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Saskatoon Cycles February 2026 Newsletter

Winter BYXE Week 2026

Winter BYXE Week 2026 will hopefully be remembered as another fun cycling event that celebrated and motivated Saskatoon bike riders to embrace winter. From February 7 – 15, through scavenger hunt tasks, warm Bike to Work Day stations and treats, social media posts, group rides, and prize draws, many smiles were generated and many memories were made.

One question that might haunt the historical record is whether the success of the week was due to its inviting lineup of activities and community, or its temperature range. For as long as Saskatoon Cycles has been involved in Winter BYXE Week, there’s never been a stretch of days that hovered so consistently around 0 degrees C! This mild snap created a good deal of icy conditions on the streets and trails, but unlike previous Winter BYXE Weeks, there was no threat of -30C to frighten away the curious.

We may never know conclusively what led to almost double the Bike to Work Day station visits this year, but certainty is secondary to the results and our appreciation of everyone involved.

Thanks to all of the participants who ventured out on icy trails (whether as a sage or an acolyte) and let us know about it. You are fuel that powers the “BYXE,” and you’ve shown your city a willingness to burn brightly.

Thanks to all of the businesses and organizations that contributed your energy and resources to provide Commuter Stations on Bike to Work Day, staff to welcome riders, and prizes to entice others to participate with more gusto. You are the “BYXE,” waiting for riders.

Our biggest thanks go to the City of Saskatoon, our partner in BYXE Week and its activities.

Be sure to save the dates of May 9 – 17, 2026, for Spring BYXE Week! We’ll be back with more opportunities to explore your city on two wheels (and win swag at the same time)!

Pedal Express Challenge 2025

It was a contest for the ages.

Two Pedal Express couriers squared off to see who could deliver the most packages by bicycle for the free service (operated by Saskatoon Cycles and financially supported by The Better Good) over the course of the year.

On the line: the victor would receive a lunch paid for by the “loser.”

Jason Hanson, the aged and doughy veteran, and Tyler Rittinger, the young and fit cyclocross phenom, were an unlikely match but Hanson’s semi-retired, no dependents lifestyle afforded him a schedule that kept him in the running. Despite falling far behind early and taking a month-long holiday in France, Hanson was able to claw his way back and in December was only three deliveries behind Rittinger.

When the holiday season hit, Hanson pounced. With Rittinger enjoying his vacation time and local Christmas purchases piling up, the wizened contender snagged a flurry of packages and blew past The Family Man in the last few days of the contest. Final tally:

Hanson – 24
Rittinger – 21

In a last-minute twist expected only by him, Hanson celebrated the win by treating his “opponent” to lunch, citing the hours of cycling Rittinger saved him by competing so aggressively.

Hanson and Rittinger are already stacking up the deliveries for this year’s contest, but they are aware that other strong contenders have joined the race. It may prove to be the most closely fought contest yet!

Who will be crowned The Pedal Express Champion for 2026? Stay tuned to find out!

Update on Millar and 51st Administration Reports

Director of Transportation Jay Magus and Councillor Randy Donauer

On Tuesday, February 3, 2026, the Standing Policy Committee on Transportation reviewed a number of reports related to traffic safety and active transportation in the city, notably:

Director of Transportation Jay Magus presented the reports to Committee and then fielded a number of questions regarding traffic operations, stakeholder engagement, safety, tree removal, and concerns related to driveway access. (Interestingly, no one brought up the importance of having walkable access to transit stops – there is currently no sidewalk along Millar.)

Recurring themes of opposition for the Millar and 51st intersection redesign were a) the loss of left turn access into McDonald’s and Tim Hortons and b) the apparent omission of the “Impact to Businesses” criteria in the overall project evaluation.

Mr. Magus correctly pointed out that the left turns across two lanes of traffic around the intersection were dangerous and contributed to many accidents in the area, and further clarified that the “Impact to Businesses” criteria had not been omitted from the report, but was a typo on one list (see below). The business criteria clearly remained a part of the evaluation, as noted on the graph on the following page of the report.

Despite Mr. Magus’s clarifications, the Committee expressed concern that the area businesses had not been adequately considered or consulted.

In the end, both reports were unanimously deferred, with the direction that: “…the Administration engage affected businesses in an effort to address their concerns, bring back a summary, and propose solutions.”

The good news is that these reports have not been rejected by the Committee, but rather delayed while the Administration is tasked with revisiting concerned businesses in the area yet again.

We highlighted these reports in our January newsletter and called for the cycling community to offer letters of support. Many of you did. Hopefully the broader community will have another chance to be heard when the reports come back after further consultation, and we can remind the Committee and Council that facts still matter, and concern for safety and accessibility for all citizens should always weigh more heavily on council than economic unknowns.

You can visit this Global News segment for a quick synopsis.

You can watch the SPCT meeting in its entirety here.

Traffic Smarts for Cyclists

We officially introduced our collaboration with the Center for Cycling Education back in May of 2025, but we want to remind people again of this affordable, easily accessible, and strategically beneficial “vehicular cycling” course that you can take at your own pace.

Using our discount code, the cost of the course is only $25. No matter your current proficiency on a bike, the material will have something for you, and if you don’t feel you’ve gained skills, there’s a 30 day money-back guarantee. There is zero risk to try out “Traffic Smarts for Cyclists.”

Our original pitch:

Whether you’re a rider with many years of experience, or someone planning to head out for the first time into traffic (or onto the Meewasin Trail), there is much to learn.

The Center for Cycling Education (The CCE) has a ‘Traffic Smarts for Cyclists’ online course that will add significantly to your tool kit, increasing your competence and comfort through innovative, effective, and enjoyable training.

Topics include:

  • Choosing & configuring your equipment
  • An explanation of the laws (and your rights)
  • Choosing your place on the road
  • Proper approaches to intersections (and how to trigger a traffic light)
  • And so much more.

(Here are some testimonials.)

Sample frame from the CCE “Traffic Smarts for Cyclists.”

Saskatoon Cycles has partnered with The CCE and we’ve arranged for a $10 discount for you.

More details on the course can be found here: saskatooncycles.org/traffic-smarts-for-cyclists/

Working with cycling instructors in both Canada and the United States, The CCE creates programs that exceed nationally recognized standards.

Cycling Data Collection

A Strava “heat map” showing active transportation volumes.

This is your reminder to connect with a couple of free apps that can help city planners and advocates get the robust data they need to inform their approach to better and safer cycling in Saskatoon.

Strava and BikeMaps.org are apps that aggregate crowdsourced information to help decision-makers understand transportation habits and patterns. The information collected is all anonymous, but can be extremely useful when accumulated and sorted on a city-wide scale. To help out, you can:

1. Install Strava on your phone and track every ride or walk you take. You only need the FREE version to do this. 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.

Get Strava

Find out more about the Strava app at strava.com

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 meant to replace the calling of 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.

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