The Story Is Not True

The True Cost is a documentary film by Andrew Morgan exploring the impact of the global clothing industry on people and the planet. Help get if off the ground by contributing to their kick-starter!

Wadjda

Great article from the Road CC about an upcoming protest tomorrow taking place in Saudi Arabia about women's rights of transportation.

"Simply, ‘Wadjda’ is a story about a girl who wants to ride a bike. The film approaches a number of the legal and cultural boundaries that restrict women in Saudi Arabia, while keeping the young protagonist’s desire to ride her bike case-in-point."

This Week's Rad Event Round Up

Here are some of the coolest bike events in North America the internet had to offer. From Halloween races, memorial workshops, commuting with your co-workers to being proud to be plaid, there is a never ending supply of fun to be had for those who love bicycles and the people that ride them!


Cogzilla is throwing down a Blackcat Alleycat in Atlanta, Georgia on October 25th



On the flip-side of 'Murica in LA, Red 5 Yellow 7 is curating Ghost Bikes of LA



October 27th, you can put on your best and go on the Ottawa Plaid Parade



October 28th,Vancouver wants you to get your co-workers to commute with you all week



Cycle Toronto is throwing down a Ghost Bike Lane ride on October 29th

Fast Fashion- huh yeah- what is it good for?

What is fast fashion? Fast fashion can be though of like fast food: cheaply produced and priced, easily consumed, most people like it, and definitely not good for us if we have it more then once a month. Bellow is a great video from Online MBA that breaks down what it is, what it does, and what to do. Thank you to Zoe Grey for emailing this to us!

Pip Pip and a top of the hat to the UK government for taking a stand and crating the Sustainable Clothing Action Plan, and to Swinburne University of Technical for putting on the Fashion Police Expo, exploring the real fashion crimes. Follow #fashioncrimes and #thefashioncrimes_101 on Instagram and Facebook to learn more!


Created by OnlineMBA.com

Here are some non-fast fashion brands the Deadly Nightshades run/work for!

• Pigeons and Thread- Toronto Based Manufacturing Company
• The Make Den- Toronto's favorite Sewing Studio
• YNOT Cycle- Quality crafted bags and cycling accessories
• Paper People Clothing- eco fashion to make you feel warm and pretty

Yvonne Bambrick Launches her Urban Photography Bike Wheels!

Don't live in Toronto? No worries, now you can own art from one of this city's greatest cycling champion. Yvonne Bambrick just launched her Unique Bicycle Art Etsy account, where you can purchase one of her unique art pieces that combine her amazing photography with bike wheels for a one-of-a-kind statement piece for your house. There are only five left right now, jump on it!



Now it's time to play everyone's favourite game, Spot the Nightshade! Earlier this year I posed for Yvonne, and wound up on the cover of the City of Toronto Bike Map. They for some reason photoshoped bad bangs onto me, but hey- it's still kinda cool to be a cover girl.


(Easy & breezy.)

#DayoftheGirl

The International Day of the Girl is fast approaching! It's October 11th this year. Get out those red markers and make your best circles! What is that day you ask? Plan Canada can fill you in!

The International Day of the Girl gives us a powerful way to highlight the particular needs and rights of girls, and to advocate for greater action and investment to enable girls to reach their full potential. Today, girls still face discrimination in many parts of the world simply because they are girls. They face unique challenges such as barriers to education and opportunities to make a living, early and forced marriage, and poverty. By ensuring girls have a right to an education, we’ll help them attain the tools they need to create a better life for themselves and lift entire nations out of poverty. Here’s why:

• For every extra year a girl stays in school, her income can increase by 15 to 25%.
• A woman who is educated will marry later and have fewer, healthier children.
• Women invest more of their income in their families than men do.

It's awesome, right? This year you can support in celebrate in a special way by going to one of the many film screenings of Girl Rising, taking place all over Canada! Toronto, Calgary, Ottawa and Montreal all have movie screenings going on that both support the program and develop community.



Love, love, love!

Introducing RYB Denim!

Rips in the inner thighs. Seams that rub you the wrong way. Saggy bum. These are all the problems ladies can face while embracing both cycling and wearing jeans. RYB Denim out of Toronto has the solution to your women's bike fashion dilemma! (But they need your help.) Go to their IndieGoGo page to contribute and pre-order your Made in Canada history! If you live in Toronto, go by their Launch Party tonight at Gallant Bikes at 678 Bloor Street West.



Our own Big Red, half of Pigeon and Thread, was the technical/design super star behind them! WoOt WoOt!! Show love. Wear nice jeans. Bike all the time, all the ways.

Free Sarah Harmer Concert in Toronto! #NoLine9

So, the people who brought you the blight that is the Tar Sands want to run a pipe-line right through Ontario, called Line 9. Seeing as Enbridge hasn't demonstrated they can prevent their pipes from spilling, many smart people think they shouldn't do it! (Imagine you messed up that much at your job? You'd be fired. In any other business you'd be closed down by officials or sheer lack of customers. )

 

Some of those people who would like to end the pipelines because they makes giant expensive, cancer-causing messes at the cost of tax payers are awesome Canadian musicians, like Sarah Harmer, Gord Downie, The Sadies, Hayden and Minotaurs. The ever awesome Environmental Defense is putting on a concert on October 6th at Mel Lastman Square to bring together those who support putting a halt to the Pipelines with a fun, free concert! Welcome to Rock The Line!



See you there!



Still not convinced? Check out the VICE documentary on the Tar Sands called "Toxic Alberta." See VICE founder Eddy Moretti walk around Fort McMurry drinking and chatting with everyone from the police, truck drivers, First Nations and much more. Or you can see the latest scandal from this summer- Fort McMurry Tory MLA Mike Allen was charged in connection to a prostitution ring.

Congrats the the Ovarian Psychos for reaching NYC!

If you don't know about ‪#‎psycopathbiketour‬, then look it up! Andi Xoch, Gloria Vasquez and Natalia Efe just accomplished their cross country tour and have arrived in NYC all the way from LA. Mad love and respect to these amazing womyn! Enjoy NYC and your accomplishments. We look forward to seeing what comes out of your journeys, and then what spreads from that.

Check out the vimeo they made pre-journey! Smart, passionate, and visionary.
A Psyco Path Journey from shireen alihaji on Vimeo.

My fav quote: "It's important. We need that sisterhood, and sisterhood isn't accomplished overnight."

Support via paypal by sending your love to: xochmex@gmail.com. They got some bad-news-bears last week when a cop gave them a ticket instead of a warning (womp womp) on an interstate. New York City, reach out and show your love to these formidable SiStars.


One love!

Empire Drive In

Very cool video, about a very cool concept for a movie theater. A "drive-in" movie theater made from old cars! It's kinda like cannibalism or something, but for art. Either way the documentary is dope! Maybe for VeloReel #3 something like this in Toronto will pop up.

Empire Drive In from Charlie Newland on Vimeo.

Toronto VeloReel fast approaching!

The ever amazing Nuit Blanche comes back to entertain us once again on October 5th! What better way to explore Toronto then a nighttime 12 hour art party? And there is no better way to do Nuit Blanche then on your bike with your friends, family, and frienemies. To prepare for this celebration of culture on bikes, it's best if you start out your night at the 2013 VeloReel Film Festival. For the second year in a row DNS curated an amazing line up of films-about-bikes for your eyeball pleasure. For the first year we are tagging onto Nuit Blanche to do this. For the second year, you can roll up on your bike and watch movies with your friends under the stars... It's only $5, along with being BYOB. No fancy-smansy film festival BS- just good moving pictures, good people, and bikes. Just the way we like it. COME HAVE FUN WITH US!

This year we have as a feature film the long anticipated BIKE LORDZ, a crowd-funded film about BMX trick culture in Ghana. Last year's favourite film makers from Cycle Me Home brings us their new film Feel Free. We have more movies from our beloved city and around the world, why don't you go check out the program to see how awesome it is yourself. While you're at it, why don't you share with a friend and start making plans about coordinated matching macrame pink elephant costumes?



Just the facts ma'am:
What?: Local, DIY film festival about bikes and the people who ride them.
When?; October 5th, 2013. 7pm-9pm.
Where?: The end of Fraser Ave in Liberty Village, Toronto. MAP.
How much?: $5! BYOB! Popcorn is Free!
Why?: It will be really fun, and you don't want to be sad when all your friends are talking about how awesome it was.

YNOT Cycle is looking for a new production crew member!

Hey all you bicycle-loving-sewing-superstars out there, Toronto's awesome bike bag & accessory company YNOT Cycle is looking to hire a new addition to their production crew! You could even work with a real life Nightshade... everyday! For more details click HERE, or keep reading below:

"YNOT Cycle is looking for a new production crew member!

Do you like making quality stuff with your hands while listening to endless podcasts? Do you like bikes and the people who ride them?

We are a highly efficient studio located in The Junction neighbourhood in Toronto's west end, looking to increase our output! We proudly manufacture all of our products in house, with an emphasis on quality. This is primarily a production position, but being a small outfit we pride our crew on being good & flexible multi-taskers. It is a full time position, starting immediately.

Required qualifications:

• Strong sewing & construction skills
• Experience with industrial sewing machines
• Flexibility & willingness to learn
• Good work ethic & plays nice with others
• Interest in bikes, cycling and its culture
• Awesome attitude & general radness!

To be considered a full resume & cover letter must only be sent to: jobs@ynotcycle.com"

Contribute to THE MAKE DEN's FundRazr!

It's no secret our Fierce Bambi, AKA Irene Stickney, has an amazing job working with at-risk youth at the Make Den teaching valuable sewing skills. Along with sewing skills, these awesome kids are mentored, coached and given an amazing community to grow in and develop a firm foundation of awesomeness they then take forward with them into adult hood. If you've ever wanted to help- now is the time!

The Make Den just launched it's fundraiser! They need 75K to grow the program and take it to new heights! Contribute now and feel awesome!

From studio to runway- Fierce Bambi makes fashion magic happen!

The Make Den is a small sewing studio in the west end of Toronto. We are a social enterprise which has been providing sewing classes for at-risk youth since 2010. Our students participate in an 8 week sewing class, where they learn the basics of threading up a sewing machine, sewing straight seams and then making a simple tote bag and a make-up pouch.

The results of our sewing classes are then donated to Covenant House, a youth shelter in Toronto. We have given away handbags, make-up cases and even prom dresses to deserving youth living in care.

Our students come to us from all over the GTA - some of them are living in group homes or youth shelters, some of them have been through the court system and some of them have been victims of bullying in their schools.

The Make Den provides employable skills as well as advanced fashion design instruction. Our goal is to raise money to provide our most talented students with intensive summer programming, post-secondary application support and the materials to bring their dreams to life.

Our goal is to provide positive role models as well as access to opportunities, resources, skills and materials to at-risk youth in the GTA. Here is a powerful testimonial from one of our students who was bullied from the time he was 8 years old, and still faces discrimination because of his sexuality at school today. ( You can also see some of his remarkable styling work online here as well.) 

Cupcake Ride Toronto! Come and Get It!

Our friends at the Cupcake Ride are putting on an ice-cream sandwich ride on the 21st of September here in our fair city of Toronto! The cupcake rides are a great place to get your bike and your eat on, while meeting up with other rad peeps. So go!

Date: Saturday, September 21, 2013 Time: 1:30 pm Start: The Depanneur, 1033 College St End: Moo Milk Bar, 1918 Queen St E - See more at: http://www.cupcakeride.com/blog/2013/09/announcing-ice-cream-sandwich-ride/#sthash.kwolurhq.dp

Date: Saturday, September 21, 2013 Time: 1:30 pm Start: The Depanneur, 1033 College St End: Moo Milk Bar, 1918 Queen St E - See more at: http://www.cupcakeride.com/blog/2013/09/announcing-ice-cream-sandwich-ride/#sthash.kwolurhq.dpuf

Date: Saturday, September 21, 2013 Time: 1:30 pm Start: The Depanneur, 1033 College St End: Moo Milk Bar, 1918 Queen St E - See more at: http://www.cupcakeride.com/blog/2013/09/announcing-ice-cream-sandwich-ride/#sthash.kwolurhq.dpuf

Date: Saturday, September 21, 2013 Time: 1:30 pm Start: The Depanneur, 1033 College St End: Moo Milk Bar, 1918 Queen St E - See more at: http://www.cupcakeride.com/blog/2013/09/announcing-ice-cream-sandwich-ride/#sthash.kwolurhq.dpuf

Date: Saturday, September 21, 2013 Time: 1:30 pm Start: The Depanneur, 1033 College St End: Moo Milk Bar, 1918 Queen St E - See more at: http://www.cupcakeride.com/blog/2013/09/announcing-ice-cream-sandwich-ride/#sthash.kwolurhq.dpuf

Date: Saturday, September 21, 2013 Time: 1:30 pm Start: The Depanneur, 1033 College St End: Moo Milk Bar, 1918 Queen St E - See more at: http://www.cupcakeride.com/blog/2013/09/announcing-ice-cream-sandwich-ride/#sthash.kwolurhq.dpuf

The Cupcake Ride's main organizer Hyedie recently did another local Toronto ride- the Monday Night Rehab Rides put on by Steve Carty of Herman & Aubrey. Check the rides out if you haven't already! It's good to see weeklies like that start up in Toronto. Support you local scene. Carty will be showing some of his personal work at the 2013 VeloReel on October 5th- mark your calendars!

Accident Lesson #101

Working Title: Help Toronto Cyclist Taylor Smile!

 

Accidents happen, especially in a city like Toronto where lack of proper infrastructure generates so many "accidents" they really shouldn't be called that. It undermines the weight and severity of the situation and the cost to civilians. As Aaron Naparstek puts it:

"It’s what we call it when a toddler makes a small mess." 

Taylor's "accident" is a bad reminder that despite being a positive, proactive, strong cyclist- road collisions can happen to all of us. Waking up at the hospital is terrifying, and living with scars and missing teeth is the worst, and a constant reminder of the trauma. Let's all pitch in what we can to her GoFundMe campaign and help out this lovely lady smile like this never happened.



I am sure that the best way to make Taylor smile, is to make sure you stay pro-active yourself by turning your attention to organizations like CycleTo, participating in media like Momentum Magazine and Dandy Horse, and you can participate or volunteer at local DIY centers such as Bike Pirates and Bike Sauce. Evergreen BrickWorks even has a safety and basics road skills course you can take to brush up or recruit a new Toronto cyclist with.

Love, Love, Love,

Kickstart these bike knickers + love your vagina!

I predict the cool new thing in 2014 will be Chamois Panties! Cham-what you say? Sham-wow? No, chamois is a roadie cycling essential- special padding around your special places to protect how special you are. But like most roadie items, they are usually ugly.

Whilst working for a special urban cycling capsule project for Lululemon, Namtron got a baptism in the wonderful world of chamois. We got to laugh and laugh and laugh at some of the competitor products she had to research. But then, in true style, she made something that was traditionally ugly and specialized for hard-core athletes incredibly pretty and functional for urban cyclists. Check out the pretty things she made for urban women cyclists here.

As we all know, Indie businesses always push the boundaries, and fill in the niches. Enter the Urbanist Chamois Pantie by Christiana Guzman from Austin Texas. These cute, well-designed, women's undergarments that aid in making your bike-rides more pleasurable, are DNS approved! Check them out and pitch into their Kickstarter!



On a serious note, women specific products that aid in a comfortable ride are important products to invest in if you are a rider who puts many kilometers on your bike each year. We all basically ride our bikes on our vaginas. Vaginas are both pretty cool and pretty important, so as female cycling culture grows and grows, it's an aspect of the mechanics of cycling we should be paying attention too.

"Bike seats are designed in such a way that body weight typically rests on the nose of the seat, which can compress nerves and blood vessels in the genital area." - Anahad O'Connor, NYT Article

Like many aspects of health, the effects of this have been widely studied on men, specifically around the erectile dysfunction this can cause, but studies around women have not been as prolific. However, the studies that have been done show that long term riding can damage nerves around the pelvic floor. Ladies! This is not a good thing! Damaged nerves can mean less sexy-time-feelings, and bladder control problems. While the urban cyclist revolution (think the Cycle Chic Movement) calls for wearing "everyday fashions" to normalize cycling, in the long term we should be aware of potential health issues such as nerve damage. If urban cycling becomes equated with erectile dysfunction and loss of bladder control, the bicycle revolution will be in trouble.

The Urbanist Chamois Pantie seems to tackle both the need for specialized clothing, while provide a super cute "normal" looking product for every day wear. BRAVO Christiana! Bravo!

Poor choice of bicycle seat.

P.S. Other ways to help prevent nerve damage in women is raising your handlebars (having an upright bike is great), and using a "nose-less" bike seat (even if they aren't that cool). Here is a great article from the Bike Radar on buying the perfect bike saddle for women.

Did you see the Bookman X DNS Lights?

If you haven't seen it on the internets, we'd like to introduce you to our first official collaboration with Sweedish bike light company Bookman lights! You can get them in our official gang colour Seafoam, or our other favourite colours Spoked Salmon, and Velo Yellow!



We were so excited about the colours we obviously had to make matching neon spandex outfits at the Make Den the night before the shoot. Nothing is better then staying up late with your besties creating and catching up over tall cans, except maybe spending the next weekend afternoon at the beach in bikinis making accessories from the left over spandex.



Big congratulations to Bookman for recently taking some steps to make their production more eco-friendly! Now they have USB rechargable lights, a recycled-plastic bike light in black, and do carbon neutral shipping! Rad. Good job guys.

Thanks to the Bookman team for such a fun projects. (Johan and Mattis- you Sweedish men are awesome!) More pictures from behind the scenes of our Photo Shoot to come soon! 

#DNSganglife

YNOT does Waxed Canvas!

By night I may be in a bike gang, but by day I work with the awesome locally produced cycling bag company YNOT. This week we launched our brand new waxed canvas line, along with this little promo video I shot - which mostly makes me wish summer will never end.

Muttonhead Warehouse Sale!

WoOt! It is that glorious time of the year, when fall fashions are rolling out to delight you and make your forget that it's going to be ballz freezing soon, and pretty summer fashions go on sale!

The Mutts at Muttonhead have your covered for locally made fashion in Toronto. Their warehouse sale starts tomorrow, and runs to the 25th. (That's August 21-25th, 12-7pm.)



Brands that are on sale at 40-70% off :
Naked & Famous denim > www.nakedandfamousdenim.com
Muttonhead > www.muttonheadcollective.com
SUNPOCKET sunnies > www.sunpocketoriginal.com
Topo Designs >www.topodesigns.com
Bather Trunk Company > www.bathertrunkcompany.com
Crown Shaving Co. > www.crownshavingco.com
Socking Behaviour > www.sockingbehaviour.com
LaTrE > www.latreruggedreworked.com

You're welcome.

xo

Introducing Pigeons & Thread

DNS's Big Red (aka Cat Essiambre) and the amazing and talented Kelly Henderson have made their relationship official.

Pigeons & Thread is a labour of love, sprung from the combined years of experience in various fashion production and styling capacities. Cat and Kelly are garment engineers, and have been making ideas come to life for such clients as Thomas Balint, Sartoria, Model Citizen, Paper People Clothing, and more. The studio is located in the heart of China Town, in one of Toronto's last remaining apparel production buildings.

If you have a fashion idea that needs production expertise to take flight, you'll want to contact Pigeons & Thread ASAP.

Women of Bike Polo London #mygirls 4 Adidas

Woot!

Big ups to the rad ladies of London Bike polo, and the Tornado Riders in particular! Lots of love to you ladies, keep kicking ass and taking names! Nice to see a mega brand pick up how amazing the ladies of bike polo in London are.



Big Love to Adidas Marketing Team!

To the production team at Adidas, they still have lots of work to do to be as awesome as this video is. The recently released documentary The Apparel Truth tells a story of the horrors of rape and abuse in factory systems- naming Adidas directly as a big company that produces out of factories such as this. No group of girlfriends wants to wear matching outfits that were made by hands that belong to a woman that was recently raped by her boss.

Gross, right? These things don't belong together, so while Adidas continues to be super awesome at supporting women on the front end, the pressure has to continue on supporting women on the back end.

One Love.

Craig Gives Back

There is a really good chance you are reading this post with a vision rate that allows you to do things that lets you be equally at ease with doing physical tasks. (Chances are if you are reading this blog, biking is a component of how you propel your life forward.) So what happens to a person when they loose the sense that lets them navigate the world with the most ease and independence?

CNIB, Canadian Guide Dogs for the Blind and YMCAs are there to help.



When Nova Scotian Craig Aucoin lost his sight to retinitis pigmentosa at the age of 16 after being an active kid and teenager, it was the start of an unhealthy lifestyle cycle. "Over the next seven years, I battled depression, blowing up to 240 pounds, eating everything and anything in sight. I shut everyone out and kept to myself.” Accepting his eventual vision loss, making the decision to be healthy, and partnering with his family and the three above national organizations gave Craig a new lease on a life lived without sight. Now Craig and his and his training partner Lloyd McLean are currently day 8 into an 85-day, 8,200-kilometre journey across Canada to raise funds and awareness for the three organizations above that helped Craig.

"Inspired by the likes of Terry Fox and Rick Hansen, Craig wants to motivate Canadians of all ages to overcome their personal challenges and adopt healthy, active lifestyles."

Along for the ride is Flat Stanley, their partner in the trip and an adorable personal version of a travel gnome. So cute, right?

Quickest way to contribute is to donate 5$ by texting CRAIG to 45678. (Donation will be charged on your phone bill.)

 Now take a minute.


p.s. This is a sponsored post, but we would have written about the story anyway. MegO! worked for the 2010 Vancouver Paralympics and enjoyed that experience probably 100x more then the Olympics themselves. Read more about it at an old blog she wrote whilst working for ethicalDeal.

Skatistan

Empowering girls in Afghanistan through skateboarding.

Brilliant.

Skatistan has been rolling on now since 2007. I first touched the pages of their brilliant 320 page, full colour, amazingly tactile and captivating first book months ago at the very rad Antisocial Skateboard Shop in Vancouver, which happens to also female owned and operated. I'm a bit ashamed I am only posting about it now. If you've been like me and were somehow hiding in a cave on Mars for the past six years, I'd highly suggest going to their website, watching their videos, and feeling awesome about what these guys are doing.

I remember as a kid being told "girls can't do [this or that]." It made me mad and I would usually do that thing (climbing the tall tree, throwing to second from home base, push ups, algebra) as much as I could just to prove whoever said that wrong. The joy of accomplishment was immense. The sense of eurphoria and excitement from mastering something with your body and feeling an endorphine rush made all the bruises and sprains worth it. I can only imagine that under the circumstances these girls face, the joy must be x1000.

Afghanistan's Girl Skaters – Kabul 2012 from Skateistan on Vimeo.

I had words hurled at me for sure, as many girls did in North America, but none of us were ever shot at for saying: "I can do that too."

Show some support. Head on over to their store and throw down some cash for their amazing first book, or some other sweet swag.




SKATEISTAN: TO LIVE AND SKATE KABUL from Diesel New Voices on Vimeo.

Love, Love, Love...

Fierce Bambi is featured on the Torontoist!

The Torontoist wants Irene's job as the owner of the Make Den, and we know why.  Creating things with your own two hands is the best feeling, and teaching that joy to others is a million times that satisfaction. We've seen our hard working lovely lady start from the basement of what was Vintage 69 By the Pound, to runing her own little DIY sewing paradise of her own in Bloordale. (Like the Royal couple, we couldn't be more happy...)

Click here to learn more about the Make Den, PACT Fashion, and the magic force that is Fierce Bambi.



Love, Love, Love.

Bicyclette Boutique: Ode to Toronto, Fashion and Summer Loving

Bicyclette Boutique may not have too much to do with bicycles, but they are a fabulous little boutique on Queen West, owned and operated by a fellow Ryerson Alumni Paige Boersma. The boutique is a great place to pick up independent designer goodies, some of which are made in Canada.

I just fell in love with this video. While the human love story is super cheesy, I saw took it as a love story of Toronto. This city is magical in many ways, and extra magic in the summer.




Bicyclette Boutique Presents 90 DAYS from Bicyclette Boutique on Vimeo.


Toronto, I love you.

Toronto VeloReel is looking for your BIKE FILM!

In it's debut year the success of VeloReel's line-up of thirteen films included an array of shorts: Bikes are Great, 10 Things I Have Learned About Mountainbiking, and Sex On Wheels, finishing with the feature length "Line of Sight", directed by Benny Zenga and featuring world renowned videographer Lucas Brunelle.
 
Very organically and with the support of some amazing cyclist and artist friends, VeloReel began to travel. Hitting 6 cities in 3 countries from small town Orillia, to Montreal and Detroit, all the way to Havana, Cuba, plans for the next line-up are to extend beyond even more boarders!

The Deadly Nightshades, Toronto's all-girl bike gang slash arts collective will be taking on the role of film curators once again in hopes to cultivate community & celebrate bike culture.

Look out for the initial bike-in screening, early September in the heart of Liberty Village. To be a part of this growing love for bikes, film and art, please submit by August 1st to torontoveloreelsubmissions@gmail.com.

Good news: The Pan Am Path in Toronto!

"Combining the power of culture and sport to create a living path across Toronto."

 Woot Woot! Smart cities take money from events such as the Olympics and Pan Am games, and use it to benefit and create long-lasting public infrastructure projects. I'm glad that Toronto has managed to secure this amazing path, which will unite Toronto with public space, art, sports, and nature! Landmark projects such as this help to push forward longer, more involved public infrastructure. The 2010 Olympics left Vancouver with the very well used, awesome Canada Sky Train line, which takes travellers to and from the Vancouver Downtown core in only 20 minutes for $3.75. At last year's VeloCity in Vancouver, I learned that the amazing and iconic Sea Wall was key in creating public interest and demand for better cycling infrastructure in the community. Looking forward to seeing the long-term benefits of the Pan Am Path!

Ottawa Velo Vogue Fashion Show

Hey there internet bike land.

Did you miss out on this cool thing that happened in Ottawa on June 1st? Zara from Ottawa VeloVogue put on this tres-chic fashion show at Kichesippi Brewery. It featured great clothes, great bikes, great people, and a great cause.

"A big aspect of our event is fundraising for Cycle Salvation, which trains and gives employment in the field of bike mechanics to those who are economically disadvantaged, while at the same time diverting bikes destined for scrap and landfill sites. Cycle Salvation is a social enterprise operating under the umbrella of Causeway Work Centre." 

Fashionable bike event for a good cause? Nightshade approved.

Zara is amazing, and you need to follow her blog if you love fashion, cycling, and looking at pretty pictures of pretty people on bikes. After almost a few years of internet friendship, I finally got to hang out with this high-octane behb at Inberbike last September while we were both models for Momentum Magazine's fashion show. Winning! I hope I get to see this lady again! Look what awesome things she makes:

2013 Ottawa VeloVogue Fashion Show from Jackpine on Vimeo.

CAREBEAR was stolen last night!

TORONTO STOLEN BIKE ALERT: CAREBEAR WAS STOLEN LAST NIGHT FROM OUTSIDE MY HOME IN KENSINGTON. PLEASE be on the lookout for her or her parts. 54 purple Mission track frame, pink Velocity B43s, Sugino Messenger cranks, was outfitted with platforms and pink YNOT razzle straps. She is scratched up from being stolen last summer. I can't believe it... meglikebikes@gmail.com for any leads or hit me up on Facebook! Meg Orlinski. Thank you!



I feel sick.

DNS on FASHION website for #Lifecycles2013

Big Red made the cover of this article in Fashion online article on Hermann & Aubrey's Lifecycle's celebration taking place from the 7th to the 9th of June. Thora, Snow White and Fierce Bambi are also featured... of course.

 

We'll be there on June 7th between 7-11 to see the release of Danielle Dasilva's video of 5 Nightshades in pure Ganger Styles in Toronto, along with the DNS portrait series she has produced over the past month. 

WoOt WoOt! Check check it out here.

It's almost like it's Bike Fashion Week in Toronto

Woah. This week there are many stylish things going on if you love your bike and looking good on it.


First up is Lifecycles by Herman and Aburey, this June 7-9th. DNS will be featured in a photo series by emerging photographer Danielle Da Silva.








Then we have fellow Ryerson Alumni Kristi Woo of Riyoko Urban Bike Wear coming to Toronto From Calgary to sell her rad line of Cycling Apparel at Curbside Cycles.



Brooks Saddles is swinging on by Toronto to run a pop-up shop, the Dashing Show, at Bikes on Wheels on June 8th.

Meet the Deadly Nightshades on Now Magazine!

If you missed this gem of an interview, here it is. The Now asks us some questions on bike style, our jobs, how we work in community, the start of DNS, and how we support each other.

An Interview with The Deadly Nightshades from NOW Magazine on Vimeo.

1 <3 .="" p="">
xo

Ride the Ravines with Evergreen Canada!

MegO! here. I've been a bit absent as of late on the blog, mainly because I have been working hard on my new sweet job at Evergreen Canada, coordinating Ride the Ravines! Now if you don't know... now you know! I'm LOVING my new job in the beautiful Toronto Don Valley, so check it out and show some love! :)


Evergreen is a national environmental organization that connects people with nature for the benefit of both. For the past 20 years, Evergreen has been engaging Canadians in greening projects in communities across the country. In Toronto, Evergreen has transformed the historic Don Valley Brick Works factory from a deteriorating collection of buildings into a thriving and truly unique environmental community centre in the heart of the Toronto ravine system. 

 

Ride the Ravines is a family-friendly charity bike ride on June 16th, where riders can experience Toronto’s hidden valley system like never before! The ride gives families, urban recreational riders and nature enthusiasts a chance to pedal 12km or 25km through the Don Valley ravine system and Toronto beaches. The route begins and ends at Evergreen Brick Works and is led by Evergreen staff and volunteers.

 

The funds raised from Ride the Ravines goes towards our Active Living Programming and like our Community Bike Hubs. This is our incredibly special program that works in various low-income communities across Toronto, getting kids learning and riding bikes, while providing a healthy food program and mentorship, along with entrepreneurial and activist skills. 

Remember how the Deadly Nightshades were interviewed by NOW magazine? Well, the awesome Now online editor John then interviewed my supervisor, Shah. Check it out! You'll feel great, I promise.

Ride On Part Four - Advocacy (Evergreen Bike Works) from NOW Magazine on Vimeo.

 

The Deadly Nightshade - Daniel Lanois

 

In 2006, while I was waitressing in the summers between university semesters, Daniel Lanois was a regular of mine at a fine French Toronto establishment. We had many famous and rich clientele, so talking about work with a guest was considered tres gauche. Someone had erroneously told me that he was a store owner, and I simply didn't think twice to question it. When I once asked him about his sheet music he was working on, he said he had a studio at his house and he was recording an album with his friends. I replied that I thought his hobby was adorable, and he looked at me with a puzzled raised eyebrow. The song he was recording was apparently with U2. Be careful of who tells you what and what you think you know....

Cyclofemme- Tomorrow We Ride!

Cyclofemme is tomorrow! It's a great way to spend Mother's Day with the crew you love.

To honour the women of the past, present, and future, you can check out and participate a ride in your own city or neighbourhood!

Friday Night Rainy Day Vids

Wine + friends + sunshine + bikes = all you need.

After Eleven Apparel //  Fixed Gear // Group ride in Napa // Sonoma. 

Filmed & Edited by Patrick Schwent. Song: Don't Move - Phantogram

Vancouver is exactly like this:

AIRPORT RACE - fixed gear video-  

Directed by the talented Gwenael LEWIS.
Starring the lovely Chloe BABCOOK and Tobias LEWIS

Feeling Good:

Fixed-Gear city ride Cinelli in Valencia v2

Sunshine and puppy dogs:

 Fixed Gear (Granada) Collective Friends

This Friday & Saturday, Sartoria is having an end of the year sale! Pretty exciting, because the stuff is amazing. you should come check it out! http://www.sartoria.ca/

12/13 stock 50% off! 
samples for sale at amazing prices!
sweaters-too-great-to-cut-up for sale too!

FRI APR 19th noon - 7pm
SAT APR 20th 9am - noon

WhipperSnapper Gallery 549b Dundas St W TORONTO
There will be a screening of a sweet winter video :)

Everyone loves gang rides. Even Solange.

Gang rides, pool hopping AND badass vintage suits. Solange knows what's up.

Vote for us for the VeloCity 2013 Cycling Visionary Awards!

Hey All!

That time is come again to help the Deadly Nightshades out! We were asked to submit to the VeloCity 2013 Visionary Awards, so we did! Please Take two mintues to vote for us in the category of Cycling and Arts.  We would be over the moon to get our name out there in Vienna this year and promote what we do in the city of Toronto, and even have the possibility of going there ourselves! There are also bursaries to be won in each category. We promise to use the winnings on magic beans and condo shares on Mars.

You have to confirm your vote by email, so enter in a valid one. (They don't spam you afterwards, which is nice so you don't have to worry about that!) Voting ends April 15th! Please share with your friends, family, followers, co-workers and neighbours!


Thank you thank you thank you!!!!

Another amazing Kickstarter project about women and bikes!

The Soviet Invasion of Afghanistan began in 1979. For ten years, the war raged on, and was considered a "Proxy War" of the Cold War. After the Soviets pulled out, the impoverished, traumatized country was ripe for the control of the Taliban. Then 911 happened. Even before this modern history, Afganistan has been in dispute and a strategic region of Britan and Czarist Russia, then the US and Stalinist USSR. Basically, no one has "won" anything in Afghanistan, especially Afghanis, with instability and unspeakable injustices still rampant, specifically towards women.

What can a caring person do to help today? There are many ways. One way Mountain2Mountain has been creating change has been through it's programs that advocate for women in sports, specifically with mountain biking.  Through empowering women on equity issues like transportation and sports, they are giving voices to women and children in conflict zones, and creating an international community of support and advocacy. They are telling stories, and creating the world they want to live in through their work. It's possible. We as human beings created this mess, and we can love and create our way out of it.

Mountain2Mountain was founded in November 2006 by Shannon Galpin.  Shannon took action on her deep conviction that all women and girls deserve the same rights and opportunities as her own daughter. She walked away from her career as an athletic trainer and used her own limited funds to launch M2M and "be the change" she wished to see in the world.

Now, this Kickstart project in question is about funding Afghan Cycles, which is a film about 12 brave women that dare to ride on the Women’s National Cycling Team of Afghanistan. This production is in association with other amazing women Sarah Menzies of LET Media, Whitney Conner Clapper of Side of the Road Sessions.

Still thinking "something should be done, but what can I do?" Here is Shannon Galpin to break it down for you.


"All that is necessary for evil to triumph is for good men to do nothing"- Leo Tosltoy

Toronto Loves The Make Den!

Fierce Bambi's baby, The Make Den, was just voted as one of the top DIY spots on BlogTo! The Make Den is in a beautiful new retail level space in Bloordale, and offers sewing lessons from begginer classes to leather crafting. Knowing how to sew is a great way to express your individuality, save money by fixing and tailoring your own garments, and mostly it is incredibly fulfiling. Making things with your hands just feels good. Speaking of feeling good, The Make Den is not just a building with classes, it's a community of creative, vibrant Toronto individuals. If you live in Toronto, and want to learn how to create or tailor your own wardrobe, then The Make Den is a must!

(Check out those seafoam walls in the photo... when you see that colour, it's a sure sign a Deadly Nightshade is afoot!)

Deadly Nightshades featured in the Huffington Post!

We were happy to be interviewed by the amazing Amelia Brown for the Huffington Post Canada on how we Gen Y/ Millennials use cycling to express our style, independence and create the culture we value.

"The Deadly Nightshades are convinced that the bicycle is magic. When they're out as a "roving midnight bike gang," in seafoam green jackets, the seven women are a bewitching sight, mixing cycling, art and fashion."

Just one note, for us "fashion" is more "personal style". The Deadly Nightshades came about from a firm distaste of the traditional fashion industry, and it was our punk way to be ourselves and assert our own values. So dress how you want, define your own cycle chic, don't let others tell you how to express yourself, and make your own informed decisions first and foremost.

Already the one comment on the blog is about how we aren't wearing helmets. (Rolls eyes.) Our official stance is this: we all do and we all don't, depending on various factors. Helmets, while AWESOME and have saved several of our noggins at various points, aren't a fix-all for bike safety, and are really just this trolling, polarizing issue we'd all be best to just drop as a topic of focus. The fact is, if we had been wearing helmets we'd be criticized for promoting a culture of fear and not putting the emphasis on car driver resonsiblity. Luke Brocki did an awesome write up of the issue in his article on Velo-City 2012. 

The Huffington post article is a great article read all around, addressing economic issues like the crippling cost of cars, awesome places like the Bike Kitchen at UBC, and events like the Bicycle Film Festival.

"Despite efforts to market bright, affordable and gadget-laden cars to the Millennials, the bicycle is an easy solution that offers Generation Y freedom to get where they need to go without worrying about insurance payments down the road."

Huzzah! Let the culture shift continue!

BIKES IN SPACE!

The amazing Elly Blue's latest Kickstarter program needs your help! 11 Days to go!

If you don't know who Elly Blue is- how are we friends? Just kidding. You should get to know this Portland based writer, publisher, and social curator. Since 2006 she has been writing about cycling as a transportation module, and she has been published in such kick-ass feminist publications like Grist, Bitch, and Momentum Magazines. Working with the Portland Society, she co-founded PDX-By Bike, which is a bike-centric business promotion initiative.



So back her kick-starter, and buy one of the amazing books from her online store Taking the Lane while you're at it.

HAPPY INTERNATIONAL WOMAN'S DAY!

On international woman's day, it's good to remember the connection the early 20th century's woman's movement had to bicycles. They got us out of the corset, provided mobility and independence, and were a symbol of freedom and modernity.
 
Wheels of Change: How Women Rode the Bicycle to Freedom by National Geographic. I haven't read this book myself yet, but I want to, especially with the author Sue Macy giving rad answers like this:

Q: Why are bikes still important to women?
A: I think that Leah Missbach Day does a great job in the foreword to Wheels of Change of explaining how bicycles are still important to one population of women--those in developing countries who are able to increase their mobility astronomically with the bicycles they received through World Bicycle Relief. But today in the U.S., bicycles are important to everybody. They allow people to do errands without using fossil fuels, to get great cardiovascular exercise, to see their surroundings in a whole new way. My neighborhood isn’t great for cycling--too much traffic and too many hills--but I try to ride at least once a week in the spring, summer, and fall, usually stopping at a nearby farmers' market to restock on fruits and vegetables. It’s a healthy way to live.  

Here are three rad rad female and bike related videos for your eyeball and ear pleasure.


This week at the National Bike Summit, Veronica Davis, the founder of Black Women Bike, gave this inspiring talk about her background, community and passion. I took away many tid-bits of insight and wisdom on unconventional engagement and breaking down barriers, along with being inspired by her incredible work ethic and dedication.

Ladies Army 5 from Geoffrey Tomlin-Hood on Vimeo.

Next up- Ladies Army 5. This year it's in Vancouver- sorry, EastVan. If you can get your gears to Vancouver, do so. It's beautiful, laid back, and beautiful. But watch out, the beauty is going to cost you. Rent, food and alcohol are more expensive in Beautiful British Columbia. Some say BC stands for bring cash. So plan ahead ladies.



Last, but not least, the incredible Jenna Marbles on "Why Girls Hate Each Other." Don't think it belongs in with this other list of awesome I just put above?  Let's be real here girls. Jokes like this don't take over the internet for no reason. We got to address some things. In throwing off the shackles of oppression, it's good to throw out the BS that came along with it, like comparing, competing and judging each other. When we do that "...we can just be b*tches together... you know, vaginas unite!"

Think about it. If you disagree, the comment box bellow is a safe space to say so.

xo

Check out Snow White and the lovely people of Bike Polo Toronto on CTV!

This past weekend tons of bike polo players from all over the great lakes area came together for the Great Lakes Winter Classic.

You can't embed videos from CTV- but you can check it out here!

Congrats to all who came out to play! Here are the top 3 Teams from the tourney!
1st - Mallet Of Mayhem (Alexis, Robbie OTT, Chris VAN)
2nd - Who let the Dads Out (Javier BOS, Paul NYC, Jonathan PGH)
3rd - Beardsicles (Nate, Zach NYC, Nick TO)

Celebrate the Ovarian Psycos Cycle Brigade's Success!

 
We'd like to extend a huge CONGRATULATIONS to the incredible force that is the Ovarian Psycos Brigade! Last week their Kickstarter campaign raised $13,028 towards their documentary project.  Who are they you may ask?

... "are a ferocious and unapologetic group of young women of color, cycling through the barrios and boulevards of the Eastside, committed to collectively confronting racism and violence, and demanding and creating safe spaces for women."

These women are incredibly inspiring. (I am really upset I only heard about their kickstarter after it closed.) Their brand of emancipated, grass roots, independent, healing form of community based activism is what is going to change the world. For years we have been hearing about the huge social and economic problems associated with LA and various groups working on change, but never has there been such a clear, assured, and action based voice from the women of the streets of LA. Follow them on Facebook to see all the incredible events they are putting on and supporting.


photo from LA Streets Blog

There are rumblings in Toronto about bringing Luna rides to Toronto. Stay tuned and we'll bring you updates.