Taking Our City Back 2
All Photos by James D. Schwartz / The Urban Country Following in the footsteps of the great cities in Europe, Toronto alas has created two (permanent) pedestrian-only streets by closing them off from automobile traffic. This is a significant win for the citizens of Toronto who have been fighting for decades for pedestrian-only streets. The ...
Interview With Cycling Newcomer Kerri McKenna 2
Photo of convert Kerri McKenna – 2010 2010 has been an interesting year. I have had countless friends and acquaintances come up to me and ask me for advice on where to get a bike, or how to find the best route to work. The number of cycling “newcomers” has been astounding, and it gives ...
China’s Mega 100KM Traffic Jam 17
Beijing traffic jam photo courtesy of Proggie (this is not the 100KM traffic jam) For several decades, the Chinese managed to transport millions and millions of people efficiently around their cities – primarily by bicycle. There are reportedly 450 million bicycles in China, and the bicycle has served as a great tool historically. Now, enter ...
Car Culture Bleeds Our Society 12
Photo “Toy Cars” courtesy of Andrew Dai In North America, everywhere you look car manufacturers are trying to entice you to buy their brand. Car ads are absolutely everywhere. It’s part of our culture and you can’t avoid it – our society is brainwashed to have an affection for automobiles. As a kid, I distinctly ...
Refusing To Be Herded Like Cattle 2
Photo courtesy of Mully Children’s Family A good friend of mine bought a thoughtful gift for me for my Champagne Birthday back in June. The book was written by BikeSnobNYC (Eben Weiss) and it provides an amusing and entertaining dissection of the world of cycling. From the back cover: “In this wickedly funny rant and ...
BIXI Coming to Town 5
Image courtesy of toronto.bixi.com BIXI is coming to Toronto – for real this time. Well, unless it gets cancelled again. But it seems more real this year than last year – for real. I’m proud to say that I am now one of the 1,000 “founding members” of Toronto’s BIXI program. For less than a ...
Experiencing Algonquin Park 5
All Photos by James D. Schwartz / The Urban Country Each year my friends and I set forth on a 6-day epic journey in the interior of the beautiful 7,653 sq km Algonquin Provincial Park. Using only human power to reach the interior, we are much obliged to enjoy the serenity of the nature in ...