Candy Cranks

I passed this bike on Queen St W and had to go back to take a pic!

the bikemobile! This was the best bike at Bells on Bloor

Shamez’s rickshaw, a typical sight in Kensington Market

beaded bike

beaded close-up

Amazon's polo bike

launch was tonight in London, so it should be available on the website soon!

start off the month with 2 very different events all about bikes!

Saturday, Bells on Bloor is a family friendly bike ride along Bloor St from High Park in the west end to City Hall in order to show support for putting bike lanes on Bloor St/Danforth Ave, the longest continuous east-west route in the city. Bike lanes on Bloor St were recommended as far back as 1992 but have yet to appear. It’s a very controversial topic in Toronto. Hopefully the growing support shown at events like this one (last year two thousand cyclists came out) will help make those lanes a reality soon! For more info on bike lanes on Bloor St check http://takethetooker.ca/

Sunday, hit the east side of downtown for the St Lawrence Criterium

held on a closed course loop on the Toronto St Lawrence Market streets. The criterium builds on Toronto’s long heritage of bike racing. From 1894 to 1927, the City hosted the annual Dunlop Trophy Race, attracting North America’s top competitors. I missed it last year, so this year I’m definitely checking it out!

For all the upcoming events in Toronto for Bike month check out the City cycling website the online calendar or the community run Bike Events TO calendar for year round events

The Toronto Bike Messenger Association is holding its first annual fundraiser for the BMEF on Saturday, MAY 1st

at DUFFERIN GROVE PARK

Saturday, May 1st, 2010
Registration @5pm
Gun goes off @6pm
$10 minimum to enter events

Event includes:
Polo
Alleycat
U-Lock Pickup
Foot Down
Chug-of-War
Trick Competition

SHOW & SHINE Categories:
Nicest Work Bike
2 Wheel Death Trap
Best Import
Brightest
Hardest Worked

Pick Up – Saturday – 11:30 to 5:pm
Tournament – Sunday – Registration @ 10:30am, Start @ 11:30am
Scadding Court Outdoor Rink – Bathurst/Dundas behind the library.

$10/person entry fee.
Limited to 30 players!!

Safety gear is required!!!

Friday, April 30th, 2010
214A Adelaide Street West, Toronto
(enter off alley behind Crocodile Rock on Duncan St.)

Hosted by Wipt Clothing and Behind the Front Visual Arts Studio
Featuring music from DJs Sawtay and Shortcut, freestyles with Sunny D and friends!

Saturday, May 1st, 2010
Cinecycle behind 129 Spadina Ave.
complete with silent auction, music, beer and awesome people!

Music provided by DJ Sawtay of Behind The Front Visual Arts Studio, with special guests from the big bike fam to take the mic!

MAYDAY! Participants get in with entrance fee
Everyone else PWYC

Everyone is encouraged to fundraise for this event!
Ask your friends, family, and coworkers to sponsor you!

Toronto finally gets some bike porn action! this Sunday, @ Cinecycle. I think the tour is just about wrapping up, but to check if it’ll be coming to a town near you, check the website

So I’ve been working late lately and haven’t been up to much, but I did take the time to take a great ride up to north Toronto one night after work to check out this touring frame. Not only was the ride up there great, it was a beautiful night, and I got the frame! My size (52cm hard to find used) and an actual touring frame! Yippee! Come on bike camping all summer! Now to build it up. I have most of the parts, but will need new brakes… any suggestions on good ones to get?

plus check out this sticker

in case you haven’t heard, the guy behind BikeSnob NYC has revealed his identity….

more here

and a bit more

and true to form, he’s got his own take on the “identity revealing” article…

enjoy

3-speed bracelet

bracelet

tandem earrings

dream catcher

wind chime

I have been making jewellery from used bike parts (mostly chains) for a while now, and generally love crafty type things, so when Bike Pirates (a DIY collective in Toronto) decided to have their 3rd Friday March social event as a crafting night, I was definitely into it.  I brought along enough supplies to teach a mini workshop on the earrings and bracelets I’d been making, but was mostly excited to see what everyone else would come up with….wind chimes, dream catchers, belts…  it was great!

Why throw things out when there’s so many possibilities of things to make with parts that aren’t used on your bike anymore.My friends in Vancouver make clocks out of bike parts. I bought a few for friends in Toronto last year and we all love them!  It’s so fun to check the time now!

What crafts do you make?

Twice a year (spring & fall) there is a bike show in Toronto where all the shops and clubs from across the Golden Horseshoe (the area withing approx 2 hours drive of the city) are all in one big arena for a weekend sale extravaganza. This weekend is the spring bike show which is always the big one as everyone gets ready to get outside again for the summer. Great deals can be found, especially in the first few hours of the show. My boyfriend and I lined up to get in early and while neither of us was looking for anything specific, we each came out with loads of great new gear, spd shoes, jerseys, a camel back, jackets, a bag, arm warmers, padded shorts, a riding skirt, mostly all at 50% off the store prices. My favourite sight of the show was right inside the main entrance, at the Wike booth which specializes in bike trailers… a trailer hitch for your kayak! how good is that! ahh Canada, you’ve done it again.

There’s loads of bikes and wheels sets and everything you can think of there, so whatever you’re after, you can get set for a new season. There’s also a bmx jam and flatland competition as well if you want to just sit back and take a break from the shopping.

Last year was my first winter back in Toronto. I hadn’t cycled through snow and ice much before, and heading into February I was about over it. And so just at the time when we’re getting good and sick of winter, and long for spring to start, cyclists in Toronto need something to put the fun back in it…. enter the Icycle, the annual ice race. When I first heard about it last year I thought they were crazy… ride my bike on ice? on purpose?  I usually try to avoid that!  But lots of cyclists in Toronto spend their time in January studding their tires with upwards of 750 screws per tire! The race was originally held off the Toronto Islands on a frozen Lake Ontario, but now that the Lake doesn’t always freeze, it’s held on Dufferin Grove ice rink, and is this weekend! If you’re in Toronto come see the thrills, spills, and all round mayhem!  I’ll post pictures from this year after the race!
Saturday Feb 13th
Reg 6:30, Race 7-10
after party at Bike Pirates -1292 Bloor St West