SSSHHHHH! The judges are diligently reading through the 27 entries received for the Miller’s Tale Bicycle Writing contest. Once all three judges have carefully read all entries, they meet and discuss their conclusions and come to a concensus about the first, second and third place entries. Their goal is to announce the winners in early August. Watch this space

A couple of dozen riders took part in the first ever Tour de Mississippi Mills on Saturday. Thanks to all the members of the Almonte Bicycle Club led the way for visitors from far and wide to launch what we call the “jewel in the crown” of Mississippi Mils bicycle routes. We’ve heard positive feedback from riders who loved the roads and the people they met and also from shopkeepers who appreciated the extra business these riders brought them. That’s what it’s all about!!

The big story of the day was all about Pamela Griffen, the 77-year-old cyclist from Carleton Place, who started cycling at age seven with the South Bristol Bicycle Club in England. The full 100-kilometre route was more than her usual ride, but Pamela was determined to go the distance and she came out all smiles at the end.

Bicycle Month organizer Jeff Mills kept Pamela company for the ride, which started out at the Old Post Office in Almonte at 9 am. From there they rode to along the Appleton Side Road to the hamlet of Appleton, the first of four hamlets they would ride through.

From Appleton they took Concession Road 8 to Wolf Grove Road. A left turn on Wolf Grove took them to Tatlock Road,  Read More…

Our publicity efforts paid off on Saturday, with exposure on CBC Radio in Ottawa and in the Ottawa Citizen.

Michael Bhardwaj, the charming  host of CBC Radio’s In Town and Out, interviewed Bicycle Month organizer Jeff Mills, and if this blog works the way it’s supposed to, you should be able to hear the interview by clicking here:

Michael Bhardwaj Interview

Meanwhile, Ottawa Citizen columnist Susan Riley, who also happens to be an avid cyclist, reported on her outing in Mississippi Mills. Here it is:

Geared up

First bicycle month is rolling along in Almonte area

If you want to keep your cycling holiday really local this year - or spend a day or two getting in shape for a longer adventure - consider nearby Mississippi Mills. People in the municipality around Almonte have declared June bicycle month. And they aren’t kidding.

BY SUSAN RILEY FOR THE OTTAWA CITIZEN
Bicycle month organizer Ruth-Ann MacKinnon pauses beside
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William Humber, author of “Freewheeling: The History of Cycling in Canada”, entertained an audience at the Almonte Old Town Hall with a slide show of historic images such as the one shown here and personal stories of encounters with famous cyclists in Canada’s past. Those who attended can now tell you what the letters CCM stand for, among other things. Thanks to the Mississippi Mills Residents’ Association for sponsoring the talk.

The Bicycle-A Hundred Years Hence
Toronto Globe, June 14, 1893

“The roads will be prepared especially for bicycles, the grades being very slight. The roads will be kept clean, as by that time the horses will found be only in zoological gardens. The improvement in the rider will be equally marked. From the continued and increasing use of the wheel a race of people will be evolved that will take to cycling as readily as a foreign immigrant does to politics. We may expect an average speed of 30 miles an hour on the road and 60 miles on the track. The use of the machine will be universal.
Children will be taught to ride as they are now taught to walk. The suburbs of our great cities will extend from 60 to 100 miles in every direction. All patents will have expired, and such large quantities of bicycles will be manufactured that the cost will be nominal and within reach of all. There will be no more crowded tenement houses. The artisan, who will work only four hours a day, will live with his family in a cosy little home in the suburbs, where he can see the sunshine and breathe the fresh air. The use of the wheel will have so improved the stamina and physique of the race that the only cause of death will be old age and accidents.
Everyone will own a bicycle. Those intended for distance travel will be run by small but powerful storage batteries, which may be charged at automatic electric stations by connecting the battery to a dynamo and dropping a coin of small value in a slot. With machines of this character it will be possible to attain a speed of 150 miles an hour.
The bicycle will not be used in war for the simple reason that as dyspepsia will be unknown, everybody will feel so well and be so good-humoured and disinclined to quarrel that there will be no one to go to war.”

Like proud parents running alongside their child, holding the seat, then with a gentle push casting her off under her own pedal power and proudly watching the rite of passage, the organizing group of Bicycle Month is grinning from ear to ear. This month-long celebration of self-propulsion is launched and heading down the road under its own steam.

Day 13 started with a bicycle rodeo at R.Tait McKenzie School. This event put together parent volunteers, high school students, two health nurses and three OPP officers. Children, their parents and even grandparents started arriving before the tents had been set up, new bicycle helmets set out and pylons strategically placed. Fifty child-sized helmets were checked for defects and fit and those that were not up to scratch were replaced with a new one donated by Canadian Tire and private donors. These new riders learned valuable lessons about road signals and bicycle safety and all with an emphasis on fun.

The Mississippi United soccer team arrived dressed in Read More…

The destination for most of the trips that Canadians make in their cars are within 8 to 11 km of their homes. The drive time may take less than six minutes. Cars are generally less fuel efficient on short trips than long ones because they have not fully warmed up.  Such distances are within easy reach of someone on a bicycle, especially when

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