http://www.walrusmagazine.com/blogs/2008/08/06/surviving-the-apocalypse-on-two-wheels/ Fearless. Thoughtful. Witty. Canadian. And Opinionated. Fri, 09 Jan 2009 00:29:08 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.6.1 http://www.walrusmagazine.com/blogs/2008/08/06/surviving-the-apocalypse-on-two-wheels/#comment-6508 Timothy Auble Fri, 08 Aug 2008 00:09:08 +0000 http://www.walrusmagazine.com/blogs/?p=1055#comment-6508 What a wally, who is going to have the money for the bicycles when everything goes awry? What a wally, who is going to have the money for the bicycles when everything goes awry?

]]> http://www.walrusmagazine.com/blogs/2008/08/06/surviving-the-apocalypse-on-two-wheels/#comment-6500 matt duggan Thu, 07 Aug 2008 12:00:22 +0000 http://www.walrusmagazine.com/blogs/?p=1055#comment-6500 Everyone knew that Igor held down a corner of the Bermuda triangle into which the stolen bikes of Toronto disappeared - what no one suspected was that he IS the Bermuda triangle. As to his hoarding impulse and mental health, I think the whole thing just spun out of control on him. He loved the attention - performing nightly out front of his gritty little shop, lording it over the street people, alarming the neighbors - unable to stop taking in bikes until he had so many there was no way to turn them around to sell. His system got overwhelmed and the garages filled up. I don't put much stock in his self-serving moral rationalizations or the notion that he's some kind of visionary of the coming apocalypse. I think it's darker than that. He's an excellent bike mechanic and is very knowledgeable about bikes. He also understood the deep emotional attachment many people have with their bikes. I read someone describing the scene at one of his garages being taken apart by the cops as looking like "the Silence of the Lambs, only for bikes." I believe there's something to that. Regarding the Metro police in all of this - they're pathetic. For years it's been routine for the police to advise bike theft victims to check with Igor about their missing ride. Can you imagine the police suggesting you go look for your stolen car on the lot of the local Chev - Olds dealership? Everyone knew that Igor held down a corner of the Bermuda triangle into which the stolen bikes of Toronto disappeared - what no one suspected was that he IS the Bermuda triangle.
As to his hoarding impulse and mental health, I think the whole thing just spun out of control on him. He loved the attention - performing nightly out front of his gritty little shop, lording it over the street people, alarming the neighbors - unable to stop taking in bikes until he had so many there was no way to turn them around to sell. His system got overwhelmed and the garages filled up.
I don’t put much stock in his self-serving moral rationalizations or the notion that he’s some kind of visionary of the coming apocalypse. I think it’s darker than that. He’s an excellent bike mechanic and is very knowledgeable about bikes. He also understood the deep emotional attachment many people have with their bikes. I read someone describing the scene at one of his garages being taken apart by the cops as looking like “the Silence of the Lambs, only for bikes.” I believe there’s something to that.
Regarding the Metro police in all of this - they’re pathetic. For years it’s been routine for the police to advise bike theft victims to check with Igor about their missing ride. Can you imagine the police suggesting you go look for your stolen car on the lot of the local Chev - Olds dealership?

]]> http://www.walrusmagazine.com/blogs/2008/08/06/surviving-the-apocalypse-on-two-wheels/#comment-6498 Pedalists, meet your pusher « World Without Oil - serious game for the public good Thu, 07 Aug 2008 04:06:11 +0000 http://www.walrusmagazine.com/blogs/?p=1055#comment-6498 [...] An article in The Walrus by Holly Jean Buck lays out what went down: the improbably named crime kingpin is accused of stealing bicycles in Toronto and warehousing them for resale after the oil crash.  With over 2800 bicycles on ice, Kenk would have been the pedal pusher extraordinaire in post-oil Toronto. The article cites WWO as one of its sources about the potential for a bicycle shortage in a $6-a-gallon world, and especially, Kal’s undercover video. Isthisnotagame? [...] [...] An article in The Walrus by Holly Jean Buck lays out what went down: the improbably named crime kingpin is accused of stealing bicycles in Toronto and warehousing them for resale after the oil crash.  With over 2800 bicycles on ice, Kenk would have been the pedal pusher extraordinaire in post-oil Toronto. The article cites WWO as one of its sources about the potential for a bicycle shortage in a $6-a-gallon world, and especially, Kal’s undercover video. Isthisnotagame? [...]

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