vic.gedris.org Never mind the blogs, here's the website.

HP Velotechnik's new fully suspended foldable sports trike Scorpion fs has been awarded with the Eurobike Award 2008 for it's "innovative design and outstanding product quality". The awarded Scorpion fs trike will be on special exhibition at Eurobike's west entrance during the show from September 4th - 9th, 2008 in Friedrichshafen, Germany.

If you are thinking of coming by CBN on a Friday evening, double-check your calendar first to make sure that it isn't the last Friday of the month.

If it is, think of joining us for Critical Mass instead, as we'll be closing at 6pm on those Fridays! (If you can't join us for Critical Mass, then at least be aware that we won't be here to help you with your bike on those evenings after 6pm!)

From City News:
It's that kind of pronouncement that angers drivers, who will now be forced to wait a lot longer at the lights, increasing their already simmering impatience and their feeling that City Hall is at war with the car.

"You've got to keep traffic moving somehow, and to hold up traffic just so a few pedestrians can cross wherever they want doesn't make sense," moans motorist Bryan Lawrence about the four way stop. I love their choice of words, particularly "moans" and "simmering impatience." The hyperbolic words clash with the triviality of the situation and make the motorist's concerns seem entirely inconsequential.

Car

Observed by bonfire89 on Sat, Aug 16 2008

License Plate: ON ALLN 055 1 violation Location: Royal York and Bloor
Toronto, ON Taken: Sat, Aug 16 2008

Just a tad startling, no? One might say it takes balls to ride such an audacious machine in public, but that would not be quite the correct term...


Details here and here.

The first link was posted to the HPVOoO irc channel. Of course, then the bad puns started, such as:

If it had windows, would it be a womb with a view?
Would you call this a Menstrual Cycle?
Of course, in taking passengers she's offering a public cervix.
Building that must have been a real labia of love.

OK, so it's not really any kind of bike because it does not have any pedals and needs to be towed. But it's a fabulous example (some would say disturbingly so) of like-like art, along the lines of Ron Mueck's work:

DandyHorse Cover

The launch is tonite at CineCycle ...
Very exciting!

I was coasting down the big hill on the north end of Blair Rd. in Ottawa and filming with my new Hero GoPro Helmet cam. I am trying very hard to keep my helmet still so the video isn’t too choppy. I made it up to 70 km/h without even pedaling. I uploaded the video to Youtube so you can have a look.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0I949EOODwc

As some of you may remember, I recently made some attempts to rectify the horrible Saddle Shred™ situation going on in my wardrobe by patching previously thrashed jeans. Well, it worked for a week or so and then…

So, I’ve got a new solution and it’s a two parter:

1) New jeans. Naked & Famous, 21 Ounce (read: THICK!) raw Japanese denim, made ethically in Canada.

2) New Saddle. Brooks Swift, Titanium edition - Huzzzuh!

I’d put the word out that I was looking to buy a B17, preferably used (the politics of skin), after hearing that they were super comfy once broken in and pretty easy on the old pantaloons as well.

Well, my boy Wes stepped up in a big way and offered to lend, with the possibility of a later buyout, his Titanium railed Swift which is an extremely beautiful piece - almost too beautiful for me. Hopefully I’ll be able to ride it long enough to see if it’s “for me” before I totally thrash it like I do everything I own and be forced to buy it regardless.

Speaking of things getting Thrashed.

On my way back from Wes’ house to mount this beautiful new saddle I ran into Toronto’s premier Track Bike Trickster™ Tom Mosher™ who had managed to completely seize his front wheel. Every time I run into Tom he’s got some sort of bike malfunction - every time I am shocked. Except not really…

We got his wheel rolling well enough to get back to my place where the cone wrenches are a plenty so we could give his wheel the tune up it needed before he goes out and bashes the hell out of it again. He gave me the rundown of key features of his bike including;

Gangsta Track fork for 700c Barspins.

Home Depot toe straps.

Blood stained cranks with home made(?) bashguard.

Tom Mosher: One in a million.

Update: Steph’s leg is healing well - thanks everybody for all the well wishes.

Update: My science experiment is over. The Gekko is dead - as expected, like Ann Peebles, it couldn’t stand the rain. RIP.

BDTJ 318 - Rogers van #42 on Davenport

Observed by vic on Tue, Aug 26 2008

Parked in the bike lane on Davenport just west of Oakwood. As usual, there were a whole bunch of empty legal parking spaces just a few metres ahead.

License Plate: ON BDTJ 318 1 violation Location: Davenport and Oakwood
Toronto, ON Taken: Tue, Aug 26 2008

Lifted from the Devil Strip Rollers website:

This week is the annual Ride For Charlie. This is not a DSR event but organized by friends of Charlie. Again this year we will be meeting at JetFuel for 7pm this coming Thursday (08.28) for a casual spin through Cabbagetown and then looping down to the lake where we’ll head West to the memorial tree for fallen cyclists. Even if you didn’t know Charlie come out and ride for the love of the ride and in memory of all of the cyclists we’ve lost in careless accidents. In keeping with last year, we’ll have handouts to explain to passers by what’s happening as this is not a protest ride. If you’d like to print your own and bring them, we’ve made a downloadable pdf available here.

Last year’s ride was a lot of fun and a great way to celebrate a part of Charlie’s life so if you’re at all interested, please come out and ride. If anyone wants to join me I plan to do the ride for Charlie and then make my way down to the Dandyhorse Launch Party - a new Toronto bike magazine which I contributed a few small pieces to.

Last week I noticed this nasty little gash in my rear tire and figured that I really should replace it but just never got around to it.

On Monday, I was loosing air (slow leak) and replaced the tube before riding up to Avenue & Lawrence for Dodgeball. The new tube held and I made it home safely but still didn’t bother to replace that tire. Well, last night while on my way up to meet my lady at her workplace I had a high speed blowout that nearly dethroned me. No problem, right? I’ve got a pump, levers and a tube, right? Not so fast, snackshack!

I thought that the when my pump broke in Europe that I could move the presta guts to the shrader side and have it continue to work while I waited for Crank Brothers to send me replacement parts and it did for a while, but not last night.

Well, I made it home eventually but it was a major pain in the ass (thanks for the pump, Aner) and when I checked my mail this morning what do you suppose was in there?

Yeah, that’s right. Unfortunately they sent me the reds and the caps but didn’t send the seals that go along with them so I was kind of SOL.

Until, of course, I dug around in the old parts cupboard and found some old ones that will work just fine…

Thanks again to the fine folks at Crank Brothers. The pump may break down from time to time but they’ve been really good at replacing parts (and entire products) when needed.

As reported by TCAT, the bike lanes on Vaughan Rd. between Winona Dr. and St. Clair Ave. (map) are being installed this week.

I rode by there after work on Tuesday evening to check on the progress. They have already painted the initial markings on the road, which will eventually be painted over.

However, the cynic in me is asking, "Why are they doing this?"

Seriously, riding this road wasn't bad at all. The traffic is minimal, the lanes are wide and easy to share, and the limited on-street parking doesn't make for many dooring situations. Maybe this is a simple 1.7km to add to the bike plan, without upsetting anyone. But does it benefit anyone either? Let's have a look.

In this first photo, we're looking south-east, with the north-west traffic coming towards us. The centre yellow line will be shifted farther to the right, giving more room to the left side of the road and making room for the bike lane. I guess overall, that's a win for cyclists as there is more room to go around, but then there's also a new set of bike lane stripes right in the door-zone of the parked cars. Now I suppose cyclists will be expected to ride in the door-zone because of the new lines on the road.

In the second image, you can see how the yellow line will be moved to the right, making the right half of the road narrower. This is a loss of space for everyone, including cyclists. Now motorists will have to pass closer to cyclists, unless they cross the solid yellow line. The bike lane markings aren't stenciled in yet for this direction, but it looks like it will be tight. Overall, it looks like a loss of space for cyclists, which I'm sure will totally disappear when there's a bit of snow

In this last photo, you can see how narrow the new lane is. I really don't think they can fit a safe bike lane in there, especially next to the parked cars.

To me, it just seems like this was an easy bit of cycling infrastructure to paint on the road, without actually seeing if there will be a positive benefit for cyclists. I'm sure some cyclists will feel safer with a little white line protecting them from cars, but I don't think this will actually help. Having less space to ride, especially around parked cars, will make things more dangerous.

I guess we'll have to see what the final outcome is once the painting is complete. Do any of you I Bike TO readers cycle along here regularly? What are your opinions on this?

The last time you were in the express lane in the supermarket, did you punch out the person ahead of you because they exceeded the 8 item limit? Did you at least raise your fist and threaten to punch them? I am willing to bet that your answer is no. I am also willing to bet that you have most likely never seen anyone do it either.

Now let us change the question to make it relevant to cyclists.

When was the last time a driver threatened to hit, or actually hit, you or someone else because they believed you had broken the law or their understanding of it. I am willing to bet that most cyclists experience this on a daily basis. I am not talking about driver errors, those happen and are legitimate mistakes, I am talking about deliberate actions.

Today, during my 40 minute commute home I witnessed three cyclists threatened by drivers. One was riding in the middle of the lane at the same speed as traffic. A driver revved his engine, sped into the back of the cyclist and at the last minute swerved around him. Then swerved back after passing him with mere inches to spare. Imagine doing that with your shopping cart. Another cyclist made the mistake of being beside a streetcar when a driver wanted to pass in between the two. Even though this driver would have been delayed by mere seconds she aimed her vehicle at the cyclist hoping to force them off the road. Next time you get that steak before me in the supermarket I am going to punch you out or at the very least raise my fist to you.

Really, I imagine these drivers get home and find their dinners not ready. So they just punch out their wives. Yet as far as I can tell they do not.

Why is it that they can manage not to go postal in the supermarket express lane but once encased in a steel coffin they are ready to kill for insignificant reasons? I can only guess at why this is. Being at the receiving end of many of these threats and hearing many of your stories it appears that these drivers are convinced they are well within their rights enforcing the law. Some sort of vigilantism that only exists when they are operating a motor vehicle.

Note: There is a poll embedded within this post, please visit the site to participate in this post’s poll.Note: There is a poll embedded within this post, please visit the site to participate in this post’s poll.

Trailer on Davenport

Observed by vic on Mon, Aug 25 2008

This transport trailer (plate: C51 21K)was illegally parked in the bike lane on Davenport Rd. It wasn't going anywhere anytime soon either, as the rig was nowhere to be found.

License Plate: ON C 5121K 1 violation Location: Davenport and Laughton
Toronto, ON Taken: Mon, Aug 25 2008

AXDC 146 - Lazy parking on Davenport

Observed by vic on Mon, Aug 25 2008

Lazy bike lane parker. Just a few metres a head, there were many empty parking spaces.

License Plate: ON AXDC 146 1 violation Location: Davenport and Ford
Toronto, ON Taken: Mon, Aug 25 2008

Lock up your bikes. While this may seem obvious, bike theft in Ottawa is up by 49% so its worth being a little extra vigilant.

RANS has started shipping the 2009 RANS Stratus LE in the XL size.  Gold Country Cycles in California has gotten one and posted the following on their blog.

"The first of the newly designed Stratus LE XL’s has arrived at our shop.  This new model sports the same silver/blue paint scheme as the standard size models, but has a redesigned rear triangle to accommodate it’s 700c rear wheel. With that design includes IS disc brake mount for future upgrades.  Wheelset has proven Sun CR18 406/700c rims and Shimano Deore hubs.  New Continental SportContact slicks (406-28 /700-28) are quite a departure from the Primo Comets. Brief test riding reveals the new Stratus to be stable and fast!  For the moment our retail price is $1490."

 

766 NPN - Parked Illegally on Runnymede Rd.

Observed by vic on Tue, Jul 29 2008

Parked illegally in front of of the convenience store. Plenty of legal parking available nearby, but driver is too lazy.

License Plate: ON 766 NPN 2 violations Location: Runnymede and Annette
Toronto, ON Taken: Tue, Jul 29 2008

ASBB 891 - Convenience parking

Observed by vic on Tue, Jul 29 2008

Typical scene....driver parking illegally in the bike lane in front of convenience store.

License Plate: ON ASBB 891 1 violation Location: Runnymede and Annette
Toronto, ON Taken: Tue, Jul 29 2008