Allies
at the University
These folks are kind of like Bikechain's mom and dad rolled into an awesome group of people who love Mother Earth, which would then be Bikechain's Grandma. Tread lightly on Grandma, or she gonna get some pissed!
The Hot Yam! is the University of Toronto's all-volunteer lunch party! Once a week they cook up a delicious, mostly local, mostly organic and entirely vegan lunch all for a measly $4. They serve lunches from 12-2pm, every Thursday at the Centre for International Experience (33 St. George St). Bikechain often kidnaps the plates Hot Yam needs and hides them all over our shop in anticipation of Easter.
So I can't really find a website for Diabolos, so I assume they're too busy serving awesome coffee and tasty vegan treats to make one happen. Or I'm a goober and just can't find it. Here's an awesome story about Diabolos and Reznikoff (also a cafe on campus, but less awesome).
U of T Environmental Resources Network
UTERN is the University of Toronto’s Environmental Resource Network, an umbrella organization that serves as the meeting point for everyone in the university community concerned about the health of our environment.UTERN receives a 50-cent levy from all undergraduate students totalling more than twenty thousand dollars, almost entirely available to fund student-run environmental projects at U of T.
Like bikes? The UTCC likes bikes. The UTCC organizes rides anywhere from beginner outings
around the city to week-long epic tours in the Canadian countryside. Along with rides the
UTCC organizes workshops to promote cycling self-sufficiency and environmental
sustainability.
The team currently comprises over 50 active members, and hope to attract more for the upcoming race season. Riders range in skill level from beginners who have never competed on a bike to elite athletes who race at the World Cup level.
UTOC offers frequent, inexpensive, weekend and day trips to many parts of Ontario (and beyond), although some trips are longer. The majority of trips accommodate novices and intermediates with a few for the very experienced. The Club stresses physical, outdoor, non-competitive activities such as canoeing, cross-country and downhill skiing, skating, cycling, hiking, camping, and others. Members can be found to participate in just about any type of trip. In addition to trips, the Club also has regular social events in the city. Also, they have a sweet cabin.
The Other Campus
Need a bike? UTM's BikeShare program provides a totally free bicycle renting and repair service to UofT students and faculty. BikeShare started as the only program of its kind in Ontario and is widely recognized all around Canada, and since then has been duplicated many times. The program promotes UTMÕs grow green initiative to preserve the environment by providing students and faculty with a free bicycle rental and repair service.
Just like UTM, UTSC has a bikeshare program too... If you dont know what a bikeshare is, look up to the next paragraph.
DIY (Do-It-Yourself) SPACES
Bike Pirates in an autonomous organization whose mission is to empower cyclists and make bicycles more accessible. Volunteer-run and volunteer-organized, Bike Pirates provides a Do-It-Yourself workspace to the members of the community and supports the concepts of bicycle re-use, collective decision making, and social justice.
Bike Sauce is a DIY bike repair space and community hub. We are open at 717 Queen Street East, around the back. There's an alleyway off of Broadview behind the Real Jerk.
This is a place where you can fix your bicycle using our tools and recycled or new parts. If you dont know how to fix it, our volunteers will be there to help you. It is also a social space where you can come and meet with your neighbours and figure out how to improve our city.
CBN is a non-profit that repairs bikes, refurbishes and sells donated bicycles, sells new and used parts, rents trailers and bikes at affordable rates, and offer space to practice and learn bike mechanics and cycling skills.
The folks at Biketoons are passionate about helping people learn how to maintain and repair their own bikes, and this begins with the level of knowledge each person brings to the shop. Biketoons also does repair service and sells used bikes.
ADVOCATES
The Toronto Cyclists Union provides a strong, unified voice for Toronto cyclists.We are a membership-based organization bringing together cyclists from all across Toronto. Cyclists like you: Join us to help strengthen our collective voice. Our work is almost entirely funded through membership contributions.
We work together with citizens, community groups, bike shops and the City towards the common goals of ensuring that cycling is a legitimate, accessible, and safe means of transportation.
Toronto Coalition for Active Transportation
The Toronto Coalition for Active Transportation (TCAT) was formed in 2006 to give a unified voice to the many groups working for a better cycling and pedestrian environment in Toronto.The Toronto Coalition for Active Transportation (TCAT) works to create a better city for cycling and walking.
Advocacy for Respect for Cyclists
ARC (Advocacy for Respect for Cyclists) is a group which formalizes the principle of cyclists standing up for each other. ARC was formed in August 1996 as a community response to a particularly brutal two weeks which saw two cyclists killed by trucks and another two arrested on a Critical Mass ride.
Initially formed to lobby for a coroner’s inquest and to help in the arrestees’defense, ARC has since expanded to provide support and legal advice to cyclists involved in accidents, to educate on cyclists’rights, and to hold direct actions aimed at changing society’s dependence on the automobile.
SHOPS
We do not judge you by the bike you ride. We treat the $35 beater the same way as the $3500 road bike. The important thing is that you receive quality service at a fair parice. That you are treated with the respect and are happy with the work done.
That's the Bike Joint philosophy ( I copied it word for word from the website). They're a great shop, filled with people who are community minded and mindful. Also, they've given us swag for prizes! Awesome!
At the south end of Kensington Market (#19 Kensington even!), you find Red Arrow. Rebuilding, recycling and reshaping to make it all work again, Shannen Leslie has the devotion and know-how to make an old bike work like new.
For sales or service, or question about obscure thingies and funny shaped bits, go see Red Arrow.
Today Curbside is having a whole lot of fun. We carry fun commuter bikes, fun recreational bikes, and even some fun performance bikes. We’re all about bikes for everyone. But we just aren't about bikes either. We have always had an eye for good design, from our Biomega shaft drive bikes to our Moulton folding bikes. We think the best kind of commuter bike crosses over into all aspects of ones life, just like a good bag, or a good bottle, so we started carrying exclusive lines like SIGG, Chrome and Freitag, stuff that you can’t find anywhere else, just like a lot of bikes we carry!
Bikes on Wheels was founded decades ago, emerging out of Toronto’s need for a centrally located bike shop accessible to cross-town commuters and velocipedal core-dwellers. Located in Kensington Market, the shop has absorbed many of the area’s unique flavour and fits in quite well with its eccentric surroundings. However we do not and never will sell nor service bongo drums, though local demand is remarkably high.
We are a worker cooperative bicycle shop dedicated to servicing people like ourselves – daily commuters – the non-lingo, plain talking individuals who use their bikes to get around.
They also have bikes to haul cargo, folders, touring gear, and fixed gear components. There is also offer a *10%* student discount with photo id.
MEC (Mountain Equipment Co-op)
Directed by the members, MEC fulfills its core purpose – to help people enjoy the benefits of self-propelled wilderness-oriented recreation. We do that by selling outdoor gear, clothing, and services.
THE CITY
The City of Toronto's cycling pages are surprisingly excellent, bike lanes notwithstanding. Also, having spoken with lots of people from smaller cities, our city rocks to bike around in. Drivers don't throw crap at you!
