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Saskatoon Cycles February 2025 Newsletter

Winter BYXE Week 2025 – February 15 – 23

The 2025 edition of Winter BYXE Week has come and gone.

The City of Saskatoon initiative, delivered in partnership with Saskatoon Cycles, tested the mettle of city cyclists this year; for most of the nine day event, temperatures were between -20C and -30C, with wind chills adding an extra frostiness for good measure.

Nevertheless, people braved the cold and participated with gusto! First time winter cyclists joined our BYXE Kick-Off Slow Roll or tried checking off items on the scavenger hunt. One rented a bike and shot video of herself on a -30C afternoon (and loved it)! Dozens of visits were made to Bike to Work Day stations both indoor and outdoor, with either very cold or very warm hosts (all spectacular and gracious) handing out treats and hot beverages to commuters. Spirits were high.

We salute and thank all of the resilient cyclists who not only proved the viability of riding a bike regardless of the temperature, but exhibited such joy while doing it.

We also thank the great businesses who provided a Bike to Work Day commuter station. Hosting a station requires time, energy, and resources, and we value the dedication shown to make this year’s winter version so successful. Be sure to show these places some appreciation the next time you’re in:

Finally, we’d like to thank all of the places that donated AMAZING swag to the event and helped us lure people out into the frigid temperatures! Would they have come out anyway? Probably. Would it have been as much fun? Definitely not! Thank you, Saskatoon businesses, for making this year’s prize packages ROCK!

A special thank you goes to our partner for BYXE Week, the City of Saskatoon. Without their support and collaboration, the event would not be the same.

Connecting Victoria Avenue – Public Engagement

Enthusiasts for safer cycling and walking infrastructure will have an opportunity to provide their opinion during upcoming consultations initiated by the City of Saskatoon. We encourage everyone to partake in these sessions and stress to the city staff and consultants the importance of safe and accessible options for people to get around the city without an automobile.

The specific designs will likely be left to engineers who understand city standards and best practice, but the key element is that administration hears a consistent desire for safety and accessibility for all users in a neighborhood. Do you think a lower speed limit brings more safety? Do you want separated cycling lanes, or prefer shared-use paths? Can more people be active and safe if they have continuous sidewalks to use on their route?

The city wants to hear from people who have a desire to make their neighborhoods more “liveable”. This is your chance to be heard.

From the City of Saskatoon’s “Engage” page for Connecting Victoria Avenue:

“In the first round of engagement (July 2024), we gathered feedback on the opportunities and challenges of incorporating cycling facilities and pedestrian improvements along Victoria Avenue from Taylor Street East to Ruth Street. We are now gathering feedback on the proposed design plan to help us finalize the design.

You are invited to provide your feedback by participating in engagement events, including an online survey and open house.

Online Survey

The online survey is now open! Please submit your comments by March 21, 2025.

Open House

A come-and-go open house will be held on Wednesday, March 5, at Aden Bowman Collegiate from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m.”

CPKC Rail and 8th Street E – Public Engagement

This session involves a potential safety link for the Brighton neighborhood for ALL road users along 8th Street East. For anyone who has traveled by foot or bike to that newer area of the city, you’ll know how important this rail crossing is to any future infrastructure that could make travel safer and more accessible.

We want to stress the importance of supporting the planned multi-modal corridors, proper grading of either options to ensure appropriate incline/decline for users, and the future AAA cycling network as part of this design.

From the City of Saskatoon’s “Engage” page for CPKC Rail Grade Separation on 8th Street East:

“In the first round of engagement (February to March 2025), we want to share proposed options and gather feedback from you to inform the preferred option for the CPKC railway crossing grade separation at 8th Street East.

Your feedback on the design options, in addition to other considerations (i.e. City standards, policies, cost, best practices, technical feasibility), will be considered by the City in developing a preferred design. This round of engagement is the first of two rounds to provide feedback on the project.

A map of the project area is provided here and the proposed design options can be viewed here.

You are invited to learn more about the design and ask your questions at a come and go open house from 5:00 to 8:00 pm on March 5, 2025 at the Auditorium at the Cliff Wright Public Library, 1635 McKercher Drive.

You can also share your views by completing the online survey on/or before March 17, 2025. You can access the survey here.”

New Board of Directors Spotlight: Ursula Acton

Ursula Acton

As a non-profit, Saskatoon Cycles relies heavily on the efforts of its volunteer board. Our Board of Directors bring a range of perspectives and skill sets to the organization, contributing what they can without pay or very much glory. At our AGM on November 27, 2024 three people joined our Board. In this edition, we’ll introduce you to Ursula Acton.

Q: Why do you ride a bike? 
I started riding to commute to work but fell in love with getting about under my own power. It was so nice not to be at the mercy of vehicular traffic and congestion. From there it became a gratifying cycle: ride, feel good about riding, ride more, feel better, etc. By now, it is important not just to my physical health but to my mental health as well.

Q: Why did you decide to run for the board?
I’m increasingly frustrated that people (politicians, etc) pay lip-service to the idea of cyclist
safety, but aren’t doing anything beyond that. Had to admit that I wasn’t doing anything either,
so when the opportunity came up to join a group that was doing something, it seemed timely.

Q: How would you describe cycling in Saskatoon to someone new to the city?
It’s patchy. There are areas where it’s pretty good, and particularly if you want to cycle for
recreation there are a fair number of options. If you are cycling to commute, it very much
depends on where you need to go and how comfortable you feel riding on the road.

Q: If you could make one change to the cycling experience in Saskatoon overnight, what would it be?
Drivers, cyclists, and pedestrians would all have proper education re: the rules of the road and
treat each other with respect and courtesy. A little of that would go a long way to making cycling
safer and more enjoyable.

Q: Do you have any favourite cycling rides or routes in or around Saskatoon?
I am not fast on a bike, but I do like to take longer rides. One of my favourites is a 45km loop
along the west side of the river to Wanuskewin and back, crossing to the east side at Chief
Mistawasis Bridge and then taking McOrmond through Brighton and along 8th home.

Q: When you’re not cycling, what are your favourite activities? 
Cycling and yoga are almost all I do in terms of physical activities. Left to my own devices, I
would just knit and read. At least, I knit and read until my back or neck are sore and then I go for
a ride. Sorts everything.

Pedal Express Bike Delivery Challenge: Jason vs. Tyler

Pedal Express is Saskatoon’s only non-profit delivery service by bicycle. It uses a volunteer core of cyclists who courier packages from participating businesses to customers, AT NO COST to the business thanks to the generous support of the program’s sponsor, The Better Good.

A friendly rivalry in the cyclist team erupted in the fall of 2024, when newcomer Tyler Rittinger began challenging veteran courier Jason Hanson for the title of “Most Deliveries for the Year”. Jason managed to hold on to his substantial lead and prevailed, but a new contest was immediately announced for 2025.

How do these two competitors stack up?

Hanson Advantage: flexible schedule (semi-retired, no kids)
Hanson Disadvantages: craves leisure, older than Tyler, easily distracted, daydreams

Rittinger Advantages: Intense focus, excellent physical conditioning, keen sense of direction, top notch gear, professional technique, close proximity to most business locations, indomitable spirit
Rittinger Disadvantages: full time work schedule, family obligations

What’s at stake?

Well, nothing, really. Just a few bragging rights.

Watch this space to see who prevails for 2025 deliveries! Will Jason hold off Tyler’s challenge? Will Tyler be victorious? Or will a new, unknown rider emerge from the shadows to claim the title? Stay tuned.

Cycling Data

From the Broken Record Department: Have we mentioned how vital it is for city planners and advocates to have robust data to help lay the groundwork for better cycling in Saskatoon?

Of course we have! We will again! And onward and upward we go!

One of the ongoing pieces we need help with is the gathering of information that indicates how much cycling is happening and where our bikes are taking us. You can pitch in by sharing your biking routes and experiences through a couple of apps that aggregates this data and keeps it anonymous.

1. Install Strava on your phone and track every ride or walk you take. You only need a free account. And if you already use a tracking app, check to see if it has a Strava integration. There are more than 100 apps that Strava connects with.

Strava anonymizes the data from all users in an area and creates the Strava heatmap. Images from these heatmaps can be a powerful visual to show that there are cyclists and walkers using the streets all over Saskatoon (like this presentation on Circle Drive on Ave C). But we need as many cyclists as possible to be using this system!

2. Bookmark Bikemaps.org and report every time you have a cycling crash, a near-miss, see a cycling hazard, or have your bike stolen. This is NOT instead of calling an ambulance or the police. Absolutely do that first if it’s needed!!

Bikemaps.org is a system that aims to catch as many as possible of the almost 70% of all cycling incidents or near misses that don’t get reported officially.

Get Strava

Find out more about the Strava app at strava.com

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