Hola, Amigos! Has it seriously been 6 years??
I can hardly believe that 6 years has gone by since I last made a habit of regularly writing on this blog. Although I put the pen down to focus on other priorities in life, I have still been using my bike as my primary mode of transportation (when I am not run commuting to ...
Warning: Driving Kills, Maims, Suffocates & Ravages 1
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 ...
Scofflaw Drivers Get Free Pass In Media 4
Police Radar – Trois-Rivieres – Photo Courtesy of Axel Drainville In a recent media flurry, “scofflaw cyclists” were repudiated by several outlets after prominent Canadian environmental activist David Suzuki railed against bicyclists who break the rules. What these media articles fail to mention is that virtually all drivers break the law every single day. Photo ...
About Us 3
The Urban Country‘s mission is simple. We publish quality articles (we hope) to advocate for using bicycles as transportation in North America to improve our cities, our people, and the world. The Urban Country has appeared on Guardian UK Bike Blog, National Public Radio, CBC Radio One, The Globe & Mail, The Toronto Star, Seattle’s ...
Ignoring Careless, Dangerous Driving 6
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 ...
Mandatory Driving Helmets A “No-Brainer” 25
Driving helmet photo by Jeffrey Beall The Toronto Sun recently posted an entertaining editorial calling for mandatory bicycle helmets, labelling cyclists who oppose mandatory helmets “stupid, arrogant, self-entitled jerks”. We thought it would be appropriate to swap the word “bicyclist” for “driver” to make the case for mandatory driving helmets: OPINION EDITORIAL Driving helmet law ...
Preventable Deaths – Asking All The Wrong Questions 82
Photo by James Schwartz / The Urban Country (via Instagram) Yesterday morning a 30-year-old woman who was walking downtown was hit by a truck, pinned under the wheels and later died from her wounds. The woman’s death is eerily similar to the death of Jenna Morrison last November. Jenna was also run over by the ...
Dear Bicycle Helmet 50
Duo enjoying life – photo by EcoBicycle via RateMyVelo.com Dear Bicycle Helmet I know it has been a very long time since we went on a ride together. It may sound cruel, but I honestly don’t miss you at all. I never liked how you messed up my hair on my way to work. It’s ...
Emotional Affection For Automobiles 31
Top Gear Season 13 Ending – Aston Martin V12 Vantage HD (via YouTube) In a recent comment on a Grist article, I was accused of being “jealous” of a proud owner of a Ford Mustang with a 5.0 liter V8 engine with over 400-HP Ford Mustang (labeled as a “penile extension” by another commenter). I ...
The Bicycle as a Status Symbol 33
Man & son ride a bicycle past an Audi car in Shanghai – Photo by James D. Schwartz / The Urban Country One of the biggest barriers to increasing bicycle transportation in many western countries is the fact that it is difficult to express one’s wealth and status on a bicycle. People are generally drawn ...