“I started about five years ago. In the summer months, I get out three to four times a month. Today is a 30 km ride to Ottawa and back. I used to do a lot of jogging, but it was too hard on my knees. So now I ride a bike.”
Tag Archives: May
Dress for the distance, not the ride
“Contrary to most people in North America, I have been riding my bike since I was 15.” Continue reading
How I tried to get this man off my wheel
“Drivers are terrible here. They cut you off all the time. They have signs for cars and pedestrians, but often I do not know what I am supposed to do, where I can go. A motorcycle cop gave me a ticket for speeding once.”
But are you proud of that?
“Yup.” Continue reading
A family converted by the weekend
“To be honest, we are new to cycling. We came from Sudbury to Ottawa and there is no infrastrucure like Ottawa’s. We never thought about moving to this area, but when we came out to see the house, the parkway was filled with cyclists and runners and inline skaters. We knew we wanted to be part of that. It was a big selling feature.” Continue reading
When you have 1,000 bikes, daily repairs are a constant

©Barry Sandland/TIMB – With hundreds of cyclists relying on a dependable ride every day, Velo Villo mechanics have a steady role to play.
“I am fixing bikes every day.” Continue reading
Small countries have small tours
“I use the panniers when on holiday. In a few weeks, I leave for Costa Rica for a 1,500 km tour. A small tour. Costa Rica is a small country. When I was younger, I used to ride longer. I did tours of 7,000 kms in a month, riding 200 kms a day.”