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News, commentary and humor about bicycling and other topics of the day

 

Bicycle tragedy in Canada

Daniel Hurtubise had been living with juvenile diabetes (Type 1) since the age of 15. Daniel, 50, and his family had embarked on the Ride of a Lifetime, a cross-Canada fundraising bike trip to raise $500,000 for diabetes research and to show that diabetes doesn’t have to stop people from living an active lifestyle.

Daniel, friend Robert Carrier and two of Daniel's children, Alexandre and Sonia, began their trek June 14 from Vancouver’s Stanley Park. They had a goal of reaching St. John’s, Newfoundland, on Aug. 12.

Sadly, that won't happen. Daniel and Robert were killed Sunday when a passing car hit them, and both of the children were injured. The accident took place on a stretch of the Trans-Canada Highway near Virden, Manitoba.

Daniel, who lived in St. Bruno, Quebec, had survived four episodes of diabetic coma. Nevertheless, he was an avid athlete, a former competitive swimmer who took a sabbatical from his marketing job in Montreal for the fundraising project he dubbed Ride of a Lifetime.

"(Daniel) wanted to inspire young people, to show them that you could live a normal life even if you had diabetes," family friend Françoise Le Guillou told the Globe and Mail newspaper in Toronto.

Robert, who lived in Kelowna, British Columbia. was the retired CEO of a software company. He joined the journey because he also dreamed of cycling across Canada, according to the Montreal Gazette.

The family has asked people to keep Daniel's dream alive by making a contribution to the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation. The Foundation and the Hurtubise family have issued statements, which you can read here.

The driver of the Honda Civic that struck the cyclists has not been charged yet, although an investigation continues, the newspapers reported.

You can leave your condolences at the Ride of a Lifetime site and read their accounts of the trip.

Labels: Canada, fatal accidents

Roger 0 comments links to this post 10:59 AM

Saturday, June 07, 2008

Bicycle helmets: Are they sexy?

Is wearing a bicycle helmet sexy? There are at least two groups that are convinced bicycle helmets are hot, and they're trying to tell the world.

The video above is from a troupe from Vancouver, British Columbia, called the B:C:Clettes, who are trying to promote cycling with "with style, attitude, and hopefully safety somewhere in the mix." Here's more from their Web site:

We are an all lady, bike inspired, street-performance collective. Our performances are a celebration of bikes and those who like to ride them.

The B:C:Clettes are a Biker Collective, Creating Love, Equality, and Toughness Through Engaging Spectacle!

We will not be defined by words alone; instead you will find us perpetually in motion, taking back the streets for revolutionary use as bicycle ways and dance floors. We’re revolutionary, yes, like our wheels.

Hot, tough, and shiny — like the sexy steeds we tame and ride. Pedal, pump, coast and fly: we ride in all weather. Swing, shimmy, strut, and jive: we dance in all weather. We weather all storms as a collective, together.

Bikes on the Drive in Vancouver provided red, shiny helmets to the B:C:Clettes, and they hope you'll wear a helmet, too.

The second group is The Safety is Sexy Campaign. Below is a sampling of the group's wares:



What is the mission of The Safety is Sexy Campaign? "To erase the stigma that wearing a helmet is dorky or uncool and to encourage the idea that wearing a helmet is attractive, cool and smart." You can get a free "You'd look hotter in a helmet" sticker through the group's Web site.

Sex appeal always has been a major part of advertising and marketing campaigns, so I guess it's only natural that sex appeal be used to promote bicycle helmets.

Labels: advocacy, bicycling, Canada, safety

Roger 1 comments links to this post 10:42 AM

Friday, October 05, 2007

"Self-serve" bicycle rentals

Those of you who have read about the bicycle tours I've done over the years know that I have a soft spot for the the Canadian province of Quebec. Every once in a while, I visit the Montreal Gazette's Web site to get my fix of Canadian news, and I happened to come across this item:

The city of Montreal plans to be the first North American city to set up a large-scale "self-serve" public bike rental service.

Following in the footsteps, or pedalling along the same path, as European cities such as Paris and Lyon where such systems have recently exploded in popularity, Montreal hopes to get its project started by next fall and fully operational by late 2009. ...

The idea is to encourage Montrealers and tourists to use the public bicycles instead of cars for short, inner city trips, allowing them to pick up a bike at one station, use it for half an hour or an hour, and then drop it off at any other station of their choice.

Andre Lavallee, a city executive committee member responsible for transportation issues, said the program will be the first not only in Quebec, but in all of North America.

"We used to see cycling as recreation, but now thousands of people are using bikes to get to work, or school," Lavallee said at a press conference Thursday. "This summer, we actually saw traffic jams of cyclists on some of our new bike routes, like St. Urbain. Something is changing right now in Montreal and we all have to come along on this wave."

Whether the wave is strong enough to make it south to the United States remains to be seen.

Labels: Canada, commuting, cycling, Montreal

Roger 1 comments links to this post 11:15 AM

Friday, March 09, 2007

The dress code: sub-zero casual

What would you wear to weave through city streets in bitter temperatures on your bicycle? One bike messenger showed his layers this week to the Montreal Gazette.

Keep in mind, that sub-zero is a bit different in Canada than it is in the United States because Canada uses the Celsius system rather than the Fahrenheit system as we do in the States. But any way you look at it, it's still cold.

The story lists what Montreal bike courier Sebastien Patenaude wears for work in winter, and the price tag comes up to $1,156 in Canadian dollars (about $990 in U.S. dollars).

The market remains strong for bike messengers despite the rise of faxes and e-mails because there simply are documents and packages that can't be delivered electronically, the Gazette reports.

You might also want to view a flipshow that accompanies the story. It shows a bike courier putting on all his layers.

Labels: bike messengers, Canada, Montreal

Roger 2 comments links to this post 7:39 PM