This bread from Nice Buns Bakery’s was delivered on a bicycle.

Farmers market vendors depend on bikes to bring their product to you

Story and photos by Kaitlyn Kochany

Imagine a farmer’s market that came to you. Instead of giving up a weekend morning to fight through throngs of like-minded shoppers, locally produced and sourced food would be delivered directly to your office building. Slip downstairs from your desk to browse homemade pies, fresh vegetable, and still-warm bread.

Aruna Handa has made this drool-worthy daydream a reality. The Toronto Office Markets, a pilot program operating since October 2011, connects office workers with local bakers, cheese-makers, chocolate purveyors and farmers through weekly lunchtime marketplaces in office building lobbies and outdoor concourses. Along with an eight-week guest spot at the ING Building downtown, Toronto Office Markets have found a semi-permanent home at The Center for Social Innovation’s Annex location and in a private Liberty Village office building.

Sara Lapell only uses her bicycle to deliver her Nice Buns baked goods.

When I ask vendor Sara Lapell if she has a car, she smiles. “Never had a driver’s license, never had my own car. I maintain that we don’t all have to be good at the same things.” She makes up for her lack of driving skills by offering gorgeous artisan sourdoughs. Nice Buns Bakery, Lapell’s business, uses a bike trailer to haul ingredients to her kitchen, and the finished product to market. “I’ve only had the trailer tip once,” she says.  “That was a low point.”

For businesspeople who are considering adding a bike to their operations, Lapell says “Go for it – it’s a relatively small investment, and when I started thinking of my bike as a business expense, that allowed me to prioritize it, like taking it to the shop and let the people who are good at fixing it fix it.”

The smell of Gabriela Ituarte’s nixtamal corn tortillas wafts through the office building and is a tantalizing reason to come for lunch. Ituarte, who is part of ChocoSol, says, “We like to do farmers and office markets to establish a connection between what you’re eating and where you’re getting it.” ChocoSol works directly with suppliers, including Amish corn farmers in the Kawarthas, to work the triple bottom line.

Gabriela Ituarte brings all of her tortilla-making equipment on a bike trailer.

ChocoSol has incorporated bikes into their production side: “The technology is eco-friendly: we use bike grinder, bike blenders, and for special events we bring the bikes trailer.” ChocoSol even had a custom-made bike-trailer kitchen — the “tortilla trailer” — which neared 200 kg and had to occasionally be pushed to the top of hills. “I lost a lot of weight that summer,” Ituarte laughs.

Handa says the future is bright for the office markets. “We’re still tinkering, looking to make it as good as possible for everybody concerned. The more we do it, the more we figure out what works and what doesn’t work.”

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For more food-related stories, check out our Food Issue.

To find out what sorts of things other people carry on their bike, check out our Shopping by Bike bike spotting.

Please note, we previously spelled Gabriela Ituarte’s last name incorrectly. We regret the error.

Laneways are hidden gems in the city. They’re not just avenues for delivery trucks, they’re also shortcuts to avoid the main streets, hideouts for miscreants, canvasses for street art, interesting living spaces and oases of peace amidst the bustle of the city.

Last Sunday, a group of about 60 cyclists took advantage of the great weather to explore the laneways of Queen Street West. Led by Herb and Rob from Cycle Toronto’s (formerly Toronto Cyclists Union) Ward 19 Advocacy group, we gathered at Trinity-Bellwoods Park for a 2 p.m. tour of the laneways that connect Queen Street West, Bathurst, Dundas and the park itself.

After kicking off the tour, we headed south down Strachan then east on Adelaide to Niagara. A short jaunt north brought us to the entrance of the laneway where the tour began.

We followed the laneway east, crossing Bathurst critical mass style and cruising almost to Spadina. We then doubled back to Tecumseth and zig-zagged north to Dundas before heading back to the park, observing some incredible art and architecture along the way.

The tour stops in front of a piece Toronto artist (and dandy contributor) Elicsr, our cover artist, Summer 2009. Get back issues here. 

With some interesting proposals for development being tabled, these urban treasures should see a new breath of life in the next few years.

A project is now underway to revitalize the O’Keefe Laneway that runs south from Dundas Square to the Elgin Theatre between Yonge and Victoria streets:

The initiative, a partnership between ING Bank, 8-80 Cities and Gehl Architects and funded by a $25,000 grant for the Ontario Ministry of Health and a further $9000 from ING Bank, is developing a plan to turn the laneway into a mixed-use space that is pedestrian and cyclist friendly.

If Gehl’s revitalization of Melbourne, Australia’s downtown is any indication (in which the city’s network of accessible laneways grew from 300 metres in 1994 to 3.4 km by 2004), these mostly forgotten and underused spaces will become new hubs for local business and community life.

A custom mural by Toronto artist and dandy contributor Mike Parsons (issues 1,2 and as in our photo by Rebecca Baran of Adam Vaughan last spring.

Laneway explorers stop for photo opps.

 Our mayor has inspired a lot of laneway art.

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Our upcoming youth and employment themed issue of dandyhorse (on newsstands in June) has a news feature with quotes endorsing bike lanes from mayors and transportation officials from cities all over the world. Subscribe today to get dandy at your door!

June is Bike Month

Bike events across Canada celebrate everything velo

If you’d like dandyhorse to cover your bike event, drop us a line at info@dandyhorsemagazine.com

Story 
by Samantha Edwards 



Photo by Dana Lacey (taken at Charlie’s Freewheels during a shoot for our upcoming “youth” issue of dandyhorse.)

TORONTO — Toronto’s Bike Month has evolved from a single Bike to Work Day in 1998 to become one of the largest events of its kind in the country. Bike Month is organized by the City of Toronto and the Cycle Toronto (formerly Toronto Cyclists Union). Below are a just a couple of events dandy will be at, but check out their calendar for full event listings.

In Toronto, Bike Month kicks off with the Toronto Group Commute on May 28. Commuters from across the city meet to ride together from various start points, eventually converging at Yonge and Bloor Streets for 7:30 a.m. From there, cyclists will ride over to Nathan Philips Square for 8 a.m. to enjoy a free pancake breakfast and a free Bike Month t-shirt. 

(There are plenty of free flapjack events all month).

On June 2, Evergreen Brick Works will be doling out pancakes from 8 a.m. to 12 p.m. and on June 6, the Hart House at the University of Toronto will be serving breakfast from 7:30 a.m. to 9 a.m.

On June 23, from 11 a.m. and 5:30 p.m., head over to the Distillery District for Mountain Equipment Co-Op’s Bikefest. A completely free event, Bikefest offers dozens of bike clinics and seminars, free basic bike repair and tune-ups, a bike swap, live bands and city cruise bike rides.

MONTREAL
 — From May 27 to June 3, Montreal celebrates cycling with Bike Fest, an annual event where thousands of cyclists happily take over Montreal’s busy streets.

First launched in 1999, Bike Fest is comprised of three main ride:

- The Tour de l’Île de Montréal, which was first held in 1985, is a famous 50-kilometer bike ride that brings out over 25,000 cyclists of all ages.

- Beginning at dusk, costumed cyclists pedal 22-kilometers throughout Montreal for the Tour la Nuit, a truly ethereal nocturnal ride.

- The Metropolitan Challenge ride is a scenic experience with valleys, vineyards, orchards and sugar bushes as the backdrop. Four distance choices and various start times mean this is an ideal ride for cyclists of all skill levels.

HALIFAX — Halifax packs all of its bikey events in one outstanding week, including some of these highlights. The week begins on May 25 with a kick off party at Sands at Salter on the Halifax waterfront. Along with bike-themed entertainment, tricycle races and bike tube changing competitions, the Halifax Cycling Coalition will be presenting the Halifax Cycling Awards, which recognize individuals and organizations who encourage cycling in the city. Check out the Bike Week Gallery Hop for velo-friendly art exhibits.

On May 26, a group, leisurely ride will take place along the Salt Marsh Trail, which is a part of the Trans Canada Trail. The ride will include information stations along the four-kilometer route with refreshments and snacks provided. Cyclists should meet at 806 Bissett Rd., Cole Harbour, at 11 a.m.

Halifax’s second annual tweed ride and picnic starts at 12:30 p.m. at I Heart Bikes at 1325 Lower Water St. Don your newsboy hat, knickers, corsets, pantaloons and other 1900s garb for a relaxing ride through the city.

EDMONTON — Celebrating its seventh year, Edmonton’s bike month is chock full of bikey events, including velo movie nights, group breakfasts and the bikeology festival, a one-day bike appreciation extravaganza.

Monday Night Movies at the Metro is back again. Every Monday, head over to the new Metro space on 109 Street to watch a velo-oriented movie for free. Start time is 7 p.m.

Each and every Friday in June, between 7 a.m. and 9 a.m., enjoy a Bikey Breakfast at various eateries throughout the city.

Now in its 10th year, the Bikeology Festival will take place on June 16th, from 12 p.m. to 4 p.m at Beaver Hills House Park. Get ready for spoken word musings about the bicycle, a craft table where you can make your own bike bling, delicious smoothies made from pedal power, lots of bikey games, and of course, free mechanic tune-ups.

VANCOUVER, SURREY, BURNABY —  Bike to Work Week takes place during the first week of Bike Month. Guided group rides called You Can Ride Here take you to different districts of the city, including Hastings Sunrise and Dunbar.

Vancouver hosts Velopalooza, a two-week festival from June 15 to July 2 that encompasses group rides, bike-oriented conferences and workshops, a huge parade to show off your one-of-a-kind wheels, and even bike bowling, an activity where participants hurtle down a hill on two wheels into stacked garbage cans – sounds enticing, no?

Keep checking on bike month events in your community and look for dandy coverage of the ones you miss.

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ALSO: stay tuned to dandyhorsemagazine.com for news on the dandyhorse youth and employment-themed issue, launching in June!

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If you would like dandyhorse to cover your bike event, drop us a line at info@dandyhorsemagazine.com

This article first appeared in our Spring 2010 issue. You can order back issues here.

Camper Bike

Kevin Cyr paints and constructs RV-bike hybrids

Story by Leah Sandals

Many avid cyclists already feel like they live on their bikes but few have taken the idea as far as Brooklyn artist Kevin Cyr, who created a head-turning RV-bike hybrid in April 2008. Here, Cyr talks about China, Maine mill towns, Cormac McCarthy and other influences.

Where did the idea for your Camper Bike come from?

I was working for an artist who started doing a project in China, so I went over for work in 2006, 2007 and 2008. Right away, I was fascinated by China’s amazing bike culture. I used to be a bike messenger so I’ve been interested in bikes for a long time. What interested me in particular are Chinese bikes that have three wheels and a kind of flatbed. Working-class people make a living by carrying stuff on them: everything from refrigerators to televisions. I loved those bikes and their utilitarian aspects. Then, one day, I was eating breakfast outside a market, and it reminded me of camping as a kid. So I said, jokingly, “Hey, wouldn’t it be great to have a house on the back of that bike?” And I started doing sketches. How did your sketches turn into the actual bike? It evolved over a few trips. I’m primarily a painter, so I first thought of this as a drawing or painting project. But it seemed really hard to paint from concept and I thought, “I should just build this thing.”

How did people react when you tried your creation out in public?

The reaction was mixed. Some people didn’t notice, because there’s a lot of odd vehicles in China. But some people did make us stop for photographs. The camper was actually the most interesting part to a lot of people, because it was the least familiar. There’s not that much camping in China.

You’ve also made some lovely paintings of old delivery trucks and vans, a fact that some cycling activists might find surprising. What’s your response?

Those paintings of vans and trucks actually come from when I was a bike messenger in Boston. At that time, I started photographing old run-down cars and delivery vehicles I encountered on my routes. The common link was they were all really old working-class vehicles. I guess that’s my overall interest in some ways. I come from a small mill town in northern Maine.

More recently, you made a camper out of a shopping cart. Why?

The inspiration came partly from the Camper Bike and partly from The Road by Cormac McCarthy. In that book, they were pushing a shopping cart, another kind of very utilitarian vehicle. And because they were constantly looking for shelter, I thought I could make a Camper Kart. Again, I think it connects to my past, and to camping as a kid.

You also ended up making some nice paintings of the Camper Bike. Why was that important?

Well, the nice thing with the paintings was I was able to place the bike in a mountainous landscape. In Beijing there’s only city scenes, so the paintings and drawings allow me to put the camper-bike in different scenarios.

So what’s next for you and the Camper Bike?

Well, the bike is in China in storage right now. I hope to exhibit it in a gallery at some point. I’d also like to document travelling with the bike some more – I’d like to do a little mockumentary about travelling through China documenting people’s reactions.

kevincyr.net

When my boss told me I could tack a few vacation days onto the tail end of a work trip to California, the first thing I thought about were those infamously steep San Francisco hills. My calves whimpered in protest. But, oh yes, I would conquer them.

San Francisco is a pretty small city, stretching only 11 km from coast to coast and 11 km from the northern tip to the southern city limits. I was able to cross a bunch of landmarks off my list during one afternoon ride. I rented a bike ($30/day) at the Fisherman’s Wharf farmers’ market, scooted over to Chinatown (one of the largest in the world) and cruised over the Golden Gate Bridge and back. Biking the bridge was a bit nerve-wracking, considering you’re sharing a narrow strip of pavement with other cyclists and wandering pedestrians, but once in a while you catch a tourist-free patch and you’re sailing.

This city has more to offer cyclists than tourist traps, of course. I asked a few commuter types how they tackle those insane hills, and most told me that they are able to plan routes that skip the worst parts. And when they can’t avoid them, bike lanes, dedicated merge markings and generally wider streets make it easy for cyclists to trundle uphill without worrying about traffic running over the slower folk.

A state culture that values sustainability creates lots of opportunities for cyclists. I spent some time in Berkeley, where the massive student population is served by a wide network of lanes, sharrows and lights specifically for cyclists. I especially liked that free 24-hour indoor parking is available to residents and students.

Further south in Mountain View, Google’s massive headquarters has plenty of bike racks for employees, but it’s also littered with primary-coloured mini bikes for employees to travel from lot to lot.

Back in San Fran, one of the most drool-worthy cyclist features I found is one you can’t see at all. City planners have implemented a “green wave” into a popular stretch of San Fran along Valencia Street. Picture 10 carefully timed lights that allow riders to maintain a reasonable clip without stopping. The wave cuts through the city’s Mission District, home to some of the world’s best burritos (I spotted a few bike stickers that measured fuel in burritos per mile). Valencia St. is home to an up-and-coming neighbourhood with plenty of hip shops and bike stores, and some business owners I spoke with praise the wave for bringing extra traffic to their strip. Almost as impressive, cars are parked in the middle of the road so cyclists can avoid the painful door prize that accompanies a carelessly opened car door.

Infrastructure is key to creating a harmonious relationship between modes of transportation. California state law requires motorists to yield to pedestrians. And that attitude extends toward cyclists as well; I had a few drivers yield me their right-of-way rather than force me to stop on steep hills. Are you taking notes, Toronto?

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You can read more by senior editor and deluxe dandy Dana Lacey in our Summer issue of dandyhorse due in June. Lacey interviewed Zach Paiken and took photos at Charlie’s Freewheels for our upcoming issue themed around youth and employment. Subscribe today to get dandy at your door.

Bicycles as a Teaching Tool 
Bike mechanic and activist uses bicycles to engage youth and create community

Story by Martha Beach

Photo by Dana Lacey

Maggie Anderson, Executive Director of Bicycle Commons, loves bikes purely for the fact that they are so simple. “As a cyclist, I love low-tech. I love how simple they are. They’re clean in the way that it’s direct human power,” says Anderson, activist and mechanic who will be teaching bicycle mechanics at the new Bicycle Commons space on Lower Jarvis Street. “Your bicycle is also an expression of who you are.”

The new 5,000-square foot Commons community space (which was still under construction during this photo shoot) is in a building that was once restaurant, and will hold bike repair classes, workshops and a new mechanic training course — and much more. Most importantly, it will be a place where young people can feel comfortable learning, while enjoying a cup of coffee and free wifi. The Bicycle Commons is a group of cyclists, activists, and mechanics that strives to support cycling, community and youth education.

Anderson has been working in the industry since 1993. Her main role at the Bicycle Commons is teaching the mechanic’s course. The new Commons space that is opening is meant to be an inclusive hub.

“Anyone can sign up. We want it to be completely accessible so we’re going to get everyone from hobbyists to professionals,” Anderson says.

Getting people interested in bikes is exactly what Anderson loves doing. She uses the bicycle as a tool to teach and engage youth about the workings of gear systems and brakes, but she also uses it as a door to teaching structure, responsibility, community, and belonging.

“Bikes can easily create the community,” says Anderson. “But it’s not just about bikes, it’s about the world and about feeling that sense of belonging. They can take this feeling out into the world. The bike becomes a tool of engagement.”

Bicycles are an easy way to teach people how to repair, fix, and tune mechanical workings. “They’re so easily demystified. It’s open, you can see everything, so it’s easy to teach.” Once someone can see how simply the system is, they gain the confidence to take it apart, fix it, and put it back together. That confidence helps them feel a sense of belonging.”

Over the past 18 years, Anderson has used cycling and mechanics to engage all kinds of people all over the city. She started off working with the Community Bike Network (CBN) which led her to volunteering at a woman and children’s shelter where she spent one day a week taking kids out on group rides, teaching tykes how to ride, and showing women and youth how to tune and fix their bicycle.

Later on, Anderson helped start Women’s Bike Work (now Wenches with Wrenches) and from there bought into the original Oxford Street location of Bikes on Wheels, and then became a member at Urbane Cyclist. While at Urbane Cyclist, she took a two-week mechanics course at Winterbourne in Guelph.

Anderson’s role at Urbane Cyclist was a service manager. What she liked most about that role was explaining to others how their bikes worked, and watching them realize how simple the system was, how much they could understand if they just took a look at it. “I  really enjoy that moment, I enjoy teaching people.”

While there are a lot of activists at Urbane Cyclist, she wanted to be part of community development again. “Teaching  kids is what excited me about taking on this position at the Commons.”

The new Bicycle Commons space is at 77 Lower Jarvis and more information about the organization be found online at thebicyclecommons.org.

Read our other post about the Bicycle Commons: Wrenching for Communities with The Bicycle Commons

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Our new issue of dandyhorse–due on newsstands this June–is filled with inspiring profiles of young people and people who bike to work or work with bikes! We’ve got Olivia Chow (!!), Irene Stickney, Tom Mosher, Shah Mohammad and Braden Root-McCaig and more!

We ask: Why should young people be hopeful for the future!

Subscribe today and get dandy at your door!

This image of an 1818 draisine (the bike that came before the modern bicycle) is from the Smithsonian’s archive.

National Bike Month: Draisines are the new fixies

Story by Xeni Jardin, photo from the Smithsonian

Cycling Hipsters, if you were truly worth your ironic sideburns and artisanal grease stains, you’d abandon that fixie and mount one of these bad boys. The Smithsonian honors National Bike Month with a dive into the image archives for this photo, the forerunner of the modern bicycle: a draisine from around 1818. More about this “dandy horse,” below.

In 1817, Karl Drais, a young inventor in Baden, Germany, designed and built a two-wheeled, wooden vehicle that was straddled and propelled by walking swiftly. Drais called it the laufmaschine or “running machine.”

A forester for the Grand Duke of Baden, Drais used his laufmaschine to inspect the Duke’s forest. The laufmaschine soon became a novelty among Europeans, who named it the “draisine.”

By 1818, the draisine craze reached the United States. Charles Wilson Peale, a well-known portrait artist, helped to popularize the draisine by displaying one in his museum in Philadelphia. Many American examples were made, and rentals and riding rinks became available in Eastern cities.

By 1820, the high cost of the vehicle, combined with its lack of practical value, limited its appeal and made it little more than an expensive toy. The two-wheeled vehicle would not become sustained until pedals were added in the late 1800s.

Donated to the Smithsonian in 1964, this draisine is the oldest cycle in its collection of 61 cycles. They reflect social trends and technological developments that have shaped the growth and popularity of riding since 1818.

Lots more wonderful old things like this in the Smithsonian’s exhibition, “America on the Move.” (thanks, Jessica Porter Sadeq)

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This story originally appeared on BoingBoing. Thanks to the folks over there for letting us post this piece. Also check out the writer, Xeni Jardin.

dandyARCHIVE–How would you make the Danforth safer?

Photos by Nana Arbova, interviews by Tammy Thorne

Debora Puricelli: I recommend that everyone have a lighthearted view on the road. If drivers are happy when they see us, we can all share the road together.

Devin O’Brien: Obviously a bike lane.

Kerri Anderson: Fix up the potholes!

Kassa Dabreo: The Danforth is a rough ride. A lot of bike people use this road – there are too many potholes and no bike lanes.

Lisa Druchok: We need more enforcement of cars stopping behind the white line at stop signs. We need better road maintenance of the fringe we’re supposed to ride in.

Simon Griffith: It would be nice to have a thoroughfare on a side street.

To read more about The Danforth and cycling safely, read the excerpt from On the Danforth magazine “Changing Lanes: Envisioning safer cycling in our community.”

dandy at Dragon’s Den with Maya Cycle

Story and photos by Tammy Thorne

Well, this was fun!

Marta Staniszewski, director of operations at Stamettech, invited me to ride a bike pulling one of her Maya Cycle single-wheel trailers on Dragon’s Den.

I’m a huge fan of the show and was really excited to “model” the Maya Cycle trailer for her. The trailer also converts into a wheelbarrow. I rode a BionX bike (but didn’t get to use the e-assist) and Troy Mitchell, proprietor of The Mobile Bike Shop Ltd. rode the other bike-and-trailer set on set. Troy is the regional rep for the great and (relatively) new CAA Bike Assist service; he’s the guy who will show up to help if you use the service. And, he’ll be using a Maya Cycle trailer on some of those future calls.

I’ve shared some photos below of our exhilarating day at the CBC that won’t blow the plot, but I just want to share one moment during the taping that was my personal highlight for the day. It was really exciting when my favourite Dragon, Arlene Dickinson, came down to try out the bike and trailer I’d been riding. She was wearing these fabulous shoes with a kind of cubist pattern in blue and green, with a heel that was at least 3 inches high, and she said to me, “Can I do this in heels?” I meekly answered, “probably.” I lowered the seat and she kicked off her patent leather peep-toe high heels, opting to ride in her well-manicured bare feet. I really hope that Arlene will one day be one of our dandy Heels on Wheels profiles! Come on Arlene!

I’m not allowed to divulge any of the results until the show airs in the fall, but just wanted to say a BIG THANKS to Marta for inviting me to be part of the team.

Thanks also to our segment producer, Matt, who was so supportive and fun to work with, and to my ‘runner’ Brandon. The whole team of walkie-talkie-sporting “ninjas” kept us in line better than a Border Collie with a herd of sheep….which were apparently part of another segment that day.

GOOD TIMES at the Dragon’s Den!

The product.

Getting ready….

I got to do some test rides before we were shown the studio.

Matt our producer and Marta notice that I’m taking a photo of them.

Walking into the den for the first time.

The set of Dragon’s Den. (Squeeee!)

Marta is ready to be shown her mark as pro dodgeballers look on.

Marta is ready to pitch to the Dragon’s.

After the taping was over crew members wanted to try out the product. 

Troy Mitchell and myself, with Marta Staniszewski (centre) who was pitching her product the Maya Cycle to the Dragons today.