Final Clearout!
Ah, that time of the year when we twist our own arms and get those remaining bikes out the door. Yup, it’s January all right. Sure, you may not be able to ride right now (although we are, and in truth it’s great fun), but the minute Spring hits you can hop on your new steed and still feel the weight of your loaded wallet. Lucky you! So, if you’re one of those new ’smart consumers’ that the newspapers keep talking about in this recession (you know, the ones that actually save, scrimp and plan ahead), then your best bet is to buy a bike now. Yeah, now. You see, it’s a win-win. We need to clear our warehouse of remaining bikes and you want a stupefying good deal. But, just don’t ask for any deals on accessories, ok? It’s not polite. We need to make money too.
So, in short, nearly all 2009 bikes are on sale (the ad is just a teaser), including some (but not all) of the stuff we import from Europe (and, believe us, that’s a first – we just thought ‘what the heck’). Oh, and until the HST kicks in, all bikes under $1000 are PST exempt. Yeesh! Incentives, incentives! It’s like giving stuff away! Stock is very,very limited – and we’re not joking. If we don’t have your size, then too bad so sad. If we do, then you best be coming in soon! These deals are in-store only, not online. That means if you’re in Tuscon you have a long drive ahead of you.
Saving it for a rainy day…
Toronto has seen a positive deluge of rain this year. While bike cultures are rapidly advancing in cities like NYC, Chicago, Toronto and Montreal, the overall spirit has been dampened – literally. While places like Amsterdam and Copenhagen see continuous cycle usage despite the weather, the streets of Toronto seem hauntingly empty of cyclists the minute the sky looks angry. We decided to contact our good straight-shooting friend Henry at Henry Work Cycle in Amsterdam and our Danish fashionista Sussi Poulson, export manager of Biomega in Copenhagen to discover the key ingredients of an all-weather bike culture. The answer? Just deal with it. Try to stay dry. And ride the right bike, for heavens sake! The interesting fact? The bicycle is always the preferred option. It takes a lot to get a Dane or Dutchie off the bike and into a car. Well, we’re giving it all away. Read on!
Curbside: Sussi, how many people stop riding in Copenhagen when the weather turns nasty?
Sussi: I would say 2 out of 10 will use the public transport etc. if the weather gets nasty (rain, storm, snow). All my friends ride their bike all year round, so I would feel strange leaving my bike at home, just because it rains. In general people always rely on their bikes and still find it easier and more practical to ride around Copenhagen, even though it rains a lot. After all – it´s just rain. You´ll dry in a second.
Curbside: Henry, you wrote a post entitled “Dutch ride in the rain. Germans are made of sugar” which indicated a statistic that nearly 41% of Germans leave the bike at home once it starts raining. I think NYC, Toronto and Chicago are even worse. This begs the question, what do Germans and North Americans have in common?
Henry: I’m guessing it’s not so much what Germans, Canadians and Americans have in common as what’s different about their situations from that of the Dutch. In Germany and North America pretty much everybody has their own car and driving is the normal mode of transportation. Thus it’s not that they STOP cycling when it rains… they ONLY cycle when the conditions are deemed ideal. Of course there are some who defy this description but, as a whole, it fits. For the Dutch it’s the opposite. The typical Amsterdammer, for example, doesn’t own a car and finds public transport (no matter how good) a drag. Thus she rides her bike for transportation unless there’s a very compelling reason not to.
Curbside: Sussi, why don’t you Copenhagers just drive? Is it some sort of Viking spirit thing? Maybe the Danes like riding in bad weather?
Sussi: I don´t think we like riding in bad weather, but we don´t care either [Vikings!]. It´s still the easiest way to get around Copenhagen, and living in the city makes it difficult for you to have a car due to extremely expensive parking facilities etc. Also, compared to our public transport bike riding is both time and money saving. Another thing is the idea of getting fresh air, exercising and habits. After a long day in the office it´s always refreshing to get on the bike and breathe a little – it makes you move – and if you are used to biking it’s a pain in the ass being forced to rely on the time table of a bus or a train.
Curbside: Sussi, I know from all the photos on my camera that Danish people are very stylish on their bikes. What do they wear when the weather gets lousy?
Sussi: It´s difficult to ride a bike when it rains wearing high heels, but people in Copenhagen still try to find stylish alternatives like rain coats, wellingtons and even umbrellas. Rain coats used to be quite dull and boring in their designs, but during the past 5 years they have become more trendy and colorful. This allows people to be fashion-victims and hip – even on rainy days.
Curbside: Henry, perhaps its all a question of equipment. The Dutch bike industry goes through great lengths to keep its consumers dry, but beyond this I have seen more diversity than consistency when it comes to keeping dry. What is the most practiced method of staying dry in a city like Amsterdam?
Henry: It’s funny to see the range of attitudes toward dressing for rain here. You’ll see soggy jeans jackets, umbrellas in one hand and complete PVC coated rain suits on the bike path at the same time. Ponchos are rare since they’re generally not suited for riding in an upright position. If it’s just drizzling hardly anybody even bothers with a rain jacket. In any case everybody just cycles in normal street clothes since they’re actually going somewhere rather than cycling for some higher ideal or image. That guy in the fancy North Face Gore-Tex jacket is probably either headed off for a climbing holiday, or a foreigner. I ride at least a few kilometers every day (about average nationwide) and only pull on rain paints maybe ten times per year. I do generally wear a waterproof jacket (waxed cotton) most of the year though so a raincoat is largely irrelevant.
Curbside: Sussi, what do you say to our North American readers who want to ride all year?
Sussi: We have a Danish saying: “It´s never bad weather – just wrong clothes”. Take a look at the weather forecast and dress accordingly. Get used to the benefits: more energy, independence, fresh air, fun, city spirit, save money, no bitching on the bus, no lines, healthy lifestyle etc. Today riding a bike is a lifestyle and you chose the design according to your personality and functional needs. For example, many customers choose a Biomega shaft drive bike because the pure design lines reflects your image and at the same time it is very low maintenance, especially when used all year round. No dust, no dirt and no greasy trouser. In general I just think it´s all about getting into the habit of riding your bike at all times – It becomes a natural part of your life.
Curbside: Henry, how about you. Final comments?
Henry: Yeah, just relax, ditch the righteousness and don’t try to be a road warrior. Cycling is fun, convenient, cheap and safe. Ride if it improves your own situation. Take the train or car if and when that’s more practical or fun for you. Unless it’s really pouring I still enjoy riding in the rain. That said the experience of riding along central Amsterdam’s softly lit and nearly car-free canal streets on a rainy night is very different from doing so amidst the the traffic din and road spray of a typical North American street in the rain. I guess that’s one of the reasons why I’m here instead of there. [Ouch!]
Well there you have it. Mix the straight-shooting Dutch practicality with some Danish fashion sense and you will continue enjoying your bike, even in the rain. While not even Copenhagen has the nice soft lit canal-lined streets of Amsterdam, I can bet your city has an equally aesthetic experience. Here in Toronto, we have a wealth of back streets that are the ‘bike lanes’ ever. They are generally free of car traffic and when it rains you can hear that lovely sound of rainwater on the tyres and watch as the world suddenly become greener. What do I wear? The North Face jacket of a foreigner (sorry Henry!) and if its really pouring, a pair of pull over rain pants. No spandex or hideous yellow jackets for me. Yick!
Eric Kamphof is the manager of Curbside Cycle and a former Vancouverite – where it rains perpetually.
City of Toronto goes Dutch with New Fleet Bike Program.
Today the City of Toronto has blessed the Dutch Bicycle as its official two-wheeled transportation vehicle. The City of Toronto Green Fleet allows city employees to run errands or move from office to office without paying hefty taxi or parking fees. Designed to reduce the cities overall carbon footprint, the bikes are a pilot program that functions as a prolegomena to the next big installation – a Velib style bike-share program.
Despite many offers from much bigger bike companies, Marco Iacampo, who runs the Smart Commute program, chose Batavus from experience. As a student at the Tilburg University in the Netherlands, he had first-hand experience with the durability, safety, and efficiency of a Dutch bike. The City of Toronto required a bike that could offer its employees a completely clean clothing experience, a safe and upright position, almost zero maintenance, and above all a rust free platform that could be stored outside year after year all winter. It’s a fundamentally approachable and friendly bike to any new cyclist who wants to start riding but feels a bit scared. Finding such a bike in North America is simply put, impossible. Finding such a bike in Holland is, well, as normal as finding a stand selling raw pickled herring.
The bikes feature a galvanized steel frame with a thick powdercoat paint, strong stainless steel rims, puncture resistant tires, a single speed transmission (the bikes will be used for trips no more than 3km long), a full chaincase, coatguard, rack, kickstand, lights and bell, and a quick release to quickly adjust the seat. It’s the bike that the Dutch have been riding since 1905 and is still centuries ahead of most North American bikes. And the quality is pure Dutch too, made in Holland and able to last decades, even in Toronto winters.
(Photos by our own whiz-kid Brian Telzerow)
She Does the City…on a bike!
When Toronto socialite and fashion-darling Jenn Mc Neely stopped by store she introduced herself as the ‘worlds most unlikely cyclist’. We had our doubts. But then, until now, if you wanted a low maintenance bike that kept your clothes clean you were about as good on a Canadian Tire bike as a $1000 hybrid – which is probably why mass market retailers still sell 70% of all bikes in Canada. Jenn runs the insanely popular life and fashion blog She does the City which points fashionable yet socially conscious urbanites to the uppest in the up and coming. Above, our biking burlesque dancer and fashion savvy Mikey (aka. Corey Swelling) shows Jenn what’s the up and coming in bikes.
We sniffed a marketing attempt right away. If Jenn really was the ‘worlds most unlikely cyclist’ it seemed strange that she would fit right in downtown Amsterdam where nearly all the women are either in heels or skirts. So how was it that the ‘worlds most unlikely cyclist’ is pretty much a supplanted copy of the world’s most accomplished city cyclists? If Jenn was the world most unlikely cyclist, we needed her on a bike, and writing about it! So, for a little discount Jenn promised to blog up her new experiences, which you can read on her blog.
Finding Jenn the right bike was no problem. In fact, Jenn might as well be an Amsterdammer. Nearly her entire life is lived within 10km of home, she rarely rides up any hills, she leaves her bike outside under snowdrifts and she needs something she can ride to Toronto Fashion Week all gowned up. So we sold her the classic Dutch bike – a Batavus Old Dutch. It was love at first ride.
Now, unlike Amsterdam, Toronto has its own share of problems. More snow (but way less rain!). Not too many bike lanes. And, drivers that aren’t always the friendliest folks on earth. Jenn’s experience on Toronto’s streets will be a fine case study for anyone else who feels a little scared to hop on a bike, or isn’t quite sure if it fits into their lifestyle.
A Muse on the Contentious Bike Lane
With the impending and rapid demise of the automobile, it appears that bikes are the big media item of the year. And, of course, the issue is extremely contentious. This week the Globe and Mail and Toronto Star both reported on the current proposal for a bike lane stretching across Bloor, an idea that we naturally support.
The problem is not the car as much as it a problem of perception. As Janet Sadik-Khan, the visionary responsible for the recent overhaul of NYC realized, most motorists using urban roads are using them as expressways and almost never stop to experience a neighbourhood. In fact, they endanger a neighbourhood. This dispels the myth that on-the-street parking actually increases sales to small business owners. In fact, as the Globe and Mail reported, a bike lane would actually increase sales to business owners. This is well known in Europe. In fact Mikael on his excellent blog Copenhagenize wrote an excellent post with some stats by the City of Berlin, Bern and others that show that non-motorists in urban centers are the dominant consumer group.
Of course this means that the parking lane might become a bike lane. And of course, motorists wouldn’t like that very much. To some extent this is fair enough, but it is also resolvable. Yet, the fundamental question remains, who do roads belong to? Should roads like Bloor be treated as freeways that impassively cut through vital neighbourhoods or does a road like Bloor serve the transportation needs of the neighbourhoods it cuts through – needs that can be served by bicycle or walking?
As the Toronto Star article noted, the question concerns the definition of ‘traffic.’ Does the definition of traffic only include automobiles, or does it include the myriad ways an urbanite navigates his or her lifestyle radius, from rollerblades to moped scooter to, well, the humble bicycle. It’s a good question. And, its a question that must remain answerable to businesses that are in fact destinations for motorists like restaurants and theaters. But should cars park on the street or should they park on off-street parking lots? Who owns the streets? And if its just motorists, have we respected the broad and very visible ‘traffic’ that is otherwise to the automobile? And more importantly, which definition will keep the citizens most safe?
Reading the comments to the Toronto Star article was equally interesting. Indeed, as many commented, if Toronto takes the usual half-arsed approach it almost always does, it will create lanes that aren’t actually safer – therefore defeating the point. Even bike-hating councillor Case Ootes is aware of this. Bike lanes are not about public posturing and civic boosterism, they are there for the new and existing cyclists that are already overcrowding roads to their peril. The city is certainly prone to such boosterism and white elephants, the idea of a Paris Velib-style rental system that the city is exploring is a fine example of this. But bike lanes are no white elephant – unless they are poorly implemented and never used (the Lansdowne sharrow is a fine example of this). And this is likely to happen, putting Toronto’s huge volume of cyclists in the exact same situation they are now; at risk.
Others commented on the lack of winter safety, commenting that only cultures with milder temperatures can justify bike lanes. Obviously very few of the commentators have been to Scandinavia in the winter, where bike lanes are plowed and salted like regular roads (above). Our friend Henry in Amsterdam posted a great bunch of stats lately on his blogsite. According to the Fietersbond (Dutch cyclist union) only 18% of the Dutch are deterred by foul weather, and it rains perpetually in Holland! Now flash to the chilly Danes, who recieve a fair amount of snow and ice, and only 25% of them will be deterred by lousy weather. Meanwhile, 40% of Germans will be detterred by bad weather, preferring the autobahn instead. We suspect that Canadians are even less hardy, despite being a Nordic nation. But lets face it, you are either shivering waiting for a streetcar (or freezing while warming up your car) or warming yourself riding your bike. This year the Martin Goodman trail was cleared and cyclists enjoyed the trail all year, safe from ice and snow. Anyone who rode this knew that cycling in the winter is a-ok, if not a whole lot of fun!
It’s a worthy debate, but while Canadians are famous for debates, cities like Chicago and New York (above) are creating dedicated bike lanes for cyclists at a rapid rate – 420 miles in NYC alone this year. We’re way behind folks, and it doesn’t help that politicans like Case Ootes (who is certainly betraying his Dutch heritage) constantly roadblock the reasonability of bike lanes. They create business, they help create vibrant and vital tax bases, and most of all, they keep the citizens safe. And safety, dear citizens, is far more important than the poor 905′er who wants to get home on time.
