Toronto ← The Urban Country

Sitting Side Saddle on Batavus Fryslan

May

2013

Photo courtesy of Peter Bojanczyk for The Urban Country On Sunday I bought a used 2011 Batavus Fryslan bicycle that I spotted on Craigslist to replace my 2010 Fryslan that was stolen in March. Last night we tested the rear rack while my 210-pound colleague Al sat side saddle while we transported ourselves from one ...

Rachel McAdams Gets Around Toronto By Bike 19

Apr

2013

Rachel McAdams and Michael Sheen bicycling at Queens Park in Toronto – Photo credit Sean O’Neill After starring in The Notebook in 2004, Rachel McAdams launched herself onto Hollywood’s A-list. It would hardly be surprising if Rachel had soaked up the Hollywood lifestyle by buying a large mansion with 6 cars in the driveway and ...

Help Todd Find a Tandem Bicycle

Apr

2013

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 ...

“Giving Up Driving My Smartest Move Yet”

Apr

2013

Traffic in Toronto – Photo by Nariman Haghighi Our friend Nariman recently posted a photo of traffic congestion in Toronto with the following caption: “Giving up driving close to 10 years ago was my smartest move yet. Few things are more effective for your well being.” Indeed, driving in this city is detrimental to our ...

Toronto Police: To “Serve and Protect” Whom Exactly? 11

Mar

2013

Toronto Police Service car photo courtesy of Stewart Rand The Toronto Police Service, with its long history of blaming the victims when it comes to traffic fatalities, has kicked off its latest blame the victim campaign, which it is calling “Do the bright thing”. The campaign urges pedestrians to wear fluorescent clothing so that distracted ...

Photos: Toronto Winter Bicycling 11

Jan

2013

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, ...

Ignoring Careless, Dangerous Driving 6

Dec

2012

Pedestrian Crossing Lights – Photo courtesy of Dave Delaney On Monday morning, nine pedestrians were hit by cars in Toronto in under an hour – between 6:41AM and 7:24AM, according to the Toronto Star. These incidents triggered an infuriating PR campaign by Constable Client Stibbe on Twitter where he tore the victims a new one ...

The Cost of Toronto’s First Cycle Track 15

Nov

2012

Toronto’s Sherbourne Street Cycle Track – Photo by James Schwartz / The Urban Country As we rode down Toronto’s first cycle track on Sherbourne Street, Copenhagen’s Bicycle Ambassador and the man behind the “Cycle Chic” trend – Mikael Colville-Andersen asks me, “Why is everyone talking about the removal of the Jarvis street bike lanes and ...

Getting To The Airport By Bike – The Return Trip 6

Oct

2012

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 ...

Getting To The Airport By Bike 62

Oct

2012

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 ...