Finding your bike-chi

Picture it, you’re out enjoying a sunny day, playing frisbee with friends in High Park, or maybe you are strolling along Woodbine beach enjoying a gentle breeze. And then, a gentle whir catches your attention. You turn just in time to catch a glimpse of neon flash by. There they are, a small group of cyclists, easily riding two-by two. Laughing and talking in casual conversation as they race by.

Or, maybe you’re out having a coffee in the Annex and catch yourself staring at that bright yellow city bike. The one with the basket of groceries in the front and the laughing baby in the carrier out back. You find yourself just a bit envious of the way they gently push off into the Bloor bike lanes, lost in their own peaceful world amidst the rush of the city.

Perhaps, while riding the crowded King streetcar, you notice your co-worker whiz by in their bright neon jacket, smiling despite the light summer rain. You know the one, always a bit fresh (ok, let’s be real, they’re sweaty) at the beginning of the day. Nevertheless, they arrive at the office like clockwork each day unbothered by public transit delays and morning traffic.

Catching the bug

For many of those cyclists, scenes like this are how they caught the cycling bug. Before they were cyclists, they were just like you. Maybe they didn’t ride at all a few years ago. Or maybe they only brought their bike out a couple times a year to ride with family and friends. But now, it’s part of their everyday routine.

The simple act of riding a bike opens new worlds for those ready to try. They have the convenience to travel the city on their own schedule, and the freedom to go beyond constraints of public transit or traffic-ridden roadways. It happens so effortlessly that it can seem like into the paths and ravines of our city they go and out they come, no longer deterred by distance or weather. Often, they return as evangelist. Some may mention, ever so casually, about a weekends ride to Oakville or Uxbridge for a coffee. Others embrace a foreign language of separated lanes versus bike lanes or sharrows, the dangers of a right hook, or how many bikes take up the space of one car in rush hour.

They make it look so easy

To a novice rider, it appears as though that couple riding by on a Sunday morning has been riding bikes since they first learned to walk. They have all the right gear, the clothes and helmets and glasses. It appears physically effortless.

They can chat with their friend while riding, clip their feet into their special pedals without falling over, and boldly navigate their way through traffic that would terrify any sane person. And what really make it seem so easy…their bikes don’t seem to have those awful squeaks and squeals and perpetually flat tires that yours does.

It looks so easy, maybe even a little intimidating. How do you go from sitting on the sidelines to being part of the action? How can you start your own two wheeled adventure?

Keep reading. Seriously, it’s that easy!

Like any good adventure, it is always more fun to have a good partner join you on your journey. This blog is just that! Your partner to help guide you as you embark on becoming the cyclist you want to be. Keep checking in as we go through, step by step, the tips and tools needed to ride the way you want to ride.

But, what type of cyclist do I want to be??

Glad you asked! A bike is a beautiful thing. It allows you the freedom to travel through the city or country-side faster than walking, but still slow enough to hear a friendly conversation or smell burgers on a nearby BBQ.

Not only that, but a bicycle allows you to express your true self in any way you want. To give you an idea of the different types of riding available, we’ve put together a short list of a few of the different types of cyclists you might find around Toronto. Who knows, you may already fit the mold of one of our tongue-in-cheek categories.

1. The bike share scare
   • Hire bikes such as Toronto’s Bike Share Toronto have exploded in recent years. An easy way to grab a bike and cross a few blocks or go to the Island for an afternoon, it’s no wonder they have been embraced in cities around the world. You may recognize them docked at stations throughout the city, or more likely weaving aimlessly on sidewalks or pointed in the wrong direction in bike lanes throughout the downtown core.

• The bike messenger
  • Having survived email and the paperless office and having successfully defended their style and territory from the hipster invasion of the mid-aughts, bike messengers are here to stay. Still found in their ageless and eclectic style in the T.O. core, the bike messenger is as likely to be a pro on a European cargo bike or an old-timer clenching a cigarette in their mouth as they blow red-lights.

The food delivery person

• Not to be confused with the bike messenger above, the bike food delivery dude is almost never a pro. Instead, it’s become a way to make some quick scratch for anyone with access to a bike in any shape or condition. If you don’t recognize the Toronto food delivery person by the massive food bag on their back carrying your favourite pad thai, you may recognize them as they wobble along while staring down at the Uber Eats map on their iPhone.

The commuter

• The dirty commuter, seriously. No, not the commuter out on the first day of June but that all-year commuter that is covered in grease and salt, hopefully from road salt and not sweat. They can be identified by their eclectic mix of fading neon, mid 90s MEC gear and blazing lights. Their bikes may range from an old fendered 10 speed or mountain bike to the latest carbon fibre race bike. It all depends how lucky they may be to have secure parking.

The racer

• Most often found on the Martin Goodman trail terrorizing families with strollers as they race by, a dedicated segment of these neon-clad, spandex wearing, cyclist roam the streets at scary-early-o’clock. Long before the morning rush hour throngs of racers can be found criss-crossing the city in large packs. Weekends are spent riding north of the 401 through the hills of Durham.

There are as many different types of cyclists as there are people. Within each group individuals shine, even though on first blush they may all seem alike. Over the course of this blog, I’ll dig a little deeper into the types of gear, equipment and training you’ll need to join in and start riding.

Until then, I’d love to hear….what type of cyclist do you hope to become? What’s holding you back and why haven’t you started already?