Elisabeth
@affabletoaster.bsky.social
Knitter, singer, reader, rider of bikes in Hfx, NS. Mum to Pebble & Rex (not their real names.)
🩷💜💙🚲🇨🇦 (she/her)
Reluctant urbanist (I love cities; I just wanna enjoy my life, not fight for it!)
🩷💜💙🚲🇨🇦 (she/her)
Reluctant urbanist (I love cities; I just wanna enjoy my life, not fight for it!)
Pinned
Elisabeth
@affabletoaster.bsky.social
· Jun 24
This has become the refrain I cling to. Planting these saplings with my entire broken heart.
Rex doesn’t enjoy switching modes (relatable), so getting from home to daycare in the morning can be a challenge.
Today we was trying to distract me so we didn’t walk into the centre. Then he suddenly said “Oh no, they’re coming, we have to get in!!!” and dashed in the door.
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Today we was trying to distract me so we didn’t walk into the centre. Then he suddenly said “Oh no, they’re coming, we have to get in!!!” and dashed in the door.
1/
December 1, 2025 at 1:09 PM
Rex doesn’t enjoy switching modes (relatable), so getting from home to daycare in the morning can be a challenge.
Today we was trying to distract me so we didn’t walk into the centre. Then he suddenly said “Oh no, they’re coming, we have to get in!!!” and dashed in the door.
1/
Today we was trying to distract me so we didn’t walk into the centre. Then he suddenly said “Oh no, they’re coming, we have to get in!!!” and dashed in the door.
1/
We were driving yesterday in that awful rush hour. Spent 15+ min on two blocks of Joe Howe. Commuters’ frustration is real and understandable, and the (lack of) solutions being offered to them is inexcusable.
The response seems to be 1) Scapegoat active transportation, or 2) 🤷🏼♀️.
The response seems to be 1) Scapegoat active transportation, or 2) 🤷🏼♀️.
November 28, 2025 at 7:11 PM
We were driving yesterday in that awful rush hour. Spent 15+ min on two blocks of Joe Howe. Commuters’ frustration is real and understandable, and the (lack of) solutions being offered to them is inexcusable.
The response seems to be 1) Scapegoat active transportation, or 2) 🤷🏼♀️.
The response seems to be 1) Scapegoat active transportation, or 2) 🤷🏼♀️.
I am always tickled at how easily little old me, a 5’2” frumpy mom with a cargo bike, can trigger panic and discomfort in other road users when I point out a transgression (even very gently).
If you don’t want someone to notice you endangering lives, endanger fewer lives.
If you don’t want someone to notice you endangering lives, endanger fewer lives.
He ignored me for the rest of the red light, then sped off during the leading pedestrian interval to get away from me lol.
3/
3/
November 24, 2025 at 3:48 PM
I am always tickled at how easily little old me, a 5’2” frumpy mom with a cargo bike, can trigger panic and discomfort in other road users when I point out a transgression (even very gently).
If you don’t want someone to notice you endangering lives, endanger fewer lives.
If you don’t want someone to notice you endangering lives, endanger fewer lives.
Not-so-fun #BikeHfx interaction today…
Dude in camo on bike: *close-passes a ~10yo pedestrian on a park path, on right without warning*
Me: *behind him about 50 ft, comes up and checks in verbally with the kid, who says he’s fine. I catch up with the other cyclist at the next red light*
1/
Dude in camo on bike: *close-passes a ~10yo pedestrian on a park path, on right without warning*
Me: *behind him about 50 ft, comes up and checks in verbally with the kid, who says he’s fine. I catch up with the other cyclist at the next red light*
1/
November 24, 2025 at 12:43 PM
Not-so-fun #BikeHfx interaction today…
Dude in camo on bike: *close-passes a ~10yo pedestrian on a park path, on right without warning*
Me: *behind him about 50 ft, comes up and checks in verbally with the kid, who says he’s fine. I catch up with the other cyclist at the next red light*
1/
Dude in camo on bike: *close-passes a ~10yo pedestrian on a park path, on right without warning*
Me: *behind him about 50 ft, comes up and checks in verbally with the kid, who says he’s fine. I catch up with the other cyclist at the next red light*
1/
I interrupt this #BikeSky content with some knitting content: I wanted to wear a newly-knitted cowl today but it didn’t dry all the way overnight, so now it’s draped over my office space heater and my office smells like wet sheep.
November 21, 2025 at 1:27 PM
I interrupt this #BikeSky content with some knitting content: I wanted to wear a newly-knitted cowl today but it didn’t dry all the way overnight, so now it’s draped over my office space heater and my office smells like wet sheep.
If you see this, post your getaway vehicle.
(Nice try, cop.)
(Nice try, cop.)
November 20, 2025 at 12:24 AM
If you see this, post your getaway vehicle.
(Nice try, cop.)
(Nice try, cop.)
Reposted by Elisabeth
It's critically important that communities make distinctions between e-bikes and e-motos when implementing regulations, and that starts with a solid definition of an e-moto. Lumping both into the same regulatory bucket will hinder the expansion of e-bikes as a powerful mobility tool.
November 13, 2025 at 11:06 PM
It's critically important that communities make distinctions between e-bikes and e-motos when implementing regulations, and that starts with a solid definition of an e-moto. Lumping both into the same regulatory bucket will hinder the expansion of e-bikes as a powerful mobility tool.
Reposted by Elisabeth
Wishing a very merry “Mom, can you eat this? I don’t like caramel.” 2-weeks-after-Halloween to all who celebrate.
November 12, 2025 at 1:13 PM
Wishing a very merry “Mom, can you eat this? I don’t like caramel.” 2-weeks-after-Halloween to all who celebrate.
Reposted by Elisabeth
"Remember the reasons why Canada has gone to war in the first place, not who they sent. Remember, and prevent it from happening again". Spot on @landofsticks.bsky.social
If you go to a ceremony today, please remember why you're there.
Remembering to forget
Editor’s Note: Matt Stickland has been in the military for 10 years and deployed to Libya in 2011 on HMCS CHARLOTTETOWN. On November 11, as a country we will gather and remember…
dalgazette.com
November 11, 2025 at 12:17 PM
"Remember the reasons why Canada has gone to war in the first place, not who they sent. Remember, and prevent it from happening again". Spot on @landofsticks.bsky.social
Saw so many parents and their kids on bikes this morning in the downpour, in many cases supported by separated bike infrastructure that makes biking in the rain safer.
I pointed two families out to Pebble, only to realize we know both of them! I love people who bike in Halifax! #BikeHfx
I pointed two families out to Pebble, only to realize we know both of them! I love people who bike in Halifax! #BikeHfx
November 10, 2025 at 8:09 PM
Saw so many parents and their kids on bikes this morning in the downpour, in many cases supported by separated bike infrastructure that makes biking in the rain safer.
I pointed two families out to Pebble, only to realize we know both of them! I love people who bike in Halifax! #BikeHfx
I pointed two families out to Pebble, only to realize we know both of them! I love people who bike in Halifax! #BikeHfx
When the I Light Hfx ride came to the Oval yesterday, and for a couple laps the street noise faded away and it was just a ring of peaceful, glowing bikes and #BikeJoy, I felt my shoulders relax for the first time in a long time.
November 9, 2025 at 2:51 PM
When the I Light Hfx ride came to the Oval yesterday, and for a couple laps the street noise faded away and it was just a ring of peaceful, glowing bikes and #BikeJoy, I felt my shoulders relax for the first time in a long time.
Reposted by Elisabeth
The #BikeHFX community is amazing. So many people showing up in the rain, great music, bright lights, and lots of skilled marshals. Thanks everyone!
November 9, 2025 at 2:29 AM
The #BikeHFX community is amazing. So many people showing up in the rain, great music, bright lights, and lots of skilled marshals. Thanks everyone!
Absolutely delightful I Light Hfx tonight. A little dampness can’t keep Haligonian cyclists from a shiny party.
It was lovely to see so many #BikeHfx people tonight! I managed to chat with more folks than usual tonight but I still missed a bunch of you. Hi!!!
It was lovely to see so many #BikeHfx people tonight! I managed to chat with more folks than usual tonight but I still missed a bunch of you. Hi!!!
November 9, 2025 at 2:38 AM
Absolutely delightful I Light Hfx tonight. A little dampness can’t keep Haligonian cyclists from a shiny party.
It was lovely to see so many #BikeHfx people tonight! I managed to chat with more folks than usual tonight but I still missed a bunch of you. Hi!!!
It was lovely to see so many #BikeHfx people tonight! I managed to chat with more folks than usual tonight but I still missed a bunch of you. Hi!!!
On the way home from the shop I promptly laid the bike down on a turn. Only time I’ve ever done that while in motion (typically I’ve overbalanced while standing still).
I was crossing a high curb cut with a lot of wet leaves on it (Windsor into the cemetery) and I hit it at an angle. Bad idea!
I was crossing a high curb cut with a lot of wet leaves on it (Windsor into the cemetery) and I hit it at an angle. Bad idea!
November 8, 2025 at 6:37 PM
On the way home from the shop I promptly laid the bike down on a turn. Only time I’ve ever done that while in motion (typically I’ve overbalanced while standing still).
I was crossing a high curb cut with a lot of wet leaves on it (Windsor into the cemetery) and I hit it at an angle. Bad idea!
I was crossing a high curb cut with a lot of wet leaves on it (Windsor into the cemetery) and I hit it at an angle. Bad idea!
Rex was *heartbroken* that we had to leave the borrowed Carrie at the store. I literally had to surfboard-carry him out of the store while he wailed “Noooooo! THAT’s our bike!!!”
November 8, 2025 at 6:19 PM
Rex was *heartbroken* that we had to leave the borrowed Carrie at the store. I literally had to surfboard-carry him out of the store while he wailed “Noooooo! THAT’s our bike!!!”
Extra love to the Halifax Cycles crew who got our bike fixed super fast so we’d be ready for I Light Halifax tonight.
We were prepared to go with the Carrie, but our light game on the Urban Arrow will be stronger.
We were prepared to go with the Carrie, but our light game on the Urban Arrow will be stronger.
November 8, 2025 at 6:16 PM
Extra love to the Halifax Cycles crew who got our bike fixed super fast so we’d be ready for I Light Halifax tonight.
We were prepared to go with the Carrie, but our light game on the Urban Arrow will be stronger.
We were prepared to go with the Carrie, but our light game on the Urban Arrow will be stronger.
Reposted by Elisabeth
Not a single university would remain standing for more than a week without administrative assistants who are women 99% of the time
I am trying to imagine any of the workplaces I have inhabited in my lifetime WITHOUT women and dying inside a bit
November 6, 2025 at 4:42 PM
Not a single university would remain standing for more than a week without administrative assistants who are women 99% of the time
Reposted by Elisabeth
Closing a car lane for construction: "We are bringing in 300 workers in the middle of the night so that the road is only closed for 12 hours". Drivers still furious.
Closing a sidewalk or bike lane for construction: "We're taking the whole block for the summer for our workers to park in"
Closing a sidewalk or bike lane for construction: "We're taking the whole block for the summer for our workers to park in"
November 6, 2025 at 2:02 AM
Closing a car lane for construction: "We are bringing in 300 workers in the middle of the night so that the road is only closed for 12 hours". Drivers still furious.
Closing a sidewalk or bike lane for construction: "We're taking the whole block for the summer for our workers to park in"
Closing a sidewalk or bike lane for construction: "We're taking the whole block for the summer for our workers to park in"
FYI #BikeSky: Today I installed foot pegs for our new Qibbel Jr seat on our RadCity 3. In the lowest position, they *do not* interfere with the foot guard on our Yepp Maxi! This means we can switch out the Yepp Maxi and Qibbel Jr seats (easy) without having to remove the foot pegs (PITA). Hooray!
November 6, 2025 at 1:02 AM
FYI #BikeSky: Today I installed foot pegs for our new Qibbel Jr seat on our RadCity 3. In the lowest position, they *do not* interfere with the foot guard on our Yepp Maxi! This means we can switch out the Yepp Maxi and Qibbel Jr seats (easy) without having to remove the foot pegs (PITA). Hooray!
I am, ofc, stressed because this makes bike lanes unreliable & unsafe, but it also affects the drivers’ perceptions of bike lanes. They don’t know the intricacies, but see bike-lane-related construction for months/years, or see what looks like a completed lane, unused, and they get annoyed at *us.*
The Almon bike lane is just farcical at this point. It has been dug up for more of the last two years than it has been open. Significantly more.
Someone please remind me how difficult ~six weeks of Brunswick being closed was for drivers.
Someone please remind me how difficult ~six weeks of Brunswick being closed was for drivers.
#BikeHfx you might want to avoid the Almon street bike lane eastbound in front of Richmond Yards if you can, it was dug up and had construction equipment parked in it when I went by headed west.
November 6, 2025 at 12:54 AM
I am, ofc, stressed because this makes bike lanes unreliable & unsafe, but it also affects the drivers’ perceptions of bike lanes. They don’t know the intricacies, but see bike-lane-related construction for months/years, or see what looks like a completed lane, unused, and they get annoyed at *us.*
Urban Arrow is back in the shop for (hopefully minor) shifter issues and also getting her winter boots on. This means Halifax Cycles has let us borrow the R&M Carrie!
What a FUN, nimble front-loader! Wow! It’s going to be an entertaining few days zipping around with this one.
What a FUN, nimble front-loader! Wow! It’s going to be an entertaining few days zipping around with this one.
November 6, 2025 at 12:34 AM
Urban Arrow is back in the shop for (hopefully minor) shifter issues and also getting her winter boots on. This means Halifax Cycles has let us borrow the R&M Carrie!
What a FUN, nimble front-loader! Wow! It’s going to be an entertaining few days zipping around with this one.
What a FUN, nimble front-loader! Wow! It’s going to be an entertaining few days zipping around with this one.
Reposted by Elisabeth
#BikeHfx and #KidicalMassHfx: please BOLO for Barb’s bike, stolen from Quingate area. It’s her kid-carrying machine!
November 2, 2025 at 10:03 PM
#BikeHfx and #KidicalMassHfx: please BOLO for Barb’s bike, stolen from Quingate area. It’s her kid-carrying machine!
The Almon bike lane is just farcical at this point. It has been dug up for more of the last two years than it has been open. Significantly more.
Someone please remind me how difficult ~six weeks of Brunswick being closed was for drivers.
Someone please remind me how difficult ~six weeks of Brunswick being closed was for drivers.
#BikeHfx you might want to avoid the Almon street bike lane eastbound in front of Richmond Yards if you can, it was dug up and had construction equipment parked in it when I went by headed west.
November 5, 2025 at 11:40 PM
The Almon bike lane is just farcical at this point. It has been dug up for more of the last two years than it has been open. Significantly more.
Someone please remind me how difficult ~six weeks of Brunswick being closed was for drivers.
Someone please remind me how difficult ~six weeks of Brunswick being closed was for drivers.
Reposted by Elisabeth
The #KidicalMassHfx 2025 ride season may have crossed the finish line, but our wheels never stop spinning! We're gearing up for 2026 and want your input to help make next year’s rides even better.
docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1F...
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docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1F...
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Kidical Mass Halifax 2025 Evaluation
We want Kidical Mass to be an enjoyable event for as many people as possible. We want to know what went well and what didn’t go so well this year so that we can do better in 2026! You can find out mor...
docs.google.com
November 4, 2025 at 2:01 AM
The #KidicalMassHfx 2025 ride season may have crossed the finish line, but our wheels never stop spinning! We're gearing up for 2026 and want your input to help make next year’s rides even better.
docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1F...
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docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1F...
1/3