Author: admin

  • Recycle Cycles Bike Camp

     
    This morning and afternoon, Mark brought two sets of campers around from the Recycle Cycles bike camp. Each group arrived by public transit which kept us on a tight schedule.

    The kids have been learning about bike maintenance and repair all week. Today, the plan was to try out some of the unusual bikes in the rental collection and to see how frames can be welded together.

    They brought around this cool candelabra made by Kari at Recycle Cycles as a gift.

    Thanks a lot guys. I think we all had a good time!

      Kari's Candelabra
  • BikeCAD 4.05

    BikeCAD 4.05

    BikeCAD version 4.05 has just been released. New features in Version 4.05 include:

    The option to specify chainrings and sprockets accompanied by a new dialog box called “Gearing graphs“.

    In the “Accessories” tab you can add fenders and water bottles.

    A new “Rack” tab allows you to add a rear rack and control its dimensions.

    You can check for interference between the fork crown and the down tube.

    The display of the rack, fenders, sprockets and water bottles can be turned on and off in the Display dialog box.

    Thanks to everyone for your valuable feedback. Your input has made BikeCAD what it is today.

  • Canoe & Kayak Magazine

    The June issue of Canoe & Kayak magazine features an article by Ray Schmidt about our canoe/biking adventure. The article is great, but one of the neatest things about the piece is this illustration by Dave Klug. It pretty much captures the chaos of our wild ride.Check it out. It’s on news stands now!   Dave Klug Illustration
  • WLU Commuter Challenge

    Today was the Commuter Challenge at WLU. The Commuter Challenge is a national program that aims to increase awareness of the benefits of sustainable commuting and to encourage Canadians to take action by walking, cycling, taking transit, carpooling or tele-working instead of driving alone to get to work. This year, Laurier wanted to focus on how alternative transportation can contribute to environmental wellness, but also can improve personal wellness. They also thought it would be fun to have the couchbike out to draw attention to the cause.  
  • Bring Back the Bikes

    Great escape   This photo is doctored but it’s indicative of the kind of riotous fun that will occur during the Bring Back the Bikes event at Revival Bar (783 College Street, Toronto) on Friday June 2nd. I met Matt Morrish at the Toronto Group Commute yesterday and he was so taken by the Coker penny-farthing that he’s arranged to use it in the active wear clothing fashion show for the Canadian Children’s Cycling Foundation.

    The CCCF’s mandate is to raise money to purchase and distribute new and used bikes to inner city youth who cannot afford to do so.

    Come out and support this worthwhile cause!

  • Group Commute and Pancake Breakfast

    This morning, Toronto celebrated Bike to Work Week with a group commute and pancake breakfast. The Community Cycling Organiser for the City of Toronto had contacted me about having some of my bikes involved. Originally, it wasn’t clear who would be lined up to ride the bikes, but there was talk of various celebrities and politicians.

    Shortly before the day, it was proposed that a three piece drag queen act called the B-Girlz would ride the couchbike and that we would commence the ride from the corner of Church and Alexander as part of a sub group called the Pride Ride. Aside from some mild anxiety about how this might impact my chances with the single ladies, I agreed that this sounded like fun.

    Because of the transit strike, the B-Girlz were a little late in arriving, but eventually they emerged from a taxi in all their pink, lime and turquoise glory.

    B-Girlz on the Couchbike

    The start of the ride was mostly uphill. I was concerned about how the girls would fair in climbing the steep slope, especially with their crazy high heels and the weight of the third one sitting in the middle, but they seemed to manage it with great ease. On the downhill section on Yonge Street, the girls were surrounded by vehicles from the media. I was pretty nervous because there is a definite art to braking on the couchbike. I knew from experience that if anything went wrong, we could have a really ugly situation on our hands. In the video you can hear my nervous laugh as one of the B-Girlz suggests, “Let’s see how fast we can make this thing go”. Fortunately, the B-Girlz once again impressed me with their skilled couch handling.  The video ends with a short photo op with Jack Layton and Olivia Chow.

    B-Girlz on the Couchbike with Olivia Chow and Jack Layton
  • Norm’s Bachelor Party

    Last night was Norm’s bachelor party. After a fun afternoon of paintball, the evening was spent visiting bars in Waterloo. The Couchbike was brought into service too. We got lost at one point but happened upon a house that was showing game 5 in the Edmonton vs Anaheim series out on the driveway. We pulled in for a while. We definitely had the best seat on the street.

    Watching hockey on the Couchbike

  • Hulabike on display at the Telus World of Science

    Today, I shipped a Hulabike out to Calgary. It will be on display this summer at the Telus World of Science bike exhibit. Be sure to check it out if you’re in the area. HulaBike
  • Framebuilders of Tomorrow

    Below are some drawings by the members of the Wings and Wheels Club at Ward After School in Newton, Massachusetts. It’s an honour to know that these were inspired by the bikes of the Bicycle Forest.

    Horse Bike

    image by lea

    Bed Bike

    image by amanda

    Candy Bike

    image by audrey

    Long Bike

    image by sonia

    Ladder Bike

    image by katherine

  • Treadmill Bike in Woofin’ Magazine

     The Spring issue of Woofin’ Magazine has just hit the stands in Japan. The Treadmill Bike was listed among its list of the top 50 hip hop and reggae products of 2006. Wow! I had no idea we had such street cred. Here’s a cross section of some of the products listed:
    • #50 Hildon mineral water
    • #40 Francis Coppola’s Diamond Collection Silver Label Pinot Noir
    • #39 Ruby encrusted alloy rims
    • #34 Motorola headphones
    • #27 Camouflage duffel bag and matching pants
    • #26 Tag Heuer diamond encrusted watch
    • #22 NBA Live for the XBox 360
    • #14 Hummer laptop computer
    • #10 Bicycle Forest’s Treadmill Bike
    • #8 South African made Ratchet Knife AKA Badman Knife
    • #1 Jacket designed by Ruslan Karablin