New Directions!

Hey All!

Well, the time has come for me to do something I have been dreaming and thinking about since my first days as a young teen in my local bike store back in Etobicoke ON - I am opening my own shop here in Calgary.

About a year ago, I was struck by what I like to call an "entrepreneurial seizure" and it was right then that I decided that the time had come for me to make the leap into small business ownership. There are many reasons why this "seizure" happened, not the least of which is a desire to make a positive impact in my community - but importantly, I feel that Calgary has an unmet demand for a bike store that is a little different, very accessible to non-cyclists, passionate, and professional.

BikeBike's focus will be to provide products, services, and advice to people who are looking to make bicycles a bigger part of their daily life. We will have bikes for families, bikes for commuting, bikes for exploring and shopping - everyday bicycles. We will also be working really hard to offer Calgarians a bikeshop experience that is fresh, modern, and professional.

As a result of this new direction I will be not be posting here too too often. I am hoping to setup a blog of some sort on our store webpage so if you are looking for my rants and opinions it might be best to check the store website in the future.

If you would like to support our new store, feel free to follow our progress on Twitter or if you are the Facebook sort, you can find our BikeBike FanPage here. You can also click on the title of this post and that will direct you to our website. The website does not have much on it for now but will be updated as we approach the opening date - sometime in February 2010 is the projected opening.

If you like, you can also email me and i can add you to our email list. We promise not to spam you!

Make sure you come visit us soon!

Happy Trails!

Bicycle Repairman!

what can you say - Monty Python is awesome!

Wow! Am I Glad Times Have Changed!

click on the title to get back to where i found this.



what can you say to this? too funny!

Fall Polo

november polo here in calgary should not be possible due to our northern exposure and proximity to the mountains. however, the snow seems to be falling in the mountains only and leaving us with a nice dry court. todays polo was good, although we could have used 2 more bodies for a full game - but the 2-on-2 made sure we stayed warm against the fading sun and cool winds.



picture from here.

Upcoming Bike Infrastructure Session for the Strathcona Community

pulled from www.bikecalgary.org -

November 23 Strathcona Bike Route Information Session
5 - 8 p.m., Strathcona Community Centre, 277 Strathcona Dr. S.W.

As part of The City's commitment to encouraging alternative forms of transportation, we are proposing improvements to bicycle routes in the Strathcona community. A public information session will be held to share the concept designs with interested members of the public and to gain feedback.

Contact: Mat MacDonald, 403-268-2196 or email: mathew.macdonald@calgary.ca

30 Seconds to Mars Video Featuring Bikes Bikes Bikes!

i really like one of the lyrics - "...we are the kings and queens of progress..."

found here.

Andreas Taking Pictures

click on the title to see more of my 'lil man's photo work today.

we rode over to the douglas fir trail for a hike this morning. it was beautiful out, maybe a little chilly, but wonderful to be out before everyone else.

Road Raging Driver Found Guilty

(photo from velonews)

a driver in california has been found guilty on all counts in the case involving him and 4 cyclists who he braked suddenly in front of to "teach them a lesson". the picture here shows you the bloody aftermath of that "lesson".

UPDATE - guilty on all counts!

for more info on this case, check out velonews, as they have been covering all aspects of this case.

one of the things that really resonated with me was the comments made by the doctor - that he wanted to teach them a lesson. what lesson was he planning on teaching these riders by impailing them with his bumper? that cars rule the roads? that he is entitled to the road because he is rich and driving a fancy car? that cyclists are second-class road users, and as such, can be crashed off the road at will? its too bad the officer didnt ask him what lesson exactly he was teaching them?

also interesting were the comments by one of the victims -"...to be honest, it's sad for both sides. I'm glad it sends a message to the community that it is dangerous and we have to watch out, but at the end of the day, I lost a lot of my time and my life, and he's losing a lot of his.”

who knows whether this case will resonate in the enforcement community - aka police, who, historically have tended to regard car-bike collisions as minor fender benders and not personal injury situations. ask almost anyone who has had a run-in with a motorist and quite often the attending officer - if one shows up at all - almost alway approach the the situation with a pro-car stance. dont believe me? ask around.

the reality is that is you are riding a bike and a driver decides to "teach you a lesson" you are going to find yourself on the receiving end of a personal injury while the driver might have dent in his sheet metal.

hardly equitable outcomes for the driver and cyclist.

this case illustrates a huge problem we have here in canada and the US. for 60 years now; governments and industry have been squeezing out other road users to accommodate the single occupancy vehicle to the expense of our health, our communities, and our future. beacause of this, motorists have been sold the idea that streets are the sole domain of vehicles only, when in reality, streets are in the public domain and are for use by everyone.

people. bikes. everyone.

add to that mix the media feeding us images of beautiful people in fancy cars, on wide open roads, travelling at a million miles an hour - and you can begin understand, to a point, why motorists are getting more frustrated and aggressive while behind the wheel. essentially, we have been lied to for 60 years by the car industry and - although people probably dont make those connections consciously, they are feeling it inside them and acting out in dangerous ways.

thankfully, some governments are beginning to awaken to the disaster that has been created and are trying to correct the imbalance. we have a long way to go but we are beginning to move in the right direction.

Bike Industry Needs to Spend More on Bike Advocacy

the president of trek bicycles, john burke, presenting his ideas at the taipei cycle show last year. basically, he is saying that the bike industry needs to divert some of their R&D/Advertising dollars towards advocacy efforts that are going on around the world.

makes sense, right? i mean, if you are a bike company, wouldnt you want to support the efforts of those organizations that are trying to get more people on bikes?



found here