Burrard Bridge VACC opening celebration and cake give away

After a day inside the bike shop I decided to bike along false creek,  and check out the new Burrard Street Bridge bike lane before heading the Bike-In-Movie at the MOV (Museum of Vancouver).

It was an awesome ride across the bridge with a great view of the inlet and plenty of space to safely maneuver my Tree.  It was so enjoyable that I forgot to take a photo while traveling over the bridge.  So once I got to the other side, I had a nice piece of cake from the girls of the VACC.  Then I had to ride over the bridge again, just to get a photo!

Arriving at Vanier Park I ran into David Niddrie, Photo Editor of Momentum Magazine and I joked about having to ride the bridge twice just to get the photo. Apparently I wasn’t the only as David had to travel the bridge twice as well.

Crossing Burrard Bridge on The Tree

We were both there for the Museum of Vancouver Bike-in-Movie, The Triplets of Belleville. It was a somewhat cool and cloudy night on the shores of English Bay, but I was impressed with the large crowd that showed up. Unlike car traffic that can only arrive from the parking lot, people on bikes were coming in from all directions – from the street, the seawall and of course from the Burrard Bridge.

I rented some blanket real estate from the VACC crew and enjoyed the movie. It was pretty awesome art flick with some inside bike jokes I wouldn’t have understood as little as a few months ago. I saw another Tree at the movie, and meant to ask the owner how he enjoyed it, but food had arrived and I was hungry!

Museum of Vancouver Bike in Movie

Another strange occurrence happen when the movie was over and 300+ cyclist left all at once. There wasn’t a huge traffic jam. When I arrived at Burrard and Cypress there were 20 cyclists who were stopped at the light. Could you imagine what that would have been like with car traffic?

So I made my third trip over the bridge in as many hours, and even at this time of night I felt completely comfortable traveling over the bridge and realized how important this was to the future of bike commuting in Vancouver.

When Robert first joined our team, as web designer extraordinaire, in the early summer we knew he was quite the coffee aficionado. But what we grew to learn about coffee and what Robert grew to learn about The Tree had a lot in common with each other.

One day over a couple of americanos Robert and I had this coffee tour idea that was done exclusively by bike. We hit a few coffee shops on Commercial Drive and then take the 10th avenue bike route to Main Street and finish up just off Broadway.

Both Robert and I thought this would be a great way to do some education and advocacy of coffee, showcase some excellent roasters, cool cafes and a great commuter bike.

Will be meeting outside Bikes on the Drive on the morning of Saturday July 11th and if you arrived with a flat will be able to fix any small problems you might have to get the tour underway.

Here are the Details:

The East Van Biking Coffee Tour

Sponsored by: Bikes on the Drive & Vancouver Indy Coffee Scene
Meet: 10:30 am at Bikes on the Drive 1350 Commercial Drive ~ Rain or Shine.
Day: Saturday July 11, 2009
Cost: Your choice of coffee beverage at cafes we will go to.
Distance Travelled: 9.5 kilometers
Finishing around: 2:00 pm give or take time taken at cafes.

Will have some funky door prizes at the last cafe and hope you can attend.

The VACC Ride The Greenway

This weekend was also the official opening of the Central Valley Greenway, which can take riders from New Westminster Quay to Science World.

Tobias had set up a mechanic stand for free checkups and consultation, while I joined the ride from Trout Lake (John Henry Park) to The Winston Overpass near Sperling SkyTrain Station (google map doesn’t show the overpass).

VACC who was coordinating the rides from New Westminster and Trout Lake saw approximately 350 people join us on the rides. I had a awesome chat with a couple of the riders, while we rode to the celebrations, about The Tree and why we made it.

Some common questions we received about The Tree were:

Why did you decided to make it?

We wanted a bike with a higher level of Canadian manufacturing and a more robust bike made for the rigors of our West Coast climate.  We were generally frustrated with the quality and spec of commuter bikes coming from Canadian and other manufacturers.

What makes it so special?

Everything about this bike was selected for durability and serviceability taking into account the wetness of our climate in the fall, winter and spring.  It’s really a win win, the environment wins and so does your pocketbook.

How is this Bike Greener then your average bike?

The powder coating yields less waste, is more durable, and lasts longer. Canadian manufacturing is generally regulated by higher environmental and social standards than China, Taiwan, Vietnam and Mexico.  To top it all off Bikes on the Drive is donating 1% of the sale of the Tree to Canopy, a fabulous environmental organization.

All Bikes can be fixed, so why are the parts important?

We service a ton of bikes each year and we see which parts are lasting through the rigors of year-round Vancouver commuting and which ones are under performing. Sometimes a part, like a hub costs 90 cents more for an upgraded seal and will last several times longer than its cheaper counterpart. Obviously we spent the 90cents.

Not all parts can be easily repaired. Often replacement is the only course of action available should a repair be required.  Using the hub example again, it is not always easy or possible to get new cones for some of the newer hubs that come stock on new bicycles.  We chose a hub for which Shimano has been making the cones for years, the part is wide available and easy to service at virtually any bike shop your touring heart desires.

Mass Arrival

Tobias at the wrench with VACC booth in the background

Although some parts of the trail are still being worked on, I am amazed but the quality of the route that has been made. Giving more people the opportunity to bike to work is one of the best things we can do to affect the sustainability of our city.

Once we had arrived at the BBQ I dropped into to see Tobias was as busy as ever at our Mechanic Stand and one of the largest bike valet set ups I hve ever seen. The BBQ food was awesome.

Such a Grind

After checking in with Tobias I saw the Ethical Bean station at the BBQ and a bike powered, coffee grinder. Yes, a grinder was all peddle power, and while they had some trouble with the brewer (mainly, it was a little over-worked due to the size of the crowds that showed up), the volunteers certainly put in a great deal of highly appreciated effort to get some peddle powered coffee to the weary cyclists.

Bike Powered Coffee Grinder

All in all it was quite a well attended event with well over 1600 people in attendance. And we found this bike route quite a joy to ride and know why it is called a greenway – because of the route being more field than street. Congrats to all who developed this greenway. We at Bikes on the Drive hope it is a sign of many more similar things to come.

Greenway Opening at the Winston Overpass

Fawzia Ahmad of Canopy during the Sunday morning product knowledge session.

We at Bikes on the Drive had a very special event last Sunday, June 20th. Fawzia Ahmad of Canopy (formerly Markets Initiative) came to give a product knowledge session about her organization.
She came in to our regular Sunday staff meeting to talk about the mission of Canopy and how their mission coincides with what we are doing with The Tree.

Canopy has been a driving force in lobbying book, magazine and newspaper publishers to change from paper printed on old growth forest to post consumer paper product. Throughout our product knowledge session we found out that Canopy was behind the Canadian printing of Harry Potter series on Ancient Forest Friendly paper.

What does Harry Potter have to do with The Tree?

Well, we think The Tree is a pretty magical, but really, both are more sustainable products that were designed and implemented to improve and inform consumers of a more sustainable culture. With this being said, Bikes on the Drive is donating a portion of all Tree sales to further Canopy’s mission.

They have also been successful with newspapers too. Just last week The Globe and Mail committed to using Ancient Forest Friendly paper in the printing of their daily newspaper in plants across Canada. With the success of such successful campaigns, Markets Initiative decided to re-brand itself as Canopy and with the new name they decided to hold a bike scavenger hunt, and here are a few details:

The Great Paper Chase

The Great Paper Chase

• has been canceled. We at Bikes on the Drive look forward to the event in 201o

Well when we heard about this the entire staff wanted to drop everything and go!  Unfortunately for some of us we do have to keep the shop open, but we will certainly be sending a team of Tree-wheeling scavengers to take part.

Free for Tree’s

ilan did one better – for anyone who has purchased The Tree this summer, Bikes on the Drive will pay your entry fee to this event. This is our way of saying Thank You for making this first year of The Tree a success.  If you have purchased a Bikes on the Drive Tree from us this summer and you want to attend a scavenger hunt along with a wicked BBQ, here is your chance!

Not wanting to be out done by ilan, Autumn then suggested the staff donate our July tips to Canopy and with a unanimous raising of hands the deal was done. The product knowledge session ended with a round of applause, which by all accounts was a first in the history of our shop.

Test Ride

Fawzia then took out a Tree for a test ride.  She was used to riding an old heavy mountain bike and living in the heights of Burnaby she detested the hills on the ride home. But with one test ride, and a couple of hills under her belt, she liked our bike and decided to purchase one herself! She has been biking to work ever since.

We will be working more with Canopy in the months and years to come and we hope it fits as well as the Brookes saddle Fawzia likes so much.

Fawzia Ahmad with her Bikes on the Drive Tree

You can read more about Fawzia’s little investment on the Canopy blog. Here is a excerpt.

I became aware of Bikes on the Drive’s new creation – The Tree – for some time now.  The first time I saw it in the shop I thought what a sensible bike – not flashy- but it stood for values that I believe in.  It’s a sustainable bike and that was enough to turn my eye.   Every time I walked by the shop for the past month or so I stopped and looked at it.  Did I fall in love with it at first sight?  No.  But the more I learned about it the more I wanted to give it a try. ~ Fawzia Ahmad ~

Robert stencils a Tree on to the sidewalk of The Drive

Bikes on the Drive woke up early on Sunday morning and we hit the streets like a bunch of guerillas and a few tree stencils and a bunch of green chalk.

One of our new employees Cam Macleod was given the task of stenciling over 100 tree symbols all over The Drive for Car Free Days. Cam has a bit of a marketing background and was up to the task.

It was quite the community effort with my next door neighbor Andy Hurcum building the plywood stencils for me it was a lot better the the cardboard contraptions I had made.

Cam and I had tons of fun stenciling trees all over The Drive.  There were lots of questions about The Tree while we were out and about. We talked and chalked and had tons O’fun.

One of our larger guerilla installations that we did when the drive finally closed to vehicle traffic.

Once we ran out of green chalk we decided to call it a morning and head back to the shop to help open up.

We set up out booth with a couple of nutcase helmets some Chain J and our beloved Tree.

By the time we had set up shop and grabbed our second cup of joe for the morning, it was time to give away our second Tree of the summer. We shut down the shop for 15 minutes and joined the party on the street ilan gave a talk about why we put our time and resources into the The Tree.

During ilan’s little bike evangelism we amassed quite the crowd of people. It was really nice to capture the attention of the drive community on one of the biggest days of the year.

The draw was made and we are pleased to announce that Deepak Vyas you are the winner of a Bikes on the Drive Tree by Devinci.

ilan speaks about the Tree just before we drew Deepak Vyas name out of the box.

Other area’s of interest we wanted to make note of:
Instead of commuting to work why not just bring work with you, Driven by Profit won hands downs for the most unique use of a boardroom table ever. We just not sure commuting on top of a boardroom table is the most sensible and eco-friendly way to commute. But guaranteed you’ll never be late for your next meeting.	Driven by Profit mobile board room
The free hugs girl outside Bikes on the Drive who gave well over 1000 people hugs that day.	Free Hugs Girl
The mimes (Victorian era ?), They were just amazingly awesome to watch and how they interacted as they strolled down the drive.	Mimes on the Drive
Our friends on eight wheels instead of two at the roller disco on Graveley St. They were really kicking the tunes and looked like they were having a great time.	Roller Disco on Graveley St

Also did you enjoy car free days? Well if you did you should let your mayor and counsel know.  Drop them a line I am sure they would love hearing some positive feedback from the days events.

Ricky with a car-free sticker and a Nutcase Helmet Photo: Nigel Boeur

Ahh Car Free Days, Who doesn’t love when they close down the drive to motor vehicle traffic and open up the streets to entertainers, street vendors and community groups.

We at Bikes on the Drive will be giving away one of our Tree commuter hybrid bicycles. And you can either fill out a entry form in shop  or download the entry form at bikemonth.ca and drop it off at the shop, 630 Commercial Drive, before 6:45 PM on June 13, 2009.

The draw will take place at Bikes on the Drive at 12 Noon, June 14, 2009.

Along with the fab-tree give away we will have a table out front that might have a few specials for you to gander at and one of us will be out their talking about the Tree.

See for us The Tree is more then just a bike we sell it is about the ideology of what we see in a new urban commuter for Vancouver and being the advocates of sustainable culture that we are we’d really like talking about it. (Were total bike geeks, but you knew that)

So we hope you’ll stop by the shop amongst the Old School Roller Disco, knittervention, and street hockey and I what I am sure will be day full of merry mayhem (car free of course).

Autumn arrives on the red carpet of the Museum of Vancouver Velo-City exhibit opening night. photo credit: BOTD / MOV

The whirlwind trip The Tree has been on this spring just got a little bit more historic.

The Tree is on display at the newly branded Museum of Vancouver (the MOV; Formerly the Vancouver Museum) and their new show Velo-City: Vancouver and the Bicycle Revolution.

The Tree was chosen by Nick Rust from Propellor Design who heard about The Tree through the grapevine and thought it was an awesome project. He approached Autumn about having the bike as part of the show.

“We were blown away Nick asked us to have our bike as part of the show and though it would be awesome to be part of the exhibit.” said Autumn.

Autumn dolled up a large Tree with the disc brake upgrade, some lights and a pannier. She jumped on board putting foot to peddle(s) and headed to Kitsilano, the bikes new home for the next six months.

The Opening

The gang from the shop took off a little late and hit the 10th street bike route, we had a hilarious time biking across town trying to race each other on the hills. Darcy had his old school, three-speed Raleigh and was giving us gear heads a run for our money.

Renee is superimposed over a bike route map in Vancouver. photo credit: BOTD / MOV

We then turned down the Cypress Avenue bike route and were welcomed by a cool breeze and a drop in temperature as we neared the ocean shore next to the venerable Museum.

We were impressed with the red carpet treatment by the Bike Valet. While we dropped off our bikes with Shera Kelly, a Bike Valet attendant, Jaimie had a little photo shoot with Rebecca Blissett outside the museum. Who knew we were so popular?

Walking into the exhibit I was completely impressed with the curator of the exhibit, from 1980’s road racing jerseys, to the exceptional quality of Tito Precott “Three Wheeled Method of Convenance” and a special performance of the BCclettes to cap the night off.

I kept on returning to the tree, trying to get a decent photo. Trying to shoot a black bike against a black room with a point and shoot camera is darn harder than you might think. But it allowed me to see a array of different people checking out our little creation.

Bikes on the Drive Tree at the Velo-City Exhibit. photo credit: BOTD / MOV

It was far from the flashiest bike, the most expensive cycle, or most popular exhibit at the opening, but what I did hear was a lot of people coming by taking a closer look at the frame, inspecting the components, making subtle comments to friends about how cool the concept of our bike was.

Of course we are somewhat preaching to the converted at the opening of a bike show where the bike valet is as full as the parking lot.

This little project is barely into its first month and yet we’re already getting a huge and equally important positive response to our first cycle. So please drop by the museum, check out the choppers, the fixies, and the chalk murals. It is a great show and we could not be prouder to be a part of it.

Throughout the summer we will bring you the story of The Tree along with events we’re at, rides we’re on and customer reviews.

Bikes on the Drive Store Front

So what is The Tree you ask? It is a commuter bike conceived more than two years ago by Bikes on the Drive to give bike commuters of Vancouver the quintessential ride that is made for the long haul of commuting year round. This bike was built with sustainability and serviceability in mind.

How did we accomplish this and why did we decide to reinvent the wheel? Read on to find out more. It is a bit more than a short story and in fact it is the foundation of the shop itself. The bike and the shop are both sustainable, environmentally and socially conscientious; Both are made for and by people who believe in a sustainable life.

How are we going to do this? Well, if you’re reading this post then you have already seen the way, but rather than just tell you how much we love this bike we will show you too. If you prefer video, we have a youtube account. For those of you who are a little snap happy we have a flickr account. And if you tweet, well you can find us on twitter. You can also see our friend feed to the right.

So if you want to check us out at a number of events over the summer we’ll let you know, (psst…you can also follow us on our RSS feed if you like that sort of thing). We have published our Specs and Stats of The Tree so all you gear heads can geek out over how many spokes our Shimano Deore hubs have.

But thanks for stopping by. We have our helmets on and are ready for a whirl-wind cycle this summer. We hope you’ll come along for the ride.

Robert Dall - Tree Bike Blogger