MUSIC: Torontonian electro-soul group Pants and Tie are celebrating the release of their new single, "Washing Machine," with a party tonight at Sneaky Dee's. The single, mixed by Dale Morningstar, will be available on both CD and vinyl at the show. Pants and Tie will be performing (obviously), accompanied by musical sets from the Pink Noise and Slow Hand Motem, and a DJ set from DVAS. Sneaky Dee's (431 College Street), 9 p.m., $5.......

Photo by Marc Lostracco from the Torontoist Flickr Pool. When Paris opened the Vélib bike sharing program, it changed the mentality of drivers overnight when they were forced to adjust to an additional 10,000 bikes suddenly sharing the road. Likewise, non-cyclists could now see cycling as safe enough to be a viable mass transit option, and the huge number of available bikes and station-hubs densely dotting the city ensured there would always be a......

The more people who bike, the safer each biker is. So says ScienceDaily, citing studies done throughout Europe and California, and experts like Dr. Julie Hatfield from the University of New South Wales, who says that "the likelihood that an individual cyclist will be struck by a motorist falls with increasing rate of bicycling in a community. And the safer cycling is perceived to be, the more people are prepared to cycle." Dr. Chris Rissel......

WORDS: Join the Toronto Cyclists Union at CineCycle tonight for the launch party of Dandyhorse, a new Toronto-based urban cycling magazine. The magazine will feature articles about commuting, advocacy, couriers, safety, fashion, and anything else related to bikes, and the party will have DJs, a cash bar, cake, and—of course—lots of brand new magazines. CineCycle (behind 129 Spadina Avenue), 7:30 p.m., $5. MUSIC: Tonight's edition of the No Shame music series should be pretty......

For the last few weeks of the summer, Torontoist is investigating ideas that we could benefit from pillaging from others. Last week we looked at Madrid's integration of public libraries and public transit, as well as their insistence on keeping a more humane schedule for workers. This week, we'll examine Amsterdam's method of accommodating—and legitimizing—different modes of transportation within their small city grid. Amsterdam pulls off small, quaint, and charming without being sleepy or provincial.......

While BikeShare struggles to re-open its popular program, city hall may beat them to the punch. Yesterday, the Star discussed a new bike rental program modeled after those which are ''tried and proven around the world.'' Programs such as Paris's Velib and Barcelona's Bicing have been successful, and many other cities from Denver to D.C. are implementing similar ones. However, Toronto's concerns about its tourism industry may be the driving force behind the move. "There's......

The New York Times has gotten around to writing about Igor Kenk; an article by Ian Austen will appear on page A7 in Friday's paper, and at 1100+ words, it's apparently the longest article written about Toronto in the Times since that boring travel one in May. We're gonna be world-famous! [via Digg.]......

Toronto Police have just announced that they are opening up their warehouse at 35 Strachan Avenue for seventeen more days in an attempt to get rid of some of the 2,396 bikes still unclaimed after being recovered from various raids of Igor Kenk's many properties last month. The warehouse will be open on Thursday, August 21 and Friday, August 22 from noon to 8 p.m.; Saturday, August 23 and Sunday, August 24 from 10......

Critical Mass bike rides in cities around the world stir up strong feelings on all sides. Rides in New York have seen arrests and assaults against cyclists, while riders in Seattle have been described as "rampaging." Critical Mass has become a polarizing event and although Toronto's version seems a little less controversial, the trip along the Gardiner Expressway in May was alternately hailed and vilified. Deserved or not, Critical Mass is getting a reputation......

SPORTS: Are you sick of taking your baby or toddler to a sports event and hearing the aggravated spectators around you groan every time your kid cries? The Rogers Centre sympathizes, which is why today is their monthly Babies at the Ballpark Blue Jays game. Parents with young children can buy discounted tickets and sit together in a special 200 level section. Diapers and wipes will be available at no extra cost, and there......

Once a week, Vandalist features the best street art and graffiti from around Toronto. You should contribute. Artists UnknownON IGOR KENK'S BICYCLE CLINICPHOTOS BY ZUKEEPER......

People are scamming the city's parking machines to the tune of $1 million per year. Apparently you can use an expired pre-paid credit card to park for free because the machines don't check to see if the cards have credit left on them. The Toronto Parking Authority has known about this since 1998, but hasn't done anything because what the hell—it's only money. Federal industry minister Jim Prentice isn't happy about cellular companies charging......

Sarah Lazarovic—curator of the garage-based Montrose Portrait Gallery of Canada—is painting a portrait of a Torontonian every day. Each Monday, we'll feature one of those portraits here. Suggestions for subjects welcome. Igor Kenk's mug shot revealed him to be an intense and sullen figure. No surprise there. In an Old City Hall courtroom on Friday "the accused face of bicycle theft in Toronto" appeared, weeks after he'd revealed his code to documentarian Lewis Farrell: "The......

Toronto is the second most expensive city in North America and fifty-fourth most expensive city in the world, according to the Mercer's annual cost of living survey. In the worldwide list, Toronto jumped twenty-eight spots and now ranks as more expensive than Los Angeles, a city known for its frugality. How's tourism in Toronto doing? Depends on who you ask: the Globe says it's not going so hot across the board for the big......

If your bike's been stolen in Toronto, there's a chance that it's one of the 150 recovered from a police raid at The Bicycle Clinic (927 Queen Street West) on Thursday night—and that you can get it back this weekend. The day before the raid, police arrested Clinic owner Igor Kenk after (allegedly) watching him tell another man to use a bolt cutter to steal two bikes. (Rumours had been circulating around the Clinic for......

Impending implosion of both economy and environment notwithstanding, tourists are still flocking to Toronto. Toronto Tourism reports that 2008 is shaping up to be another record year for visitors to the town also called Hollywood North, New York Run By The Swiss, Montreal Without The Culture, Seriousville, and the City Most Likely To Be Praised By American Celebrities. TTC fuel costs are set to jump next year when a contract guaranteeing fuel at 87¢/litre......

June's Critical Mass ride this past Friday was a tad less eventful than May's, but that doesn't make the sight of cyclists dominating downtown streets any less spectacular. Two great videos of the ride have popped up: one from RebootYourComputer, and another from Martin Reis.......

Photo by Martin Reis. More are in his Guaranteed Bike Lane set. Sometimes the Internet isn't enough to protect Toronto's bike lanes from the drivers that treat the space between the thick white line and the curb as their territory. Last Thursday, members of Advocacy for Respect for Cyclists (ARC)—Rick Conroy (pictured at left; coordinator of the Toronto Cyclists Union), Derek Chadbourne (at right; owner of the Bike Joint, whose birthday the Gardiner ride......

If you're not getting tickets from the "Safe Cycling" cops this week, spend that extra cash and get them for this week/end's Bicycle Film Festival. Now in its eighth year, the round-the-world celebration of two-wheeled transport careens into Toronto this Wednesday night, June 18, through Saturday, June 21. First up, pedal over to Ourspace/Studio Gallery, 294 College Street, for Bikes Rock, a jams-packed opening bash with local indie-bop headliners—any guesses? Uh-huh—The Bicyles. Also on......

It's halfway into Bike Month, and Mother Nature's unpredictable weather has already tempted you to take the TTC. Starting today, ditch the bike for the weekend and take the ferry to Toronto Island instead to watch other people pedal for the 16th annual Cycle Messenger World Championships. Unlike traditional bike tourneys, the various events—including skids, bike jumps, and a cargo race—seem designed to test adrenaline as opposed to endurance. Testing the true skills of......

Further proof of the modesty employed in late 19th century advertising. Call this a prequel to last week's featured ad, as Welland Vale was one of the bicycle manufacturers whose line was amalgamated into CCM later on in the year this was published. Originally a manufacturer of wagon wheels when the company started in the 1860s, Welland Vale also produced hand tools and farm implements. After divesting its bicycle line and the wagon wheel......

Ladies and Gentlemen of Toronto(ist), This posting is to notify you that, as part of bike month, Streets Are For People cordially invites you to a smashing game of polo à la bike, tomorrow evening at 6:30 p.m in Trinity Bellwoods Park. That's right folks, a game of mallets, balls, and two-wheeled horses by the gazebo in the park. Suggested attire is fancy, yet fun—so we say, ladies, lace up your corsets, but eschew......

Who knew that the Gardiner was good for more than traffic jams? Between the Ride For Heart today, and the controversial Critical Mass ride last Friday, Toronto's highways are getting plenty of bike traffic. As cycling continues to grow in popularity, could a bicycle expressway eventually become reality? Illustration by Kevin McBride.......

Photo by TObike from the Torontoist Flickr Pool. It's been a busy day for the Gardiner. First, Waterfront Toronto announced plans to dismantle a section of the expressway from Jarvis to the Don Valley Parkway, with David Miller formally scrapping the planned Front Street Extension. And then, late Friday afternoon, more than two hundred cyclists rolled up the Jarvis Street ramp to slowly and steadily (and illegally) take the entire westbound expressway over. The......

This week marks the official start of Bike Month in Toronto, which provides an opportunity to look at how cycles were marketed a century ago. For a decade on either side of the turn of the 20th century, bicycle manufacturers maintained an advertising presence in city newspapers similar to current automakers. Pitches ranged from elegant vehicle styling to thrift, as this attack on tossing your money away on money-grubbing public transit systems demonstrates. The......

We don't know what exactly spawned their big decision, but the big guys at the Toronto Cyclists Union sat down and decided they needed some kind of fundraiser. Bike-a-thon? Nope. Bikini car wash? Nope. Star-studded screening of Pee-wee's Big Adventure? Why not?! Love it or hate it, your childhood favourite (or most hated) flick will be showing at the Bloor Cinema, with homegrown indie darlings performing—Kevin Drew and Joel Gibb will be playing alongside......

Photo by Lex in the City. With Bike Month on the horizon and a newly launched advocacy group, cycling in Toronto is undergoing a renaissance (as Val Dodge put it earlier this week). The attention is well-deserved: cycling is one of the most healthy and environmentally conscious methods of commuting. The joys are eloquently captured by Ryerson prof Bill Reynolds in the most recent issue of The Walrus. By listing the hazards of urban......

After months of quiet preparation, Toronto's very own Bike Union officially launched at City Hall yesterday morning. Modelled after successful cycling advocacy groups in Chicago, London, and elsewhere, the Toronto Cyclists Union is already a big name in the city's cycling community. One of the Union's primary activities will be advocating for cyclists at City Hall, but organizers have much bigger plans. July will see the debut of Dandyhorse, a thrice-yearly magazine about bike culture......

Photo of Shamez Amlani by Yvonne Bambrick. Restaurateur, bike activist, and petanque enthusiast, Shamez Amlani is the most recognizable member of Streets are for People!, the organizing force behind Pedestrian Sundays Kensington. Amlani is a seriously playful advocate for car-free attitudes. Since the group's first parking meter party in 2002, Pedestrian Sundays and other car-free statements have become a downtown tradition. Torontoist spoke with Amlani over an espresso at La Palette, the French bistro......

Have you ever cycled along the Pickering and Ajax waterfronts? You should. It's one of the best recreational bike rides in the GTA with beautiful scenery and mostly-flat trails, but presents Toronto cyclists with a big problem: how to get there. Because the Waterfront Trail all but disappears through most of Scarborough, you're stuck with either riding the long, miserable route along Kingston Road and Lawrence Avenue to get to Pickering or driving your......