Issue # 133 September 2007

Welcome to Cyclometer, a monthly newsletter to keep cyclists informed about cycling issues and programs in the City of Toronto.

CONTENTS:

1) Waterfront Trail and Greenway Group ride

September 20th is Waterfront Trail and Greenway Day for the communities along the Lake Ontario and St. Lawrence River waterfront. To celebrate, the Waterfront Trust and its partners will ride from Mississauga through Toronto to Pickering to experience the 56 kms of the Waterfront Trail and Greenway that connect these communities.

An important part of the Trail's magic lies in the connections that it makes between people and nature, water and the land, working and playing, past and present. The Trail connects 41 communities along the southern coastline in Ontario. On Thursday morning, we offer participants an opportunity to experience this inspiration first-hand.

The ride will start in Mississauga with a continental breakfast, then stop at Harbourfront for a snack, before continuing to Pickering for lunch. We will be riding at a recreational pace of 10-15km per hour and registration is limited.

Please register for the ride and reserve your rental bicycle(if needed) by e-mailing Marlaine at mk@wrtrust.com.

It is a 56 km tour from Mississauga to Pickering along the beautiful Waterfront Trail:

2) Bells on Bloor Mass Ride this Sunday, September 23

Join hundreds of cyclists in a pedal-powered parade from High Park to the ROM - or join us along the route - to push for bike lanes on Bloor and elsewhere in the city. This is a legal, permitted parade with a police bicycle escort and is a family-friendly event.

Meet at Bloor St. entrance to High Park at 12 p.m. Get a free bike bell. www.bellsonbloor.ca

3) Toronto Cycling Committee applications

The Cycling Committee applications period is now over, and nominations are to be approved by City Council in the September session. Approved nominations will be announced immediately upon approval in the fourth week of September.

4) BFBA Awards Ceremony October 4 + consultation results

The City of Toronto Presents the 2007 Bicycle Friendly Business Awards.

Every year the City of Toronto recognizes the tremendous efforts put forth by individuals and community members who work towards making their businesses and organizations more bike-friendly.

Awards cover seven categories including "Best Bike Parking" and "Best Skills Development". This year the Awards will include updates on results from the Toronto Cycling Consultation Session, held in St. Lawrence Hall on July 26. The awards will also mark the proclamation of Messenger Appreciation Day (10-9 Day) to honour Toronto's more than 400 bike, foot, and transit couriers for their role in encouraging sustainable alternatives to automobile traffic. Light refreshments and beverages provided. All are welcome to attend.

For more information please contact Alex Bowron; Bicycles & Business Program Organizer at 416-338-5076 or abowron@toronto.ca.

5) Toronto to host the 2008 Cycle Messenger World Championships

CMWC XVI, June 13 - 16, 2008
Hanlan's Point, Toronto Islands

During the 15th Annual Cycle Messenger World Championships (CMWC) in Dublin, Ireland, the International Federation of Bike Messenger Associations (IFBMA) confirmed that the 16th annual CMWC will take place in Toronto, Canada, June 13 - 16, 2008.

About the CMWC
The Cycle Messenger World Championships (CMWC) is the ultimate urban cycling competition. The strongest, smartest and fastest bike messengers from across the planet converge once a year to determine who is the best in a variety of events that test riders' physical and mental limits. It is a fully insured competition on a closed course that is sanctioned by the International Federation of Bike Messengers Associations (IFBMA). While most competitors are bike messengers, events are open to everyone, and many non-messengers enjoy the challenge of the competition.

CMWC is a world championship sporting event, but it is also a world festival celebrating messenger culture and its broad influence on modern urban culture.

CMWC hosts a variety of related galas, shows, parties and vendor markets where spectators mingle with messengers to get a jump on the latest bike trends and urban utilitarian fashion. The side events showcase the artistic, photographic, musical and literary talents of the world's hardest working professional athletes.

CMWC and T.O.
When the CMWC originated in Berlin in 1993, Toronto messengers were there. Two years later, in 1995, Toronto hosted North America's first edition of the races. Toronto makes history once more as it becomes the first city ever to do it all over again.

In 1995, Toronto welcomed about 500 messengers from about 20 countries. In 2008, we expect 700 to 1,000 competitors from all over the world. The female winner of the 1995 CMWC, Ivonne Kraft (Germany), went on to place 7th in the mountain bike race at the 2004 Olympics in Athens Greece. Kraft will be returning to Toronto for CMWC 2008.

The finals of CMWC 1995 were carried live on MuchMusic and two documentaries were made of the festival and race.

Toronto has always been a pioneer of courier racing. Alley-Cat racing originated here, as did the Human Powered Roller Coaster. The St. Stephen's Courier Classic has raised a total of about $20,000 for a local charity. Then there are ice races, Goldsprints and of course Global Gutz.

CMWC 1995 was held in the derelict urban splendour of an industrial warehouse district. For 2008, we change it up and move the races offshore to the Toronto Islands, a chain of small islands in Lake Ontario harbour, reached by a 15-minute ferry or water taxi ride. The Islands have a history of bike racing as the home of one of the city's first outdoor cycling tracks. It's also the original location of the legendary Toronto messenger ice race on the figure-eight track.

Instead of concrete and gravel, the atmosphere of CMWC 2008 is about trees, water and wildlife in a massive park that's also home to a car-free community of residents.

The showcase event of the CMWC is the most complex bicycle race in the world: three or more gruelling hours of navigation through multiple checkpoints.

Racers determine the fastest and most efficient route to collect and drop packages - replicating the real-life world of the urban messenger. In true Toronto style, CMWC XVI features spectator-friendly challenges like ramps, stairs and maybe even a jump or two.

Extra events

300-Metre Sprints
An exciting event for fixed-gear, road, mountain and BMX bikes, with prizes for fastest male and female. Toronto couriers, Brooks Rapley and Simone Charles were the 2005 male and female world sprint champions at CMWC XII in New York City.

Cargo Race
An always-popular showdown that tests competitors'' ability to carry heavy loads over a challenging course.

Bunny-Hop
Bike jumps over a bar that keeps being raised (High jump on a bicycle).

Track Stand
A competition to see who can balance a stationary bike longest without putting a foot down. After starting with a basic track stand, competitors must gradually remove hands and feet take until only one bike remains standing.

Skids
Another fan-favourite fixed-gear event. Competitors sprint to high speed, then lock their rear wheel to see how far they can skid. (The world record is over 500 feet!).

World Championship Bike Polo Tournament (3-on-3 hockey on bikes with mallets and a ball)
Teams of cyclists use a mallet to pass a ball and score without setting a foot down. Bike Polo was a demonstration sport at the 1908 Olympics. Now, messenger bike polo is taking the world by storm.

Goldsprints
Short sprints on bike rollers. Goldsprints are a crowd favorite in the bars.

The Lake Jump
On July 12, 1904, Toronto bike messenger Oliver Belz was the first to jump his bike 30 feet into the bay off a specially-designed chute. This is your chance to set a new record.

Pedal Boat Race
A fun race on the water in pedal-powered boats.

For more information contact:
Joe Hendry Phone: 416-829-5503
E-mail: info@cmwc2008.com
Website: cmwc2008.com

6) Bike Lockers now at Long Branch and Etobicoke Civic Centre!

The City has four lockers now installed at Long Branch GO station, just next to the entrance on the south side of the tracks.

Six lockers have been installed at Etobicoke Civic Centre at 2 Civic Centre Court. Lockers are available for bicycle commuters for $10 per month + gst. Sign up for a bike locker now.

7) Ahead in the Bike Lane:

1. Waterfront Trail Tour September 20 - 7 a.m., Mississauga Public Promenade Marina
2. Bells on Bloor September 23 - 12 p.m., High Park
3. BFBA awards ceremony October 4 - 6 p.m., Rotunda of City Hall.

The City has a vision for cycling in Toronto and wants you involved in making it happen. Cyclometer is a subscription service of the City of Toronto.

The first issue of Cyclometer went out on November 24, 1989. Now, as then, we hope that, like its namesake, Cyclometer will show you how far we've come, how fast we're going, and maybe how much pedalling we have yet to do. So get on board and get involved. Your support is important.

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