Google the word “Bicycle” and you’ll find a litany of proclamations referring to the mechanical advantage of this ingenious conveyance.

“The bicycle is the most efficient self-powered means of transportation in terms of energy a person must expend to travel a given distance.”

“From a mechanical viewpoint, up to 99% of the energy delivered by the rider into the pedals is transmitted to the wheels…”

“In terms of the ratio of cargo weight a bicycle can carry to total weight, it is also a most efficient means of cargo transportation.”

Like every machine, however, your bike needs to be maintained. We at Bicycle Month in Mississippi Mills encourage you to learn about bicycle maintenance to keep your bike fit, rolling down the road and with proper mechanical advantage!

So far we’ve offered two bike tuning clinics, one with Greg Earl of SportX, a full service bicycle shop from Smiths Falls, and one with the folks from Kunstadt of Kanata.

Thirty cyclists, from kids with well-used BMX bikes to older guys with carbon fibre roadies, learned a few tricks from these experts. What better way to learn than to get your bike up on the stand, watch the pros and ask tons of questions.

(I’d had a flat on my ride home two nights before, I had fixed it but sadly my wheel was out of true. In short order, spoke wrench in hand, Alex from Kunstadt put it right. Like tuning a piano!)

Bicycle Month has two more clinics. Wednesday June 17 at 6:30 pm, join us at Stonebridge Inn in Pakenham for a family bike clinic with long time riders and mechanical whizzes Bill Barrie and Ralph Bretzlaff.

Wednesday, June 24, at 6:30 at the Almonte Arena is “How to Buy a Bike” with Simon Cousineau from Pecco’s of Ottawa.

All Bicycle Month events are free. However, we encourage “free-wheel” offerings to support the programs of Bicycle Month.

Many thanks to SportX, Kunstadt, Pecco’s, Stonebridge Inn and Bill for offering these valuable clinics for MM Bicycle Month.

Please remember to support these businesses. Thanks

Sadie Dupuis, a carpenter who lives in Almonte, can add artist to her resume. This “Jane of all trades” has been working on a bicycle-inspired sculpture for Mississippi Mills’ first Bicycle Month.

Sadie found scrap bike frames and parts at the White Lake dump, and then fashioned the pieces into letters to spell  MM Bicycle Month. Letters are cut from frames and wheels and painted in primary tremclad colours.

Her artful sign was installed on the side of the former flour mill in Almonte.

Watch for Sadie as she wheels about Almonte with tools in the basket of her bike.

Thanks to Margaret Donato from Almonte for donating a handsome cruiser to Focus on Development. The bicycle is destined for Haiti, where it will find a new owner who will no doubt be thrilled to have a solid form of transportation.

The donated bicycles are scheduled to be shipped out in August, so there’s still plenty of time to donate. Send us an email at  bicyclemonth at gmail.com to arrange pickup

Here’s the scribe’s report:

So 13 birders on bikes set out around 8:30 am from the Groundz coffee and juice bar, Almonte.

Chimney Swift - many seen flying about the clock tower of the old Post Office, Mill street. (Recognize chimney swifts because they look like flying cigars)
English Sparrow - nesting in a roof support of the Timmins building
Chipping Sparrow
Grackle
Crow
Rock Pigeon
Song Sparrow
Ring-billed Gull
Yellow Warbler
Common Yellow Throat (witchedy, witchedy, witchedy)
Red-wing Blackbird
Yellow-shafted Flicker

Stop just at the train tracks on Martin Street, en route to Blakeney

Savannah Sparrow singing on wire
Red-tailed Hawk flying and then perched on a post to the side of the road
Morning Dove cooing
Brown-headed Cowbird
Phoebe

Stop at Blakeney (where Martin Road/County Road 17 joins at the T)

Eastern Bluebird - also saw another later
American Goldfinch
Bobolink
Cedar Waxwing
Starling and a bit further down the road, saw a juvenile Starling on the ground, first very still and then only hopping
House Sparrow - we saw them mating on a fence at the crossroads
Robin

Stop at the Blakeney bridge

Great Blue Heron flew over - and saw another later
Brown Thrasher
Baltimore Oriole
Canada Goose - many in a field in Blakeney
Mallard - also in field
Chickadee
Barn Swallow
Tree Swallow
Ovenbird
Red-eyed Vireo

Stop at Mill of Kintail

Kingfisher (just at bridge before the Mill of Kintail) also saw its “burrow” (holes in a clay bank to the side of the road)
Blue Jay
Hummingbird perched on a wire
Great-crested Flycatcher
Hairy Woodpecker
Nuthatch
Eastern Kingbird

(Also saw a row of 13 poplars - echo of the 13 biker birders - and chipmunk, squirrel, white-tailed deer)

Turkey Vulture - flying and perched
Meadow Lark
Warbling Vireo
House Wren - at the McPherson’s

We also saw two young foxes unafraid, sunning near their den, and then disappearing into their den after a noisy tractor came to close. Just near Doc’s Berries, Perth Road (road to the Pizza Hut / new Town Hall).

Bird total: 45 species

It was a great morning! Thanks to all two-legs involved!

Saturday, June 6 was tune-up day in preparation for next week’s supported ride from Almonte to Parliament Hill. The ride has two options — a short one and a long one, and will be undertaken by riders of all ages. Bicycle tune-ups were taken care of by some very able amateur bicycle mechanics who volunteered their time. The ride is raising funds for a bicycle ambulance in a community in Malawi, Africa.

There’s good news and bad news about the ride to Parliament Hill. The good news is that the ride is sold out. Yay! The bad news, of course, is that the ride is sold out and no more registrations will be taken. Better luck next year, if you didn’t get in under the wire.

We wish all  riders bon voyage and may you have good weather!

The call to artists was issued only about four months ago, so the unveiling of works at Friday’s Bicycle Art Show reception was incredibly impressive as well as being delightfully eclectic.  Jill McCubbin’s canvas (above) was flanked by two vintage cycles on loan from the collection of avid cyclist Les Humphries.

The show comprises about two dozen pieces of art, each one bringing a new take on the designated theme. Two studies of bicycles by artists Nancy Young,  a penny-farthing weaving by Caitlin Barrie and a mixed-media canvas by Amelia Ah You (below) are among the works on display on the upper level of the Mill Street Gallery.

Three-dimensional creations include a puppet of cyclist Bill Barrie, an alabaster sculpture called Wheel of Fire by  Paula Gray and a wheeled head by renowned artist Dale Dunning (below).

The Bicycle art reception was well-attended by Bicycle Month supporters, including Jill McCubbin, Joy Stratford and Fern Martin (below) and no doubt word about the high-quality show will spread quickly. Thanks to Pattie Dolan for curating the exhibit and arranging for great nibbles at the reception. The Bicycle Art show continues until the end of June. Many, many thanks to The Mill Street Gallery for waiving its commission on the works. The Mill Street Gallery is located in the Victoria Mill, in beautiful downtown Almonte, ON.

As promised, the sun shone for our opening ceremony yesterday, when an enthusiastic Mississippi Mills Mayor Al Lunney, sporting his brand-new Bicycle Month T-shirt,  rode through the ribbon to officially open Bicycle Month. (Don’t forget, Tshirts and posters are available for sale at The Miller’s Tale).

Thanks to JACK FM’s Wayne Cavanagh for covering the event Live! On the way to the ceremony, we stopped to admire the new window display at Global Expeditions on Mill Street in Almonte. Notice the opportunities to browse cyling adventure tours far and wide!

The post ribbon cutting event was at the Old Town Hall, where we were delighted to see BIKE RACKS! These gorgeous (and useful!) devices are a donation from TYPS, the Almonte Youth Group. The youth made the racks last year, thanks to a Rotary Club donation. Now we can park our bikes for all those wonderful Old Town Hall events like bike movies and bike lectures and so on.

Inside the Old Town Hall, we gathered for a healthy snack of yogurt and fruit, thanks to the District Health Unit. Best of ll, thanks to Baker Bob, there was CAKE for dessert! Then, the first Bicycle Month film, Breaking Away, was enjoyed by all. Caio!

Bicycle Month 2009 started on a grey, moist day, but our delegation to town council was met with smiles and positive attitudes. Thanks to Jeff Mills and Bonnie Schnittker for managing to fit hours of compelling information into the 10-minute time slot. Thanks to the others who came to cheer us on and thanks to council for giving us your ears and your support.

The weatherman promises sun will be shining when Mayor Al Lunney rides his 35-year-old two-wheeler through the ribbon to open Bicycle Month. Don’t miss it! 6:30 pm in front of Baker Bob’s, followed by free cake and a great movie at the Old Town Hall

Our brochures have returned from the printer and we’re distributing them far and wide as fast as we possibly can. If you can’t wait, click here to have a look at the map, with our amazing cycle routes

News: T-shirts and posters are available for sale at the Miller’s Tale in Almonte:   Shirts are $22 for adult sizes and $15 for children. The poster is $20 and it’s going fast.

Ever heard of Recyclore? It’s an Ottawa non-profit volunteer organization providing  used bicycles, a do-it-yourself repair shop, and a bicycle-recycling depot. Check it out

We’re going to town on Monday, June 1 — that is, we’re taking our bicycles to Mississippi Mills Town Hall to engage the councillors in a forward-thinking session to create a bikeable town. A bicycle-friendly community is a healthy community for everyone, whether you’re talking about fitness, the environment, the local economy, or the cultural life of the community. How can we make Mississippi Mills more bicycle friendly? We’ll talk about such things as bicycle racks, bicycle lanes, share-the-road signs, ride-to-school programs and more. The meeting takes place at 7 pm at the municipal offices on Perth Road.

Then, on Tuesday, June 2, Mayor Al Lunney will ride his bicycle through the ribbon to officially open Bicycle Month. Cake and a movie follow at the Old Town Hall

June 1 to 30, 2009

We’re planning dozens of activities for all ages during our first Bicycle Month. There are films, an art exhibit, bike mechanics workshops, a lecture by a bike historian about how the bicycle can change society, a bike rodeo for youth, a bike writing competition, and of course many, many opportunities to explore our beautiful landscape on two wheels.

Mississippi Mills is 30 minutes west of the nation’s capital. It includes the town of Almonte, a vibrant village with chic boutiques and fine eateries. It also includes four hamlets — Appleton, Blakeney, Clayton and Pakenham — all of which are delightful to visit by bicycle. We invite you to ride our rural roads, and perhaps the occasional rugged hill. Stop in at one of our museums. Pack a lunch or pick one up at Foodies on Mill St. Enjoy the waterfalls and heritage buildings. And remember, you’re never more than 30 minutes away from a good ice cream cone.

For descriptions of fun bike routes to ride in Mississippi Mills, click here

For a list of Bicycle Month events, click on here or on the calendar tab above