2011 ← The Urban Country ← Page 4

The Bicycle as a Status Symbol 33

Sep

2011

Man & son ride a bicycle past an Audi car in Shanghai – Photo by James D. Schwartz / The Urban Country One of the biggest barriers to increasing bicycle transportation in many western countries is the fact that it is difficult to express one’s wealth and status on a bicycle. People are generally drawn ...

Time to Protect Cars From Reckless Pedestrians? 10

Sep

2011

Pedestrians on Queen Street in Toronto – photo by deena mephistopheles Linwood Barclay from the Huffington Post Canada wrote a brilliantly hilarious satire piece about how pedestrians are infringing on drivers’ right to unimpeded access to our streets. From the article: Say what you will about Toronto Mayors Rob and Doug Ford, their latest proposal ...

Rediscovering The Bicycle 17 Years Later 13

Sep

2011

Rediscovering the freedom of the bicycle. Photo by Robert Lawson for The Urban Country 31-year-old Robert Lawson hadn’t owned a bicycle since he was a 14-year-old teenager growing up in Vancouver, Canada. Three months ago – four years after he first moved to Toronto – Robert, a Senior Policy Advisor for the provincial government, decided ...

Motorists Prime Beneficiaries of Socialism 115

Aug

2011

The freedom of driving (or not) – a Toronto traffic jam by wyliepoon Whether they like it or not, most motorists are socialists. The American media tends to generally associate the term socialism with social assistance such as welfare, but socialism comes in different forms. That same media is also littered with driver self-pity over ...

On The Inferiority of Bicyclists and Gay People 54

Aug

2011

“Amsterdam Summer” by Michael Stallmeister / RateMyVelo.com Last night I visited a friend in the “Beach” – a trendy area in the east end of Toronto comprised of a popular stretch of beach frequented by tourists and residents alike. Throughout the night I encountered two separate incidents in which I was ridiculed for riding a ...

Bicycle Infrastructure in Unexpected Places 16

Aug

2011

Photo by James D. Schwartz / The Urban Country On the weekend we rented a car and drove to Niagara to visit family and have fun in Niagara Falls while Grandma babysat the little one for us. En route to the Falls while driving through Niagara “wine country” I was pleasantly surprised to encounter a ...

RIP Jack Layton: 1950-2011 4

Aug

2011

Photo of bike lane memorial for Jack Layton on College Street by Martin Reis I was deeply saddened this morning to wake up to the news that Jack Layton had succumbed to cancer. Layton gave me hope for Canada, and hope for the world. That politicians can work hard to make things better in our ...

Baby And The Bicycle 15

Aug

2011

Photo of baby Sofia by Jamie Morren – All rights reserved Today’s post is about two things that play a prominent role in my life right now: my baby and my bicycle. We took our baby Sofia for her first foray into modeling: an outdoor photo shoot. I decided to bring my bicycle with me ...

How To Win Over Non-Cyclists at a Dinner Party 18

Aug

2011

Bicycle Film Festival Panel Discussion at the Gladstone Hotel (Aug 10, 2011) – photo by Erin Simkin / Bicycle Film Festival Toronto Last Wednesday I participated in a panel discussion for the Toronto Bicycle Film Festival. The title of the panel discussion was: “Building Bridges: How to tell good stories and win over non-cyclists at ...