Dauphin residents are being asked to hop out of their cars and onto their bikes next week.
June 5 to 11 is Bike Week and Dauphin Recreation Services and the Dauphin Derailleurs Cycle Club (DDCC) have organized a number of activities to celebrate.
Monday is Bike to Work and School Day, while Tuesday is Bike to a Park or Playground highlighted by a gathering at Fusion Credit Union for coffee and cookies from 9 a.m. to 11 a.m. The gathering is an opportunity to find out everything that is going on to celebrate Bike Week and join DDCC and mayor David Bosiak for a “slow roll through Vermillion Park,” said spokesperson J.L Guillas.
“The Derailleurs will have some of our fat bikes there if people want to try that,” he said, adding the exact itinerary for the ride has not been set. “It’s depending on who shows up. If it’s families, if it’s kids, we’ll take them over to Vermillion and have a gentle ride. It’s not a time trial.”
Wednesday will feature a bicycle based scavenger hunt, while an open house will be at Northgate Trails on Thursday at 7 p.m., providing an opportunity to tour one of the micro cabins at the site, try out a fat bike, get information about programming, learn about the trails and volunteer opportunities, and chat with a board member.
Guillas encourages everyone to bring a bike and a friend.
“I believe the Kids of Mud will have their race that night, as well. So there’s going to be lots of activity,” Guillas said. “People shouldn’t be shy if the parking lot is full. Come on in.”
Finally, Friday has been designated as Bike to Get Your Favourite Treat day, Guillas said, adding more activities and contests are being added all the time.
For example, he said, the Parkland Chamber of Commerce is asking employers to encourage their staff to ride their bikes and track the kilometers they cover for the week. The business with the most accumulated kilometres will win $50 per employee to a maximum of $500.
All of the activities add up to an opportunity to promote Dauphin as a bicycle-friendly city, Guillas said.
“Dauphin, it’s very accessible by bicycle and if people get in the habit of it, it just becomes more of a culture change for individuals and families and it’s just a positive thing,” he said. “Bike Week itself is to just remind people how much fun it can be to be on a bike, how accessible the city is on a bicycle and then also the great facility we have over at Northgate.”
The city is regularily adding to its active transportation routes making cycling even more of an option, Guillas added.
“There’s another piece that’s coming, that’s going to be constructed this year linking up right to (Assiniboine) college from the Kingsway Trail,” he said. “It’s about the culture of biking and also the infrastructure. Vermillion Park is a great place to take young kids to learn biking in a safe place to get them off the roads. We’ve got lots of great opportunities in town and also the big facility south of town.”
Whether you are an experienced cyclist or just starting to seek two-wheeled adventures, Guillas encourages everyone to take in all that Bike Week has to offer.
“It’s a good workout and it’s good lifestyle choice. It can be fun, you do it with your friends and you see things in town that you don’t see when you’re speeding by in your car,” he said.
“Whether you’re on a $100 used bicycle, a hand-me-down bicycle or a top-end bike, it doesn’t matter, it’s all fun and it’s for everybody.”
