Written by Best wishes from Saskatoon Cycles for 2013!
2013′s Coolest Bike Parade
Ice Cycle 2013 runs from the Saskatoon Farmer’s Market February 10, 2013.
We’ll have a free winter cycling workshop, tons of door prizes thanks to Saskatoon’s greatest businesses, live music and the “coldest bicycle parade on earth!” at 1:30 pm.
- 12:00 pm Winter Cycling Workshop
- 12:30 pm – 1:00 pm Cycling Costume Contest with prizes for:
- Best Costume
- Best Group Costume
- Best Cargo Bike or Trailer
- 1:30 pm – 2:00 pm Winter Cycling Parade
- 2:00 pm – 3:00 pm Live Music and Door Prizes inside the Farmer’s Market
The World is Coming to Ice-Cycle 2013!
The Mennonite Central Committee’s (MCC) International Volunteer Exchange Program (IVEP) is a year-long exchange program which brings young adults from over 20 countries to volunteer full-time across Canada. IVEPers live with local host families. They get to know their communities and form close bonds with the other participants. Every February MCC gathers all participants for a mid-year-conference. This year, 43 participants from 23 different countries, are being hosted in Saskatoon February 6th-13th.
Participants will spend their week involved in educational sessions. They will also participate in local attractions like curling, Shekinah retreat centre, Wanuskewin, and… MCC Saskatchewan is thrilled to partner with Ice-Cycle this year!
30 Bicycles Needed
IVEP needs to borrow 30 bikes for the day of ice cycle. They will be used by the international students.
If you can help out bring them to the Farmers Market on Saturday, 9 Feb 10:30-12:00 noon and pick up on Sunday after the ride. The bikes will be kept in a secure enclosure. Thank you! Email Leila Olfert
New members for Cycling Advisory Committee wanted
Chelsea Lanning is currently looking for new applicants for the Cycling Advisory Committee that assists the City of Saskatoon in creating a city cycling plan. An ad ran in the Star Pheonix last weekend and will again this Saturday. If you are interested the deadline for applications is January 28, 2013 and the application form can be found on the City of Saskatoon website.
New Year’s Message from our Chair
2012 was a significant year. December saw council approve $500,000 for active transportation in the coming year. (See line p1137, Page 91) This money will go towards continuing construction on the 33rd St multipurpose trail from 3rd Ave to Ontario Ave.
SC Chair Cathy Watts addressing the ice-cycle crowd during pre-parade warm-up IceCycle 2012
Council also approved .1% of the Transportation budget for a dedicated fund that will begin next year. (P77 [0.1% of the 2013 Transport budget would be $101,300 –ed. ]) It will take about 3 years to provide a $500,000 reserve to continue to fund active transportation. It feels like we have turned the corner. Although it may feel like small steps we are certainly headed in the right direction. Cities across North America are embracing the opportunities alternate modes of transportation provide to let citizens to get around in the way that suits them best. We are in the game.
Supporting Membership
We are extremely grateful for the 2000 plus members who have signed up for free with Saskatoon Cycles!
Our board recently decided to create another category of membership, Supporting Members. We intend to keep all of our members informed via our newsletter and web site but we would like to recognize a segment of the membership base that is particularly engaged.
Supporting Membership: $30/person
- $5 annual renewal
- The first year membership includes a Saskatoon Cycles t-shirt!
If you do not want a t-shirt (though who would pass up this great deal?!) the initial fee will be $20. We are proposing a great party later in the year for our inaugural supporters of this passionate group. You can become a Supporting Member Online or come to Ice Cycle on February 10, 2013 to be one of the first to purchase a supporting membership.
Bike Valet
We are pleased to announce that Sharon Elder will be the coordinator for the Bike Valet for 2013. Last year she organized the parking of over 5000 bikes at 18 festivals!! She had an army of enthusiastic volunteers who often declared that “being at the bike valet is the best volunteer job in the City!”
Thanks for your great work Sharon. The first opportunity of 2013 to participate in the BIke Valet is at Ice Cycle, 10th Feb between 11am & 3:30 pm. It will be located in the fenced area due East of the Farmer’s Market, south of the large white building. Contact Sharon at bikevalet@saskatooncycles.org
Would you like the Bike Valet at your event? The 2013 rates have been set. Book the Bike Valet for your event now.
Swanky Racks
It’s impossible to acknowledge one donor without overlooking the efforts, sometimes herculean, by others. But this month we want to make note of our local bike shops.
Many of them help out with Ice Cycle and other festivals. They also donate prizes for our AGM. Without Greg and the crew at Bike Doctor our membership list would be a ghost of the 2000 we boast of.
And this month, we must belatedly throw out a giant thanks to City Park Cycle. We have a great collection of pricey Bike Valet racks thanks to them and if you, like some of us, wuss out about smudgey fingers, you’ll be thrilled to hear the racks have now been galvanized.
News -National
Should Vancouver be setting 12% of it’s snowploughs on Bike Lanes?
A Vancouver city councillor is questioning why he saw bike routes in the city getting cleared of snow during Wednesday’s snowstorm while nearby major bus routes seemed to be ignored. Coun. George Affleck says he saw the bike route on Ontario Street cleared several times while nearby Broadway was virtually ignored.
You just gave car makers 7 bucks!
The federal government is setting aside $250-million for car companies and their suppliers, its first auto-subsidy program since the industry bailout in 2009. $7.14 is each Canadian’s share of the $250m New Year’s present we are giving automakers. We have been unable to find the amount Ottawa is giving bicycle makers this year, but we’re sure it’s a pretty penny . . .
Winter Cycling Hits Post
The National Post features one of our staff writers in a piece on winter cycling. It’s nice to see a big-circulation journalist take time to understand the cyclists eye-view. And it’s getting more common as the bike boom continues across the land. However, we hope the average reader won’t come away thinking that falling down 5 times per winter is normal – it must be a Winnipeg thing…
News – Provincial
Drop That Phone
Distracted Driving is now the biggest killer on Saskatchewan’s roads. Do we need a broader law like they have in Alberta?
News – Saskatoon
Let Me Count the ‘Ways
Saskatoon has chosen a firm to re-design the North downtown, the same firm which re-designed Edmonton’s Airport area. The Edmonton concept and drawings look interesting including an idea for saving $50,000 to $75,000 on the price of a $350,000 condo: let car-free buyers purchase a condo with no dedicated car-parking. We don’t know if that idea would fly with Saskatoon Council. But can you spot the oddity in this rendering:
Full points if you said “Railway, motorway, walkway… where’s the bikeway?” One day, every stock architectural plan will include bikeways.
The City of Saskatoon has announced some open houses to collect your thoughts about the plan 25th Jan at Montgomery School, and 26th at the Farmer’s Market.
The Best Way to Use a Bike in Winter
As members of SC we share in the sheer euphoric glee of riding a bike, however, not all of us approach winter in the same emotional spectrum. Therefore, as a winter non-cyclist it is important for some of us to preserve and love our two-wheeled family members during their frigid downtime from a suitable distance.
Many cyclists battle with household space. Having a house with a garage or sturdy shed allows for easy storage – it is the apartment, condo, or shared space dwellers that will be the focus here.
10 easy steps to bike art:
- Count bikes – shipping prices will vary with collection size
- Assess wall structure and personal handyman ability and or patience – critically think back to the last Ikea item you attempted to assemble, this will resemble that experience but affect your walls permanently
- Choose colour – hopefully your bikes already match your décor. If not, the best option is to change your décor to match your bike.
Why I Love Winter Cycling: #1 No King Browns
On a recent visit to the scorching midsummer heat of Australia, I noticed a book of ‘bush’ poetry on sale. The cover sported a man perched on the handlebars of his bike, horror on his face. Tangled in the spokes was a huge, poisonous and irritated King Brown Snake ready to strike.
The next morning I awoke from a disturbing and now recurring dream in which I nearly stepped on a very large King Brown. The last time I’d had this same dream, I was also at my parents beach house atop steep limestone cliffs overlooking the southern ocean. These honeycomb cliffs are riddled with pigeon nests, hence pigeon eggs, hence predatory, egg snatching brown snakes. The next day on my morning run, I had come within inches of both my life and the head of a 7 foot Brown Snake as it reared to strike.
Have Space for Some Long-Distance Cyclists 15th July?
A group called the 2013 Livestrong Texas 4000 Ride Team will bike 4500 miles in 70 days from Texas to Alaska. Three teams of about 30 college students are hoping to raise $600,000 against cancer. They are in need of lodging in Saskatoon, SK on July 15th. Any help from the Saskatoon community will be greatly appreciated. They are happy lodging in homes, churches, gyms or you name it.
Michael Williams, cell: 903-467-6033 mjw2455@gmail.com
Global Gleaning of the Month
Want to Feel Like You Live in the Dark Ages?
Check out the European Cycling Federation’s Newsletter:
ECF, its members, its networks and its supporters took the lead to put cycling into every agenda, from local to international. And we finished the year on a really high note because our collective efforts have secured two major successes at the EU level which show that our ambitions are possible.
Cycling and EuroVelo has been included in a crucial EU infrastructure vote on funding rules, opening the door to billions of euros of investment.
Want Smart Kids? Bring them to School by Bike.
“Danish scientists who set out to measure the benefits of breakfast and lunch among children found diet helped but that the way pupils travelled to school was far more significant. Those who cycled or walked performed better in tests than those who had travelled by car or public transport.”
“I thought of it while riding my bicycle.” – Einstein on his Theory of Relativity
Google Maps Gives Bicycling Directions in Saskatoon
This is still in Beta. They’re missing some bike paths and you can’t drag the route into a path they don’t know about. But you can easily tell them about deficiencies. They offer distances and times (though the times don’t seem to reflect snowdepths 
Battery Powered Gloves
From the “wouldn’t it be easier just to buy mittens?” department! These gloves are pack’n heat (battery powered that is).
Help us make Saskatoon a better place!
Email info@saskatooncycles.org.
