"Have you read The Tipping Point? I haven't. Perhaps it applies," observed the alien Roger in a recent episode of American Dad, referring to some wacky situation or another. That's sort of how I'm feeling about cycling in Toronto these days; there's been a cultural shift of some sort, and whether "tipping point" is the right term, I don't know, but it doesn't seem to be the wrong one, either. It's probably fitting that, according to Wikipedia, Malcolm Gladwell defines a tipping point as "the moment of critical mass."
Whether it's because of the Toronto Cyclists Union, or the Pee-wee event, or the Gardiner ride, or the Igor bust, or something else entirely, this is the year that biking in Toronto has become a part of the mainstream conversation. The dailies now seem to be devoting as much coverage to bikes as they do to the TTC (strike stuff notwithstanding). Sort of like how the Toronto Public Space Committee and Spacing once delivered a one-two punch of public-space discourse into the civic conversation, the aforementioned convergence of people, organizations, and events has reoriented the way we think and talk about transport.
This weekend, one more knockout blow was delivered with the launch of Dandyhorse (DH), Toronto's magazine devoted to all things cycling, which celebrates the present moment by showing us how we arrived here, and for whom we have to thank for that. "My purpose with this magazine is to really pay homage to all the people who got us where we are now," says editor-in-chief Tammy Thorne. But like a double major in history and contemporary studies, DH is also "meant to be a snapshot in time...I want anyone who picks up the magazine to be able to say 'this is where Toronto is.'"
The tricky part, of course, is figuring out how to frame the present. There's a tendency, as demonstrated in my opening paragraphs, to want to believe that we're living in some sort Francis Fukuyama / Jesus Jones watching-the-world-wake-up-from-history epoch. While there's no doubt that attitudes have changed since 1969, when John Sewell — then newly elected to city council— was derided for choosing to bike to work (something I learned from the DH cover story), the question of how meaningful that change has been remains. Current Councillor Glenn De Baeremaeker (Ward 38, Scarborough Centre) is famous for commuting by bike between his ward and City Hall nearly every weekday of the year, and while that's certainly a heroic and impressive feat, it's reduced to a novelty or perhaps even a gimmick by the fact that it doesn't translate into meaningful policy, or perhaps more specifically, into meaningful funding to implement that policy. Not that De Baeremaeker by himself necessarily has the influence to introduce to the City of Toronto the structural upheaval that is required, but when he makes boasts like "I go to work every day and kick ass for the environment!" — as he did at the launch party for The Little Green Book of Big Savings — you want him to live up to the standard he sets for himself. As Thorne says, "You got to put your money where your mouth is. You gotta hire the staff. If they don't actually fund it, it's not gonna happen."
The challenge DH has ahead for itself is how to balance being honest and being inspiring. Which is pretty much the same dilemma that most politically-minded entities face. The eventual goal, I suppose, is to effect whatever sort of change is necessary so that honesty and inspiration need not be conflicting principles. According to Thorne, future issues will feature more bikes, more criticism, more prescriptions, more sass. "Sass" is a word that keeps coming up in our conversation. I'd never given the concept much serious consideration before. Sort of a cheekiness with an element of subversion, maybe? That's not a bad combination. "Prescription" is key, too; like Spacing, the aim is to not only highlight problems but also solutions.
And that involves bringing everyone on the same side. Dandyhorse #1 makes a point of attempting to include the voices of as diverse a range of riders as possible, from the hardcore to the recreational, from BMXers to tandem-ers. "Anyone who's riding a bike, we're all together now."
There's a hunger for this magazine, a Toronto sister to Vancouver's Momentum: the DH crew was able to raise $10 000 worth of advertising for a publication that didn't yet exist. As such, the first issue is free of charge and was distributed over the weekend to various bike stores, independent book stores, coffee shops, and art galleries, "using bikes, trailers, baskets, backpacks, and raw human energy," according to a leaflet.
Community-building efforts like this are key. Inclusivity is key. Unification is key. But diversity is also our strength, and riding in and of itself can be a political act if you choose — or not.
"All you have to do is ride," says Thorne. "You don't have to plug in to anything. You don't have to open your mouth. All you have to do is ride."
Jonathan Goldsbie, a campaigner for the Toronto Public Space Committee, helped out with Dandyhorse in an extremely minor editorial capacity.