#dnsbikegang

Wednesday, October 26, 2011

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?

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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!



Monday, October 24, 2011

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.

Saturday, October 22, 2011

CHROME PARTIES NYC!

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

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Check out the rest of the set here.

Tuesday, October 18, 2011

NIGHTSHADES VS. NYC

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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.

Monday, October 17, 2011

BELLE STARRS.

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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!

Saturday, October 15, 2011

SOLIDAGO RIDERS!

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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!

Monday, October 10, 2011

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.

Thursday, October 6, 2011

Nightshades in Bikinis and Innapropriate Polo Photos

Here are some shots from Sepetember.

Beach time!
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EastVan Polo Party!

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Tim in his heavy metal costume.
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Tee hee.
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Then we danced!

Tuesday, October 4, 2011

Tweed Ride Toronto!

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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!

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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?

Monday, October 3, 2011

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


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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.