If you live in the student ghetto below College Street, you may have noticed a new bicycle-themed cafe in the neighbourhood. Located on Cecil street, just east of Spadina and a short hop away from campus, Sonic Cafe has added a burst of bright, spray-painted colour to the street since it opened this winter. And now that spring has finally arrived, Sonic Cafe is ready to launch into full gear.

Owner Anthony D’Arcy created Sonic as a stop for cyclists to come in and tune-up their bikes. The cafe, which is loosely affiliated with Toronto DIY cyclist groups Bike Chain, Bike Pirates, and Bikesauce, will hold a repair stand and tools for tune-ups on its front patio by April .

Not only is Sonic’s coffee organic and fair-trade, it’s environmentally friendly, too. Most local bean roasters emit a highly carcinogenic product, roasting their beans in residential areas with no emissions standard. Sonic is different. “We get our beans from this old Italian fellow who was an engineer before he entered his family’s coffee business. He built this absolutely amazing roaster. It’s highly efficient and has controls that you don’t see in a local roaster. You end up with a bean that is organically grown, fairly traded, and environmentally roasted,” says D’Arcy.

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Lead character "B" (Bobby Del Rio). Image from tiff.net

Written & Directed by: Mio Adilman
Starring: Bobby Del Rio, Jean Yoon, Paul Hyung Sun Lee

“Unlocked” is a dramatic comedy about an average, but nice guy named “B” who is trying to get his life back together after some not-so-happy experiences. However, he has to overcome many obstacles throughout his journey into living and rebuilding a normal life.

This film highlights the difficulties downtown Toronto cyclists face with other fellow cyclists, as opposed to the cars versus bikes dilemma we’re all aware of. It just shows how much integrity and tenacity it takes to be a long-term cyclist. It’s not just about riding a bike in your neighbourhood or park just for fun; neither is cycling simply just a mode of transportation. It is, rather, a type of lifestyle for many in Toronto and especially around the U of T campus.

This film is fun, funny, witty, and even a little bit spiritual, although some may disagree. (more…)

Earthcycle, also known as Environment Week, is coming up at U of T from September 21st to 26th. With over 25 things to see and do — all incorporating the theme of climate change and the environment — you might get overwhelmed with what you want to check out. Here are some of blogUT’s event picks for Earthcycle.

Workshops and Tours

Container Gardening Workshop
Thursday Sept. 24 from 1pm – 3pm @ International Student Centre Veranda

Learn about city gardening – grow your own food

Trinity College Green Roof Tour & Lunch
Wednesday Sept. 23 from 12pm – 2 pm @ St. Hilda’s College Residence

Students from Trinity College, the first University of Toronto signatory to the Presidents’ Climate Change Initiative, will provide a tour of their green roof and free lunch to visitors.

Food

Hot Yam vegan lunch
Thursday Sept. 24 from 12pm – 2 pm @ International Student Centre, Baldwin Room

A $4 vegan lunch by the Hot Yam! — a healthy environmental alternative to fast food and animal products.
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Summer has almost arrived. It’s a bit indecisive as to whether or not it’s completely here, but the foot is definitely in the door. And with that, we expect sunny days, warm weather, beaches, and of course, cruising on your bicycles. I love riding my bike. Aside from the obvious fact that biking is sexy, it’s also very convenient and it just feels great.

But, “Wait,” you say, “what if I don’t have a bike?” “Ah ha!” I would answer, “that’s were BikeChain comes in to save the day!”. You may have noticed the row of yellow bikes parked on the west side of St. George street near College. They used to belong to the now defunct Bike Share. Yes, it’s sad that Bike Share is no longer running; however, be happy that BikeChain will now lend you bikes for FREE!

Come in to BikeChain during operating hours with your T-Card and one other piece of ID. Leave a refundable $25 deposit and you’ve got a single-speed, coaster-brake bike for two business days! It’s as simple as that!

I took one of the bikes out for a ride and it rode very smoothly. The only thing to watch out for is they’re all single-speed bikes with back-pedal brakes, which may take some getting used to if you haven’t ridden one before.

Bikechain
International Student Centre (Basement), 33 St. George
Monday-Tuesday: 11:30 AM to 4:30 PM
Wednesday-Friday: 12 to 5 PM

Image from Wikipedia

So, summer is fast approaching and you’re probably thinking, “Hey, I should really do something active.” Good thinking! But what sort of sport should you participate in? Well, BikeChain would like to invite you to consider bike polo! Yes, it’s exactly what it sounds like. Imagine polo, minus the horses, and insert the bikes where the horses used to be, and voila: bike polo.

Below are the listed requirements for participation:
- Access to a road or track bike
- Excellent riding and balancing skills
- An interest in organized bike polo competition

So, if you satisfy those requirements, then head over to the first BikeChain bike polo team practice this Saturday.

When: Saturday, May 10th, 2008. 2pm – 5pm
Where: Meet outside BikeChain – 33 St. George St
Details: Bring a bike. They’ve got the mallets. Don’t bring a horse. I repeat, don’t bring a horse.

It’s the new year and practically everyone has a made a resolution to get fit. Well, Hart House might have the perfect thing to get you in shape – Cycle Fit! And for the next two weeks you can try it for free. Cycle Fit is essentially the same thing as Spinning, a work-out craze created in the 1980s by Schwinn and ultra-endurance athlete, Jonathan Goldberg. This awesome workout can have you burning up to 500 calories in a 40minute ride.

So if this sounds intriguing to you, then sign up for a TRY-ME orientation class. They are happening between January 7th and 17th. Check out the schedule (pdf file) for more details and visit the Membership Services Office in Hart House to reserve your spot.

We here at BlogUT are dependable admirers of cycling. Not only is it an enjoyable way to get exercise while traveling across the city, but it’s also a real step towards reducing our environmental footprints (and hey, it’s just plain sexy).

Stationary exercise bikes have always seemed agonizing to us (or at least for this BlogUTer), only because there is such a huge amount of wasted energy (you know, the bike doesn’t move).

Welobike, a Toronto organization, is remedying this issue with the introduction of their energy-harvesting bike. The prototype is a basic home exercise bike rigged up to a generator (made from a car alternator). The bike has the potential of generating 50 W of electricity per hour from pedaling and stores the clean green energy into an array of car batteries. The $1000 prototype was designed by Jerid LeClair of NBSInnovativeSolutions.com, but will cost much less once the bikes actually start being sold.

At their benefit concert tonight at the Annex Wreckroom, Welobike hopes to raise enough money to purchase these bikes to donate to The Gateway Homeless Shelter, who they are partnering up with for the event. The bikes will serve to light up some of their rooms on a continuous basis.

The concert will be hosted by local emcee Ill Seer, and will feature various genres of music, including folk-rock singer Julia Churchill, indie sensation Elephant and soulful hiphop by The Runaway.

Volunteers are still needed for tonight. For more information, contact info@welobike.com.

When: Tonight, 8 p.m.
Where: Annex Wreckroom
Details: $10 if you contact info@welobike.com in advance or $15 at the door. Check out their Facebook event page for more information.