The Lazy Urban Cyclist

Of Bike Lanes and Posts with Rings

2006-08-24T22:43:00.000-04:00

This cyclist has been out of town and away from my bike for a while, and I've sure missed a lot going on with cycling in Toronto.

The Quay to the City (including the well publicized bike arch sculpture) showed what Toronto's central waterfront (the Queen's Quay area) could be like with improved pedestrian and bike-friendly design.

Toronto's ubiquitous post and ring bike racks have also been found to be vulnerable to cracking with 2x4s. More coverage here, here and here.

There's plenty more going on as well - I'm still sorting through everything.

Tags: bikelanes, bikeparking, photos, toronto

Photo from spacing.ca

Plan Your Route

2006-08-13T21:13:00.000-04:00

If you're going somewhere by bike and are at all constrained by time or how much uphill riding you're willing to do, it's important to plan your route. When you're biking in the city, it can also make a big difference for safety, as anyone who's ever inadvertently turned onto a busy street with fast moving traffic knows.

When you're mapping out a route, tools such as Gmap Pedometer (shown here with the route from Toronto's July Critical Mass) can help you lay down your route and measure distance. Tools such as Bikely, where people post their favourite routes, or the City of Toronto's cycling map can also point you towards better routes.

For any route which you take regularly, or even ocasionally, your route will likely evolve over time, based on a number of factors - hills, traffic, bike lanes, etc.

Tags: routeplanning, webtools

The Great Urban Bike: Tea Party

2006-08-06T14:13:00.000-04:00

When you need a break during a gruelling ride, the Tea Party Bike lets you stop and have a cuppa before continuing on your way. Complete with a one-burner camp stove and teapot (plus a saucer for your teacup on the handlebars), this bike is a stylish vehicle and café rest stop all in one.

Spotted by Will at Critical Mass in Toronto, July 2006. Photo taken from here with permission.

This is the latest entry in the Great Urban Bike series, looking at unique bikes that are, in some way, well suited to urban cycling. Send me your favourites and I'll post them.

Tags: greaturbanbike, photos

Portrait of a Bike Friendly City: Davis, California

2006-08-01T13:33:00.000-04:00

North America is far behind other parts of the world (particularly Europe) in creating bike-friendly cities. Davis, California seems to be an exception - WorldChanging is billing it as the most bike-friendly city in North America. Check it out.

Tags: places, usa

The Great Urban Bike: Camoflauge

2006-07-29T23:09:00.000-04:00

The Camoflauge Bike is designed to blend the constructed urban environment. Of course, different places will need different camoflauge - perhaps this bike lives at the zoo? By blending in with its surroundings, this bike is less likely to be spotted by those who would do it harm.

Spotted by me at Critical Mass in Toronto, July 2006.

I'm doing a series on the "Great Urban Bike" - the unique bikes that are, in some way, well suited to urban cycling. This could be for any feature: the style, the usefulness for a particular activity, the anti-theft system. So send me your favourites and I'll post them, along with a description or my own theories about the bike.

Tags: greaturbanbike, photos

Critical Mass: "We aren't blocking traffic; we are traffic."

2006-07-29T00:13:00.000-04:00

One of the most direct things you can do in urban cycling is the Critical Mass ride.

A typical Critical Mass ride starts from a central location and is done on the last Friday of each month. People cycle en masse through an unplanned route.

"Critical Mass is not led, and has no officially-stated message, though it is largely understood to be an effort to promote alternative (non-motorized) modes of transportation and to raise awareness about safety issues commuters using non-motorized forms of transportation face in sharing the streets with vehicles." (Wikipedia)

Today's ride in Toronto took us through the streets of Yorkville, an upscale shopping district, then back around and down the main drag of Yonge Street past Dundas Square, cut through (yes - through) the Eaton Centre, along Queen West and, after a few roundabouts, into Kensington Market. The ride more or less ended there, as people stopped to sign a car-sized petition for more parks and less parking, though many continued on to Alexandra Park for Food Not Bombs.

Some more photos from the ride:

Tags: criticalmass, events, photos, toronto

Bikes on the Bus

2006-07-25T02:06:00.000-04:00

I went to the Bike and Bus Picnic yesterday. I was expecting more of an actual event, rather than more of an info table setup. However, I also showed up near the end, and it started to rain while I was on the way down. Plus I got a nifty t-shirt featuring the above logo.

Afterwards, I took the opportunity to check out the bike racks on the Bathurst bus. They were much easier and quicker to use than I'd expected them to be - just pull the rack down, set your bike on it and pull the lever up over the front tire (though I fumbled the lever part while both loading and unloading).

I did a little research, and it seems that even though Toronto first started their pilot project with these bike racks last year and currently only has them on a few routes, Seattle started using them in the late 1970s.

The TTC (Toronto Transit Commission) has a page (Rack It and Rocket) with more info about this project. Make sure you fill out their survey if you're in Toronto.

Tags: bus, toronto, transit

Image copyright City of Toronto

Want to suggest a link?

2006-07-23T10:21:00.001-04:00

This is the spot if you want to suggest a link for the sidebar. This is also the spot if you want to suggest a topic for me to cover or point me to a something you think I'd like to see.

I'd like to have a list of relevant sites and blogs, so I need your suggestions. If you're suggesting a site you've got some control over, I'd appreciate you linking back here (to http://lazyurbancyclist.blogspot.com/), but you don't have to.

If you'd just like to suggest a topic for me to cover or point me to something, I'd love your input. Sites in other languages are cool too, but if it's not French, German or basic Spanish, make sure it's understandable through Babelfish or Google Translate.

Tags: links, reference, topics

Welcome to The Lazy Urban Cyclist

2006-07-23T10:20:00.000-04:00

Like more and more people, I commute by bike. I've done this on multiple routes in three different cities with populations between 48 000 and 2.5 million (plus one rural area), in three different time zones and on two different continents. My start and end points have had varying degrees of bike-friendliness.

That's not to say I'm an expert. Nor am I some fitness nut or bike guru. Generally, I'm biking because it's the best option environmentally, economically and often even in terms of commute time. Nonetheless, this is a blog for those who bike in the city and want tips and tricks to make it easier. I expect I'll pick up a few while writing it. If you've got any suggestions or if you disagree with any of mine, let me know.

I expect my posts will be somewhat location-centric to wherever I am (currently Toronto), but I'll try to keep as much of it as possible useful to those who aren't near me.

Happy cycling!

Tags: about, me, reference