Have you ever found yourself in flow, so engrossed in an activity that you completely lose track of time? That's how I've felt as a volunteer in this organisation. It's hard to believe it's coming up on three years since a group of cyclists gathered to hear Dave Meslin talk about the idea of a Toronto Cyclists Union. Three years later, we have three staff, a thriving partnership with CultureLink Settlement services (have you seen our handbooks?), influential Ward Advocacy Groups, and we'll soon to celebrate our 1000th member. The success of the Toronto Cyclists Union can be attributed to our members and volunteers. We've reached nearly 1000 members by people who have in good faith supported the idea of a bike union - thank you!

Your board of directors humbly accepts the responsibility you have bestowed upon us. We recognize the gifts of time and money that have been provided to the bike union. In the next few months we will be renewing our strategic plan (hard to believe we are coming up on two years since our first strategic plan). In the meantime our staff work tirelessly developing Ward Advocacy Toolkits, building membership services and keeping politicians accountable to cyclists.

It's a busy time - on top of all that we're getting ready for the election. If mayoral front runners have got you down, remember each councillor gets one vote. Local advocacy makes a difference. A few years ago I looked to New York for inspiration, now I am just looking over the Bloor viaduct. The next sunny day, take a trip there - much improved thanks to Ward 29 advocates.

Many more wins like this are possible when we keep the pressure on our elected officials as a unified, collective voice. Now more than ever we need a bike union. Are you in? I am. It is a pleasure to serve you as president and chair - time flies cause we're having fun building this bike union.

The Ward Advocacy Program is receiving a make-over! Andrea Garcia, our Director of Advocacy and Operations, has been working on ways to improve the program and run it more effectively. A big thank you to the ward groups who have been engaged in this process thus far, including ward group members and city staff! Andrea has also been looking at other models for neighbourhood-based advocacy which is informing this process as well. Some of the changes that will take place for the Ward Advocacy Program include better communications tools for the ward groups and increased support from the bike union. This process is on-going and the bike union hopes to relaunch the Ward Advocacy Program towards the end of the summer. Moving forward, we will be featuring one ward advocacy group per newsletter. If you're interested in joining a ward group or starting one up, please contact Andrea via e-mail at andrea.garcia@bikeunion.to or via phone at 416-644-7188 ext. 2.

Click here to continue reading about recent advocacy news

Next time you find yourself idling away at a red light, take a look waaaay down! Do you see those three white dots? Roll your tires or stomp on them and the light will soon turn green. These bicycle-sensitive detectors began to be implemented in 1995, when the Transportation Department realized that these embedded detectors at 'semi-actuated lights' were not able to pick up on the weight of a bicycle. This forced cyclists to either wait for a motor vehicle to arrive in order to actuate the detector, or to dismount and press the pedestrian push button. The majority of cyclists are unaware of this, and for good reason: three dots representing bike infrastructure is hardly intuitive. The City is interested in improving this system. As part of our 311 Good Roads Campaign, we encourage you to call or email the City to request something better! Find out more about our campaign, and more about the City's 311 Hot Line.

The Daye.com, July 8th - Better Bike Lanes On The Bloor St. Viaduct. "This is one small step for cyclists everywhere, and a giant leap for the Toronto Cycling Network!" Luke Siragusa, Ward 29 Bikes

StreetFilms.com, July 15th - Cycling Copenhagen, Through North American Eyes. This is an inspiring, must-see video!! Amazing what is possible with political will!

CP24.com, July 19th — Work underway to add bike lanes to Jarvis. "Yvonne Bambrick of the Toronto Cyclists Union says only the most brave have cycled down the major street, and dedicated lanes will let cyclists use the roadway like other taxpayers."

NOW Toronto, Aug 5th - Bixi or bust: Will locals embrace spontaneity and Montreal-style bike sharing?. 'Bambrick remains optimistic. Montreal's initial rollout was 3,000 bicycles, but demand meant that number quickly jumped to 5,000. "It's a starting point, and part of the agreement is that we can expand as demand and sponsorship money allow, without coming back to council," she says.'

City News, Aug 12th - People You Should Know: Yvonne Bambrick Of The Toronto Cyclists Union "The investments required are so minimal," Bambrick said. "Bike infrastructure is the cheapest thing going when it comes to adding capacity to our roadways to move people."

The Toronto Cyclists Handbook is now online for download and is available in English and Arabic, Bengali, Chinese, French, Hindi, Korean, Polish, Portuguese, Punjabi, Russian, Somali, Spanish, Tamil, Tagalog, Urdu and Vietnamese. Visit http://bikeunion.to/partnership to download your preferred language, or visit us at one of our upcoming Bicycle Service Stations to pick up a printed copy in English.

The Partnership for Integration and Sustainable Transportation, through which the Handbook was produced, is a joint initiative of CultureLink Settlement Services and the Toronto Cyclists Union.

Purchase, or renew, a membership in the month of August, and you could win a beautiful custom-painted Dutch bike! Seriously, it's gorgeous. Even the chain guard is handmade. This beauty bike is on display at Modrodes, NW block on Queen & Bathurst. http://bikeunion.to/join

As if that wasn't amazing enough, our friends at Autoshare are throwing in a free membership for their fantastic car-share service! Giveaway party details are in the events section below — mark your calendar for Sept 2nd! This fab giveaway is courtesy of ING Direct and Curbside Cycle! Custom bike painting by Velocolour; The chain guard by Poka Cycle Accessories.

All service stations run from 4 to 7pm — Stop by for a Free Bike Safety check, pick up a 2010 Bike Route Map, a copy of the Toronto Cyclists Handbook, and find out what your bike union is keeping busy with!

Saturday, Sept 11 @ Leslie Spit

Friday, Sept 24 @ Bloor & Spadina

Sunday, Sept 26 @ Pedestrian Sunday in Kensington Market

Several other dates are still being confirmed, so please check back on our site to find out where the Orange BSS tent will be popping up next month!- http://bikeunion.to/campaigns/bicycle-service-station.

Each Bicycle Service Station, made possible through a grant from Live Green Toronto, is presented in collaboration with a local bike shop that contributes bike mechanic services. In addition to raising awareness about the advocacy work, campaigns, and membership benefits of the Toronto Cyclists Union, we will be educating Toronto cyclists about their rights and shared responsibilities via the direct distribution of our Toronto Cyclists Handbook — now available in the top 17 languages spoken in Toronto.

Go to bikeunion.to to check out our redesigned website. The site is now easier to navigate, features more visual content and less clutter thanks to our incredible IT volunteer, Herb van den Dool. A big thanks to Herb for all his hard work! Also, thanks to Alan Dixon for assisting Herb in this process. We hope that the new website will suite all of your needs and help you to stay better connected with the bike union. Take some time to poke around the site and get better acquainted with the new layout! You can also stay in touch with us via Twitter, and Facebook.

Wednesday September 8th, 6pm: Tabling/Outreach Training Night

215 Spadina Ave, Centre for Social Innovation. Optional post-training social/dinner at a venue nearby.

Tabling/Outreach Volunteers: Do you want to volunteer with the bike union? We need some fun, dedicated members like you to hang out and table with us! We're hosting a Tabling Training Night on Sept 1st and we'd love you to come along. This is a great opportunity to find out more about what we're keeping busy with, and key info about the organization. Come meet fellow members, learn the ins and outs of signing up new members, and chatting up the bike union to friends and colleagues — membership is what keeps us growing!

If you'd like to attend, please RSVP to Moe Berrigan: database@bikeunion.to

Check out our great new bike union t-shirts! Handmade and designed by Simon Farla. $20, tax included. Buy one at our next BIKE Drinks event on Thursday September 2nd. See the image at the top of the newsletter for a closer look at all three unique designs.

On April 23, 2010, the Toronto Coalition for Active Transportation organized a Complete Streets Forum at the Fairmont Royal York in Toronto. There were also pre-conference activities on April 22, 2010 at various locations.

The summary report pulls together key highlights and lessons learned over the two days of the Complete Streets Forum. Designed by Fred Sztabinski, it's easy-to-read and beautifully formatted. A PDF version of the report is available. For more information about the, TCAT & Toronto Cyclists Union led Complete Streets campaign, visit http://completestreets.ca/

We're one step closer to seeing public bikes on the streets of Toronto! Mayor David Miller, City Staff, and representatives from the Public Bike System Company (PBSC) last week welcomed ING DIRECT Canada as the primary sponsor for BIXI Toronto, the City's public bike program that is expected to be launched in May 2011. This announcement means we are on track to meet the milestones set for achievement prior to the launch of the program.

The big news is that we still need to sell another 600 annual subscriptions by November in order to meet the 1000 subscription target — without these, there will be no program! This system will dramatically change the face of Toronto's streets and give thousands more Torontonians access tom and an understanding of, bicycle transportation. For less than the cost of a monthly metropass, you can have 24/7, 365days of the year access to a bicycle in the downtown core. When the program begins, Torontonians and visitors will have access to 1,000 bicycles via 80 fully automated and conveniently located BIXI stations in the downtown area during the first year of operation. This initial service delivery area is only the beginning, the program can be expanded as demand/sponsorship allows. For more information, and to subscribe, please visit http://www.toronto.bixi.com/.

The Queens Quay revitalisation process continues with construction expected to start in early 2011. The new plan will make for some big changes. Section one is between Spadina and Bay. Here cars will be restricted to the north side of the streetcar tracks and the south side will include a promenade and a new section of the Martin Goodman Trail. Completing the MGT is a priority for cyclists. Unfortunately there is only funding for about 800m of the 1360m length.

All three levels of government have been providing funding for Waterfront Toronto projects. This one will need about $20M more. If they could be convinced to fully fund this project then cyclists will have a more continuous bikeway along the waterfront. If you are interested to find out how you can help, please email info@bikeunion.to.

Clay McFayden is the Toronto Cyclists Union representative on the Queens Quay working group, which has monthly meetings. More public meetings are planned.

The award-winning Bike Train Initiative is once again expanding service with new routes to Muskoka. Cyclists can board the Ontario Northlander train in Toronto and travel to Gravenhurst, Huntsville, South River and North Bay with their bikes securely stowed in a baggage car. Welcome activities are planned for passengers and local volunteer cyclists will be leading group rides throughout the region.

The Toronto Cyclists Union is pleased to announce an ongoing partnership in which members receive $10 off the return fare on all Ontario North Bike Trains. Tickets must be purchased over the phone - mention the bike union to receive the discount.

August 27-29 — Gravenhurst & Bracebridge, $85 adult return September 17-19 — Huntsville/Lake of Bays, $97 adult return September 24-26 - North Bay and South River, $142 adult return

Visit www.biketrain.ca/toronto-cyclists-union or call our office at 1-866-333-4491.

BICYCLE -The Bike Initiative of the Cabbagetown Youth Center - is expanding its volunteer base. We're looking for bicycle mechanics to assist in rebuilding new and vintage bicycles and in teaching youth basic repair skills.

CYC is one of the three organizations that received bicycles from the Ministry of the Attorney General, under the Civil Remedies Act, from the Igor Kenk case. We have close to a thousand bicycles that all require unique repair, rebuilding and care. Each of these bicycles, once repaired, will be returned to the youth in the community who would not otherwise have the opportunity to own a bike.

Our present volunteer group is broadly representative of the GTA bike community and industry. We have cleaned, organized, and built a dedicated training and repair workshop that is a joy to work in. A good collection of parts and tools are now available to bring these bicycles back to life. However, we need more mechanics! Join us on Tuesday and Thursday evenings from 5:30 p.m. to 9:30 p.m., and Sundays from 11 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. or send us an email at info@cycbikes.org.

September 2, 7:00pm — Bike Giveaway at 7:30pm sharp! Drake Hotel, 1150 Queen St. West

Join us for the last big Bike Party of the summer!! We're combining our monthly BIKE Drinks social with our Dutch Bike Giveaway, following which, we'll be joining the Deadly Nightshades & the Momentum Magazine crew for their cross-Canada BikeStyle Tour as it kicks off in Toronto! Further details here.

Saturday September 11th, 2010

With assistance from the bike union/Culturelink, Partnership for Integration & Sustainable Transportation, this event marks the launch of CultureLink's "bike host" program to match newcomers with community volunteers for friendship and support. This event is open to newcomers and established residents.

Bring your own bike if you have one. Bikes are also available for rent on Centre Island. Some subsidies for ferry tickets and bike rentals are available. Bring picnic food and beverages for yourself, and to share if you like.

Meet at the Island Ferry docks, 1:30pm. The group returns to the mainland by 9pm. (You may leave anytime). In case of rain, we will reschedule to Saturday September 18th. SPACE IS LIMITED. REGISTER EARLY! Contact Barbora at bgomezova@culturelink.net, 416-588-6288 x210 For more information: http://bikeunion.to/partnership or http://welcomingcommunity.ca

Burlington, ON

September 20 - 21

Come learn how to advocate for a better cycling in your community, and network with other bike advocates from around the world. Find out more here: www.sharetheroad.ca/

Toronto Board of Trade, 77 Adelaide Street West Entrance

September 21, 7:30 am - 9am

$65.00 - $85.00

As part of the Toronto Board of Trade's Infrastructure Series, join Portland Mayor Sam Adams as he speaks about Portland's successes and how municipal regions can capitalize on green transportation and planning. Register here.