Toronto cyclists, publishers take literacy to the masses on two wheels

Cyclists, no doubt, find any number of ways to combine their passion with other, less related pursuits. For two Torontonians, a blend of cycling and reading—and literacy advocacy in general—has been how that chemistry has taken shape since 2013.

During the summer months, Madeline Curry and Sarah Beaudin can be seen riding around the city, hauling 18 kg of books behind them on a trailer branded with the name of their publishing company, Meat Locker Editions. The idea behind the trailer, Torstar News Service reports, is to get those books to readers in the up-close, personal way that cycling offers, making the rounds of the city’s many parks and park-dwelling readers.

For Curry and Beaudin, the book-bike season that ended in October was their third one running, and this winter, the two riders and publishing professionals are planning their next move for when spring rolls around.

So far, those three seasons have yielded a surge of success, with both readers and riders alike in Canada’s biggest city becoming familiar with the unique grassroots operation started by Curry and Beaudin. A big part of that success, Torstar News Service notes, is both the range of available titles and the laid-back way they’re distributed. Gathered from donors—everyone from friends to stores to publishers—the books require no membership card to sign out, with no return policies enforced by late fees, either. “We’ve got non-fiction, fiction, [young adult] books, some in foreign languages,” Beaudin told reporters.

In all, the books add up to about “116 gallons worth,” reports say. The only rule, Curry said, is to be considerate of others. Apart from that, limits are few.

“We’re more excited about just getting the books out there,” she said.