Hell Track from jose o on Vimeo.
Photos and story at SkitchLabels: fixie, Hell Track, Toronto
From NewsDurhamRegion.com:
Ajax man helps stomp the stigma about mental health issues
DURHAM -- For years, shame and fear led Ajax's Ben Verboom to inadvertently contribute to the stigma surrounding mental illness.
A graduate of Archbishop Denis O'Connor Catholic High School, Mr. Verboom grew up with two loving parents and siblings, but that all changed when, in Grade 9, he came home from school to find police cars waiting.
"I had no idea why they were there," Mr. Verboom said to an audience of Durham high school students attending a Stomping Out Stigma summit recently.
The event is held annually at Whitby's Ontario Shores mental health centre in partnership with the Talking About Mental Illness Coalition of Durham. Its intent is to raise awareness and stomp out the stigma surrounding mental illness.
For Mr. Verboom, it was the suicide of his father that brought the police to his house that day. His father had been found dead in a car with a bullet in his head which was almost certainly self-inflicted, Mr. Verboom said.
"The loss and grief and anger associated with losing a young parent is one thing," he said.
But add to that the confusion of it being caused by suicide and he didn't know what to do, he said.
For five years he stayed silent about it -- his friends knew his dad had died but didn't know it was by suicide.
"I later learned he suffered from depressions for years -- I didn't know this," he said.
Now aged 20 and in his third year at the University of Toronto, Mr. Verboom has been exposed to courses about mental illness and met others affected. He's discovered how prevalent it is but one of the things that stopped him from talking about it sooner was the stigma attached.
"I have never experienced suicidal feelings," Mr. Verboom said. "I really had trouble trying to relate to people who have suicidal tendencies or depression; I still do."
To help alleviate some of that stigma, he followed in his father's bike tracks this past summer and hit the road in a Cycle to Help for suicide awareness.
Cycling was an activity the two had shared together. In 2001, his father Tim Verboom even rode his bike to New York to raise money for the Red Cross following 9/11.
For Mr. Verboom's campaign, he rode from Newfoundland to British Columbia -- about 8,000 kilometres -- in just 89 days on the bike his dad rode to New York. He also went public with everything surrounding his father's death.
"I'll always be a little bit confused about it and (have) unanswered questions no one but him could answer ... but it has been a healing process talking about it," he said following his speech.
"For years I was contributing to the stigma because I was afraid and ashamed to talk about it," he said.
By approaching the subject with compassion, he's hoping to help people be more understanding and prevent more people from committing suicide.
"No shame and that's how we're going to decrease the stigma," he added.
For his efforts, Mr. Verboom received the TAMI's Barb Hiff Memorial Bursary for $500, created in honour of the late member.
In tears, her daughter Danielle Wilson embraced Mr. Verboom following his speech.
"I just want to say thank you," Ms. Wilson said. "My mother would be so honoured the first award went to someone like you."
Ms. Wilson has bipolar and has often felt the impact of the stigma associated with mental illness.
High school students who participated in the summit received a tool kit to help them organize events of their own to help stomp out stigma and increase awareness in their school.
For more information about Mr. Verboom or his Cycle to Help, visit www.cycletohelp.org
Labels: Ajax, Ben Verboom, Cycle to Help
From The Sudbury Star:
Photo of a bike rack in Sudbury via FlickrLocal cyclist a champion for new bike paths
Years ago in Toronto, Nathalie Gara-Boivin took the kind of spill that might force anyone to hang up their bike for good.
She was 17 and biking along the road when she went to turn into a local plaza. Taking the turn, she hit a difference in pavement heights and her bike skidded out from underneath her. In a split second, she landed hard and broken her jaw. She couldn't speak for three months. Then her jaw had to be re-broken because it wasn't done correctly the first time.
So Gara-Boivin totally gets it when people tell her they are scared to cycle. But as chair of the Sudbury Bicycle Advisory Committee, she isn't letting fear and a near complete lack of cycling infrastructure stop her from promoting more cycling in Sudbury.
Her main focus now is to ensure the Bell Park Path is constructed properly as part of reconstruction of the Grace Hartman Amphitheatre. It would be a rare victory on the infrastructure side for a committee that has seen pathways disappear.
Cyclists ride past almost on cue during a recent interview with Gara-Boivin as she explains how the current makeshift pathway needs upgrading and extending through the park.
"This is a main connector. Right now it's a makeshift path. It's hazardous. The city needs to allocate dollars. I think people need to be more vocal. If they're scared to ride their bikes they need to voice their opinion that we need to see more done," she says.
The path is the BAC's proposal as part of reconstruction of the amphitheatre. The path would run from the Sudbury Canoe Club, behind the hospital where the road needs reconstruction, and finally past the amphitheatre.
The path would likely pass where the washrooms are located so cyclists can commute while events are ongoing. Then it would be brought along to connect with the path on Paris Street. That path will link shortly with the Rainbow Routes Ramsey Lake Path, where construction is humming along, almost at frightening speed.
Oh, the potential, oh, the possibilities.
Yes, but cycling in Sudbury is like a fast food snack cake of creamy icing that looks tasty at first then leaves you feeling sick at the end. Lord, why did I eat that?
On one end of the spectrum is Sudbury's proud cycling history. Three Sudburians made Canadian Olympic teams in 1984, 1988, 1996, 2000 and 2004. Eric Wohlberg rode on three Olympic teams and won gold at Pan American and Commonwealth Games. There's Delki Dozzi cycling track. Imagine trying to build that today.
On the other end is the lack of cycling infrastructure. It's especially troubling to BAC members who see what's going on in (insert any city here). How come bike paths in Sudbury disappear?
Gara-Boivin knows the shortfall on infrastructure has been a challenge.
"I don't know why. We need someone dedicated at the city, whether that's in the transportation division, who is looking at bike infrastructure, bike lanes, bike racks. We don't even have an inventory of where current bike racks are."
Gara-Boivin worked once as a co-op student in Ottawa's transportation division where several staff were dedicated exclusively to Ottawa's bike infrastructure. Sudbury also lacks a cycling master plan, she adds.
Gara-Boivin takes heart with some of the BAC's success stories, primarily on the education front. She remains a strong advocate for the proper wearing of bike helmets.
The BAC has achieved a rack-and- roll program where cyclists can put their bikes on racks at the front of city transit buses. There's the annual Ramsey Lake cycle tour. BAC members have supported bike rides with different community groups. They're working on furthering the Share-the-Road program and developing a cycling map.
Labels: bike lanes, infrastructure, share the road, Sudbury
Motorized bicycles are gaining popularity with our senior generation. I've only seen a couple in the Don Valley, you can hear them coming a mile away.
The little engine that could
Motorized bikes spark interest with older set, RVers, commutersBy Lawrence Powell
Spectator
NovaNewsNow.com
Stephen Wade remembers his first bicycle with fondness even after all these years. He got it for a grading present around Grade 5 and drove that Supercycle all through high school -- even when he became way too big for it.
“I wore it out,” Wade admits, but he’s proud of the fact that he stuck by that bike when his friends kept trading in for newer versions. And the bike stuck by him.
All these decades later, the Arlington Road resident is still biking and extols the benefits of staying active despite the onrush of years.
Wade has a new Supercycle – the company’s 70th anniversary edition. The gleaming red bike with the classic look, 26-inch rims, fat white-wall tires, and the wide seat is a sturdy piece of equipment. At about six feet tall, Wade may still be a bit big for it, but he can make it move just the same.
The difference between his first bike and the shiny new one is the 49-cc engine that can power Wade up those hills that he used to take with ease when he was a kid.
STARTED AS A HOBBY
The addition of an engine wasn’t even something Wade thought about until a friend from Saint Stephen, NB came visiting this past summer. His friend, a retired police officer, had purchased an engine kit for his bicycle, more or less as the beginning of a hobby. There was so much interest from others that the ‘hobby’ took on a life of its own and soon it became a busy job.
“He got me interested,” Wade recalls of his friend’s story.
Wade, who has always been mechanically inclined, bought his first engine kit and he’d barely fitted it to a bicycle when people were dropping by or stopping him to find out more about the little two-stroke engines and how they worked. Soon he was buying bikes off the rack for others and fitting them with engines that he orders from California.
SIMPLE PROCESS
Adding the tiny engine to a bicycle isn’t a difficult process. Kits include the engine, a sprocket, chain and chain guard, clutch lever, a throttle with a kill switch, a gas tank that sits on the crossbar, all the mounting brackets, plus wiring and cables.
The only necessary consideration is that the frame has to be the right size. But Wade said the right bikes can be bought almost anywhere – like Canadian Tire and Walmart.
The sprocket is added to the left end of the back axle, the motor is fastened to the frame below the crossbar, and a heavy chain links the two. When depressed, the clutch lever on the left side of the handle bar engages the engine that starts on the compression from the bike’s forward momentum. Hit the kill switch on the left handle bar and the engine stops.
THE BENEFITS
Wade said the benefits of the motorized bicycles are appreciated mostly by older bikers who want to keep going with the sport but can’t manage the hills as well as they used to. Although he’s just started assembling and selling the bikes, his most frequent customers and those showing interest are people in middle age or seniors. Riders will find the hills manageable and can consider longer trips.
“They’re powerful enough that they can carry a very heavy person up a steep grade with no problem at all,” Wade said.
He said people with recreation vehicles are also interested because the bikes can be strapped to RVs and used as auxiliary transportation when the RVers reach their destination. In fact, the motorized bikes will fit easily onto a car bike rack.
Wade sees the bikes as being beneficial to people traveling back and forth to work as well. They provide a tremendous fuel savings as the engines are rated for 175 miles per four US litres.
The bikes are being used more and more in large cities like Toronto, and even farmers, hunters, and fishermen are using them.
“They have multiple uses,” Wade said.
WORD OF CAUTION“These bikes are capable of breaking the speed limit, so they have to be used wisely,” Wade said. The 49 cc engine is legally allowed on the road without license or registration and can attain speeds of up to 40 miles per hour.
He noted that the engine’s exhaust is tucked out of the way of feet and ankles, and the new versions have heat shields as an added precaution. However, he said the exhaust doesn’t get hot enough to burn the driver even if contact is made.
Wade services the bikes as well, and he said spare parts are readily available. But not much maintenance is needed because the bikes are so simple – the odd carburetor adjustment or cleaning the spark plug.
THE DEMAND
Wade said his experience in just a few short months demonstrates that there is a demand for the bikes. People stop by or call, and while he realizes he got into the business late in the biking season, he’s already taking orders for the spring.
The bikes alone cost about $300 but he’s been able to add the engine and get them road ready for just under $700. That’s the starting point. The price goes up depending on the bicycle the customer wants.
Labels: motorized bicycle
Photo via Flickr1 in 5 teens at risk for heart disease: studyOne in five adolescents aged 14 to 15 now has high blood pressure or high cholesterol or both and that could be putting them on the fast track to heart disease, new research shows.“This study is further evidence of an accelerating decline in the heart health of Canada's teens,” said Brian McCrindle, a cardiologist at the Hospital for Sick Children in Toronto.
“Children just shouldn't have these problems.”
...
Dr. McCrindle said the initiative has provided valuable data as well as a good learning opportunity for the students.
“But education is never enough. It does not, in itself, lead to behaviour change,” he said.
Rather, students and their parents need to have the ability to put what they learn into action and that requires community programs that make sports accessible, changes in the city layouts so biking is safe and easy, and policy changes such as reducing salt in processed foods.
Labels: bike lanes, heart disease, infrastructure, teens, Toronto
View Larger Map
Labels: bike lanes, infrastructure, Toronto
Labels: Andrea Dorfman, video
Quick word of warning. If shaky video makes you feel ill, this video will make you lose your lunch. Otherwise, it is pretty amazing:
Labels: mountain biking, video
Labels: cargo bike, fall weather, Toronto
Labels: behaviour, StreetFilms, video
From The Globe and Mail:Transforming crime hot spot into sea of tranquillity
Labels: Globe and Mail, TAVIS
SUNDAY OCTOBER 25, 2009
Spin -- A Workshop Presentation
8pm, The Chamber, PWYC
Written and Performed by Evalyn Parry, with Anna Friz and Brad Hart
A musical, poetic and theatrical investigation of the Bicycle as muse, musical instrument, and instrument of social change. Taking inspiration from a series of amazing-but-little-known cycling ladies from history (Annie Londonderry, the first woman to ride around the world in 1895! Amelia Bloomer, 19th century sufferagette, advocate of dress reform , and name sake of bloomers !), Parry spins a story that encompasses proto-feminism, the invention, evolution and marketing of the bicycle, Toronto's most notorious bike thief, and a life-changing accident.
Labels: Buddies in Bad Times, Spin, Toronto
Via The Vancouver Sun:
Mountain Co-op walks the talk
Environmentally friendly initiatives extend to encouraging staff to cycle to work
By Alexandra Lopez-Pacheco, Financial Post"Most people would be hard pressed to say the people they work with are good friends," says Karina Benavides, who has been working at the Mountain Equipment Co-op, or MEC, store in Toronto since 1998."But we have people's roommates here, husbands and wives, girlfriends and boyfriends, partners, people who have been through thick and thin with each other, who've grown up together. There are long-term relationships here," she says.
The camaraderie that exists at Vancouver-based MEC is not coincidental. "I think there's a passion for MEC that begins at recruitment," says Cathy Smith, senior manager of human resources at the company.
"When you have people who work with you and support you, meaning co-workers and management alike, I think that's very, very important. If you take care of your employees you will see better engagement from your staff. They will support you through the good times and tough times," she says.
Most companies strive to achieve this, but hit a disconnect between policy and the frontlines. However, 2010 FP 10 best employer, MEC -- with 1,400 employees and 13 stores spread across British Columbia, Alberta, Manitoba, Ontario, Quebec and Nova Scotia, and three million members worldwide -- has put a lot of thought and effort into making sure that theory and practice are connected.
"Our bosses and managers are really encouraging," Ms. Benavides says. "If we have a problem, it's always, 'let's step into my office and see what we can do for you.' Nobody is scared to talk to anybody. I very much feel we're respected, appreciated and cared for. In retail, benefits are not common, but we get benefits if we're full-time or part-time."
The company pays attention to details that make a difference to employees' day-to-day experience. "We have a kitchen where we can cook our own lunches and dinner, so we don't have to eat out. We have showers, which is great if you're riding your bike in for long distances , or if you're running into work. They're encouraging you to do what you like to do and be who you are," Ms. Benavides says.
Employees also have what Ms. Benavides describes as "a big treasure chest of products" they can borrow to try out. The benefits are twofold: They allow employees access to outdoor gear for free and employees can better tell customers about the products.
While the retail industry has been hit hard in the recession, MEC continues to grow, expanding its operations this September into Longueuil, Que.
"There's no question it's been a challenging year," says Tim Southam, MEC's public affairs manager. "But compared with other companies, we've done quite well. There was a commitment by senior management that we do everything we could to retain as many of our people [as we could]." MEC managed to not lay off any workers.
"In a recent survey we did, 86% of our employees said their health and well-being was well managed by MEC. I think that speaks for a lot of what we're trying to do here," says Ms. Smith, adding that the its commitment to the well-being of the environment is also valued by employees.
"I would say 90% of the staff bikes to work," Ms. Benavides says. She says the company bike room encourages employees to ride to work because they don't have to worry about expensive bikes being left outside.
Encouraging staff to be environmentally friendly is only a small part of MEC's commitment to sustainability, which began more than 10 years ago and is now integrated into corporate decision-making from LEED certification for many of its locations to ethical sourcing.
"It's always been a joke in our store that if you got fired, it means you screwed up really big. But it's such a nice place to be, you don't want to do anything to hurt the co-op," Ms. Benavides says.
Photo via Flickr
Labels: mountain equipment co-op, Toronto
Labels: Bikes on Wheels, Toronto, winter bicycle storage
Labels: humour, video, Winston Spear
Have you been exploring the streets of Toronto using Google Street View?
Found over on Bike Hugger
Labels: Google, maps, Street View, Toronto parks, trike
Labels: bike park, BMX, IMBA, Toronto
My first Donut Ride
20091018
I took part in my first Donut ride yesterday. The donut ride is probably one of the most famous group rides in Canada; it even has a wikipidea entry:
The Donut Ride is an informal Toronto road cycling tour run every Saturday and Sunday as well as public holidays. Typical summer numbers range from 100 to 125 riders forming a large pack, and weather permitting the ride continues year-round and often sees a dozen riders even in mid-winter. The ride is known for being fairly fast paced, often reaching speeds of about 50 km/h on straightaways. It is also known for being fairly unforgiving; riders who are dropped from the pack are on their own. – wikipedia.com
I left my house at around 8:30am and it was a beautiful but chilly fall morning. There was virtually no traffic on the roads as I made my way across town to meet of with some of the Wheels of Bloor riders near the shop. Wouldn’t you know it I was running late and I had been warned that the group leaves at 9am sharp. I exited High Park at Bloor street at 9:05 and turned West to ride down to the meeting location. I saw a group of unfamiliar riders meeting outside the store from the Lapdogs cycling club and asked if they had seen the Wheels of Bloor group leave. I found out that the group had left heading east on Bloor at 9am of course. If I had only glanced right as I left the park I probably would have seen them. No one from the group knew which street they headed North on. I called my friend Ian, who had already sent me 2 emails, and found out that I needed to head North on Keele street. Ian told me that the group was now at St. Clair.
I rode off from the shop determined to do my best to catch up to the group. When I hit St. Clair ave I realized that I was 5 minutes behind. A few blocks further North I spotted Ian who was waiting for me along with Tony and Mike. I apologized to the three of them and followed as we wound our way through the streets on our way to the eventual meeting spot further North on Keele. I tried to take as many and turns as I could in the front as I felt badly for being late on this my first time out with the team. I did really appreciate that the three of them waited for me. A few km’s up the road we caught up with another small group of riders, I was surprised by the relatively small numbers; but was informed that we would join up with the main group further North.
We stopped at a Gas station at an intersection on Keele, north of the city and waited for the main group in the Donut ride. After standing around for a few minutes someone called out the peleton was coming and we all mounted our bikes and headed north. I looked back and saw a group of around 80 riders. A few riders passed by me and then I decided to follow Tony’s wheel. Tony stuck near or at the front of the group and so did I. We were travelling in two’s at a moderate pace. As the riders in front of me peeled off the front it became my turn to lead just as I settled into a pace, I heard voices calling out for me to join a newly forming group that were turning left.
As the new smaller group headed West, the pace quickened as the terrain descended. We turned North on Jane and the real push began. I was already up near the front as I continued to try and stay near Tony. The front riders began to take small turns at the front working through a cycle that maximized the groups overall speed through reduced exposure to the wind. As I worked my way through the cycle a few times I noticed that the number of riders taking part was gradually reducing. Some riders skipped a few turns and then rejoined the cycling at the front after resting up in the draft of the main peleton. I made it a point to try and never miss a turn. After a good stretch of this we turned East on Aurora Rd and the only person left cycling through the front with me was Tony. I knew that there were a few hills ahead but I also figured that we had at least reached the halfway point of the ride.
I took the lead up the biggest hill on Aurora Rd and then began to suffer as a few riders including Tony passed by. At this point I was unable to cycle through and had to recover in the peleton about ten riders back. As the terrain evened out I gained back some strength and made my way back up front again. The peleton turned south and the organization of the pack started breaking down as the pace reached its height. Riders now began attacking the group trying to create a gap. There were now about 5 riders taking turns attacking at this point including Tony, Darko (a well known strong rider) and me. This was the first time that I had ridden with Darko, but I had seen his results in the Senior 1 category for the past several years. I thought that he may have been toying with the group treating it as I sort of training exercise based on the ridiculously small gear he used; I was later informed that that is just how he rides…Amazing! The best attack of the day came from Tony after Darko had taken a turn at the front. I was unable to grab Tony’s wheel but I did have enough strength to catch Darko, who then bridged the gap to Tony.
The racing stopped as we rode through some local streets on the way to a Polish pastry shop for a social break. I had a great apple treat. I rode back into town with 4 other riders including Bobby, Ian and Mike from the Wheels of Bloor team. It was a great day of riding and I look forward to the next Sunday Donut ride.
LINK
Labels: Donut Ride, Toronto
Aside from the sensational headlines, this article brings to light many of the dangers of private motor vehicles. Dangers that are so common we mostly ignore them until they affect us individually.
From StraightGoods.ca:
Cyclist's death highlights auto hazards
Cars are death traps in many ways.
by Albert Koehl
Darcy Allan Sheppard accomplished this year what almost 3,000 other Canadians will fail to do: get more than fleeting public attention for his death on our roads. If Sheppard's death had not occurred in downtown Toronto, in gruesome circumstances, and under the wheels of a car driven by Ontario's former top law-maker, the public would already have forgotten his name.
While the tragedy on Toronto's Bloor St. may have highlighted the frailty of the human body in conflicts with the car, the fact is occupants of cars are hardly safe from the danger on our roads.
Polluting emissions from car and truck traffic claim 440 lives in Toronto alone each year.
Although cyclists are over-represented in road fatalities, the most common victims of road accidents are drivers and their passengers, comprising three quarters of all deaths. Motor vehicle occupants also count heavily among the 20,000 Canadians wounded so seriously by motor vehicles each year that they require hospital care, often for long terms.
So routine are serious traffic accidents that we more often hear about them as obstacles in the morning traffic report than in news headlines.
Cars aren't deadly just because of collisions.
Polluting emissions from car and truck traffic claim 440 lives in Toronto alone each year, according to the city's public health authority. Climate change, which is caused in significant part by transportation emissions, will claim more lives still. Over 35 percent of Toronto's greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions are from motor vehicles.
The tragedy of these numbers is not that we accept them so willingly, but that we accept them despite the obvious alternatives.
First, buses and streetcars are many times safer than cars, while emitting a fraction of the air and climate poisons. A 30 percent reduction in traffic emissions would save 190 lives in Toronto each year and result in $900 million in health benefits, according to Toronto Public Health. Mass transit can be improved quickly with better and more frequent bus service.
Second, bicycles produce zero climate and air pollutants — while posing minimal risks to other road users. Cycling fatalities can be reduced. In certain European countries where bikes have been given dedicated space, cyclists (despite shunning helmets) are much safer.
"Good fences make good neighbours" wrote the poet Robert Frost. Painted lines for bikes make good relations on our streets.
Yes, cyclists must obey the rules of the road, although this doesn't help cyclists injured by motorists in so-called "doorings" that are all too common. When I cycle, I fairly diligently obey every rule of the road but sometimes marvel at the irony of it all: complying with the rules of a society that has already carelessly passed through urgent warning signs of climate change and unnecessarily wasted so many innocent lives.
Third, cars are transportation products, not necessities. Other personal transportation products would make our cities safer and healthier. Power and speed, along with polluting emissions, are car design features, and consequences, that kill.
We may be able to justify the use of a car to carry groceries, take kids to soccer practice, or pick up grandparents — but do milk and eggs really need to leave the mall in a machine capable of achieving 0-60kmph in 6 seconds? Low cost, low emission, low speed vehicles, similar to the electric ZENN car, provide another logical alternative, especially since city traffic doesn't average even 40kmph anyway.
Finally, when our roads are safer and more hospitable places, people will walk more.
The car may be part of our culture but this is no reason to stand in the way of safer and more efficient options. The facts support a war on traffic deaths and injuries, traffic pollution, and vehicle GHG emissions that have made us all —- motorists, passengers, cyclists, and pedestrians —- victims.
Albert Koehl is a lawyer with Ecojustice (formerly Sierra Legal), a Canadian environmental law organization.
In November 2007, Ecojustice and KAIROS: Canadian Ecumenical Justice Initiatives, a church-based social justice organization, demanded that Canada's Auditor General investigate the government's oil and gas subsidies and the cuts to programs for poor households.
Photo via Flickr
Labels: bike lanes, News, pollution, public transportation, safety, share the road
From NewsDurhamRegion.com:New pedestrian bridges on Bayly and Church span Duffins CreekBy Reka SzekelyAJAX -- A new bridge and paved pathway means it's about to get easier for pedestrians and cyclists to travel along a busy stretch of Bayly Street in Ajax.
Workers installed the bridge over the Duffins Creek on the south side of Bayly, west of Westney Road, late last week and they also created a paved pathway leading from the bridge to Church Street where another bridge, also spanning Duffins Creek, will be installed within the next two weeks.
The new pathways and bridges mean interruptions to the Duffins Creek Trail and the Trans-Canada Trail system in Ajax will be eliminated.
"You'll be able to stay on the trail system without going on the road all the way up," said Reg Lawrance, a member of Ajax's trails committee.
Before the bridge, residents could take the Duffins South Trail from the waterfront at Rotary Park north past Lions Park until Bayly Street. They would then have to proceed along Bayly to Church, either cycling on the road or walking on a dirt path. On Church, residents also had to use the road to cross the creek near Hwy. 401 before connecting to the Duffins North Trail which starts near Mill Street and winds almost to Rossland Road.
Mr. Lawrance said the bridge and pathway will be particularly helpful on busy Bayly.
"That was pretty scary along there, that's for sure; that's a big, big improvement," he said. "A lot of people use it for transport, you've probably seen them walking along there."
Fara Namjoy, project manager of the installation for Rankine Construction, said the Bayly bridge has a 54-metre span and is three metres wide. It was brought in two pieces to the site where large cranes lowered them into place.
"It's a huge operation today," said Mr. Namjoy on Friday. "These are some of the biggest cranes available in Ontario."
The Church Street bridge will span the Duffins Creek on the east side of Church just south of Hwy. 401. It will be a seasonal bridge with a 35-metre span.
"It will be lifted during the winter to prevent ice jamming," said Mr. Namjoy.
A plan to address the potential for ice jams was a requirement of the Toronto and Region Conservation Authority. A portion of Church near the bridge will also include a new pathway.
Rankine was awarded a $1.2 million contract in July to complete the projects.
For more information on Ajax's trails system, visit townofajax.com.
Labels: Ajax, bridge, infrastructure
Labels: CBC, Igor, infrastructure, video
While Toronto city councillors discuss reducing the speed limits on our streets, Hobart, on the Australian island province of Tasmania has also taken steps towards lowering speed limits and promoting safety for more vulnerable street users, namely pedestrians.
Driving the Lane: Toronto Prepares for Public Bicyclingby Emily TestaWhat do Jack Layton and David Byrne have in common? Sure, Layton’s Twitter account tells us he’ll be busking on the Danforth this Saturday, but at press time, the range of his musical talent remains untested. No, it’s a shared interest in the future of cycling that unites the current NDP leader and former Talking Head, who will participate in an October 24 panel discussion at the International Festival of Authors. Along with Toronto Cyclists Union executive director Yvonne Bambrick and urban designer Ken Greenberg, Layton and Byrne will discuss the potential of urban planning — specifically, bike lanes — to improve the political climate of cycling in Toronto and around the world....Next, I call Richard Poplak, who has written about bike culture for Toronto Life magazine and is currently at work on a graphic novel about bicycle hoarder Igor Kenk, the “Fagin of Queen Street.” As an authority on sharing the roadway, Poplak’s credentials certainly pass muster — he estimates that between commuting and training as a UCI–licensed racer, he spends twenty-five hours every week on a bicycle. Poplak is doubtful that the riders who use Toronto’s new public system will amount to a meaningful increase in the number of regular bike commuters, or a meaningful decrease in the number of cars downtown. In the meantime, he calls for improved road infrastructure (“so that bicycles can safely traverse the streets without having to dodge lake-sized potholes”) and a large-scale safety campaign targeting cyclists and drivers alike. I ask whether Toronto’s public bicycle system should underwrite an expanded network of bike lanes, and can almost hear him shaking his head from the other end of the telephone line. “What bike lanes don’t do is enshrine cycling as a right,” he says. “What they do do, is enshrine the primacy of the car.” Like Heaps, Poplak believes cyclists should simply obey the rules of the road: no more rolling through red lights as they see fit. As well, motorists should recognize cyclists’ right to share their roadways. “Cyclists have the right to be everywhere except the 401 [highway] and the Don Valley Parkway. End of story,” he says. “We have rules — all we need to do is enforce them.”Whether enforcing the rules will neutralize the discord remains to be seen. What is certain, though, is that no one, whether they travel by car or by bicycle, has the prerogative to ignore where and how their fellow commuters take to the road. Just before he signed off, filmmaker Christopher Sumpton put it to me this way: “It’s like the weather. Everyone has to deal with transportation.” Poplak was more frank in the last email he sent me: “No matter how much you may loathe cyclists, you’d have to agree that something has to be done, and pretty quickly. Painting white lines on the road and/or handing out bikes isn’t the solution. Making sure we all understand the rules of the game, however, is.”
Labels: bike lanes, share the road, Toronto bike sharing, Walrus magazine
A short while ago I posted about how we dress when biking in Toronto.
Rapha: Got some money? OK, now got some more? Rapha makes great looking clothing with a price tag to match
Of course, the best way to look good cycling in Toronto is to simply be yourself, put on your helmet and take to the streets in whatever you've got on.
Labels: Bikes Without Borders, Outlier, Rapha, Toronto
Labels: commuting, safety, the struggle, Toronto, Toronto winters
Labels: Centennial Park, cyclocross, Toronto
Dr. Harrelson honoured for his sustainable ways
Cheers alum champions bike riding and biofuel, but don't look to him as an example, he saysHis latest character may have killed a zombie with a banjo, but Woody Harrelson's not sure he can slay the crowd when he accepts his honorary doctorate Saturday at York University.
"It means more than any award or accolade I've received," Harrelson said. "I just get nervous about having to do a speech."
The Zombieland star will receive the honour at York's convocation. Best known for his role on the television comedy Cheers, he's spent years promoting sustainable living by means of bicycle tours, green road trips and a book.
"It's not always the usual suspects that need to be uncovered and recognized," said Dawn Bazely, a biology professor who helped nominate the actor. Bazely first came across Harrelson's efforts when she watched Go Further, the 2003 film that documents his biofuel road trip to spread the green word.
Harrelson has a bachelor's degree in English and theatre but no honorary degrees to his name. "I was a little unsure they had the right guy," he said in his Texas drawl. "But now that I know they do, I'll be there."
Harrelson talked to the Star on why he shouldn't be your child's role model and the impending vegan Twinkie revolution.
Q: When you were in school, were you into the environmental scene?
A: No, I really didn't think about it that much. The college I went to, we had a nuclear power plant just down the road.
Q: When did the environment become important to you?
A: That probably happened in the late '80s, early '90s. I started to feel like, "What am I doing wasting my time as an actor when the world is going to hell in a handbasket?" I didn't feel like I was doing anything of import.
Q: What parts of your life would you want students to follow?
A: I don't consider myself much of a role model at all. The reason they're giving me this doctorate has to do with my getting ahold of a principle that I believe in and sticking to it. Otherwise, I can't think of any other aspect that I would even want my own children, much less other people's children, to follow.
Q: Are you going to make a speech at convocation?
A: Well, I guess so. I've had sleepless nights thinking about it. I guess I have to say something. I'll just say how grateful I am.
Q: What would be your advice to students?
A: Voting with your dollar, to me, is more important than voting any other way. Using a cloth bag instead of a paper bag. Ride a bike, not a car. I did that in Toronto; I did a lot of it on a bike.
Q: How was that?
A: I thought there were some really cool areas to bike, and some felt pretty dangerous. I was rehearsing over at the Distillery District, and I would come down some cool very green area, and go over the rail tracks.
Q: What's your biggest challenge as a raw-food vegan?
A: Sitting at a restaurant that's not vegan and trying to explain I can't have any dairy or butter without annoying the s--- out of everybody at the table.
Q: In Zombieland, your character is obsessed with a Twinkie. How did that work with your beliefs?
A: I play a lot of characters who have nothing to do with what I believe. And they ended up bringing in somebody to make something that looks just like a Twinkie. It might just start a vegan Twinkie revolution. There's not even the remotest chance of me ever eating a Twinkie.
Q: How will you get to Toronto?
A: I generally fly. My carbon footprint has got to be astounding, but all those other people in the plane are helping offset it. I really haven't done carbon offsetting. I probably should; that's more laziness than anything.
Photo via Flickr
Labels: biking toronto, Toronto, Woody Harrelson, York University
Labels: bike racks, Globe and Mail, strollers, Toronto
Not going to bike in the slush, salt and stains of a Toronto winter?
Labels: exercise bikes, gadgets, indoor, Toronto winters
Where bikes are heading: a look at the trendsBy MEGAN K. SCOTT (AP) – Oct 6, 2009Bicycle technology doesn't stand still.
Bike makers keep tinkering to give us a smoother, more convenient, more stylish ride: bikes long enough to carry another passenger and groceries. Bikes with batteries so you don't have to break a sweat. Aerodynamic bikes with little wind resistance.
"In the bike world, there have always been a bunch of trends going on at once," said Loren Mooney, editor-in-chief of Bicycling magazine. "It's because a bike is such a multipurpose tool. It's a toy. It's a piece of exercise equipment. It's a mode of transportation. And so really it's very common to have many trends at once."
Some bike trends on the horizon:
STYLISH UTILITY BIKE: The biggest trend is casual city riding, said Mooney, "where the person doesn't look like a spandex-clad cyclist, but rather like a normal person. And his or her bike looks like a cool, often retro object of design and casual fun — maybe it even has a basket."
FITNESS BIKES: An evolution from the hybrid bike — a cross between a road bike and a mountain bike, which was "too cumbersome for true fitness riding," said Mooney. (Fitness bikes are sometimes referred to as flat-bar road bikes.)
PEDAL-ASSIST ELECTRIC BIKES: A bike with a boost. Pedal-assist bikes combine battery power with pedaling so you can ride farther and faster without getting as tired.
It's an ideal bike for someone who rides for transportation, as opposed to fitness, and when the distance is far, the terrain difficult or the rider short on endurance.
ECO DESIGN BIKES: Bike manufacturers are coming out with eco-friendly bikes. For example, Trek's Belleville and Atwood models have grips on the handlebars, a saddle and a steel frame that all can be recycled. The bikes also come with front and rear lights that are generated by pedaling, not batteries, said Trek spokesman Sam Foos.
FOLDING BIKES: These have been around for years but the technology is getting better. Traditional folding bikes, which have small wheels, were better for folding than riding, said David Montague, owner of Montague Bicycles in Cambridge, Mass. The company introduced SwissBike TX earlier this year, a full-size bike that folds in half.
XTRACYCLE: a kit that makes a bike 15 inches longer so you can carry a passenger, groceries, books. Some people use it to carry camping gear, said Nate Byerley, president of Xtracycle, in Oakland, Calif. He said he knows a home inspector who uses his Xtracycle to carry equipment including a 10-foot ladder.
Labels: categories, every day cycling, hybrid, mountain biking, road
Labels: fundraiser, Steamwhistle, Toronto Cyclists Union
Labels: Keep Calm Ride On, Poster
Some very basic training drills run by Toronto Police bicycle officers via InsideToronto:
Labels: bicycle training, Toronto Police
On quite possibly one of the last sunny Saturday's of 2009, I made a quick trip to St. Lawrence Market to shop for a BBQ.
Labels: cargo bike, fall weather, St. Lawrence Market, Toronto