Sunday, February 7, 2010

Ice Cycle 2010


Today was Ice Cycle 2010 a winter bike parade which was part of the Saskatoon Winter Shines festival.

It was pretty cold…


When I got up and saw the Environment Canada forecast I wondered if there’d be much of a turn-out… Then I though again and realized there’s plenty enough nut-cases out there that think nothing of riding in -35°C…

I had to swap a tire and a little hub adjustment out in the (unheated) Bicycle Storage Facility, which was a little frosty on the fingers…

(Remember: click on the pictures for a bigger version)


Rolling out to Ice Cycle 2010 with the family. I don’t ride much with the kids once there’s a lot of snow and ice – gets a little sketchy with the bike-train… (we walk or bus when we can't ride...). The ride, however, started and finished at the Farmer's Market, which is just a couple block form our house – and the route of the ride was just through downtown which is relatively clear of ice and mostly level.


Yup… all the usual crazies… and then some!!


Gerald from the Bike Doctor chatting with a couple of Saskatoon’s Finest – who came along for the ride too!


Doctor Matt and his daughter Aura.


I think that’s Tom in the orange…

So many people wandered up to me and started chatting at me and it would take me a minute to recognize the voice – because everyone looks so different in their winter riding kit… When you ride with people enough you learn to recognize them by their kit… but I haven’t been riding with people much lately.

For example…


That’s Corey Neufeld (from The Better Good) under that mask!


No helmet... not even a toque! and no brakes…!! Yikes!!




I hears someone saying there was about 190 cyclists out... at this point I think I was in about the middle of the pack...




That’s Jamison in that funny hat – from the City of Saskatoon Infrastructure Services – transportation… making the city just a little more bicycle friendly!




Mr. Dixon


Stopped at a stop light.


Though sometime we didn’t have to…






Jan and Ken.


At the end of the ride there was Hot Chocolate and other stuff going on but we had to roll on to other activities later in the afternoon..






The three Browns on the bike train… or the “unschool not-so-bus” as we sometimes call it…

Big thanks to all the organizers! I hope this turns out to be an annual event!!