story

love from afar

The other day I saw her. On her bike, a beautiful Opus Zermatt, one of many bikes I’ve been admiring for weeks. This Opus has elegant shapes and lines, brown handles and seat, with everything you’d want in a city bike, except a chain guard, and it is the colour of a spring meadow in…
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until you don’t!

That moment when you get to where you parked your bike, and you find not a coffee cup in your basket, or a bell or a seat missing, or a nasty note attached. No, you find just an empty pole. You wonder at first, as one does, whether you forgot you parked it somewhere else….
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rolling again!

Rode to work today. Yes, on my bike. That I fixed. By myself. I rode gingerly. Afraid to go over bumps, afraid to change gears. This morning I finally had that thank you meal with R – you know, the guy who was right about my keys returning once we cut off the lock, …OK, he…
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first attempt

Since my inner tube exploded last week, I’ve been to three different stores to find a replacement tube and tire close enough to what I want. Most stores sell only slickers. That’s no good for the snow riding I plan to do. Tonight I came home equipped with one new mountain bike tire from MEC,…
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on foot

Yesterday, as I was leaving for work, not 20 yards from home I heard a big pop, and a huge shriek. The shriek was me. The pop was my rear tire exploding. My bike is now locked up outside my home with a flat. A truly sad sight. And scary. A slightly wounded bicycle always…
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not a bike thief

Two days ago I locked my bike on queen street and crossed the street to go into a shop. Five minutes later, paying for my merchandise, I noticed my keys missing. I turned my pockets and bags inside out, searched the shop, retraced my steps to my bike, looked under and in things, popped into…
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model citizen

I’m waiting for the green light. There’s a policeman standing under the viaduct ahead on the other side of the intersection, waiting for customers. This corner is a goldmine for infractions. Drivers chasing the light, getting stuck in gridlock because the next traffic light is so close. The length of the turn always underestimated. The police…
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frozen eye lashes

It drizzled all day yesterday. Today the temperature dropped to  -20 degrees. Perfect conditions for a total bike freeze. It took me half an hour to unlock my bike this morning. Already loaded into the baskets were two bags full of clothes for value village, where I was meeting a friend in her neck of…
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