dandyhorse Launch Party! Come celebrate Toronto on Two Wheels!  The Spring 2009 issue of dandyhorse has hit the presses, and we're celebrating with a launch party on April 29th! Date: Wednesday April 29, 2009 Time: 7:00 pm — midnight Location: Amsterdam Brewery — 21 Bathurst Street (south of Front St., at Fort York Blvd.) The party; sponsored by Amsterdam's new brew, Big Wheel Deluxe Amber, will have DJs QUIM and Diana McNally of Girls Night Out, cash bar, GoldSprints, and more! PLUS: silent auction of original art by John Englar made out of the boards from the Human Powered Rollercoaster with ...

The Pirates have moved from their first home "across from the Beer Store" on Bathurst (above) to their new home at 1292 Bloor Street just east of Lansdowne Avenue. If you want to help the Pirates settle into their new digs with a lovely housewarming gift here's the wish list:

WHAT: Suburban Critical Mass WHEN: Sunday at 3 - rain or shine! WHERE: meet at Yonge and Eglinton This will be the last Sunday 'Suburban' Critical Mass ride. From here on in Suburban Critical Mass will ride on the second Friday of each month. If you want more information please check out the Facebook group. Photo by Martin Reis

Just one of the many different beautiful spots along the shores of Lake Ontario. I like adventure. I like to ride my bike. I like to ride it along the waterfront. So when I was asked to go on part of the Great Waterfront Trail Adventure, I couldn't say no. The Great Waterfront Trail Adventure (GWTA) is an 8-day, 680 km fully-supported bike tour from Niagara-on-the-Lake to the Quebec border that takes riders through 41 communities (mostly) along Ontario's waterfront. It ended July 11 in Riviere Beaudette, where riders received medals for completing the adventure. Congratulations! Riders were greeted by local dignitaries and the announcement of new signs and a kiosk marking the meeting of the Waterfront Trail and the highly acclaimed and extensive Route Verte trail system. The GWTA partners with dozens of communities and great organizations like the Bike Train, the Ontario Power Generation, Racer Sportif and the Ontario Trillium Foundation. CIBC is the founding partner and has donated $1.25 million in support so far. A further $250,000 was announced to kick off Day 3 of the tour at Fort York. Ontario's Minister of the Environment, Peter Fonseca, was also there to help celebrate the tour. (Pictures at bottom.) Toronto's Bike Union had an impressive showing with members volunteering for the Toronto portion of the adventure, as well as the entire ride.

While many cyclists in Toronto are aware of the monthly Critical Mass, the newly created Suburban Critical Mass may be a way to see other parts of the city. Help the North York organizers celebrate and encourage cycling in their neighbourhoods by riding with them en masse this Sunday. The ride starts at 3 p.m. at Yonge and Eglinton and will head north. You can find more information about this ride on Facebook. photo by Tania Tiziana Burdi 

This could be you (above). Take the Train — Bring your Bike! Avoid Soaring Gas prices and explore southern Ontario this summer on the Bike Train Launched in the summer of 2007, the award-winning Bike Train introduced bike racks on board select VIA Rail departures between Toronto and Niagara Falls, allowing passengers to explore the Greenbelt and the many scenic trails of Niagara and Toronto. Round-trip tickets for the Bike Train cost $59 including taxes and bike transport fees. The Bike Train is a multi-modal service that encourages low impact tourism and healthy and active lifestyles. ...

Join us for a fun-filled ride as we ride en masse through North York: it's time to make every Toronto street a cycling street. START: 2300 Yonge Street - Yonge St. and Eglinton Ave. WHEN: Sunday, June 8th, 2008 TIME: Gather at 3:00 pm, depart at 3:30 pm END: Approximately 6:00 pm Please read this message from one of the organizers, a North York high-school student and bike hero of mine: On Friday May 30th, 2008, Toronto Critical Mass participants entered the Gardiner Expressway illegally. It is estimated that over 200 cyclists were involved. We cannot have anything like that happen during this suburban Mass ride on June 8th. On the day of the event, several volunteers will be needed to help keep the ride flowing smoothly. If you are interested in being a volunteer, please send an email to suburban.critical.mass@hotmail.com. You can also check out the Facebook group here and remember to be safe and have fun. The route is as follows:

Cinecycle Toronto presents a rare opportunity to see one of the world's finest collections of early cycling history. Esteemed collector Lorne Shields will take viewers on a visual romp through the evolution of the bicycle when he presents a sampling of images from his private collection on Thursday, June 5th, at Cinecycle. Lorne Shields has donated many historic cycles and objects to our Canadian National Museum of Science & Technology in Ottawa. Shields will offer insights and commentary from his 40-plus years of experience in preserving these historic gems. We promise you will see unique ...

I had the pleasure of meeting a graduate student from York this week who is researching Critical Mass, and he wants to know: Have YOU ever participated in critical mass Toronto? He is conducting a survey and would like your input. The survey is part of a case study and is completely anonymous and confidential. If you can spare three to five minutes.... If you would like more information about the research, please contact Andrew Bieler at bielerandrew@yahoo.com. See you this Friday! Spadina and Bloor, 6pm.

Spring is now officially here, but as there is a little bit of snow to contend with, we offer you one more in the series of winter cyclist profiles. Name / Occupation / Age Jonny James / Musician / 30 What do you use your bike for? Commuting to work, grocery shopping, avoiding RIDE programs...pretty much everything. How often do you ride? 365 day a year, give or take a few. How long have you been commuting by bicycle and what made you decide to start? Since I moved to Toronto to go to university. This city is a lot more bike-friendly than Guelph. What would you say to convince someone who is considering commuting by bicycle to go for it? It'll make you sexy. Plus, even when your blood pressure skyrockets because of some jackass in a car, you're still exerting yourself physically (as opposed to sitting behind the wheel). Plus, as a cyclist you really realize how ridiculous people look when they have road rage. Screaming, tearing off in their car, honking their horn... People look hilarious when they fly off the handle. When did you start commuting in winter and why? I have always ridden my bike through Toronto's winters. There is no excuse to keep your bike indoors through the winter in a city like this. It's not Winnipeg or Montreal.