Candy Cranks

I just got back from a short trip to Dalian, China. My purpose was simple: meet up with some childhood friends from Montreal and have a little reunion, eat some tasty food, do a bit of shopping, and just get a feel for the place. This was my first visit to China and I asked my friend who is living there about getting a hold of some bikes to cruise around the city on. Her email response prior to my departure gave the impression that she had never considered riding a bike in Dalian. I was informed that a Dalian winter is much colder than a Montreal winter, which is much colder than a Toronto winter, which made me consider canceling my trip. I was envisioning -50°C at noon. She also told me that while there are some traffic signals, they are more like guidelines, but not so strictly followed, and that I would understand when I got there. So, I hopped on a plane for a few hours and ended up in a totally different world.

Thankfully I hit Dalian during a heatwave, though I was secretly kind of wishing to have to try out the amazing inch thick long underwear that I saw for sale in the markets. The thing about the traffic that my friend had warned me about became clear very quickly, and I learned to stick close behind the locals when crossing the street. While I did see a number of pedal powdered vehicles, they were mostly tricycles, and they were mostly stationary. The good thing about this is that they were usually loaded up with delicious fresh fruits and veggies. Bicycle culture in Dalian does seem to be shadowed by car culture or perhaps all the cyclist were chilling at home celebrating Chinese new year. I still had a great time sticking to the side streets, the markets and underground malls. I definitely want to explore more of China, but maybe I’ll save the biking for the countryside.

So it seems that frames made of bamboo are kind of hot these days. There are finished frames, do-it-yourself kits, courses, and charity organizations all offering bamboo bikes in some way. Apparently the material makes for a nice ride that’s stiff with a bit of flex. I’ve done some superficial googling for you:

http://bamboobikestudio.com

http://www.calfeedesign.com - the triathlon model

http://www.organicbikes.com

I assumed that this was a new trend geared towards the LOHAS crowd. Well, wasn’t I surprised to come across this:

114 year old bamboo bike

I think these bikes are all beautiful and would love to take a bamboo bike out for a test ride.

This product landed in my inbox this morning, and I thought it was a pretty hot idea. You ride in your own self-mounted spot lights. This is a row of LEDs that you strap on to your chainstay and down tube. I admit, they don’t look so great in the light, but in the dark, you’re looking at a flashy, and possibly safer night time commute. I’m thinking of investing in some.

http://bikebrightz.com/

One of my top youtube searches of 2009 was for parkour. You know, those guys, and sometime girls, who run around cities, scaling walls, hopping from rooftop to rooftop, and swinging off poles? Sure you do, those who are really good at it make it into Hollywood movies as stunt artists, and we also saw some really hunky parkour guys touring with Madonna on her Confessions tour in 2006.

Well, today I discovered the amazing amalgamation of two incredible urban activities: parkour and biking. The guy in the video, Danny MacAskill, has wicked skills and no fear.

ice bike design from the late 1800s

I’ve now been back in Tokyo a few days after spending about 3.5 weeks in frigid Toronto and soggy Seattle. It was a great trip catching up with old friends and spending some time with the family, but I sure am glad to be back and to see that my bike was still curled up in corner of the lab at school where I left her over the holidays.

I’m a bit sad to report that I did zero riding while I was away. It only dropped to a mere -19°C in Toronto, and it did rain for 3 days without stopping in Seattle, but there were still people out riding in both cities. Toronto and Seattle cyclists are hardcore, and way heartier than I.

Candy Cranks authors have also been posting some great pics of winter riding. I have real respect for all of you who brave the ice and snow on two wheels. I was inspired to do a little research on winter riding and came up with the antique ice bike posted above, as well as a neat website based out of Sapporo that is dedicated to riding, both for commuting and recreation, in snow. Check it out (Japanese only): http://icebike.gogo.tc/

I just arrived back in Toronto for the holidays. I’m not sure how much riding I’ll get to do here since 1) it’s damn cold, 2) I’m stationed out in the hinterlands (suburbs), and 3) my mom is kind of overprotective.  I will at least try to get my old Bianchi down from the ceiling in the garage, dust her off, tune her up and hopefully meet up with some friends downtown.

Until I have some Toronto winter cycling news to share, I thought I’d post some photos from a trip to Osaka I took a little while back. Before heading to Osaka, I read an article about Airin-chiku, a part of town that has historically been home to the poorest of the poor, and still houses a large population of aging male day labourers. This is not the article I initially read, but it will explain the situation there a bit further. I got really curious about this town and wanted to check it out. Contrary to what the article I have posted states, this was not a tourist destination. I didn’t see any other foreigners, or any other women for that matter. My usually laid back companion, who is a Japanese woman who had lived in Osaka for several year, but never visited that area before, was noticeably tense. Things I did see were: piles of garbage (a very rare site in Japan), stray dogs (also very rare), steel drums on fire in the middle of the street,  makeshift houses, men laying about on the sidewalk, and men moving massive loads on homemade extended bicycle racks. I was really impressed by that. I took some stealth photography, which really made my friend nervous.

OK, I know I didn’t capture most of the exciting stuff I just wrote about, but seriously, we were scared. I do recommend going to Airin though because it’s a whole other world and very interesting, but be sure to go in the daytime, and don’t go alone.

New year postcard I designed

Sending new years postcards is a big deal in Japan. Every year there are tonnes of designs to choose from that are all variations on whichever animal’s year it is in the Chinese Zodiac. I’ve never sent new years cards before, but thought I’d give it a shot. Next year will be the year of the tiger. Here’s my design. The red stamp is my signature, which reads “je”.

Cycle Mode is the huge international trade show that I missed last year. This year the event was held December 11-13 at Makuhari Messe (a convention centre) in Chiba (not actually in Tokyo). Even though it was freezing and rainy and gross on Friday evening, I was determined to get there once I finally got through meetings at school. It took over an hour by train, but it was worth it.

Gold KHS. I own a KHS folder, and have become a bit of a fan.

This man was having so much fun test riding this puppy that I couldn't get a clear shot of him.

sexy display

Kimori, carbon fiber wheels!

Fuji Origami folding bike

It's Mr. Gary Fisher!

Cute things by Puma

Hi there! I’m new here, and excited to share my Tokyo cycling experience with you.

What Christmas looks like in my neighbourhood

Bike paddy wagon right outside my apartment. This is a reality of life in Tokyo.

First, a bit about me and why I’m having a Tokyo cycling experience at all. I’m originally from Toronto, and have been here for about 3.5 years already. I came to do the teaching English thing, then did some graphic design, and ended up as a grad student. I always enjoyed biking back home, but got really intrigued by the various forms of bike culture here, the two most prominent being the masses of silver coloured granny bikes that accumulate outside train stations, and the polar opposite; beautifully pimped road bikes and fixies all over the place. Urban cycling actually became a huge part of my thesis research. This research keeps me pretty busy and very entertained cuz there’s just so much going on in Tokyo. I’ll be posting the highlights here. Hope you enjoy!

Jess