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The Art Of Carrying Things By Bike 19

The Art Of Carrying Things By Bike
The Art of Carrying Things by Bike – Screenshot from Vimeo video by Laura J. Lukitsch  Most readers here are aware that I have something of an obsession with carrying large amounts of cargo on my bike. The countless times I have heard people say “you need a car to live” perhaps induces my insatiable ...

Warning: Driving Kills, Maims, Suffocates & Ravages 1

Warning: Driving Kills, Maims, Suffocates & Ravages
Driving warning labels – courtesy of Chris Bruntlett / Hush Magazine  In a recent article in Hush magazine, our friend Chris Bruntlett argues that our addiction to driving can perhaps be overcome by treating driving as the new smoking, or viewing driving as “society’s cancer”. Chris created the above cigarette warning labels for drivers to ...

The Urban Country Is Back… 5

The Urban Country Is Back…
Toronto Islands Cargo Biking – Photo by James Schwartz / The Urban Country  Well, we’re back. It wasn’t intentional, but I ended up taking a month-long break from blogging. I wish I could say that I took a month off to volunteer in a developing country and change the world, but my excuse is much ...

Heartbreaking Documentary: Texting While Driving: It Can Wait

Heartbreaking Documentary: Texting While Driving: It Can Wait
Please take 35 minutes out of your day and watch this poignant and heartbreaking film directed by Werner Herzog on texting while driving. The film is powerful, the message is simple: “It can wait”. No text message is more important than the lives of the people we put at risk when we make the decision ...

Dear Vancouver: Riding A Bicycle In Normal Clothes Should Not Be A Defiant Act Of Rebellion 12

Dear Vancouver: Riding A Bicycle In Normal Clothes Should Not Be A Defiant Act Of Rebellion
BIXI bike collage from Montreal, Canada – Photo courtesy of Chris Bruntlett via Instagram  Our friend Chris Bruntlett recently returned to Vancouver from a vacation that included stops in both Toronto and Montreal. In an article in Hush Magazine, Bruntlett elegantly summarizes his travel experiences while lamenting Vancouver’s sport/recreational bicycling culture and British Columbia’s unfortunate ...

Quote Of The Week: “Pedestrians Begging For Change Fastest People On The Expressway” 4

Quote Of The Week: “Pedestrians Begging For Change Fastest People On The Expressway”
Pedestrian begging for change on Toronto “expressway” – From 416CycleStyle on Instagram Our quote of the week comes from our friend ‘Xander from 416CycleStyle as he was sitting in traffic on an “expressway” in Toronto: “When pedestrians begging for change are the fastest moving people on the expressway you are crazy to do this every ...

Blaming Victim Gives Society False Sense of Security 8

Blaming Victim Gives Society False Sense of Security
  Tom Samson – the cyclist killed on Nov 23, 2012 with his family prior to his death – Photo courtesy of the Samson family When Grade 2 teacher Tom Samson was killed on his bicycle early in the morning on November 23rd 2012, Toronto Police had told Samson’s wife that he was struck and ...

End Of Week Wrap-Up & Quote Of The Week 2

End Of Week Wrap-Up & Quote Of The Week
Traffic Jam – Photo courtesy of Nic Sedlock  Although bicycle transportation is often the most reliable and efficient mode of transportation in a city, it doesn’t mean it is perfect 100% of the time. Musician Dave Matthews highlighted this when his bike broke down while out on a ride prior to his concert last Saturday. ...

Guerrilla Bike Infrastructure In Seattle Leads To Permanent Installation 3

Guerrilla Bike Infrastructure In Seattle Leads To Permanent Installation
Photo courtesy of SDOT / Seattle Bike Blog Back in April, a group of anonymous “guerrilla activists” in Seattle installed plastic bollards on a bike lane that traverses underneath an interstate highway. The group who dubs themselves the “Reasonably Polite Seattleites” wanted to show Seattle’s Department of Transportation how easy it is to improve safety ...

Teens On Bicycles Save Kidnapped 5-Year-Old Girl 2

Teens On Bicycles Save Kidnapped 5-Year-Old Girl
Screenshot from CNN video – Courtesy of CNN  Two teenage boys used their bicycles to chase a car that was carrying a kidnapped 5-year-old girl. From CNN: “Two teenage boys are being hailed as heroes after they chased a car carrying a kidnapped girl — on their bicycles. Five-year-old Jocelyn Rojas was playing in her ...