Today I took part in something called the Pedal Poll, which is a countrywide initiative to count how many people are biking, walking, driving, or using a motorized vehicle across a specific time and place. I counted 993 cyclists in the span of 2 hours. I think I would have gotten that other 7 to get over 1000 if I hadn't accidentally closed the app and had to restart it.
Something you should know about me is that I derive a seemingly disproportionate amount of joy out of carrying stuff on a bike. And now, I have a cargo bike. What could it be that slaps that lopsided smile on my face when I load up a bike with (especially big) cargo? Surely it's because I'm doing something that seems shouldn't be possible. Maybe it's because I don't have to rent a truck to move a big item. Maybe it's because I feel like I'm momentarily living a glimpse of the future I want to see, where people turn to bikes in a situation like this and there is one less car on the road as a result.
Maybe it's just because I'm riding a big bike.
Tonight was another successful night at the bike co-op. Although the days when I don't fix a single thing but still go to the co-op are considered successful in my book. Just getting out of the house, going to the co-op, and trying to help out or fix something makes the evening worthwhile. My int…
Yesterday I welcomed a new bike into the family. A Larry vs Harry Bullit cargo bike, affectionately called Major Tom in a brilliant red. I got to see this bike get assembled at my local bike shop, Pedaal, where I purchased it from—I even helped out (a little bit)! I asked the owners there if I could be present to film the experience for my YouTube channel, but mostly I wanted an excuse just to hang out with Timm, the co-owner of Pedaal, and see what goes into a Bullit behind the scenes.
Sometime at the end of 2023, Chad started planning some possible routes for a group bike tour. In the late winter of 2024, people started to agree on a possible weekend as well as the tour that we would do. We landed on a four-day Kawartha bike tour that touched several rail trails, starting in Barrie to Orillia, then to Lindsay, and finally ending in Whitby.