This past weekend we hosted the 8th annual Prospera Granfondo Axel Merckx Okanagan and welcomed just under 2,300 cyclists.
It has become a premiere event and most of the athletes are from out of town. While I call them athletes, they are nowhere near the hard core triathlete crowd that strictly focuses on a regimented food and training structure. The Granfondo cyclists were out enjoying themselves with wine and a nice dinner the night before the event, taking time to check out the many wonders Penticton has to offer. It is a great visitor demographic to have in our community.
I love that the Granfondo is a family fun event and on Saturday they have the Piccolofondo (kids), with participants sporting small bikes and little uniforms. The best is when a local kid wearing regular shorts and a tattered shirt smokes the prodigy cyclists. It just goes to show you cycling should be fun and you don’t need an expensive bike or fancy riding gear to enjoy it or to be good at it.
If you come to the farmers market every Saturday you will have noticed a bike valet service by the grass on the north side of city hall. The bike valet service is free and organized by the Penticton and Area Cycling Association. Last week they had over 60 bikes which represents 57 less cars coming downtown (their set up is the same footprint as three parking spots).
In years previous we lobbied hard to have our region designated as a cycling precinct which saw the province install directional signage (similar to wine route markings) and increased sweeping/maintenance along key routes many people cycle or train on. This year we hope to rekindle the flame and momentum with ministers meetings this fall at UBCM (Union of British Columbia Municipalities) conference. We will be asking for more funding put towards KVR trail maintenance and cycling infrastructure.
Our community is well-suited to be a ridable community; however without more routes that are protected from vehicle traffic, it will be difficult for people to overcome their initial fears around cycling. When we think of cyclists, we often think of the spandex crowd. This misses the mark on the potential as most people grew up riding or having a bike, but may now feel it’s not safe or easy to ride.
Full disclosure: I don’t own a pair of spandex shorts or ride regularly, but I do consider cycling as the new golf and see tremendous potential for cycling. Cycling in our region is obviously a tourism draw and the province invested over $500,000 to help promote it in the Okanagan (conversely they only spend $100,000 to maintain or repair trails, which is why we need money to ensure the trails are being repaired and built).
Cycling also creates healthy communities. Riding the KVR trail system is the best example of a protected pathway and is easy terrain for any skill level. The next project could potentially be improving the Okanagan River Channel pathway and creating a city route through low traffic neighbourhoods.
Hopefully the wheels have been set in motion and we can switch into high gear to get more people comfortable with cycling and cyclists.
Andrew Jakubeit is the Mayor of Penticton and provides the Western News a column twice a month. Contact him via email Andrew.Jakubeit@penticton.ca. Follow him on Twitter @AndrewJakubeit