Cycling in Toronto
Thread started by
stillline at 09.5.08 - 10:59 am
I spent my first morning in Toronto building this crappy fixie to ride for the next week. Got the frame from a used bike store and the rear wheel from another more upscale store. Some nice guys at the autobody shop loaned me a hacksaw to make the bars.
Does anyone know any of the fixed gear groups in toronto? Critical mass isnt till the end of the month and I want to meet some bike people here.
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crap dude... I didn't start cycling much until I moved out here...
Your best bet is to ride around downtown and just ask somebody. I know that they've recently started this Toronto Cyclists Union thing... but I'm not really sure about organized group rides other than CM.
Maybe check out these websites?
http://bikeunion.to
http://www.ibiketo.ca
erm, but what are you doing in Toronto?! I'm jealous!!!
canadienne09.5.08 - 11:32 am
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Matt's a papparazi-thug, with all the big films that are usually shot in those parts, there's bound to be a celeb or two lurking around.
bentstrider09.5.08 - 12:59 pm
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@Candienne
I"m in toronto for the film festival. Been chasing clebs up and down bloor on the raleigh all day.
Thanks for the links. I'll check those site out. I tried to get some info from themessenger types running around town but they are mostly jerks (no surprise).
stillline09.5.08 - 2:11 pm
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dude matt u are my hero!! i love that you will build any bike at any city just to ride around. awesome.
funanu09.5.08 - 2:25 pm
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Matt, lose the reflector on the front wheel. I'm sure that's what the messengers are tripping on.
User109.5.08 - 3:01 pm
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Nah thaz cool, what it needs is a pieplate. That's probably why they think it's wack.
franz09.5.08 - 3:06 pm
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They ride road bikes with gears and most of them are older. I think they are tripping on the hipster with no brakes.
stillline09.5.08 - 3:21 pm
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goddammit!!! I wanna be at the film festival!!!
Drink plenty of Tim Hortons coffee, and if you have time, eat at Jumbo Empanadas in Kensington Market. Cheap, and damn good. I will live vicariously through you.
canadienne09.5.08 - 3:23 pm
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p.s. if you're looking for hipsters, Kensington Market would be the place. Or the Green Room (off of Bloor), or anywhere Queen St. West.
canadienne09.5.08 - 3:25 pm
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stillline's in toronto which is located in canada and he built himself a bike, not only that a hipster bike and he's taking pictures of celebs!!!!
that sounds like an f'n awesome job! where does one sign up for this?
i gotta camera!
bondink09.5.08 - 3:35 pm
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Matt go on bikepolo.ca and track down the Toronto Polo scene, they held the World Championships there this summer, NYC 1st place Ottawa 2nd place
rep yer 'hood homey
tallcans4tallbikes09.5.08 - 3:57 pm
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I would love to play some polo here. Thanks for the info TC4TB.
@Canadienne
I love tim hortons. Theres one on every corner and they serve coffee thats so hot it stays hot all day.
The hotel I'm at is on College and yonge. Its super ghetto and also super crowded. I approve.
stillline09.5.08 - 5:09 pm
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That's funny about the ghetto hotel, but at least you're right downtown!
canadienne09.5.08 - 6:38 pm
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Apparently in toronto during the festival all the bars get to stay open till 4am. I love it here.
stillline09.5.08 - 11:18 pm
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Do any of the Canadian MR riders know of a way to ship a bike fromtornto to Los Angeles that is cheaper than UPS? I sent one last year and it cost $300.
Can you box up a bike and put it on a plane?
stillline09.7.08 - 3:57 pm
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I forgot who told me, but Air Italia all you have to do is swing your bars 90 degrees and deflate the tires. The cost of taking the bike was either ridiculously cheap or free. I forgot which.
User109.7.08 - 4:37 pm
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I have no idea, actually... I shipped my bike with the rest of my crap from Toronto to LA... in a big moving truck...
I think that you can take it on an airplane packed away in a bike box, but there's probably a huge fee for it, i would think.
canadienne09.7.08 - 5:39 pm
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@Benstrider.
Is it possible you know some alternate shippingmethod for a bike. Maybe some trucker going from toronto to L.A. owes you a favor?
Fuck it. I'll just UPS it. I love that crappy bike.
stillline09.7.08 - 8:51 pm
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Matt that bike looks great! Hopefully you'll have some stories about passing the celebs stuck in traffic in their limousines while you zipped by on your bike.
Ride on!
skd09.7.08 - 9:55 pm
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I MISS YOU MATTIE, SO MUCH, THE RIDES ARE NOT THE SAME WITH OUT YOU, PAPI.
( LOL !!!! )
eddieboyinla09.7.08 - 9:57 pm
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The bike rides great and is too ugly to steal. I chased Sean Penn on it all day and it served me well.
stillline09.8.08 - 12:23 am
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Also collected about 20 blank cab receipts so i can get "reimbursed" for the cost of the bike and the cost to ship it home.
stillline09.8.08 - 12:25 am
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The naysayers be damned!
Building your own fixed is the way to go!
You have got to bring that bike back to LA.
Post some pics when you have a chance too.
skd09.8.08 - 12:29 am
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@stillline
Unfortunately, not.
I do know that Swift takes alot of things up, then out of there.
But, that won't do any good until December when I get back with them.
bentstrider09.8.08 - 12:34 am
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This one wass a pain to get but getting it means i get to keep my job. Hooray! Kill me now please.
stillline09.8.08 - 12:49 am
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Dude that is the money shot! Ha!
Hey you have keep your job so you can pay rent and build more bikes.
So keep up the good work.
skd09.8.08 - 12:52 am
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Matt, you never fail to amuse me.
She's smokin', whoever she is.
bentstrider09.8.08 - 12:54 am
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Her name is Jennifer Aniston, she use to be Brad Pitts girlfriend. She was one of the stars of the TV show friends.
Oh shit, I know too much....
forget it.
skd09.8.08 - 2:05 am
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I was being an ass in the above post,
anyone who hasn't been under a rock for the past 20 years knows that fine face anywhere.
bentstrider09.8.08 - 2:07 am
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The worst part is that my company is more than happy to pay $500 in cab receipts for the week to all the photographers but they won't reimburse me the $149 for the bike i bought which saves them all the cab fare.
Luckily blank cab receipts are easy to come by :)
stillline09.8.08 - 8:40 am
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My boss just told me I can go home on wednesday morning. The festival is really slow this year and they are gonna drop their coverage for the rest of the week. YAY!!!!!!
If it is at all possible I will come to the Mosey that night.
once again YAY!!!!!!!!
stillline09.8.08 - 1:32 pm
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Woo hoo! Chinatown Mosey!
skd09.8.08 - 3:12 pm
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I THOUGHT YOU WAS GONE FOR THREE WEEKS?
THE SOONER YOU GET HOME THE BETTER.
HURRY UP FUCKER.
eddieboyinla09.8.08 - 3:16 pm
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I'd actually be interested to see if you could disassemble the bike and fit it in a large suitcase. My big-ass cruiser is too big for that, but your little fixie... (ok, fine, I'm mostly just too lazy to try, myself).
VioletMoodSwings09.8.08 - 10:32 pm
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WOOOOOOOO YOU'LL BE HERE FOR MY BIRFDAY
imachynna09.8.08 - 11:02 pm
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Why on earth would you want to leave Toronto early?! That's crazy talk, I tell you! Crazy talk!
canadienne09.8.08 - 11:35 pm
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Holy Shit! Air Canada just told me I can bring my bike on theplane for $50. What a deal. All you have to do is remove the pedals and turn the bars 90 degrees.
stillline09.9.08 - 11:52 am
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whoa whoa whoa wait a minute... are you serious???!!! wait, like actually bring it in the cabin?? cuz i would NOT trust them to put it with the cargo...
canadienne09.9.08 - 12:37 pm
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The put it in a plastic bag and toss it on with the cargo. What could go wrong?
stillline09.9.08 - 2:19 pm
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