Not Far From the Tree

Laura and I spent the golden hours of yesterday taking a very civilized stroll through Brooklyn's historical Botanical Garden, talking about rose breeding, this year's crops, the state of the nation, eligible matches for mawidge, and the nature of climbing the social climbing... socially.

Well, we weren't very good at imitating Jane Austin, but we did liberate some of the garden's fresh herbs and munched on some fresh kale. Gather ye rosebuds while ye may. Although NYC has provided the Nightshades with a spectacular Indian Summer, you can feel the chill in the air and winter will soon be upon us. No point in the sage growing all summer to not be enjoyed, right?

Our walk and gathering looked a little something like this. Yes, we were barefoot in seafoam dresses.

Talk of city harvesting then ensued, with Laura and I exchanging various stories of Toronto and Vancouver's various fruit picking spots. In Toronto, only a minute from Much Music is the most spectacular apple tree in an alley way that will give you bags of apples just when school starts and you are at your poorest from supply buying. Vancouver is just ridiculous, with blackberries everywhere (I lived off of Blackberries most of August and September), and networks of friends sharing the locations of various fig trees that are untended and ripe with fruits to be plucked. FIGS!

Anthony Westenburg from Evergreen Toronto tipped me off to Not Far From The Tree, and amazing Toronto organization that mobilizes volunteers to harvest fruit in Toronto that would otherwise go to waste. And they do it all by bicycle. Check them out, because stuff like this is awesome!

Here is a great video they put out. Enjoy! 1LOVE!

SEPTEMBER IN SF.

Last month I met Matt Reyes at the BFF in San Fran - great rider, as well as videographer. Here's his latest edit with some footage from the Street Party from the festival. I always like weird little snapshots like this.

CHROME PARTIES NYC!

So the Chrome store here in NYC keeps throwing parties, and we keep going to them.

Check out the rest of the set here.

GIVE ME THY PANTS

this is the real face of polo

NIGHTSHADES VS. NYC

So one week ago I joined into the Nightshades bonanza going down in Brooklyn at the moment, where 5 of the 7 of us have been living large in Bushwick (or rather in an overcrowded apartment = neverending sleepover). Sadly we had to say goodbye to Namtron tonight, but next week we add Snow White to the ranks. Highlights so far include:

a) dancing in the Chrome store.

b) running into Die Antwoord while gallery hopping in Chelsea (and Yolandi was wearing children's pajamas).

b) sneaking into a private VICE party where we danced our faces off to a DJ set by Erykah Badu (where we ran into Die Antwoord again. Weird.)

c) playing a ridiculous game called Stump, involving throwing a hammer and summersaults and talking in a variety of accents.

d) roof picnics at sunset.

e) and some EPIC BIKE RIDES, obviously.

It's been an amazing start to my time in NYC, but in reality, I'm just counting down the days til Bike Kill. EEK.

BELLE STARRS.

So in the vein of promoting amazing women on bikes, if you haven't heard of the Belle Starrs from Fort Collins, Colorado, you really should have. They are a group of women who came together to foster community, wellness, and empowerment through bicycling. Sounds about right. They do everything from group rides, to bike camping to being super rad. You better believe the next time we're in Colorado, there will be some serious lady crews happening.

They also just put out an awesome calender last month, and if you haven't picked up a copy.... you probably should. We're just sad they beat us to it. A DNS Calendar has been in talks for a while. Ha. But seriously. They're BABES!

SOLIDAGO RIDERS!

Back in August, we had the privilege of meeting the Solidago Riders, an awesome group of five women, in the middle of what I can only describe as an epic distance ride circling the Great Lakes. They were fundraising for youth led, non profit, Grand Aspirations - as well as filming a documentary en route. They were even travelling with a silk screen of the great lakes, and made us a rad print. We caught them mid route in Toronto, and got to show them a bit of our city, and hear about their travels. Now two months later, they've just arrived home to Saint Paul, Minnesota.

So, we just wanted to say a huge CONGRATS LADIES!

On A Bicycle with Amy Walker

Amy Walker used to be my boss at Momentum, although she hated me calling her that. Amy left Momentum and has been pouring all her amazing creative talents into her recently published book, On A Bicycle, which is amazing and I wanted you to know about it.

"Amy Walker has been at the forefront of this trend as cofounder of Momentum magazine, which chronicles and inspires urban bike culture and transportation cycling. In On Bicycles, she gathers a wide-ranging group of cycling writers to explore the ways that biking can change, and is changing, people’s lives. From utility bikes that are becoming the primary mode of transportation for entire families to the artistic creations of freakbike riders, On Bicycles has something for everyone who has ever ridden a bike.

Topics include:

* cargo bikes * bike parties * a history of bike advocacy
* the bike-craft boom * folding bikes * recumbents * biking with kids
* handmade bikes * car-free streets * relocalizing * bike style
* collective bike shops * women and bikes * and many more..."

Now go buy it, read it, enjoy it and pass it on.

Love, Love, Love....

SUBMIT TO THE BICYCLE!

Velo City 2012 is gearing up for another fabulous conference in the soon to be bike-capital of the world, Vancouver. They are currently seeking abstracts for presentation proposals for their amazing conference next June.

"The conference theme, Cities in Motion, will spotlight communities that are enabling and encouraging people of all ages to choose cycling as a daily form of active transportation and recreation. We encourage all cities and regions around the world - small, medium, and large - to share how they are creating healthy, livable, inclusive, vibrant, green communities through cycling and enhancements to the built environment that are both supportive of and enabled by embracing cycling as an integral component of combined, sustainable and smart mobility"

Maybe you'll see DNS there presenting about the 3B's and how they encourage active and healthy transportation? (That would be bikes, booze and babes.)

FAST CO. SF!

Having just been in San Francisco & surrounding areas myself, I have mad respect for anyone who rides that town. And any crew of girls on bikes is obviously in the Nightshades good books.

Nightshades in Bikinis and Innapropriate Polo Photos

Here are some shots from Sepetember.

Beach time!






EastVan Polo Party!


Tim in his heavy metal costume.

Tee hee.

Then we danced!

Tweed Ride Toronto!

Toronto keeps making awesome bike events.

Tweed Ride Toronto is a group bicycle ride through downtown Toronto, in which the cyclists are encouraged to dress in classic tweed or any smart looking outfit. Any effort made to recreate the spirit of a bygone era is also appreciated. Any and all bicycles are acceptable.

Participants take in some our cities finest landmarks, breaking for prize photo ops and high tea with Urbane Cyclist, and ending the day with a smashing two-floor big band, swing dancing party.

Tweed Ride Toronto is a fund-raiser for Bikes Without Borders, a Toronto non-profit organization dedicated to using bikes and bike related solutions as a tool for development in marginalized communities. It is organized by BikingToronto.com and Bikes Without Borders.

Register Here!



And if you need something tweed, or need to re-make something tweedy you already have, why not stop by the Make Den and talk to Irene about making something spectacular?

Tonight in Toronto!

Dandy Horse Food Issue Launch! Go and eat and have fun and dance and win a cool bike yo!

On behalf of Tammy Thorne and the entire 2011 dandy crew we would like to cordially invite you to our launch party for our fabulous food issue.

The Food Issue is guest edited by Bob Blumer of the Food Network, a guy that bikes 1,000 kms in 10 days and calls it a vacation. Also in this issue:

*dandyhorse pits Canadian pro rider Ryder Hesjedal against Toronto courier Kevin Barnhorst
*Two of Toronto's best chefs concoct energy bars that actually taste good
*A cyclists' tribute to Jack Layton
*Artwork by Jason van Horne
*Stunning photos by John Lee and Molly Crealock
*Bike Spotting with more cargo bikes than you can shake a tire lever at
*And much, much more

Help us celebrate 7 fantastic issues:

What: dandyhorse Food Issue Launch Party
When: Starts at 8 p.m. on Monday, October 3rd
Where: Parts & Labour - 1566 Queen Street West - MAP
Cost: $7 for magazine + PWYC donation ($3 suggested)
Find the event on Facebook here: https://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=267992546555792

There will be a special performance by LUxURY Bob!

We also have two Linus bikes up for grabs, courtesy of Curbside Cycle. Raffle tickets are only $5 each! Draw is at 11 p.m. Please note: the same person can't win both bikes.