Beginning in October, look for me at a new location.
After almost 30 years at the Waterloo Region Record (aka The Record, The Kitchener-Waterloo Record and various other iterations), I have been offered and accepted a buyout. Today, Friday, Sept. 27, 2013, is my last day of full-time employment at the daily newspaper.
Take the Lane was not part of my work for The Record; it was part of my fun while I worked here. The Record very kindly hosted this blog, along with other blogs generated by Record employees. But since at the end of this workday, I will no longer be a Record employee, future posts will no longer be hosted by The Record.
When I started Take the Lane in 2007 I was angry -- very angry with the number of cycling deaths happening annually on Ontario roads. One of the categories of the blog was Died on a Ride, which tracked cycling fatalities. But I was also interested in cycling culture -- racing, commuting, recreational riding, touring -- and I have written about all of that here.
The launching of the Share the Road Cycling Coalition at the same time as Take the Lane illustrates the wider interest in cycling in this province. Thanks to STR and a critical mass of cycling infrastructure developers, planners and activists, Ontario has seen the emergence of annual bike summits and more conversations about developing our cbiycling culture.
Yes, there have been some setbacks, particularly from the peculiarly dichotomous Toronto municipal government (do those councillors have any clue what they really want?). But generally, I think the trend has been upward for cycling across Ontario, and it's that progress that I want to keep writing about.
So, Take The Lane returns in mid-October. Same name, different location. The website is being prepared -- but first I'm taking the first holiday of my retirement.
I will tweet out my new location. Follow me on Twitter at @takelane. If you want to email me, please drop bbean@therecord.com from your email list and add takethelanewr@gmail.com.
Looking forward to continuing the conversation with you at the new Take The Lane.