Ice Cycle 2012

On Sunday February 5, 2012 was the 3rd annual Ice Cycle in Saskatoon.

Tim already posted some photos on his bike blog - you can check them out here.

The weather for the previous two bike parades was really cold but this year it was super nice, maybe -5C or so. Sure beats -4oC! Not warm enough for wearing shorts like one guy I know, but I wasn't wearing my snow pants so you know it must have been warm!

We started off at the Farmer's Market then went up 19th Street...

along Spadina...

past the Bessborough Hotel....

up to 22nd, then to 4th Avenue (map of parade)

and ended up back at the market.

Here's a friend with his bike-mobile that was carrying three young children in the parade.

In the background you can see the climbing structure that was set up for kids to try. Last year ice climbing demos had been set up but alas with the warm weather this February, it would have been more like a waterfall. There was also a huge ice castle complete with slide for kids to enjoy.

Our happy cyclists after the parade were heading across the river for their Irish dance class and I went in the other direction to lead a karma yoga class at Namaskar Yoga in support of the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society (Team in Training).

What is in your pocket-sies?

...or just under your desk?

A few times in the fall I biked to work on my Dahon Mu Uno and for one reason or another needed to leave the bike at work. This folding bike is great for an easy ride around town or to and from work and fits so nicely under my desk! Then the next day I can just unfold it and ride home!

The coaster-type breaks took a little getting used to but the simplicity of the bike, with no gears or cables, makes for a really fun ride for traveling here and there around town and don't have too many hills to worry about. It folds up super quick and is really portable - just the way a folding bike should be. I have to give big thanks again to Momentum Magazine for setting me up with this bike!

What Women Want

Check out the new Momentum Magazine that is online. The one and only time I've managed to get over to the skate park this year (needed to keep my skills honed!!!! ...actually I just had drop into the bowl at least once so I wouldn't lose my nerve) ...

landed me a photo in the September digital edition (check out page 35B).

To the Post Office

Months have passed and I've slacked off on the posting....though I have no end of the photos that have been taken - just haven't made the time to get them on this blog. So enough's enough already! Here are a couple pictures from today.

Here we are heading off to the post office. Long overdue to little Kira in the Northwest Territories!!!

Amazingly warm day again today. I am enjoying these hots days as the snow will be here soon enough.

When we got back home I was feeling kinda zonked and had a rest. I had told Keira I would take her out for a bike ride in just a bit. Tim found her drawing with pen and ink at the table, with as you can see, helmet and gloves on, ready to do at a seconds notice.

May Kidical Mass

Saskatoon's first Kidical Mass of the year was held on Saturday May 21st. Wow! What a turnout! Probably about 70 or so kids and adults participating.

Tim already did a great job posting photos and snippets from the ride, so check it out here on Tim's Bike Blog! I rode on the new Dahon Mu Uno that I won when I bought Tim a lifetime subscription to Momentum Magazine.

On a separate note, here's a photo of me and the kids on the yuba. I'm totally sold on this bike. Here we are heading to the University. It is so much easier riding with them on the back than pulling the big "bike train" and it seems way safer.

Bikes in Chicago

So I've been a little slack in getting these photos posted. I should probably just load all the photos from my trip to Chicago up on Facebook where more friends would likely see and enjoy but somehow thought this would be the venue.

So here they are...photos from my trip to Chicago last month! I just snapped a few pictures here and there whenever bikes were parked in placed that I visited. I am sure my mom thought I was nuts.

For all the bike geeks out there....enjoy!


I loved these bikes by the National Autism week. I had just seen the movie "Temple Grandin" with Claire Danes - which was an amazing movie about Temple's life.

So much traffic - vehicles and people.

It was pretty neat by this one subway there were lots of racks so that you could ride your bike to the station and then lock it up and travel via subway to wherever you needed to go then pick up your bike and ride home at the end of the day.

This was at the entrance to the subway in the Wicker Park area.

I stopped by Kozy Cycles which is one of Chicago's largest bike shops.

Tim had previously looked it up and knew that they had a sale on some of their winter gear, so I picked up a Pearl Izumi hoody for a good deal.

These are obviously not bikes but I thought they were pretty shiny and worth a click.

During the summer I image that this Navy Pier area is just full of locals and tourists. There seem to be quite a few bike rental places available which would have been fun if we had had a few more days to actually toodle around town more.

Again, not a bike but it was cool to see the four legged traffic.

Bright lights - big city!

I quite liked this bike and the photo.

In case you can't quite read the sign across the street - condos are selling starting at $1.4 million.

Things I See From My Bicycle

On Friday I needed to take the yuba to work to haul home some dog food. Earlier in the week I had bought a 35 lb bag from the WCVM but needed to wait for a day when Tim wouldn't be going out with the kids to any activities so that I could use the ultimate hauling bicycle to get the bag home.

I finally got a battery charged and found a memory card for my camera and figured that I really should start carrying it with me to capture any moments that I see by bike. The past few days the sunrises and sunsets had been amazing, and it has left me always thinking, "I should have had a camera with me!" So no more excuses!. The kids and Tim even saw an eagle the other night on their way to violin group lesson.

There were a bunch of mallard ducks on the water Friday morning, plus the sky was amazing. Here are a few shots from my morning ride to work.

The trail along the river is such an excellent way to travel from our house to the University by bike or by walking.

Man, those ducks must be cold!!!

My return ride was not as enjoyable due to hauling all that dog food - the bike being a little lope-sided and harder to maneuver. I had a near wipeout just under the bridge because I didn't have the required momentum nor leg strength to get up the hill and started slipping back on the icy path. I had a few moments of panic that seemed more like minutes as I tried just to keep upright and prevent sliding back down the hill. Luckily I managed to shimmy over to the side of the path and get off the bike and then was able to push it to the top of the path and then carry on my merry way home!

Ice Cycle 2011

This past Sunday, we participated in the 2nd Annual Ice Cycle - the coldest bicycle parade on the planet. We started at the Saskatoon Farmer's Market and toured through downtown ending back at the market. About 200+ riders showed up on a day that was -42oC with the windchill! It was fabulous to see all the cyclists out, especially those who dressed up!

As part of the PotashCorp Wintershines Saskatoon there were all sorts of amazing ice sculptures on display. Finnegan and Keira particularly liked the ice fort with slide!

Tim and the kids were on the yuba and I was on my trusty 18-year-old Rocky Mountain! Thanks to 'Wayne' who posted this photo on The Weather Network.

Since we had to scurry off to Irish dance class right after the ride, we unfortunately had to wait until later to have some hot chocolate at home rather than enjoying it with the other cyclists after the parade.

The sense of community was great amongst all the cyclists, especially given the cold temperature and wind. I was also really impressed that the coordinators had worked with the City Police and so every intersection throughout the route had a police officer stationed to stop and conduct traffic to allow all the riders to travel as one unit for the parade. To me it seemed like a city sanctioned critical mass - though I guess the fact that it was referred to as a "parade" is what makes the difference? Whatever you want to call it, it was great fun and I'm sure no matter the weather next year, our family will be cycling in the 2012 Ice Cycle!

Check out a video from the 1st Annual Ice Cycle and more photos from this year's event will be posted on Tim's Bike Blog soon. Our friend Don Cook put together this great video of the ride - enjoy!

Take Life by the Handlebars

In December when I ordered a lifetime subscription to Momentum magazine, I also received this great "Take Life by the Handlebars" t-shirt!

Momentum provides urban cyclists with the inspiration, information and resources to fully enjoy their riding experience and connect with local and global cycling communities. They have a couple blogs on their site, one specifically for Families on Bikes that is written by Kathleen Wilker from Ottawa. Once all the snow here in Saskatoon has finally melted (perhaps May or so!), I'll send in a post for Families on Bikes to highlight the adventures of riding my new Dahon MU UNO folding bicycle with our kids.

As Luck Would Have It...

In December, I bought for Tim a lifetime subscription to Momentum - the magazine for self-propelled people and my name was entered into a draw for a Dahon folding bike. What an amazing surprise to receive (on Finnegan's birthday) an email from the office manager at Momentum and learn I had won the bike! Today, a lovely new Dahon MU UNO folding bicycle arrived.

Keira and Finnegan were surprised to know that a bike could actually fit into a box this small!



It certainly folds up small and looks awesome when unfolded! I can't wait to try it out, although it may have to wait until the spring. I will likely bring it with me when I visit my good friend Natalie, in Ottawa this summer.

Tim is impressed by the fancy Schwalbe marathon racer tires. He did a review of them for BicycleSmile and it's on his bike blog as well.

Thanks so very much to Momentum and Dahon for this great new bike!

Winter Wonderland

Winter certainly brings its share of challenges when living in Saskatoon and trying to walk, bike or bus as much as possible. On the weekend, Keira and I headed out to catch a bus to get to dance class at the University and after about 20 minutes of waiting I figured we had either missed the bus or had the schedule wrong (Note to self - always check the bus schedule the night before instead of just assuming you know otherwise you could be waiting for a long time if the buses only run every hour!!).

So we headed back home, grabbed helmets and hauled it over to Miss Tina's creative dance class - better late than never.

It was a fair bit of effort to pull just one child over to campus and certainly gave me renewed appreciation for Tim's efforts in chauffeuring the kids around to all their activities on the yuba!