I’ve never been big into bikes. To me, cycling is a “once in a while” activity — I’d get on a bike to casually ride around the Stanley Park sea wall on vacation, and sometimes I’d ride my bike as a kid.
Until I started dating a cyclist five years ago, I hadn’t given biking a lot of thought. Naturally, being welcomed into a family of cycling enthusiasts changed that.
My partner’s parents own a bike shop, and being a non-biker, this was intimidating to me at first.
Would they care that I’m not a cyclist? Would I be able to keep up if we go biking? Would they even want me to join them on rides? The questions cycled through my mind.
Since then, I’ve been introduced to gruelling rides around Vancouver Island and across Edmonton.
Even though I would still consider myself a near-total beginner, my partner and his family have been nothing but supportive and encouraging.
For Bike Month this June, I wanted to dive into NAIT’s cycling community. Being in a more car-centric part of the city, I had my doubts about the cycling culture on campus — but after an abundance of responses from NAIT cyclists wanting to share their experiences, I was proven wrong.
There’s a robust cycling community here, and though they all have different reasons for cycling, they’re connected by the same community that made me realize cycling is more accessible than I previously thought.
Bike Month promotes accessibility, representation
Hanna Davidson, a grant development specialist with NAIT’s applied research portfolio, thinks Bike Month is about exactly that — accessibility and representation.
“It’s a great effort to just make cycling seem normal and possible,” she says.
According to Davidson, there’s a stereotype around cyclists. Either they’re super rich and entitled, or the opposite: they’re only biking because they have no other choice.
For Davidson, though, cycling was also an alternative to public transportation during the COVID-19 pandemic. Since then, she’s stuck with it and commutes to work by bike year-round.
“It’s a really good way to wake up in the morning and decompress after work,” she says. And seeing other cyclists helps motivate her to continue.
“When I see [my coworker] ride in and I drove in, I’m like, ‘Oh man, he’s winning. He had the right idea. I don’t know why I drove today.’ So even if you just have one person to kind of share that experience with, it makes it a lot easier to be motivated,” she says.
NAIT boasts some dedicated cyclists
Marcelo Marcet-Palacios, a NAIT lab research and biotech instructor, is that coworker. In his 15 years at NAIT, he’s never taken a vehicle or public transit to work.
“It’s always been my favourite mode of transportation,” he says, adding that he even bought his house with cycling in mind.
“Edmonton is a super biking-friendly city. We have more and more biking routes. Technology has come a long way as well. The last decade alone, materials have improved so much. Bicycles now come in all sorts of shapes; fat tires, studded tires, e-bikes. So there’s no excuses in terms of traction and safety.”
NAIT campus has lots of parking areas and services for cyclists to use. Students and staff can call Parking Services at 471-7477 or email parking@nait.ca for more info on bike parking. Photos via Alleah Boisvert / The Nugget
While he was showing me NAIT’s bike parking area, he ran into a colleague who said he wanted to get back into biking. Marcet-Palacios was passionate in his encouragement to do so. There’s a lot of reasons to bike, he says.
“Some of them might seem selfish, but some of them are legit,” he told the Nugget. A more selfish reason, he says, is to avoid getting stuck in traffic. Biking to work saves time and energy, but it also helps you stay fit.
“The health component is a big deal … when we’re fitter, we can be healthier to be there for those that we love. And you feel good, too,” says Marcet-Palacios.
There’s also a community aspect behind it. “By biking, that’s one less vehicle out on the road. That helps everyone.”
Biking is a ‘viable option’ for transportation
Raymond Smith, an instructional assistant in NAIT’s automotive service program, is trying to be the “one less vehicle” on the streets this summer. He bikes to NAIT to avoid traffic and save money on gas.
“It’s a viable option for transportation no matter where in the city you are.”
“I try to bike every day. What I’m trying to do is put more miles on my bike this summer than my car,” he says. “Ever since I started here two years ago, I just got my bike locker and rode every chance I could.”
Like Davidson, Smith views Bike Month as a way to promote what Edmonton has to offer for cyclists.
“It’s a viable option for transportation no matter where in the city you are, because I’m south side working on the north side,” he says.
There are also a lot of ways to get around the city using your bike, Smith says.
Some cyclists, like Belinda Wang, a Writing Centre coordinator with NAIT’s Library Services, get creative with their commutes.
Wang bikes part-way to work from the south side of the city. Her foldable bike allows her to easily hop on public transit, but also gives her the flexibility to bypass traffic and longer-than-normal bus rides after work.
Cyclists view Edmonton from a perspective we can learn from
It’s not really about saving time, though. “It’s about getting some activities and exercising,” Wang says. She started cycling at a young age, and it was a normal way to get around in her hometown in China.
“The health component is a big deal … when we’re fitter, we can be healthier to be there for those that we love.”
“But after moving to Edmonton, it’s just that the summer months are so nice outside. And I do think the city advertises a lot about the efforts that they put in to develop the infrastructure to create a more safe and inclusive and a welcoming environment or experience for cyclists,” says Wang.
Wang notes that Edmonton’s bike infrastructure isn’t perfect, but biking allows Edmontonians to take advantage of what the city has to offer. “Encouraging people to hop on a bike, to explore the city and the neighbourhoods can be a great way of reminding people of … the amiable environment that we do enjoy.”
And it’s true. In my somewhat limited experience biking in Edmonton, I’ve seen places I probably never would have on foot — cyclists view the city from a different perspective and see the positive side where others might not.
I came away from my interviews with NAIT cyclists feeling motivated and encouraged.
Honestly, I think I still prefer walking, but next time I hop on a bike, I’ll stop overthinking and just enjoy the ride. As Smith says, “I don’t think about it, I just do it.”
“Ring the bell. Tell people you’re there, and put on a big smile so the world can be happy, too.”
And even the most seasoned cyclists, like Marcet-Palacios, are happy to share their passion with others.
Just make sure to ring your bell, he says.
“Ring the bell. Tell people you’re there, and put on a big smile so the world can be happy, too.”
Feature image: Marcet-Palacios stands with his bike outside NAIT’s bike parking area. Photo by Alleah Boisvert / The Nugget
