use path, they should be on the road.

There is a part of the Spirit Trail in North Vancouver that has signage indicating where cyclists should be - if they are able to match near-traffic speeds (30-40 kph or higher), they should be in the bike lane and if not they should be on the shared use path.

If cyclists who should be on the road because they average 30 kph or higher are instead opting to use the shared-use path, it demonstrates how dire the situation on the road must be for cyclists.

I choose not to ride in Burnaby for exactly this reason. Shared-use paths are not meant for this type of cycling, but when there's no alternative, then this type of conflict is inevitable.

Eben Sullivan