Remember the war on cars? The hyperbolic and mostly mythical idea that cyclists, a “special interest group,” were successfully ramming such horrors as bike lanes down the throats of unsupportive legions of car drivers? Since the peak “war on cars” battles of four or five years ago, the hot war has cooled a bit because …
Damn that Game of Thrones for making the phrase “winter is coming” sound ominous. Winter doesn’t have to be something to dread, particularly if the root of your aversion to winter is the loss of your bicycle. Yes, more people are riding a bike through winter all the time. For good reason: You get all …
Read more “Winter is coming: Here are 5 things to think about to keep riding through the cold”
Here’s a novel new idea for making cycling safer: Ban men’s bikes. Seriously, this is a real idea, but don’t stop reading yet. Since the recommendation came out of the Netherlands, where they know a thing or two about biking, it’s worth a closer look. It wasn’t exactly “men’s” bikes that were targetted, rather bikes …
Read more “Here’s an idea to make cycling seem safer: Ban the crossbar”
Few things in the bike world are as hot right now as e-bikes. Every manufacturer seems to be sensing that now is the time for electric bikes to finally catch hold in North America. Here’s the latest evidence: Two approaches to ebikes, from both an industry leader and an upstart, that are almost complete opposites. …
Read more “Yes, this is how weird (and how elegant) e-bikes are getting”
During municipal election season, you may find yourself opening your door to a candidate who wants your vote. Sadly, not all would-be politicians will share your enlightened view on the benefits of a bike-friendly city. So how are you to know if this is a candidate who deserves your vote? We are here to help! …
Read more “Five questions to help determine if your city council candidate will improve cycling”
There’s a giant urban bicycle experiment happening right now on the streets of Seattle that may change the way everybody gets around. Or it may lead to an epic flop that burns through venture-capital cash and leaves the streets littered with derelict bikes. Either way, the last month has ushered in a new wave of …
Read more “‘Uber for bikes’ is here, and traditional bike-sharing companies are feeling the heat”
It was a long and uninteresting series of events that led me to ride my daughter’s Breezer Downtown EX down the side of a mountain, but here’s the important part: It was fun. An outing during a family camping trip that went a little bit differently than expected found us at the head of a …
Read more “Bombing down a mountain on a totally inappropriate bike taught me this”
I’ve always been a bit annoyed with the bike-friendly reputation of Vancouver. Yes, it has always had a lot of people on bikes, but for a long time, that came without the installation of much high-quality bike infrastructure. All that has changed in recent years, so I took a trip recently to see if it …
Read more “Is Vancouver really as bike friendly as it thinks it is?”
A new study offers perhaps the most definitive reason yet why society should be doing more to encourage cycling, and serves as another reminder that the health benefits of cycling far outweigh the risks. This British study took a comprehensive look at the health benefits of bicycle commuting, and the results are staggering. Over the …
Read more “Forget all the other reasons you should be riding a bike. This is the one that matters”
On my most memorable ride this year, a 70 km highway ride up the highest paved mountain pass in Canada, I wore a helmet. On my recent mountain bike trip into the Rockies of southern B.C. , I wore a helmet. But in my last video, in which I rolled through the streets of Calgary’s …
Read more “Most of the time I ride a bike, I wear a helmet. But not always. Here’s why.”