I’ve been on some ugly bike rides where the rain pelts, the cold bites and there’s a headwind in every direction, but certainly the darkest ride I’ve ever been on was cycling home from what had been a fantastic trip from Ottawa to Kingston and back.
It was early June when the Ottawa Bike Club held its annual Rideau Lakes Cycling Tour, an event that has been going since 1972. Every year, cyclists, not just from Ottawa, but Quebec and other parts of Ontario, gather at Carleton University, throw their bags in a van, then hop onto their bikes and start the 174-kilometre trek to Kingston. We would stay in the dorms at Queens University and cycle back the next day — another 174 kilometres, by the way. Still can’t believe I did that, a few times.
This particular trip had been great — perfect weather, good friends and no flats. A group of us had just gotten back to Carleton and were picking up our bags, exhilarated by our accomplishment and relieved it was over, when the news came. A cyclist, a woman who had been just minutes behind me when we were on the outskirts of the city (in other words, almost home) was hit by a car and died at the scene.
The high-fiving abruptly stopped. Suddenly, nothing else mattered. We mourned her, knowing it could have been any one of us.
That tragedy of 20 years ago came back to me in full colour when I heard cyclist Brad Dean had been hit and killed while on a group ride in east Richmond last week. News that another one of the cyclists in that group, who was also hit and taken to hospital but in stable condition, is one of our newspaper chain’s IT guys also brought the story too close to home.
So, maybe that’s why I was willing to run a way long letter from a local cyclist. (See page 12.) But, Geordie McGillivray captures the passion and conviction cyclists have for their... well, to call it a sport seems a bit limiting. In fact, I’ve often thought cycling has the power to change the world, just because how we live would fundamentally alter if we had to pedal everywhere.
But, moreover, McGillivray’s is a call to action and a challenge to the city. The danger spots he points to may not be a priority for city planners as they are primarily (not exculsively) used by weekend riders. Regardless, some of his solutions are simple and relatively cheap. Even if they’re not, let’s think forward.
Richmond has so much going for it in terms of cycling. There’s a reason why we see all those folks in Spandex and awkward shoes in coffee shops around Steveston on weekends.
Yet, the city’s official cycling plan is moving at a snail’s pace. It’s time to change that.
May Brad Dean’s legacy be some serious thought — and financial commitment — to smoothing the bike ride ahead.
