Bicycle Repair in Toronto

A methodical practice, first learned with greasy hands on steel frames, now applied to clean abstractions in cloud architecture.

My journey into professional bicycle mechanics began at Bike Pirates, a non-profit co-op in Toronto’s west end, where I learned the fundamentals. From there, I transitioned to Urbane Cyclist, a worker co-operative that profoundly shaped my approach to technical work. Urbane was more than just a shop; it was a hub for Toronto’s cycling scene, a community held together by shared values and, often, shared roti meals from Gandhi’s during staff meetings and parties.

Bryan's Basic Principles for a Happy Life

A Synthesis of Wisdom for the Modern Seeker

This guide is my own synthesis. I have walked many paths—learning from yoga, meditation, Shin Buddhism, Aikido, Tai Chi, and shiatsu—yet I have never fully belonged to a single teacher, dojo, or sangha. While I am deeply grateful for the lessons from each tradition, I found myself without a central anchor.

So, I have chosen to become my own. This is not a rejection of those teachings, but an integration of them. Here, I distill the core of the core principles that resonate across disciplines into a practical framework for navigating the world with awareness, compassion, and purpose.

The Elephant in the Digital Room

Ancient wisdom for the modern information age.

Each hand feels one part
Declares the whole elephant known
Truth requires many hands

There’s an ancient story about blind men encountering an elephant for the first time. One feels the trunk and declares the elephant is like a snake. Another touches the leg and insists it’s like a tree. A third grasps the tail and argues it’s like a rope. Each is certain they understand the whole animal based on their limited experience, and each is wrong in their certainty.