It’s called the Magnificent Magnolia Ride for obvious reasons: Magnificent time of the year for a bike ride, just as the magnolia blossoms are popping.
Yvette Tendick of the Guelph Coalition for Active Transportation says early spring is the time of year when the cycling impulse is reawakened. The urban landscape is coming back to life and beautifying, and there is no better way to experience that renewal than from the saddle of a bicycle.
Of course, there are those who use a bicycle as their main source of transportation in all seasons, and the number doing so has steadily increased, Tendick said. Driving a car is expensive, riding a bike is cheap, and that fact seems to be at the heart of the trend towards using a two-wheel, self-propelled bike as the primary mode of transportation.
“This is the time when the magnolias bloom,” Tendick said. “They’re the most beautiful spring flowers, and they get everybody in the mood for spring”
The magnolia trees are blooming a bit early this year, so the petals may have fallen by the time about 30 to 40 bike riders pedal the 12-kilometre Magnificent Magnolia Ride on Saturday, May 6. It starts at Speed River Bicycle at 135 Wyndham St. N. at 1 p.m., roams through and around the downtown district, and ends with a garden party on Arthur Street.
“But it doesn’t matter if they’re still in bloom or not, because the quiet residential neighbourhoods and trails we go through are absolutely gorgeous at this time of year,” she said, adding that a camera is a good thing to bring along on the ride.
“The biking is the thing, and the beautiful neighbourhoods,” she added.
This year, artist Garth Laidlaw will be at the after-ride party painting under a magnolia tree, and Brian Holstein will offer stories and poetry. There will be a costume contest, and prizes for the best dressed, the most outlandish, and the best spring bonnet worn. No matter what you wear, helmets are encouraged.
“There are more and more people on their bikes these days, definitely,” Tendick said. “We come across them all the time, people who cycle for pleasure or as their main means of transportation.”
Economic factors are contributing to the increasing reliance on cycling as a mode of transportation, Tendick said. The cost of living in going up. Families are reducing down to one vehicle, and cycling is a good, inexpensive alternative.
For information and to register contact [email protected]. Prizes and refreshments are courtesy of Speed River Bicycle, Wike, Goldie Sherman Pottery and Guelph Coalition for Active Transportation.
