Put the pedal to the metal, Uxbridge - June is Bike Month
Submitted by Phil Smith
June is Bike Month in Canada, which makes it a great time to dig that old bike out from the back of the garage, put some air in the tires, check the brakes (that’s very important!) and head out to explore some of Uxbridge’s local trails and roads. And if you need some extra encouragement, the town is organizing a couple of Bike Month activities to get you out and about on two wheels.
Firstly, the town is running a Bike Bingo competition. Check out the bingo card on the township website. Each square on the card identifies a local attraction or location, and all you have to do to enter is ride your bike to the location, snap a selfie of you and your bike and send it to the town at info@uxbridge.ca. Every picture will be entered into a draw for valuable prizes, and the best part is that anyone and everyone can enter as many as 24 times if they complete the whole card. There are gift cards to be won that can be used at Boyd’s Sports or Cycle Solutions, and even bonus prizes for the first 50 entrants. A link to the competition details and rules can be found on the township page at the front of this paper.
The second event is a celebration of Bike to Work Day on June 6. The event takes place from 8 – 10 a.m., in the Brock Street Parkette (adjacent to Circle K) where there will be information on local trails and bike routes, a basic bike maintenance station and a helmet fitting station. If that isn’t enough, there will even be light refreshments for everyone who shows up to the event on their bike!
It’s clear there are lots of bike-related activities in June, but why not make a habit of biking throughout the year, or at least in the warmer months? Uxbridge town is a perfect size for cycling – roughly three kilometres from east to west and north to south, and it’s easy and fun to create safe and scenic routes by using the trails and quiet residential streets. Cycling infrastructure, such as bike lanes and separated paths, are being added to enhance the safety and confidence of cyclists and there are some great reasons for getting out on your bike. The health (both physical and mental) and environmental benefits of biking are well understood, but there are other, more subtle benefits which are worth highlighting. There’s a sense of community that riding a bike creates. Cyclists and pedestrians routinely greet and interact with each other in a way that is impossible in a car. I find that parents with strollers, dog walkers and other pedestrians frequently smile and wave at me as I pass on my bike.
There are also economic benefits to cycling. You are far more likely to support local stores and businesses than you are to shop at box stores in the adjacent town if you’re on a bike.
Participate in the Bike Month activities and consider biking as an option for your recreational and other transportation needs. Maybe start a new tradition by getting the whole family on bikes and planning a route through parks and trails to get to a local destination for a treat like ice cream. After all, you can afford a few extra calories if you have burned them off to get to your destination!