In testing out the cool new SmartHalo on my bike, two questions struck me: 1. Is SmartHalo better than your phone? 2. Do you need a smart bike? So I put the questions to the test, by comparing what you get on your phone to what you get on a SmartHalo synced with a phone. …
Read more “Smart bike challenge: $12 iPhone bike mount verses $200 SmartHalo”
What I’ve noticed about bicycle riding in the city is the city. This is especially true and vivid in parts of the city that have protected cycle tracks. I notice more of my city on my bike. The open architecture of the bicycle makes this possible. The safe infrastructure of a bike lane can make …
Read more “Here’s what happens when you ride a bike without worrying about being run over”
Veteran hard-core commuter cyclists are good at many things. Telling you exactly how much mileage they’ve logged far this year, for example. Clip-clopping in their stiff-soled cycling shoes in places where that is totally inappropriate. And offering the simplest advice to anyone who has ever expressed interest in riding their bike more: “Just get out …
Read more “7 ways to choose the right route for your bike commute”
It started as a well-meaning attempt to offer some alternatives to backpacks. Backpacks are great, obviously, but sometimes when using a bicycle for getting around a city, a backpack can be a burden. A sweaty, heavy, burden. Things went a little awry, however, when Doug got involved. Doug is a guy in my neighbourhood who …
Read more “Proof you can haul pretty much anything on a bike”
Ever since electric bikes were introduced and started gaining popularity, there has been an ongoing argument among traditional bicycle riders and those who prefer electric bikes about whether riding a motorized bicycle counts as an exercise and has health benefits as a traditional bike. Some traditionalists claim that riding an electric bike is almost like …
Read more “The health benefits of e-bikes should kill the idea that riding them is ‘cheating’”
“I’d like to ride my bike more, but I’ve got to take the kids everywhere.” That’s a pretty common sentiment among parents these days, and it’s easy to see why. Kids today are scheduled and busy and in need of transportation constantly. Lindsay Bliek certainly understands it. She’s mom to two busy young girls. But …
One of the things I love about watching Stranger things on Netflix is the scenes of the preteen heroes riding their bikes around their messed-up town. Yes, I’m a bike nerd. The kids’ bikes are more than just props. The bikes separate the kids from the adult world and give them the freedom to explore. …
Read more “Maybe children ride bikes less often today because their bikes make it hard”
You could drive a car to work every day. But then you’d be missing out on an opportunity to make your life both safer and healthier. So says research from the team of Dr. Kay Teschke from the University of British Columbia, who looked at the relative safety of different modes of transportation. When it …
Read more “How your commute can contribute to a long and healthy life”
The front tire wasn’t a front tire as much as an oversized windshield wiper clearing snow from the glass. The transformation was rapid, and complete: Now I was pedalling down a riverbank utility road, and now I was thinking how lovely it is when the brown city gets a fresh set of linens, and now …
Read more “An injury ended my bike-riding streak. Until others picked it up for me”
Three years ago, you probably had never heard of Almetyevsk, the central Russian city of 150,00 that was founded in 1953 to serve the petroleum industry. I know I hadn’t. But since then, Almetyevsk has become a kind of legend in the bike world by transforming itself into the best bike city in Russia, and …
Read more “If this Russian oil town can become a bike haven, what’s your city’s problem?”