Cycling riding high in Manitoba, even in winter

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This article was published 04/03/2021 (1722 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

BIKES & Beyond owner Philip Roadley has some advice for anyone who’s looking to upgrade their bicycle.

“Don’t sell your bike until you have a new one because you might be very disappointed that you might not be able to get a new bike,” he said.

It’s been well-documented how local bike shops have been swamped with orders since the pandemic hit as people are looking for new hobbies to get them out of the house. Not even a Manitoba winter could slow the industry down as Roadley said their sales in January and February were up 100 per cent compared to a normal year. The demand is so high, and not just in Manitoba, that there will be a bike shortage this year as manufacturers can’t keep up.

The increased interest in pedalling around is music to the ears of the Manitoba Cycling Association.

“Everywhere you go in Manitoba right now, you go for a walk on the river, you go anywhere for a hike, we’re seeing bikes everywhere,” said MCA executive director Twila Cruickshank.

“Fat bikes have exploded this winter and they have been very popular the last few years. We’re seeing this trend of cycling becoming much more of a 12-month sport or recreational activity because it’s not necessarily just sport, it’s both.”

For those that prefer to hop on in perfect conditions, the latest craze is virtual riding.

“There’s this whole movement toward virtual riding and virtual racing. So, if you’re stuck alone at home, you can jump onto a virtual ride and be with somebody across the world or you can connect with your riding mates virtually and go on a ride or a bit of an adventure or a race,” Cruickshank said.

“But you can’t even get the equipment right now to do that because it’s so popular.”

But the MCA and Cycling Canada aren’t standing around admiring the cycling boom — they want to take full advantage of it. Cycling Canada recently revealed its 10-year strategic plan that prioritizes the development and delivery of more programs, campaigns, and resources in hopes of seeing more participants and member engagement across the country.

To get things rolling, Cycling Canada is launching an introductory program for school-aged kids called HopOn. Owing to COVID-19 restrictions, the national grassroots program doesn’t have an exact schedule yet, but the goal is to teach basic cycling skills and safety awareness that will then, hopefully, lead to more people registering with cycling clubs. Manitoba is one of six provinces where the program will be launched.

“Outside of maybe B.C., we already have in Manitoba one of the biggest youth programs in the country. It’s called Kids of Mud. We already have over 500 kids and over 100 coaches and about 17 clubs across the province. So, we’re looking at ways to enhance that program, some of which will be some of the HopOn youth programming that comes out of this national grassroots program,” Cruickshank said.

“In the future, we won’t be able to flip it overnight, but we’re also looking at getting into schools or after-school programs kind of as a lead-in. We already have the club structure in place… But we also need to look at the full picture. Take a holistic approach to this and see what’s already happening in our schools so that we can support that and not compete with that so we can determine what our next steps are within the schools… Some of that is still kind of a TBA and in discussions, but for sure, we’re already hitting the ground running and prepping for a huge 2022 as things lift and resolve from COVID-19.”

They’re not leaving adult riders hanging, though. The MCA is revamping its website and will add a recreational section that will help people find bike routes and connect them with clubs. Cruickshank said there will be even more places to ride soon as there also been a surge in cycling/bicycling infrastructure.

“You hear about the bike sales, but there’s development happening like I’ve never seen before. In fact, I just had somebody from B.C. who recently moved back and he couldn’t believe the changes that are happening,” she said.

“There are lots of groups working on different things. Neepawa recently built a bike park. Dauphin, it’s called Northgate, and they have little cabins that you can rent. There’s talk about Portage la Prairie looking into a bike park. There’s talk about potentially more trail development out in the Falcon Lake area. It’s exploding everywhere.”

taylor.allen@freepress.mb.ca

Twitter: @TaylorAllen31