Berkeley Bicycle Licensing and $220 Fines 4
Photo “Temporary Imprisonment” by Daniel Miller on Flickr UC Berkeley has been in the spotlight recently for its outrageous fines targeting bicyclists. Students have been written $220 tickets for locking their bicycles to a railing instead of a bicycle rack. Others have been fined $220 for not coming to a complete stop at a stop ...
Thousands of Bicyclists Snub Toronto’s New Mayor 3
Photo courtesy of Aviva Cohen for The Urban Country In the face of a new mayor who is intent on removing existing on-street bike lanes in Toronto, more than 19,162 people defy him by riding into downtown core every day. The number comes from an unprecedented study by the City of Toronto to count the ...
Montreal Bicycle Ridership Up 35-40% 22
Photo courtesy of zmtomako / Flickr A new study finds that bicycling is on the rise in Montreal. In 2010, the city experienced a 35-40% growth in ridership over its 2008 bicycle ridership counts. This is an encouraging sign that the city’s significant infrastructure investments and bike sharing scheme have contributed to an increase in ...
Dutch Cycle Chic – Toronto Style 40
All Photos by Aviva Cohen for The Urban Country One evening in early November, I was walking my dog near my home when I encountered a pretty girl on a stunning red Dutch bike. Intrigued, I told her how much I loved her bike and I asked her if she would be interested in doing ...
Don Cherry Rips “Pinko” Bicyclists 12
File Photo Courtesy of Oldmaison At Mayor Ford’s inaugural council meeting today, Ford’s “special guest” – legendary “pit bull” Hockey Night in Canada commentator Don Cherry – dropped his gloves and called on “pinko” bicyclists (listen to the audio of Don Cherry’s speech here). “Well I’m wearing pinko (sic) for all the pinkos out there ...
Enough Excuses: Cars Cause Death 25
Photo “WATCH OUT ” courtesy of Kevin Schraer Car-centric societies tend to make excuses to defend a way of life – a life dependent on automobiles. These excuses are disproportionately emphasized in the media and accepted by society. When a tragedy occurs between a motorist and a bicyclist, the media looks for reasons to explain ...
Living in a Dutch Fantasy Land… 30
Photo by James D. Schwartz / The Urban Country For the last eight days, I have been living in a fantasy land. Everyone around me has a smile on their face, dedicated paths are everywhere, and bicycle signals cater to me and the thousands of other bicyclists that surround me. Instead of horns, I hear ...
What’s Hard About Biking in Washington DC? 6
Photo by James D. Schwartz / The Urban Country Washington DC resident and filmographer Monica Gray asks fellow bicyclists what’s hard about biking in Washington DC during the 2010 DC Tweed ride. In many ways, the answers could have come from any city in North America: “In rush hour – uh, angry and impatient drivers.” ...
Doctor Busted on a Bike 59
All photos of Dr. Paul Martin provided by Mike Rubbo / Situp-Cycle.com Busted on a Bike is a new series featuring people who have received tickets from law enforcement officers on their bicycles for doing perfectly normal things – like riding a bicycle without a helmet. In an on-going saga, Dr. Paul Martin – a ...
Bicycling in the Winter 43
Photo courtesy of macfred64 In North America, we have a funny tendency to overcomplicate things. Companies search for any opportunity to increase their revenues: they invent new products, improve existing products, and they employ marketing techniques to make you feel like you can’t live without their products. Last winter I posted an article “Pragmatism Eludes ...