Bike month
For 2024-06
Bike Month is June in Ontario, since Ontario Bike Month Act, 2015. This is a great opportunity to promote the most efficient form of transportation: the bicycle.
Cycling has been proven to improve strength, balance, coordination, cardio-vascular fitness, lower stress, mental health, is a low impact activity. It also builds community, saves money, and helps local businesses. With so many benefits, communities really need to encourage as much cycling as possible. So much, in fact, that the target mode share of cycling plus walking of number of trips should be over 50%.
For an overview of what is going on for Bike Month: https://www.bikemonth.ca/ (Halton Municipalities, Hamilton, Toronto, York Region).
Repairs
Bicycles take a lot less repairs than a car. Even fairly avid cyclists clean, lubricate, and inspect the bikes once a year. Of course, it is important to test the tire pressure and breaks regularly (weekly). At minimum, service your bike before you ride in spring. If you aren’t comfortable doing this yourself or don’t have the knowledge, drop by one of the events as these will often offer free inspections and tune-ups. Check the events list below.
Shifter has a 15min video answering common questions on topic of repairs. He says that maintenance can usually be done as needed and is pretty straight-forward.
Events
Here is a summary of events in various communities across Ontario. Look for more, as this list is not exhaustive.
- Cambridge, Scavenger Hunt, June 1–30
- Hamilton, Bike Day — June 6 at 07:30
- Toronto, Bike to Work Day — June 6
- Kitchener, Bike Festivities — June 11 at 13:00
- Waterloo, New Bikers Tour on June 11 at 10:00
- Kitchener, Family Bike Show — June 12 at 14:00
- Toronto online, Going by Bike Webinar — June 13 at 13:00
- Kitchener, Pride Ride (announcement) — June 17 at 19:00
- Halton (online), Safe Cycling 101 Workshops — June 17 at 12:30
- Waterloo, Experienced Cyclists Tour — June 19 at 15:00
- York Region online, Basic Bike Maintenance — June 19 at 12:00
- Toronto, Sherbourne Common Waterfront Ride — June 22 at 13:00
- Hamilton, Open Streets — June 23 at 10:00
- Halton (online), Safe Cycling 101 Workshops — June 26 at 12:30
Free stuff
Waterloo: get a free helmet in Waterloo on June 8. Maybe the kids outgrew their helmets, or perhaps you damaged one recently… or don’t usually use one. Now is you opportunity to get a free helmet. Details: https://www.grt.ca/en/about-grt/bike-contest.aspx
While there is some debate as to whether these are needed in all situations, cyclists who interact with cars (pretty much everywhere in Ontario) really benefit from wearing one. The Dutch can get by without as the infrastructure is safe enough that cyclists are already protected. Those who mountain bike should seriously consider wearing a full helmet with a mouth guard; some facilities even require it.
Contests
There are plenty of contests to encourage Ontarioans to get outside and use their cycles. Here are a few…
Toronto: win a gift card valued at $100 from The Bay, Canadian Tire, MEC, or PRESTO. (info)
Waterloo Region: Win 1 of 3 bikes from TravelWise. Login or create an id on https://gotravelwise.ca/#/ . Log your commutes by cycling, walking, transit, carpooling, or other sustainable options. More details.
Hamilton: chance at a $100 VISA gift card (info)
More
Want to know more about what’s going on the Bike Month? Check out events nearest you…
Brampton: https://bikebrampton.ca/events/bike-month/
Hamilton: https://www.hamilton.ca/home-neighbourhood/getting-around/biking-cyclists/bike-month
CycleWR: https://cyclewr.ca/bike-month/
Older post by Kitchener Public Library (KPL) 2021: Bike Month is Here
