I am a hospital employee in Trail, and I am considering using an ebike to go un and down the hill (during the summer months).
I am looking for insights regarding what kind of bike is best, how long it takes to commute, preferred route (I know some changes have been made in the last couple of years), bike parking options at the hospital, or any other advice/recommendations are welcome!
Feel free to answer this thread, or contact me at 8one9-2one2-911one
With gratitude :)
Town: Rossland, BC
Photos:
I don't commute, but ride up and down occasionally.
I can't comment on the situation at the Hospital for bikes, but for a route, I typically ride Columbian Ave right along the river, then under the main Bridge and head over to the pedestrian bridge (Columbia River Skywalk). From there, I weave through downtown Trail and head up through west Trail (Glover Rd, Binns, Esling St to Resevoir Road and then Haig St). From there you can work your way up through the bottom of Warfield to the gas station. There are lots of little turns on this route, but after a few times, it will be straight forward.
From Warfield, my preference would be to come up the Railgrade, which is gentle and has a pretty good surface. The other option is the Wagon Road, which while more direct, is steeper and has some rockier sections. So depends on how comfortable you are on a bike. Both of these options will take you into Lower Rossland and then it's just roads to home.
Part of the Wagon Road has been upgraded, and I think the intention is to continue to make into more of a commuter path, but I'm not sure what the status of that is.
You can also just come up the Highway, people do it, it's not my preference and I like being on the backroads and paths much better.
As for bike, I would recommend a hardtail mountain bike for the route I described. That will nicely handle all the surfaces, including the rougher Wagon road if you wanted to do that, or any easy singletrack if you threw that into your rides. If you are comfortable on a bike and would stick to roads and the railgrade, a gravel bike with nice plump tires would be a great machine. Any of the local bike shops would happily help you there!
I commuted between Rossland and Trail last year until the very end of November along the Wagon Road (no highway!) both ways; last two days had to push the bike thru the snow. I will start again later on in summer until the snow flies again and becomes too deep.
I used my 27.5" fat ebike (500w) with commuter (not MTB) gears and mostly on setting 2 out of 5. I switched to studded tires for the last 2 weeks or so, when it began snowing. Really good work out when going fast, around 20 minutes to downtown Trail from Upper Rossland; 45-50 minutes back to Rossland.
A fat bike will allow you to ride up to and during the first week/weeks of snowfall, and beats any car for navigating Rossland during the winter in your jaunts to downtown (think parking).
If you'd like, I can give you more details regarding routes thru Rossland to the Wagon Road, and from bottom of Wagon Road thru Warfield to the bridge.
Let me know,
Jorge 25o92i49i2
That is awesome advice, JLandry and jorge! Thanks so much for taking the time to share. I am excited to try it out :D
I just found this survey about the South Kootenay Green Link Active Transportation Plan:
https://jointheconversation.rdkb.com/greenlink-active-transportation-pla...
There is a secure and sheltered bike parking cage at KBRH, with Chubb card access for authorized staff who apply for access.