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Saskatoon Cycles August 2026 Newsletter

Bike Valet: Update

The 2026 Bike Valet season is rolling along this summer!

Earlier in August we navigated a surprise contract to attend the Rock the River Festival for the first time ever, and despite some rainy conditions, the event was a “rockin'” success! A big thank you goes out to the festival organizers for including us in this year’s lineup, and a HUGE thanks to the volunteer team that materialized so quickly after our last minute recruiting!

Here are the most recent totals for Bike Valet 2026:
Venues = 13
Total volunteer hours = 477
Bikes parked = 3155

We’re inspired by these numbers. Over 3000 trips by bicycle translates into lower carbon emissions, less traffic, more efficiency and accessibility, and more exercise in fresh air! When people know there is a secure place to park their rides, they’re far more likely to choose cycling as an option, and these metrics are showing us that the Valet model works.

The Bike Valet success is completely dependent on reliable, friendly volunteers, and we’re always on the lookout for as many of these as we can find! If you’re a veteran volunteer, or just thinking about trying your first shift, please check out our upcoming venue opportunities and grab a spot that works for you:

Shifts are two hours, and go by quickly. Many volunteers stay later and keep parking bikes because they find it fun! If you haven’t volunteered yet, you’ll also get a nifty new blue comfortable shirt for your efforts (and some quick on-site training to get you up to speed).

Let’s cross our fingers for continued good weather and lots of community participation to make 2026 a MASSIVE year for the Bike Valet!

Critical Mass: Aug. 28

The next Critical Mass in Saskatoon is this Friday, August 28, 2026.

Riders and other participants will muster at the A.L. Cole Pumphouse and depart at 6:30PM.

If you’re unfamiliar with the concept, we’ve found the Wikipedia entry has an excellent overview and important information:

Critical Mass is a form of direct action in which people travel as a group on bicycles at a set location and time. The idea is for people to group together to make it safe for each other to ride bicycles through their streets, based on the old adage: there’s safety in numbers.

Critical Mass has a decentralized (rather than hierarchical) structure. Critical Mass is sometimes called an “organized coincidence”, with no leadership or membership.

The Critical Mass YXE Instagram page states:

It is inclusive to all active transportation users. All manners of bicycles, e-bikes, even rollerblades! Bring lights and make yourself visible and have fun on the ride!

Saskatoon Cycles supports getting people on their bikes and riding safely in their cities. We are not organizers of the Critical Mass, but feel the event may be of interest to our membership.

Circle the Swale Fundraising Ride: Aug. 29

Looking for a great excuse to get out on your bike? ❤️

Circle the Swale is part of the Great Cycle Challenge Canada, a month-long riding event to help in the battle against childhood cancer.

You can join local fundraisers for a morning ride; just register and drop in on their course any time between 4AM and 12 noon. (This is a partially closed course, with the east-most lane of Central Ave closed to traffic. The remainder of the course is along public, designated bike paths which will be open during the event.)

You can get all the details and register at the circletheswale.ca

It’s a great cause fuelled by fun people!

Little Library Tour Slow Roll: Aug. 29

We’ll be meeting at Gather Local Market this Saturday, August 29, 2026 (departing at 2PM) to do a mini tour of some mini libraries in Saskatoon.

This will be a ride for all ages, on low traffic/low stress paths and streets, connecting you to some of these little gems of free literature!

If you have some books you’d like to donate to various little libraries, bring them along for distribution!

Cathy Watts Memorial Slow Roll: Sept. 8

From Cathy’s obituary, published Sept. 11, 2020:

“… The very first time I got on a bike it was like no other feeling. For a lot of my life cycling wasn’t much in style. Certainly not in winter. At some point I thought, ‘I need to change this!”
When I became co-chair of Saskatoon Cycles 10 years ago, I believed the city’s geography was perfect for year-round cycling. I dreamed we could become one of the best bike cities in the world. I was a happy agitator at city council, always trying to convince the people in charge that a bicycle is a simple solution to a complex problem.
… Now I am on another journey. If I go to heaven, I don’t intend to rest. I’ll be looking for bike lanes and if I don’t find any, there will be hell to pay.
So, if you are reading this, don’t be sad and certainly don’t send flowers. Here’s what I want you to do instead. Support my beloved Saskatoon Cycles, because there’s still a lot of work to do. Then get on a bike, head for a trail and feel what it’s like to be free.”

Almost six years later, we’re still trying to bring the same spirit of joy and fire to our advocacy and programming, and like to think Cathy would be proud of the work we’re doing. Through hard times and good, we’ve kept Cathy in the heart or our organization.

Come and celebrate Cathy’s life and passion for activism with us on Tuesday, September 8th.
We’ll gather at D’Lish by Tish Cafe for a 5:30PM departure and take a tour we think Cathy would like.
If you’re motivated by Cathy’s obituary, you can donate to Saskatoon Cycles here.

Darin Kinniewess Memorial Ride: Sept. 16

Darin Kinniewess was killed while riding his bike in September of 2023. Every year since, Tyrone McKenzie from The Salvation Army has organized a memorial ride/walk as a way to honour Darin’s life and to support his family.

This year, the memorial offers a long or short ride option for cyclists, a period of reflection at the memorial site (Avenue P South and 19th Street West), and refreshments at The Bridge on 20th afterward.

You can get more information and register for events here, or contact Tyrone McKenzie here.

Donations are also encouraged for The Bridge on 20th, FASD Network, and The Salvation Army.

Ride for Refuge 2026: Oct. 3

Saskatoon Cycles is back for Ride for Refuge 2026!

What is Ride for Refuge?

It’s a family-friendly, in-person fundraising ride/walk held on Saturday, October 3, 2026 in support of charities that help people seeking hope, safety, and freedom.

In Saskatoon, funds raised go to Global Gathering Place, a drop-in non-profit centre that provides personalized, heartfelt settlement assistance to refugees and immigrants. We work with them as one of our Keep Rolling partners, and offer a Bike Valet for this annual event.

You can get involved by donating to our team or JOINING the team and becoming a fundraising juggernaut! Right now we’re in 4th place for Saskatoon, but we have a long way to go before we achieve our goal of local domination!

Join the fun!

Engage Saskatoon: You’re Invited to Get Involved!

Engage Saskatoon is the City of Saskatoon’s updated public engagement website. Community members are invited to register so they can:

  • follow projects that interest them
  • be notified of projects in their neighbourhood
  • share their feedback on City initiatives important to them

The City says: We want to hear from people across Saskatoon. The more voices and perspectives represented on Engage Saskatoon, the better we can understand our community.

You can learn more and sign up by clicking this link!

Donate

Your donations give us the resources to press toward a Saskatoon where cycling is a viable, year-round mode of transportation that is safe, convenient, and comfortable for all ages.

We want families to be able to simply hop on their bikes to go grab an ice cream and enjoy the beauty of Saskatoon. For you or your partner to pick up groceries or a library book. And we really want you to be able to commute to work and back safely and conveniently.

Your donation helps us work on these three ‘pillars’ of cycling development for Saskatoon:

  • Infrastructure – A safe, convenient, comfortable, and well-maintained cycling network throughout the city that allows cyclists to go from every neighbourhood to key destinations.
  • Ridership – Educate, encourage, and promote cycling so more people choose bicycles as a convenient and safe transportation option year round.
  • Culture – Educate, encourage, and promote diversity in ridership with respectful inclusion of all modes of transportation.

Please Donate Today