Last weekend marked my first ever venture to the Toronto
International Bicycle Show. It was a blustery, snowy morning and cycling was
certainly not on the agenda. But it’s been a long cold winter…it’s good to
dream of spring and the open road.
At the last minute my 5 year old son decided it was a better
option to go with Dad to the bicycle show than with Mom to the shopping
Mall. So off we went, father and son, to
the CNE grounds to see what all the fuss was about. In typical Toronto fashion the cost to leave
the car outside on a patch of asphalt was more expensive than entry into the
show for the 2 of us…sigh. But if you wanna play you gotta pay!
Now for some background… I still remember getting my first bicycle.
It was a gift from my Grandmother that was visiting from Germany. It was “put
away” until I was big enough to graduate from the tricycle. I remember my dad
retrieving it from the rafters of the garage and putting on the training
wheels. It was a gold Supercycle. I
loved that bike and it served me well for a few years until I outgrew it. This
was the era of the Banana seat and high handle bars in the 70’s. It’s not something
you see often now but it’s one of the 70’s inventions that were practical. It was the time where we cut straws into short pieces and slipped them onto the spokes for the sound effects and look. I couldn’t begin to tell you how many bicycles I had between the age of 5 and 45…it’s
been many! Most were hand me downs or compilations of various bikes, and many saw extensive repairs! There are
advantages in having a mechanic for a Dad!
Growing up in the country where everything is far and most roads were gravel,
meant many kilometers of dirt road cycling. Asphalt was a rare heavenly find. Dirt
roads and trails are not easy on the bikes or the riders, hitting the dreaded
washboard half way down a hill and launching off jumps was tough on those
fragile wheels. It might explain my occasional sore back and knees too… My ever
patient dad asked many a time how it was possible to have so many loose spokes,
bent rims and handle bars. But even
after all the crashes and flattened, bent wheels… I can’t think of a bad
cycling memory…just lots of joy and adventure.
In high school I finally convinced my dad that getting a 10
speed road bike was a good idea. He was sceptical of the durability of a bike with
all those gears and skinny tires on the country roads…but I was in heaven! I
still remember the amazing feeling of the first time I did the 20 km ride to
school. I think maybe it’s that feeling that keeps me coming back to cycling
today.
I’m not sure when or why I stopped riding, likely in my late
teens when driving became the cool thing to do.
It was quite a number of years later when I finally began getting back
on 2 wheels, shortly after moving back to Toronto. Than 5 and a half years ago
when my son was born…my free time shrank and cycling was put on the back
burner, but as soon as he was old enough to safely ride in a bike seat, we were
off. I had to go back to a hard tail bike to accommodate the Infant carrier,
but it was worth it. Sure enough my son was fascinated with being on the bike.
He would even fall asleep while I pedalled around Clarkson. I have vivid
memories of him riding behind me as we rode through downtown Clarkson. He
spotted my underwear strap and decided to broadcast in full volume the he saw “Daddy’s
diaper” …that was a memorable ride.
Last spring on Easter weekend I thought maybe we could try
introducing my son to riding on his own without training wheels. What I thought
was going to be a torturous exhausting process…turned into a 3 minute lesson
and he was off…he was and is a “natural”. By the end of the summer I already
had to get him a bigger bike, now he has his first “Norco”. The other great
find on line was a “trail-a-bike” which could turn my bike into a tandem,
allowing my son to ride along with me and contribute to the trip at his own
pace! There were a few that were hesitant of this new bike but my son took to
it like a pro and we ended the summer doing a 15k bike rally, the Tour de
Mississauga, as a family with the help of the tandem.
That brings us back to last weekend and the Bicycle show. I’ve
never seen so many different kinds of bikes in one place. Not sure what to make
of the “fat bikes” also not sure who pays $6000 for a bicycle either. But the happy
energy in the building was great and renewed my hope that this winter will
eventually end. The fact that my son had a blast there too made it all worthwhile. How can you NOT smile while watching guys playing polo on bikes
and seeing 18 year olds on BMX bikes doing backflips…ah to be young again. And now I hope there is enough time for my
son to forget about those BMX tricks before we resume our riding this spring.
But either way….bring it on!
