If you're reading this post, then there's a good chance you have an interest in using your bike for transportation in Calgary. Maybe you have some opinions about the state of city in regards to how easy or difficult it is to get around. Maybe you even have some ideas on how to make things better for other cyclists, and get more of us on the street.

Well here's a chance to get involved! BikeCalgary is holding its first Annual General Meeting on Thursday, October 2nd at 19:00, at the Calgary Area Outdoor Council (aka the old firehall) at 1111 Memorial Drive NW, on the west side of the Louise Bridge over the Bow River.

BikeCalgary initially formed about three years ago to push for more cycling infrastructure in Calgary. The groups is focused on creating a 'bicycle culture' in Calgary as opposed to a 'pathway culture'. The group was comprised of representatives from all of the major cycling groups in Calgary, plus a few dedicated independent individuals. Over the past couple of years, the group has provided input on all of the City's infrastructure initiatives and has worked with key players on several other issues.

One of the first actions of the group was to establish this website, which has slowly become the primary forum for discussions of transportation-cycling issues in Calgary. There are nearly 700 registered users now, with many more 'lurkers' reading in the background.

OpenStreetMap (http://www.openstreetmap.org) is a community project to create and make available street maps, similar to those on Google Maps. The main difference is the licensing conditions attached to the maps/geodata.

With Google Maps (and most other providers) you are only allowed to view the maps for personal pleasure unless you pay additional licensing fees. With OpenStreetMap the maps/geodata are licensed with a Creative Commons license (CC-SA 2.0) which encourages the sharing and improvement of the data.

BikeCalgary's 1st annual Bike Shorts film festival was a fun-filled event for the 150 people who showed up at the Dutton Theatre in the Central Library to watch 23 short films about people and their love for bikes.

Originally announced here, and widely promoted throughout the city and in many bike stores, the event drew more participants than initially expected. The moviegoers watched a variety of humourous, sad, scary and otherwise entertaining films from across Canada, the US and Europe.

Alderman Brian Pincott, himself a regular cycle commuter, was on hand to act as master of ceremonies. He was supported by City staff from the Transportation Solutions group, who were clearly delighted to see that their efforts seem to be appreciated by many.

During the intermission, Ald. Pincott handed out a good collection of door prizes generously donated by Mountain Equipment Co-op. Many local bike shops (see the poster for the list) had also already assisted with the festival by agreeing to sell tickets to the event (continues).

hello happy pedal people

have a look at this website - http://www.streetfilms.org/ - it is full of great stories about individuals, organizations and cities taking back the streets from the madness of car culture.

I don't get it. Yesterday I was riding home and some guy passed me going the opposite direction and shouted something out his window. I'm only reasonably sure it was me he was shouting at because the one word I could hear was 'bike'...

So, my main reason for starting to bike commute had more to do with health than saving money. But being the pragmatic guy I am, I can't make a choice without considering the pros and cons of the whole affair. In the end the list of cons was only a few points: weather, safety, and time. The pros was a list longer than my arm with health (mental and physical) and saving money at the top. I have been going to a gym daily for more than a year, but the biking will bring it up to the next level.

The Calgary Stampede made has made an effort to introduce better and more visible bike parking during the ten days of Stampede this year.

Unfortunately they'll likely revert to their standard "tiny racks in hidden places" again as soon as Stampede is over.

Mike

Back in June bikecalgary.org hit a small milestone, with the arrival of the 500th registered user. Along with the many of you that visit this site as unregistered lurkers, we're now the central place in Calgary to discuss cycling and commuting issues. Thank you for helping to make that happen!

An event like this calls for a party - and one is coming in early September. Details will follow soon. In the meanhwile, spread the word to your friends, and perhaps we can celebrate the number 1000 by then.

cheers
ride

Ryan Correy has become the youngest Canadian ever to complete the Race Across America (RAAM), completing the 4800km course in 11 days, 21:44. Saddle sores indeed!

Bow Cycle is hosting a special homecoming for Ryan this Saturday night, June 27th, at 19:00-21:30. It's a fund-raising event (entry by donation only) to support Ryan's friend Jay - recently paralysed in a mountain bike accident.

Crazy Biker Chick, who lives in Toronto and commutes by bike, has written an open letter to angry motorists, a missive to people who don't understand why bikes are on the streets. If you're an angry Calgarian motorist, there might be something in there for you as well.