BEFORE THE FLOOD

Look friends, i know I'm preaching the choir here, but PLEASE WATCH THIS! and PLEASE VOTE! All this Trump madness is a distraction, and lets stay focused.

Nightshades + The Woven Wolf Collaboration Alert!

Let the ladies of The Deadly Nightshades show you how to cut and sew your own gear! Check out the Kickstarter for our brand-spanking new online maker community The Woven Wolf. We have tons of incredible crafty classes taught by Big Red and Fierce Bambi. The Maker Revolution is now and we want you to be a part of it! CHECK THE KICKSTARTER HERE!

MARRY YOUR BIKE SUCCESS!!!

Oh man, we had such a great time at last night's 'Marry Your Bike' event! Thanks to everyone who came out to show the love to their two wheeled partners. Over 400 unions between humans and bikes were made, officiated by the endlessly energetic Elvis (aka Ricky) and witnessed by the deadly nightshades, who were in disguise as Dolly Parton, Sister Seafoam, Mermaid One and Mermaid Two.

In support of velo love and commitment, we wish everyone who came by a long and happy life with their bikes. May you love and cherish through sickness and health!

Special shout out goes to Dolly Parton's ride 'Big Rocket', who was part of over 150 beautiful unions. She's got all the love to give.

Here are a few of our favourite snaps from last night.

But Please check out Digital Fabrik's gallery for the full selection!

CONGRATULATIONS TO ALL YOU BEAUTIFUL PEOPLE, AND ENDLESS GRATITUDE TO ALL THE BEAUTIES WHO HELPED MAKE THIS HAPPEN!


First marriage of the night....

... and the last one ...

... and a few other favourites:

HUCK MAGAZINE AND LEVIS LOVE DNS (DUH)

SO Excited to share this article From Huck Magazine and Levis Commuter Journal: PEDALLING FOR THE GRRLS We talked all the talk about how we came to be, who we are and what we hope to do for all the biking women out there. Not to mention the really fun photoshoot with the amazing Annie Sakkab. We've been rocking our levis commuters ever since. Please read, share and enjoy!

BIKE GANG BONANZA

So to be entirely honest, I have been neglecting this blog space, and focussing more energy on the instantly gratifying instagram. Check it out here: deadly_nightshades But sometimes it's nice to play with some longer form content, and show you some of our process, get behind the scenes, ya know?

These are some inspiration boards that have informed the aesthetic for our upcoming Nuit Blanche installation in Toronto. Funtimes mash up of Vegas glitz and cheesy sequins, elvis, dolly parton , mermaids . Bringing together people and their bikes to make it official! I love my bike!

MARRY YOUR BIKE!

We are so excited about this weekends Nuit Blanche installation, Marry your bike!

CANADIAN-MADE BICYCLE PANNIER LINE FROM YNOT!

Super excited for this awesome new line of Canadian Made Bike Panniers launching on Kickstarter from Toronto's own YNOT Cycle! They've only got four days left, and are so close to reaching their goal! Check out the project, and grab yourself some slick new non-traditional panniers, made right here in Toronto! Rad!

@DEADLY_NIGHTSHADES x INSTAGRAM

We finally got around to it, and started a Deadly Nightshades instagram account! Be sure to follow us at @deadly_nightshades for awesome bikes, babes and seafoam everything! And to get in on the action hashtag those DNS related photos #dnsbikegang!

There IS an app for everything!

Want to help increase funding to Cycling infrastructure in Toronto? There's an app for that now!

Download the Toronto Cycling App for Android or iPhone

Basically- city infrastructure budgets are usually allocated with hard facts. If we get more facts about who cycles and where in Toronto, we can get more money spent on it! Tracking your daily bike trips can help provide the City with the hard data it needs to allocate bigger budgets!  You choose when you want to track what rides, which is great for privacy and battery saving.

The city even built-in surveys to this app to get all kinds of feedback on cycling preferences. Right now Toronto is going through a very painful growth-spurt, this is the time to speak up if you want your say on how Toronto will operate as we move forward into a Ford-Free city!

If you know roadies or trail riders who zip along the water trail or hammer in the Don Valley, send it to them too. Then data will be collected, and that info could go to improving trail systems and increasing the importance of providing cycling routes for fitness in Toronto. Also, wouldn't it be nice to not have to share the route with roadies when you're taking a stroll or running errands, and vice-versa when you want to get your sweat on while you stretch your bike legs?

Hmmmm... maybe we can even do something like a massive bike ride up and down Jarvis Street with everyone tracking their data? Wouldn't it be fun if so much info was collected on that street they HAD to put back in the bike lanes on Jarvis, forever? I miss those bike lanes when I go to my Dad's place, they were useful for following the Deadly Nightshade's #1 rule: DON'T DIE.  

1Love
xo MegO! xo

Breathing Bike

Two of our world's greatest challenges are smog and obesity. Bikes can solve that. Matt Hope, a British artists, came up with the Breathing bike. Kinda neat, eh?

LADIES ARMY 6 IN TORONTO

3, 2, 1 POLO. The ONLY all women's/trans tournament in the world is coming to Toronto June 20th -22nd, 2014 at Dufferin Grove Park. Come out and support the very best lady slayers from all over the globe. Bike Polo Toronto put out this awesome little ALL CANADIANA teaser and is currently looking for your SUPPORT ( click to see awesome fundraiser ) to make this the best tournament possible.

ICE COLD NY.

THIS.

HAPPY 2014!!!

Happy New Year allllllllll. Our crew here in Toronto had a rad little new years eve, documented so adeptly (and often unbeknownst) by our amazing pal Justin! Thanks Justy!

So from our bike gang to yours.... HAPPY 2014! May it be filled with friends, fun times and fast bikes!

xoxo.
DNS!

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.