Saskatoon Cycles January 2018 newsletter
Welcome to 2018!
- On November 25th we held our first ever board retreat. Based in the Two Twenty coworking space, the event was facilitated by Brian Hoessler of Strong Roots Consulting. Thanks to Shift Development for sponsoring the venue. At the retreat, we were able to focus our activities for the coming year. We are committed to working towards advocacy for a downtown network that will come before council in June. If this is an area of interest for you we would welcome your participation in a campaign.
- Check out these great stats from our 2017 Bike Valet year-end report: We parked 6124 bikes with the help of 758 volunteer hours. Thank you volunteers. You are amazing! We were at fewer festivals so our overall numbers are down slightly with 7 fewer days of operation, however we grew by 10%. One of our initiatives this year will be to contact festival organizers earlier which will allow them to plan more effectively with our recommendations.
- Saskatoon Cycles, Tourism Saskatoon, and On Purpose Leadership have made a bid for the 2019 International Winter Cycling Federation conference. We will find out by mid-January if we were successful. The 2018 meeting is in Moscow this February. Felipe Gomez (who you may remember from last years’ Ice Cycle event) will be riding his bike from St. Petersburg to Moscow in time to be a speaker. Cathy Watts has also had a proposal accepted to talk about the Bike the Moveable Feast that was a collaborative effort with the Nature City Festival.
Upcoming Events in Saskatoon
- Bike Valet January 18-20, 2018 – As part of our grant from the City that we have received for the Winter City Strategy, we will be providing a bike valet in front of the Refinery for January 18-20 from 7pm-10:30pm.
- Join us January 19th for the musical and spoken word performance, “SPIN by Evalyn Parry”, at the Refinery as part of Winteruption. There is a special reception prior to this event for Saskatoon Cycles with dessert and hot drinks from Calories. The bike valet will be available. Tickets will be held using the promo code “spin” until November 30th. Contact the Broadway Theatre to reserve yours today!
Volunteer Opportunities
Ice Cycle 2.0: We have received a grant to plan several winter cycling events and we require volunteers to help pull it all off. Please contact ctwatts@sasktel.net if you can give your time or expertise.
- January 20 – Winter workshop in partnership with the Bike Doctor from 1-3 pm on 11th street. Volunteers are needed to help participants learn about and try winter cycling. You would bring your winterized bike and be willing to show interested participants some tips to make cycling in the winter a great experience.
- February 14 – Enjoy coffee outside with fellow morning commuters. Volunteers are needed to help organize and be there from 7:30-8:30. Location to be determined.
- March 3 – Riverside Badminton and Tennis Club. Bike art opening and show. Bikes will be displayed that have been decorated by students and by SCYAP artists and students from local schools. A barbeque and reception will be held. Volunteers are needed to help at the event from 5pm-7pm and with some of the details beforehand.
- March 10 – Winter camping event. We will be riding out to South Corman Park community association (15 km) at 3 pm, staying the night either in quinzhees, tents, or the log house. Baby steps to a winter adventure. We are looking for some events for the evening (musicians, storytellers, quinzhee builder’s, driving a support vehicle).
- LiveableYXE is laying the groundwork for next year’s Open Streets event, where streets are temporarily closed to automobile traffic to favour walking, jogging, bicycling, dancing, yoga, or other social activities. Gil Penalosa does a pretty solid job of capturing the spirit: “People traffic replaces car traffic, and the streets become ‘paved parks’ where people of all ages, abilities, and social, economic, or ethnic backgrounds can come out and improve their mental, physical, and emotional health.” If you are interested in getting involved, please contact Brodie.
Local Cycling News
- A part-time Bike Valet contractor will be needed for the 2018 festival season. We will be advertising and hiring in late January/early February – stay tuned to our website and facebook page for the application details. Spread the word!
- #GetMyBikeBack: Please help the Saskatoon Police Service stop the epidemic of bike theft in this city. Register your bike at saskatoonpolice.ca
- Are there issues on your commute? Please contact the City if you have any concerns about the infrastructure that you find on your route. Feedback and/or words of affirmation can be sent to tom.simpson@saskatoon.ca
- Did you know you can submit a cycling event for the Saskatoon Cycles website calendar?
