Madeleine Bonsma-Fisher, PhD

Data Sciences Institute postdoc (bikes + data), biophysics PhD, Bike Ottawa board member, mom. I post about bikes and safe streets, local politics, and sometimes science. She/her.

#DataScience #BikeTooter #OttBike #ActiveTravel #Transportation #UrbanPlanning #CargoBike #eBike #biking #maps #science #Python #cats #fedi22

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npub1e0crm2yz8yu2w47qt0c49ml0v8wghy3g2gftk3nwkttg7g60xhxsgk7dd9

NIP-05 Address

mbonsma_at_mastodon.social@mostr.pub

Profile Code

nprofile1qqsvhupa4zprjw982lq9hu2jalhkrhytjg59yy4mgeht9450yd8ntngpzemhxue69uhhyetvv9ujumn0wd68ytnzv9hxgdgfk2t

Publishing to

relay.nostr.band

Author Public Key

npub1e0crm2yz8yu2w47qt0c49ml0v8wghy3g2gftk3nwkttg7g60xhxsgk7dd9

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Last Notes

2024-11-08 03:18:16

My bike ride to work takes exactly 30 minutes - rain or shine, morning or evening.
A few weeks ago I took the "car" to work, using the car lane instead of the bike lane. It took 45 minutes - 50% longer! - because traffic is just that bad. You're not stuck in traffic, you are traffic.
#CarsRuinCities
https://files.mastodon.social/media_attachments/files/113/445/165/752/043/514/original/e8d911de90c9dc49.jpg

2024-06-21 01:03:34

Picked up an extra passenger (Grams) on the way home from the music recital. She said it was "not too bad"!
https://files.mastodon.social/media_attachments/files/112/651/910/919/098/655/original/2d85d5cf03896358.jpg

2024-06-05 00:04:25

Once a week I go by bike to pick up my son at 4:35. We get to the train tracks 2 minutes before the train passes, watch the train, then arrive at music lessons 6 minutes early, rain or shine. This predictability is only possible on foot or by bike. Bonus: we get to ride on this beautiful trail!
https://files.mastodon.social/media_attachments/files/112/561/079/389/962/225/original/4e565951fb92179b.jpg

2024-05-19 00:05:25

There are times when you walk or bike somewhere that the hostile infrastructure makes you feel like a fool and a chump. Exhibit A, me waiting 20 minutes for a bus, trying to nurse my baby while standing at a bus stop with no shade or seating. But there are other times...
https://files.mastodon.social/media_attachments/files/112/464/817/960/058/810/original/5ce9519c25d234e9.jpg

2024-05-10 22:51:56

My 4-year-old and his friend are zooming around the park on their bike and scooter, on the way home we see a group of teenagers rolling down the road on their bikes and scooters. My husband said "that'll be our kids in 10 years!" Independence and mobility for kids, we love to see it!

2024-05-10 20:35:57

The pedal bike clicked for my 4-year-old this week. His grin, his squeals of laughter, his "I'm going really fast! This is fun!" while we ride beside him - one of the best feelings I've ever had as a parent.
https://files.mastodon.social/media_attachments/files/112/418/611/722/885/236/original/b0d73cc8cba39ba1.jpg

2024-05-04 00:27:45

999 signatures! Who will be number 1000?
https://www.ourcommons.ca/petitions/en/Petition/Details?Petition=e-4944

2024-05-01 20:01:14

Cars parking in the bike lane radicalized me 13 years ago, and these days my willingness to "just go around" has hit rock bottom. It feels more important than ever to make it safe for ALL of us to walk and bike.
#PreciousCargo
https://files.mastodon.social/media_attachments/files/112/367/610/684/321/991/original/19c4ca8bc92b4f15.jpg

2024-04-24 18:27:25

500 signatures in less than 48 hours! We've already reached the threshold for the petition to be certified!
#DesignSafeSystems
#DeadlyByDesign
https://www.ourcommons.ca/petitions/en/Petition/Details?Petition=e-4944

2024-04-24 01:12:58

Next time you're on the highway, look at the vehicles around you. Chances are you'll see plenty of ordinary cars. But that's about to change: in 2008, 54% of new vehicles in Canada were cars, while in 2022 it was just 17%. As old vehicles die, we will soon be surrounded by behemoths, only trucks and SUVs.
#DeadlyByDesign
https://driving.ca/column/driving-by-numbers/canadas-best-selling-cars-for-the-past-15-years

2024-04-24 00:37:34

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I mean unless you're 7 feet tall it looks kinda silly to rest your arm on one of these ego boostmobiles
https://files.mastodon.social/media_attachments/files/112/323/394/896/566/843/original/b6db66bb7c3996df.jpg
https://files.mastodon.social/media_attachments/files/112/323/395/359/576/467/original/af2fc772c83e9e5e.jpg

2024-04-24 00:35:26

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People who own newer and/or lifted pickups, do you ever feel sad that you will never look this cool
https://files.mastodon.social/media_attachments/files/112/323/386/633/046/391/original/4b7dad096550397d.jpg
https://files.mastodon.social/media_attachments/files/112/323/386/970/506/010/original/ffcd33d902fff41a.jpg

2024-04-24 00:04:55

I'm 5'6"
https://files.mastodon.social/media_attachments/files/112/323/265/069/363/175/original/af300696f3dbc860.jpg
https://files.mastodon.social/media_attachments/files/112/323/265/213/831/716/original/47c0cc7ad39f5b4c.jpg

2024-04-23 19:39:36

Safety is the focus of this petition because people are being injured and killed right now. But there are so many other reasons to demand smaller vehicles, and here are some of them. 🧵
#DeadlyByDesign
https://mastodon.social/@mbonsma/112317556998235401

2024-04-02 11:20:22

And for my next trick, a full cart of groceries loaded into... an SUV? No! A mere bicycle!
#CarryShitOlympics #quaxing
https://files.mastodon.social/media_attachments/files/112/201/350/765/895/666/original/20be3a9a0d682431.jpg
https://files.mastodon.social/media_attachments/files/112/201/350/998/676/878/original/936577df218b1aca.jpg

2024-03-21 14:28:28

Electric cars are not actually zero-emission vehicles. “Even if all our vehicles eventually become powered by electricity instead of fossil fuels, we will still have harmful pollution from vehicles because of tyre wear.”
It is important to reduce the amount we drive, not just swap in "green" technologies for our existing habits. EVs take enormous resources to produce, electricity may not always be green, tires release pollution, and people are still killed in crashes.
https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2023/feb/23/health-impact-tyre-particles-increasing-concern-air-pollution

2024-03-13 20:47:08

Biking will never be a transportation solution for everyone all the time. But what e-bikes (and especially e-cargo bikes) do is expand the range of bikeable situations, giving more people more options for an incredibly fun way to get around!
https://files.mastodon.social/media_attachments/files/112/090/337/644/443/091/original/13e6055e1dae0c8a.jpg

2024-03-11 17:03:19

This is so cool. An overwhelming "yes" vote from McMaster students to add a small bike share fee to their tuition, and it becomes the largest source of funding for the system. The kids are alright!!
#HamOnt
https://www.thepublicrecord.ca/2024/03/mcmaster-students-approve-bike-share-fee-of-24-50-per-student/
https://files.mastodon.social/media_attachments/files/112/078/124/682/101/828/original/efa01012b9509c14.jpg

2024-03-04 23:11:57

What? No, my family isn't obsessed with public transit
https://files.mastodon.social/media_attachments/files/112/039/939/038/015/693/original/be1fed8c15bef37a.jpg
https://files.mastodon.social/media_attachments/files/112/039/939/195/279/192/original/6698cf710a76eb6c.jpg
https://files.mastodon.social/media_attachments/files/112/039/939/939/972/284/original/0a1c96a5a95d0d00.webp

2024-02-12 00:20:46

My timeline is 95% pictures of owls and 5% #SuperBowl content, clearly I chose my follows well

2024-02-05 23:11:51

The last bike ride I took was about 20 hours before having a baby. That's the magic of an upright e-bike for ya!
https://files.mastodon.social/media_attachments/files/111/881/398/079/729/799/original/b5d04af6a12334b1.jpg

2024-02-05 20:19:05

Well I would walk 0.31 miles
And I would walk 0.31 more
Just to be the man who walks 0.62 miles
To local grocery store
#15MinuteCity

2024-02-04 15:30:15

Emily in "Emily's Quest" (LM Montgomery) had made two copies of her book "A Seller of Dreams", one handwritten and one typed, and she only burned one of them. Therefore she could have recovered and still gotten it published when she learned Dean had lied to her. In this essay I w

2024-01-14 00:36:56

4-year-old has been asking to go to the beach lately (me: I don't think the beach right now will be what you're expecting but ok!). Today I learned that the bathrooms AND the ice cream stand are open year-round at Woodbine Beach, and yes, you CAN make a sand castle in January.
#BikeTooter #BikeTO
https://files.mastodon.social/media_attachments/files/111/751/485/221/301/997/original/89e93ffed139d9c7.jpg
https://files.mastodon.social/media_attachments/files/111/751/486/810/560/605/original/36fb555bf6e3e5a6.jpg
https://files.mastodon.social/media_attachments/files/111/751/487/584/375/971/original/0e0be5c6f77918af.jpg
https://files.mastodon.social/media_attachments/files/111/751/502/622/074/884/original/38f40d2fa022f3cc.jpg

2023-12-29 14:45:02

THREE e-bikes at the Canadian Tire bike rack on a rainy late-December day. One man casually strapping a large box to his rack said he's put on 12,000 km in 3 years just doing errands around the city. "3 years ago I hardly saw any other bikes like this, now they're everywhere."
https://files.mastodon.social/media_attachments/files/111/664/239/890/881/375/original/95f43782f7e2a03a.jpeg

2023-12-13 15:16:11

An SUV veered into the bike lane to pass someone else just as I was coming up beside on my bike. I gave him an "I'm disappointed" head shake, and the next time I passed him he rolled down the window and screamed "EAT MY A**H***!!" Very normal and cool reaction! 🙃
https://files.mastodon.social/media_attachments/files/111/573/766/541/832/535/original/bc2d03cb50dbb40e.mp4

2023-12-12 16:22:56

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@npub1v52…qu8a @npub1g6p…c4u2 this is a wonderful example and I agree would probably not fit the theory - the unassembled area of this puzzle is probably larger than we predict because the tendrils would make the pieces behave like larger circles. If we had a good model for how big of a circle the average piece fits in, the circular lattice packing part should still work. Very lovely puzzle, by the way!

2023-12-12 15:07:07

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@npub1mdk…aptk identical threads posted yesterday to X and Mastodon, much higher engagement on here. On X I have ~8500 followers, Mastodon ~2700.
In the time I've been cross-posting, sometimes something will do better on one place than the other and it's hard to predict what and why, but definitely I've had really good engagement on here!
https://files.mastodon.social/media_attachments/files/111/568/054/102/994/379/original/64dcf793adf69d17.jpg
https://files.mastodon.social/media_attachments/files/111/568/054/412/015/527/original/a484443eb0a1fe18.jpg

2023-12-12 01:24:26

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This work was a pandemic collaboration between me and the brilliant Kent Bonsma-Fisher, with assistance from our toddler and cat. The result, in his words, was "the cleanest dataset I have ever collected." Today our results are public on #arXiv!
https://files.mastodon.social/media_attachments/files/111/564/832/796/614/472/original/6165b3c49c827e90.jpeg

2023-12-12 01:23:07

We've all been there: it's puzzle time, but once you dump out the pieces and start laying them flat, you realize you don't have enough space on your table. Join me as we use physics to find out ✨HOW BIG A TABLE YOU NEED FOR YOUR JIGSAW PUZZLE ✨
https://doi.org/10.48550/arXiv.2312.04588
#SciComm

2023-12-05 16:38:00

People change over time, you just need to find someone who will change with you 💕
https://files.mastodon.social/media_attachments/files/111/528/782/878/596/192/original/dc94abb5264e6103.jpg
https://files.mastodon.social/media_attachments/files/111/528/783/591/525/459/original/e84a70a6a1ed8b1a.jpg

2023-11-09 23:54:15

Perfectly calibrated to make my blood boil:
- pickup truck in a walkable neighbourhood
- truck is running but empty
- stopped on the sidewalk (like why do we even have driveway curb cuts, clearly they're not necessary)
- right outside a school
- while I walk past with a stroller
https://files.mastodon.social/media_attachments/files/111/383/276/542/882/166/original/08f2fbe7d9dabcfa.jpg
https://files.mastodon.social/media_attachments/files/111/383/277/692/081/147/original/6170a00a312c8f49.jpg

2023-11-01 01:48:01

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Bike train in video form: https://youtu.be/pxQcpSLhDOA?feature=shared

2023-10-31 14:07:52

I have never felt more respected or validated in my life than when I drove this onto the elementary school playground this morning
https://files.mastodon.social/media_attachments/files/111/330/017/651/140/956/original/a6301f1af12a29ce.jpg

2023-10-26 12:15:43

Actually it SHOULD be difficult and stressful to drive a car in a city and if it's not then you're not taking your responsibility seriously enough

2023-10-26 00:09:02

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Let's have a moment of silence for the people stuck in traffic on their way to the gym to ride the stationary bike

2023-10-26 00:05:49

As I cruise around on my e-bike while 6 months pregnant I keep thinking that it's like going for a nice low-impact workout on a stationary bike with variable resistance and everything but at the end you have also completed all your errands

2023-10-18 13:56:57

This morning a woman walked out onto the street in front of me without looking and I just went around her and everyone went on with their day, because I was going 15 km/h on a bike and not driving a 1500 kg tank through a city at 50 km/h

2023-10-18 00:44:40

Every time someone tells me it's only sensible for pedestrians to be predictable and careful and attentive on our dangerous car-dominated streets, what I hear is that they don't believe kids have a right to autonomy in public

2023-10-17 17:57:54

We're in trouble, people
https://files.mastodon.social/media_attachments/files/111/251/648/350/583/305/original/ae0a47a62aa63bcf.jpg

2023-10-17 13:53:59

Pedestrians, it should be our right to be distracted. It should be our right to walk and listen to music / look at the sky / cute dogs / snowflakes and not worry about getting killed. Nothing about that is dangerous except for CARS. Don't let them make you believe you are the problem.

2023-09-17 22:16:48

My friend Jen was in a car crash a decade ago. Today she begins an epic four-week roll on the Camino after achieving her first self-propelled movement in ten years this past spring with this recumbent bike. Her journey is about so much more than bikes, but wow, that bike is cool.
Read more about her story and follow her trip on her blog: https://www.jenschuringa.com/
https://files.mastodon.social/media_attachments/files/111/082/795/217/136/026/original/78794f3c91eff8f1.webp

2023-08-31 14:31:32

Today is a good day to post in your local parents group about biking with kids! Every time I do I get so many great questions from people who are interested but not sure where to start. You can be the nudge that makes someone's car-light dreams possible!

2023-08-30 14:25:11

Leading pedestrian intervals are great, but they would be a whole lot better if we banned right turns on red. The whole point is to create a protected walking phase for the first part of a crossing, and if cars are zooming through on a red light it kind of defeats the purpose.
#WalkableCities #LPI
https://files.mastodon.social/media_attachments/files/110/979/020/553/332/797/original/2e99fb2da759351e.jpg

2023-08-23 17:09:47

Emissions aren't the only consideration for #transportation. This nice graphic from Surrey, BC's Climate Change Action Strategy compares the operating emissions AND the public space footprint of transportation options. #ActiveTravel wins at both! (And SUVs are really bad)
https://files.mastodon.social/media_attachments/files/110/940/027/066/343/654/original/0c60bdd78594569d.png

2023-08-04 20:06:16

18-inch close pass from a lady in a Tesla.
Me: you passed me way too close
Her: you need to share the road!!!! You need to ride close to the side!!!
Write this on my tombstone when the next asshole kills me:
YOU DO NOT NEED TO STAY TO THE RIGHT WHEN THE LANE IS TOO NARROW TO SHARE
https://files.mastodon.social/media_attachments/files/110/833/142/583/335/482/original/305963e4a87359b2.jpg

2023-07-18 00:01:42

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@npub1sat…8vnx it WAS (e-bike)

2023-07-17 21:52:43

Staple-style covered bike racks at the Ontario Science Centre, steps from the entrance, accessible from a beautiful trail ride through the Don Valley. Doesn't get any better than this!
#BikeTO
#BikeTooter
https://files.mastodon.social/media_attachments/files/110/731/639/582/820/257/original/1467ccebd7d579ba.jpg

2023-07-14 16:09:45

Imagine that a person is biking around with a 5'x5' metal plate attached to the front of their bike. It comes up to their chin, but don't worry, they can see great because they're so high up!
Now imagine that they hit someone.
Immediately everyone says: you couldn't see, how irresponsible, this is your fault.
Now imagine someone is wearing the rest of a pickup truck, not just the front, and they hit someone. Everyone shrugs, agrees they came out of nowhere, nothing could have been done.

2023-07-14 16:07:23

A cool and normal vehicle for practical life in Canada's largest city
https://files.mastodon.social/media_attachments/files/110/713/295/943/707/736/original/44cbfd4eaf1f9d52.jpeg

2023-07-13 01:17:44

Cars indirectly heat up our cities through their greenhouse gas emissions and the oceans of pavement they require, but they're also just really hot! If you've ever waited beside a line of idling traffic, you can feel the heat radiating off them, and it's more than a little uncomfortable.
https://files.mastodon.social/media_attachments/files/110/704/129/131/769/568/original/2566bb6917e15699.jpg
https://files.mastodon.social/media_attachments/files/110/704/129/978/686/530/original/675edd288ece8125.jpg

2023-05-30 02:50:53

It's hard to describe the startling QUIET of these open streets. Hundreds of people out, and all you hear are birds singing, the click of a bike mechanism, and the murmur of conversation. Cities aren't loud, cars are loud. #Montreal #OpenStreets
https://files.mastodon.social/media_attachments/files/110/455/358/421/759/181/original/2057d52ba032ff67.mp4