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China Building New Eco City 14

China Building New Eco City
Photo courtesy of Business Insider Imagine a city of 80,000 people where the nearest park is only a two minute walk from every home in the city. A city where public transit is only a few steps away, bicycling is convenient and comfortable, and where urban sprawl is against the law. Where cars are allowed, ...

‘i share the road’ Campaign, One Year Later 2

‘i share the road’ Campaign, One Year Later
‘i share the road’ sticker packages – Photo by James Schwartz / The Urban Country Just over a year ago, we officially launched our ‘i share the road’ sticker campaign. The idea first hatched when a friend of mine expressed his interest in showing his support for bicyclists by placing a sticker on his car. ...

Getting To The Airport By Bike – The Return Trip 7

Getting To The Airport By Bike – The Return Trip
James’ Dutch cargo bike parked at Terminal 3 – Person International Airport – Photo by James Schwartz / The Urban Country After exiting the airport terminal I walked through the automatic sliding glass doors. A cool breeze swept over me as I got outside, and at 8 degrees Celsius, I knew it was going to ...

In Support of Lance Armstrong 13

In Support of Lance Armstrong
Photo of Lance Armstrong courtesy of Martyna Borkowski, Rubenstein Although I have never been a close follower of professional cycling, I had always had immense respect for the sport. It pushes the human limits, encourages people to stay active, and has minimal adverse effects on our environment. The recent doping allegations and overwhelming evidence against ...

Getting To The Airport By Bike 65

Getting To The Airport By Bike
Photo by James Schwartz / The Urban Country I fly out of town for business approximately once every month. There are many different ways to get to the airport from my home downtown. I normally take public transit, but will occasionally take a taxi if I am running late or if I have an early ...

Cause of Road Congestion: Too Many Cars 15

Cause of Road Congestion: Too Many Cars
Infographic from a large US auto insurance company I never cease to be amused by otherwise intelligent people coming up with lists of the causes of traffic congestion, but whom always seem to miss the most obvious cause of traffic congestion: too many bloody cars. In Beijing, by the end of 2010 there were almost ...

My 32 Minutes 17

My 32 Minutes
The Greater Toronto CivicAction – a Toronto-based advocacy organization – has launched a campaign to bring attention to the issue of growing traffic congestion and lack of transit funding in the Greater Toronto area. The campaign is called the “32 Campaign” and asks what you would do with an extra 32 minutes each day. Instead ...

Toronto Bicycle Collages

Toronto Bicycle Collages
Bicycle photo collage by Xander of 416CycleStyle.com It has been a little while since we have had any fun posts on here. Our friend ‘Xander over at 416CycleStyle.com put together some beautiful bicycle collages that put a smile on my face. ‘Xander took photos of everyday people in Toronto getting around the city by bicycle, ...

If Car Shopping Was Like Bicycle Shopping… 6

If Car Shopping Was Like Bicycle Shopping…
Racing bicyclist – photo by Team Traveller Kent over at Kent’s Bike Blog recently wrote a brilliant piece that illustrates how shopping for bicycles is less about practicality/pragmatism and more about sport & performance. To emphasize this point, Kent uses a parable where he fictitiously goes shopping for an automobile. Here is an excerpt: So ...

Invisible Helmet: Great Technology, Bad Marketing 31

Invisible Helmet: Great Technology, Bad Marketing
The Invisible Helmet – Photo from hovding.com For several months now, the “Invisible Helmet” video has been making the rounds. It has been forwarded to me several times and hailed by some friends as “brilliant” and “ingenious”. I have been asked several times what I think of the idea. Sometimes when I am asked certain ...