One week and one day until the first BikeFriday... are you getting excited yet?
BikeFriday Schedule (so far):
8:00 AM - Morning Group Commute
8:00 - 9:30 AM - Bikers Breakfast at Grassroots on Danforth
6:00 PM - Critical Mass Toronto
Route News
- We still need contact people for the Bloor-HighPark and Yonge-Lawrence Rides. If you're planning on taking part in one of these rides, give us a shout at bikefriday@bikingtoronto.com. Being a contact person is very easy... if you have a cell phone, that will help immensely too.
- Our first new submitted route is ... in York Region! It's fortunate that we're not snobby downtown cyclists, and welcome the brave souls that bike on the wide fast streets of suburbia. Andrew of the MonkeyMartian website has offered to lead up a group commute going from Richmond Hill to Markham (from Yonge & Major Mackenzie to Hwy#7 & Warden). Andrew has been nice enough to map out the route too, which is available on BikeFriday website.
- Other routes are in the works... I'll update the BikeFriday site as they are added. :)
Media Coverage
The Toronto Star - I talked to Kevin McGran of the Toronto Star yesterday. It looks like there may be a Star article about BikeFriday in Thursday's (the 24th) paper, complete with a photo of me. If I can get some notice on the photoshoot, I think it may be a bigger eye-catcher for Star readers to have a group of cyclists in a photo accompanying the article - since BikeFriday is all about "safety in numbers" and celebrating more and more cyclists on Toronto's streets.
Let me know if you want your photo in the paper, and if I can get some notice of the photoshoot, I'll send you the details. :)
BlogTO - This well-known website of all things Toronto posted about BikeFriday yesterday.
Spacing - I have heard from my sources (and I only reveal my sources if given enough alcohol...) that a BikeFriday post is planned for the Spacing Wire.
Well-Known Participants
I've emailed the Mayor and all the City Councillors (yeah, even the ones who aren't very bike-friendly... they'll convert eventually... haha) to let them know about BikeFriday and that they are welcome to commute with the people they represent.
Much credit goes to the following two people at City Hall, who are the only respondents so far:
Mayor Miller - while the BikeFriday of August 25th is too soon for his packed schedule, he'd like to participate in a future one. David didn't reply personally, but I know from past experience that it's a good thing to get a response from his office. He has, however, sent us his best wishes for a successful event and that he fully supports bike-friendly initiatives such as BikeFriday.
Adam Giambrone - Adam replied to us personally (which is rare for city councillors), and while he too is busy on the 25th, is very supportive of BikeFriday. We suggested it may be cool to have him be at events in his Ward for future BikeFridays, which he seemed to like, so we'll see...
Maybe we can get all the city councillors doing something bike-related on every BikeFriday...
If you want to email your city councillor about BikeFriday, you can find their contact information on the city website.
What You Can Do
Here's some ideas for you to take part in and maybe spread the word about BikeFriday:
1. Take Part - come on out and enjoy your bike every BikeFriday!
2. Commute - Join a ride or start a ride - it doesn't have to go downtown... not everyone works downtown, after all.
3. Tell Your Friends - Even if they don't bike presently... they may be thinking about it.
4. Add Events - Know of a bike-related event happening on a BikeFriday? Let us know - we'll add it to the schedule.
5. Share Ideas - Have an idea to make BikeFriday better/stronger/bigger? We'd love to hear from you.
Labels: bikefriday
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