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Help Todd Find a Tandem Bicycle 1

Help Todd Find a Tandem Bicycle
Photo of Todd and Daegan with their tandem bicycle in 2012 – Photo from 500 Kindnesses Blog Last year, our friend Todd O’Reilly pedalled 1,500km with his 13-year-old son Daegan in a 25-day charity ride, from Toronto to Ottawa, to Montreal and then ending in New York City. But instead of asking for donations for ...

Tabloid Columnist Calls For Bicycle Ban in Toronto 20

Tabloid Columnist Calls For Bicycle Ban in Toronto
Amsterdam Cycle Chic – Photo by Mikael Colville-Andersen In a series of columns in a Toronto tabloid, columnist Mike Strobel has called for a ban on bicycling in the city in order to address traffic congestion, comparing bicyclists to psychos in his anti-bicycling rant that spans three articles. Strobel’s outrageous nonsensical articles reveal more than ...

Bicycles Are For People Who Can’t Be Late 12

Bicycles Are For People Who Can’t Be Late
Businessman in Amsterdam – Photo courtesy of Mikael Colville-Andersen  Bicycles may be a healthy way to get around a city, helping to reduce traffic congestion and pollution. But they are often the fastest and most reliable way to get around a city too. On Tuesday I had a client meeting downtown Toronto at 3PM. The ...

Vintage Photo: Please Mr. Motorist… 1

Vintage Photo: Please Mr. Motorist…
  Photo courtesy of Carlton Reid via Flickr, and spotted on Facebook via Hypothyroid Mom via @ausyeda What a lovely way to provide drivers a friendly reminder to be cautious around bicyclists. James D. Schwartz is the Editor of The Urban Country and is based in Toronto, Canada. You can contact James at james.schwartz@theurbancountry.com or ...

In Memory of Mary Thompson & Peter Root 6

In Memory of Mary Thompson & Peter Root
Peter Root and Mary Thompson in an undated photo (Photo courtesy of Jerry Root) Last week we covered the sad story about British Bicycle Bloggers Mary Thompson and Peter Root, who were tragically killed in Thailand after bicycling around the world since July 2011. I didn’t personally know Mary or Peter, but their untimely deaths ...

Photos: China’s History of Bicycles 4

Photos: China's History of Bicycles
Beijing’s Changan Street in 1986 – Photo courtesy of Beijing Shots  During the 1960’s and 1970’s, the bicycle was the most popular product in China. Bicycles were often given as wedding gifts, and in 1986, US President George HW Bush received two bicycles as a gift from Beijing. The country was known as “bicycle kingdom” ...

Paying Employees To Bike To Work 8

Paying Employees To Bike To Work
An Amsterdam businessman – Photo by Dawn Paley  How financial incentives can re-shape our cities and our behaviour for a better future. In North America, there are endless incentives that encourage us to drive our cars everywhere. From 0% interest financing on new cars, to unlimited travel car insurance, to significant government tax-breaks for leased ...

Photos: Toronto Winter Bicycling 14

Photos: Toronto Winter Bicycling
Winter cargo bike – Jan 22, 2013 – Photo by James Schwartz / The Urban Country On the ride in to daycare this morning with my 19-month-old daughter we encountered some snow and slippery streets. The cargo bike held up nicely on the slippery roads; the weight of it certainly helps to stabilize the bike, ...

Lance Armstrong Confession Expected On Oprah

Lance Armstrong Confession Expected On Oprah
Lance Armstrong Photo Courtesy of Dan Farber Lance Armstrong will appear on Oprah Winfrey this Thursday in his first interview since the widespread doping allegations surfaced last fall. The interview will be taped today and Armstrong is widely expected to confess for not being honest about his doping over the years. It is expected to ...

USA Today: LeBron James Is Weird 16

USA Today: LeBron James Is Weird
LeBron James photo courtesy of Bridget Samuels USA Today has reported that LeBron James rides his bicycle to and from his basketball games. This article made the headlines on the USA Today website because of how abnormal it is in America for a rich and famous basketball star to use a bicycle for transportation. Instead ...