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zafarali.me

@zafarali.me
72 followers 548 following 86 posts
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zafarali.me @zafarali.me · 30/09/2026
A few weeks ago I was flying over this gorgeous lake. For some reason, it felt familiar... Like I knew every twist+turn of shoreline... And of course I did! It turned out to be Lake Tahoe #California. It felt familiar because experienced in on #bicycle! bay.bybrompton.com/a/3mpfg3qjnw...
Photograph from a plane window, the author sitting behind the wing. The photo is sunny, a clear shot of a lake. Clouds surround the lake and you can see the reflection of the sun in the lake. The shoreline is visible separating the dark green land from the deep blue lake.
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Isaac Callan @isaaccallan.bsky.social · 29/09/2026
A coalition of Ontario health-care workers gathered in downtown Toronto on Tuesday to denounce the provincial government’s plan to remove bike lanes on three major roadways across the city. #ToPoli #OnPoli www.cbc.ca/news/canada/...
cbc.ca
Ontario health-care coalition denounces province's plan to remove bike lanes across Toronto | CBC News
A coalition of Ontario health-care workers gathered in downtown Toronto on Tuesday to denounce the provincial government’s plan to remove bike lanes on three major roadways across the city.
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Madeleine Bonsma-Fisher, PhD @mbonsma.bsky.social · 15/09/2026
A popular Toronto-based travel influencer posted an Instagram video and blog about how they replaced car trips with an e-cargo bike and how much they love it. This feels like an indication of big culture shifts - biking is really going mainstream in Toronto!
minijetsetter.com
Urban Arrow FamilyNext Pro Review: Our Family Cargo Bike - Mini Jetsetter
Our honest Urban Arrow FamilyNext Pro review after a summer of daily riding in Toronto: what we love, what to know, and if a family cargo bike is worth it.
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zafarali.me @zafarali.me · 23/09/2026
"there were over a dozen similar requests" Quick builds and traffic calming are popular folks and you can request your city do them too! maxmautner.com/2026/09/17/s... @maxmautner.com
maxmautner.com
A stop sign for $1,000
3 crashes at one intersection, photographed on my way to work. The all-way stop went in 178 days after I sent the city a notice of dangerous condition.
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Corey Atad @coreyatad.com · 22/09/2026
“If you are staring at an example of social disorder or social inefficiency, and the left refuses to explain either why it has happened or how they will fix it, then the right gets to point at someone in the immediate area and say, ‘That’s who did it.’” crazy how much Mamdani speaks my language
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zafarali.me @zafarali.me · 13/09/2026
Can you go to Lake Tahoe car-free? Can you ride around Lake Tahoe? Find out more in my latest blog post! #offprint #brompton #sfbike #bike #bikepacking #bikesky #california #californiatravel bay.bybrompton.com/a/3mpfg3qjnw...
bay.bybrompton.com
Lake Tahoe by Brompton
America's "most beautiful bike ride" Brompton-style!
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zafarali.me @zafarali.me · 11/09/2026
Yes!!! And high tax societies don't realize how good they have it 🤣( and that the tax rates are high in the US as well)
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zafarali.me @zafarali.me · 04/09/2026
@cycletoronto.bsky.social saw this sign about road closure sep 11 while riding on Bloor. Not sure if it's related to the removals. #biketo #tobike #toronto
Protected bike lane separated from traffic by flex posts. In between the bike lane and sidewalk is a grassy median with a big orange construction sign that says Bloor St W closed from Prince Edward Dr to Montgomery Drive Sept 11-13th.
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zafarali.me @zafarali.me · 04/09/2026
youtu.be/EC6Wtxzuegg?... Not a single shot has "gridlock", everything looks like it's functioning fine.
youtu.be
How much work will it take to remove Toronto's bike lanes?
YouTube video by CBC News Toronto
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zafarali.me @zafarali.me · 31/08/2026
Been in #toronto for 2 days and bloor is seriously such a nice street. Lively yet calm, full of shops. Probably gonna become a worse place to hang if they get rid of the bike lane and made it 4 lanes for traffic :( #tobike #biketo
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zafarali.me @zafarali.me · 29/08/2026
A few months ago I wrote about some of the bike projects I'm looking forward to in the Bay Area #SFBike #SFBA bay.bybrompton.com/a/3mu6tmtxlp...
bay.bybrompton.com
Bike Routes to Look Forward To
A hopeful view toward the future of biking in the Bay
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zafarali.me @zafarali.me · 29/08/2026
I just published a post from my archives "Missed Connections: Overnight Solo Trip to Marin" to #offprint #brompton #bicycle #sausalito #sfbike bay.bybrompton.com/a/3mu6tmwq5bv23-…
bay.bybrompton.com
Missed Connections: Overnight Solo Trip to Marin
My Brompton converts a disconnected transit system into an adventure.
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Mark Shaw 🇨🇦✌️🇪🇺 @markshawtoronto.bsky.social · 29/08/2026
Her speech:
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zafarali.me @zafarali.me · 25/08/2026
Loving @skyreader.app! It integrates so well with the rest of the #Atmosphere like @margin.at and @semble.so . This is just the latest interop.
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zafarali.me @zafarali.me · 22/08/2026
I've been uploading Bay By Brompton posts from my Substack to #Offprint. It's giving me an opportunity to reflect on some of the things I talked about and how they evolved over time. Here's a funny one, my one year car-free post: bay.bybrompton.com/a/3mt7xgtty4... was followed 100 days later by...
bay.bybrompton.com
A Year, Car-free, with a Brompton Bicycle
Reflecting on a year of car-free living in the San Francisco Peninsula with a Brompton Bicycle
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mlongfield.bsky.social @mlongfield.bsky.social · 15/08/2026
A daily @cycletoronto.bsky.social Bike Bus for grown-ups along Bloor and Yonge-University.
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zafarali.me @zafarali.me · 15/08/2026
I got to ride one of SF's newest quick build on Beach Street. I connect it with the wider situation on Embarcadero and why @sfmta.com should do more to finish off the known gap! #offprint #brompton #sfbike #calbike bay.bybrompton.com/a/3ms2znydq4n23-…
bay.bybrompton.com
Waterfront Woes
Riding San Francisco's Beach Street Quick Build
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zafarali.me @zafarali.me · 13/08/2026
Important PSA from @debbieohi.com. I strongly +1 this. The way I think of taking breaks now as.. framing it in the long term. if I want to be computering in 1 months, 1 year, 10 years I need to take a break multiple times per day. onething.pckt.blog/take-regular...
onething.pckt.blog
Take regular breaks from the keyboard.
Applies just as much to illustrators as well as writers, of course!
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zafarali.me @zafarali.me · 12/08/2026
@maxmautner.com wrote an absolutely banger here. great to share with someone who says that there is a "War on Cars".
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zafarali.me @zafarali.me · 08/08/2026
A few weeks ago I headed to Yosemite NP with some friends. I got to ride my #brompton there! Here's my review of it and some historical perspective on demand management in the park #offprint bay.bybrompton.com/a/3ms2dweedv...
bay.bybrompton.com
Yosemite Valley by Brompton
Biked it, Liked it.
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zafarali.me @zafarali.me · 31/07/2026
Group ride showing the solidarity between @cycletoronto.bsky.social , @tenantsunionto.bsky.social , #NoJetsTO, @thebikinglawyer.bsky.social www.twowheeledpolitics.ca/2026/07/mark...
twowheeledpolitics.ca
Marking One Year Since Cycle Toronto’s Court Victory
A blog about cycling and political advocacy based in Toronto, Canada. (#BikeTO)
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zafarali.me @zafarali.me · 30/07/2026
So @baywheels.bsky.social got renamed to "Lyft Bikes"... Why not just "BayWheels by Lyft" or something to keep the iconic name? Logo kinda sucks too lol
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zafarali.me @zafarali.me · 09/07/2026
Is this why people are saying "genuinely" so often?!
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zafarali.me @zafarali.me · 08/07/2026
jnyyz.wordpress.com/2026/07/07/w... Pic of this recumbent bike in the elevator is wild!! @jnyyz.bsky.social
jnyyz.wordpress.com
World Recumbent Bike Day
There was a call a while back to designate July 7 as World Recumbent Bike Day. This would commemorate the day (July 7, 1933) when a professional French cyclist named Francis Faure rode a recumbent …
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zafarali.me @zafarali.me · 06/07/2026
Check out my new article "When injured…". #offprint In 2024 and 2025 I experienced significant knee and back pain after injuring myself. Here are some thoughts from adapting my commute and bikes from that process without a car. baybybrompton.offprint.app/a/3mpffd…
baybybrompton.offprint.app
When injured…
An eye-opening experience navigating transit and bikes while injured
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zafarali.me @zafarali.me · 29/06/2026
From @maxmautner.com: > If the bar for “knowing how to shift gears” is simply “can physically move the shifter,” that’s probably most geared-bike riders. This was me until ~4years ago 😅 i don't think I "got it" until someone explained it to me and then practiced. maxmautner.com/2026/04/11/g...
maxmautner.com
Most People Who Ride Bikes Have No Idea How to Shift Gears
Most cycling advocates assume gear-shifting is a baseline skill — but for a large share of the people they’re trying to reach, it isn’t. If your outreach, programming, or education treats geared bikes...
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Oh The Urbanity! @ohtheurbanity.bsky.social · 26/06/2026
What a mess. The Montreal bike consultation that was down for a week? It wasn’t just a technical issue. They modified the survey to add more options to talk about removing bike lanes, removing the winter network, and generally putting cycling in opposition to other modes.
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zafarali.me @zafarali.me · 26/06/2026
Reddit introduces new screentime restrictions to make me use their website less. The reason I uninstalled the app was to use it less. Reddit is just helping me along the journey 🤩
I'll pop up on the Reddit website asking the user to get the app to keep using Reddit. There is no way to dismiss the pop-up and look at the content. The button says get the Reddit app rest of the screen is blacked out
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zafarali.me @zafarali.me · 24/06/2026
Why the robots won't save us time unless we demand it. If the AI revolution is really like the industrial revolution then maybe we'll come out of it with more labour rights? But only if we demand it. notes.wesleyfinck.org/3me7k6pff4k2...
notes.wesleyfinck.org
The Jevons Paradox of AI - Wesley's notes
Why AI can make us more productive but will never save us time
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zafarali.me @zafarali.me · 24/06/2026
This blog from @peterspath.net about biking from train station to a national park makes me envious!! There are many national parks along the California coast that are viable to bike from an Amtrak station (e.g Salinas, San Luis Obispo) but lack the safe paths to do so. peterspath.net/blog/biking-...
peterspath.net
Biking in Zuid-Kennemerland National Park - Peter's Path
Biked in Zuid-Kennemerland National Park with a distance of 31.34 kilometres.
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zafarali.me @zafarali.me · 13/06/2026
A wonderful read into the mixed feelings of LLMs. retrobailey.leaflet.pub/3mmsk37ojg22...
retrobailey.leaflet.pub
The LLM post
Personal thoughts when the job changes
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zafarali.me @zafarali.me · 21/05/2026
Yum new protected bike lane on Folsom! Can't wait to ride it #sfbike
Protected bike lane under construction. Construction worker in the center putting final touches on concrete barrier. Road is full of construction cones. Space between the concrete barrier and the sidewalk is hollowed out.
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zafarali.me @zafarali.me · 11/01/2026
Car-free to “one car household”. My latest post on a 1yr+ experiment and friction points that made getting a car necessary. I was privileged to have the time to try this and the money to pivot when it became too difficult. It shouldn't have to come down to luxury! open.substack.com/pub/baybybro...
open.substack.com
497 days car-free in the South Bay
Reflections on car-free living in the South Bay and why I finally gave in
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Warren Wells, AICP @warrenjwells.bsky.social · 30/10/2025
California has some of the most lenient drunk driving laws in the nation. You can still get a license after receiving 6(!!) DUIs!
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Vision Zero Vancouver @visionzerovancouver.ca · 19/06/2025
There have been 6 recent crashes involving cyclists and pedestrians, 4 of them fatal, along this same stretch of Lougheed Hwy. Yesterday, another pedestrian was killed. We call on Maple Ridge & Pitt Meadows to stop prioritizing the comfort of drivers over the safety of pedestrians and cyclists.
A map of 6 serious crashes along Lougheed with screen caps of news stories overlaid
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Brent Toderian @brenttoderian.bsky.social · 03/08/2025
“Canada, one of the U.S.’s largest trading partners, was not able to reach a deal with the White House, who instead raised tariffs on some Canadian goods.” This should say that the lying, bullying US President was unable to strong-arm Canada into agreeing to a bad deal & so Americans will pay more.
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Michael Wiebe @michaelwiebe.bsky.social · 26/07/2025
New housing is expensive and not affordable to the poor. But the people who can afford to live in the new building don't keep their old home; they vacate it, which allows someone else to move in. That in turn vacates an affordable home. The affordability benefits of new housing are indirect.
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Chris Glover @chrisgloverndp.bsky.social · 15/05/2025
Todays’s budget will include the removal of the bike lanes on Queen’s Park Crescent. Ford’s own documents say tearing up bike lanes in Toronto won’t reduce congestion. At a time when U.S. tariffs threaten jobs and the housing crisis is exploding, this is Ford's priority? #ONpoli #TOpoli
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Selin Jessa @selinjessa.com · 03/05/2025
Delighted to share our latest work deciphering the landscape of chromatin accessibility and modeling the DNA sequence syntax rules underlying gene regulation during human fetal development! www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1... Read on for more: 🧵 1/16 #GeneReg 🧬🖥️
biorxiv.org
Dissecting regulatory syntax in human development with scalable multiomics and deep learning
Transcription factors (TFs) establish cell identity during development by binding regulatory DNA in a sequence-specific manner, often promoting local chromatin accessibility, and regulating gene expre...
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zafarali.me @zafarali.me · 01/05/2025
I took my #brompton to Vancouver! Here's a trip report about travelling with the Brompton, infrastructure in a new place and the rain. baybybrompton.substack.com/p/bromptons-.... Special thanks to @nicthedoor.bsky.social whos awesome videos are linked to add local commentary to my observations!
baybybrompton.substack.com
Brompton's first flight!
Trip Report: Taking my Brompton to (rainy) Vancouver.
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zafarali.me @zafarali.me · 04/04/2025
Very informative discussion about how tariffs will affect bikes in the US. Already it’s quite hard to get certain bike models here. www.renehersecycles.com/bikes-in-the...
renehersecycles.com
Bikes in the Age of Tariffs
Today's post was going to be about a new product we're introducing—but we need to hold off while we recalculate our prices. You've probably seen the news: Virtually all imports into the United States ...
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Mark Carney @mark-carney.bsky.social · 05/03/2025
Canada is strongest when we are united. That means creating one Canadian economy, instead of thirteen. Today, I’m sharing my plan to build that, together: markcarney.ca/media/2025/03/unite-canadian-economies
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Naomi Klein @naomiaklein.bsky.social · 01/03/2025
Reminder: we are being trained not to care about other people. It underlines the attacks on migrants, on DEI, on trans youth, on so-called "wokeness." Sure there are legitimate critiques but this is not about critiques. It's about supercharging capitalism's culture of uncare.
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zafarali.me @zafarali.me · 12/02/2025
I use this lane all the time! Makes connecting from/to Caltrain a breeze.
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Mónica C. Camacho @mc2x.bsky.social · 08/02/2025
This profile has been scrubbed from the site. Rose Ferreira grew up without reliable electricity, immigrated to NY, then survived homelessness and cancer on her way to NASA. She was so moved by images from the Webb telescope she wept. This is what’s at stake web.archive.org/web/20231206...
web.archive.org
NASA Intern Found Hope in the Moon - NASA
Lee esta historia en español aquí
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zafarali.me @zafarali.me · 28/01/2025
I wrote a post about my year car-free in the Bay Area enabled by @bromptonbicycle.bsky.social and I talk about some of the highs and lows of the year. open.substack.com/pub/baybybro... Let me know what you think!
open.substack.com
A year Car-free with a Brompton Bicycle
Reflecting on a year of car-free living in the San Francisco Peninsula with a Brompton Bicycle
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Transbay Coalition @transbaycoalition.bsky.social · 25/11/2024
Any EV rebate for Californians should also count towards e-bikes or allow residents to direct their rebate's worth of funding to the transit agency of their choice. Some people's EV is transit like @sfbart.bsky.social VTA, @rideact.bsky.social @gocaltrain.bsky.social www.latimes.com/environment/...
latimes.com
California to offer EV rebates if Trump kills $7,500 tax credit, Newsom says
California is prepared to offer state tax rebates for electric vehicle purchases if the incoming Trump administration scuttles the federal EV tax credit, the governor said.
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Pr Carlos Moreno - IAE Paris1 Sorbonne University @carlosmorenofr.bsky.social · 22/11/2024
The Ontario government wants to remove bike lanes in Toronto. The city's shopkeepers are protesting, explaining that the lanes have been good for their business and providing figures to support their claims. Extract from a Toronto City News report with French STà. (HT @emmanuelspv.bsky.social)
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