One of the best conversations of the summer came about with a group of women I met for a quick coffee, that stretched into a four hour intensive collective rant about the state of the world. They aren’t activists or philosophers, just women working in the arts or running their own small businesses. But they ..read more

I went out for a ride with my big kid bike gang last night and once again was struck by the gender gap in our cycling group. Out of 24 people, only 7 were women. Sometimes, the disparities are even greater. It’s a pretty casual bunch of people mostly between the ages of about 30 ..read more

I was late to the concept of the Fancy Women’s Bike Ride, which I joined for the first time last year. And now it’s ending, and I have very mixed feelings. As Momentummag notes, “more than just a cycling event, FWBR symbolizes a celebration of women’s strength, unity, and resilience. It serves as a platform ..read more

Motherload is a movie about cargo bikes and the people who use them. It’s going to be shown as part of June Bike Month in Ottawa. I won’t be able to attend, so I watched it on-line. Here’s my review: Given that it is a self-funded documentary about an arguably niche topic, I was not ..read more

Last weekend, I participated in the first Kidical Mass Ride of the season in Ottawa. What is Kidical Mass? From their website, it’s an alliance of hundreds of organizations from Canada to Australia united by the vision that children and young people should be able to move around safely and independently on foot and by ..read more

CW: Mention of loss and complex family relationships on Father’s Day Today is Father’s Day in the US, Canada, India, China and a bunch of other countries. When we celebrate it varies, just as it does for Mother’s Day. How we celebrate it varies also, according to community and family traditions, proximity of family members ..read more

I once called my mother a whore. We were playing double solitaire. A game that, between the two of us at, was a full contact sport. Slapping our cards down with no mind as to whether the other person’s hand might be in the way. In this particular game, we were neck-a-neck, cards piling up ..read more

This ad just came across the FIFI social media outlets (thanks, Nicole, for bringing this to our attention). It shows a bunch of 46-year-old white women in an ad for Geritol. The fact that all of them are the same age is supposed to be shocking to us. What separates them, the ad tells us ..read more

It is summer swim season! I know this because I see on my Facebook feed “beach body” memes and a dramatic uptick in swimsuit advertising. The least repulsive of the repulsive memes about beach bodies. Because cute seal. I normally don’t pay much attention to swimwear ads because swimsuits are not that important to me. However, I can understand the appeal of shopping online: no store assistants, no dressing rooms, no drama with wrestling with ill-fitting suits. Swimsuits from a Facebook ad that have no models wearing them. Okay, there’s one person, but the suit looks drawn on! But this year, I ..read more

The way we move is changing. And the people leading the change are like me and you. We can, you can. Watch our new #BikeIsBest ad, out today pic.twitter.com/hb7gaqeOLY — Bike Is Best (@BikeIsBestHQ) May 8, 2022 From the Bike is Best campaign, ‘There has never been a better time to ride a bike. In so many ways. Cruise past the congested roads, free yourself of crowded public transport, and contribute to a greener planet that gives you cleaner air. Two-thirds of all journeys are less than five miles. You don’t need to ride far or fast to make a difference. Half an hour of cycling is enough ..read more