It’s difficult to ignore the increasing number of bikes on the road. The bikes themselves and their rider’s alike come in all stripes and no matter the rider’s taste, be it for a road bike, mountain bike, hybrid or a vintage three-speed that appeals to their inner Eurofile, now is the time people are declaring themselves cyclists. 

Photo by Megan Verhey.

And why not? 

Plunkett explained that he has also seen a change in people’s attitudes towards cyclists in the last while. 

“Cycling is more of an acceptable form of transportation now,” said Plunkett. “You’re not looked down upon for riding your bike. It’s almost a source of pride. For some people it definitely is.” 

Another U of G student and avid cyclist, Rashaad Bhamjee, attributes the growing number of people biking to more cyclist-friendly laws and a general nod to their needs by city planners. 

“The laws have changed and have made it easier to be a cyclist,” said Bhamjee. “It’s given them more rights and also clarified some of the things that they can and can’t do.  And most cities have a huge bike path plan of some sort. The more these get implemented, the safer people feel biking on the roads, especially major roads.” 

Because it prioritizes many of these things, Guelph is widely held by many of its citizens as 

 being a bike-friendly city. Bhamjee, who has ridden bikes in many cities, sees Guelph as a leader in this area.  

“[In Guelph] there are decent bike paths along major roads and trails all the way up to the lake and at the lake,” said Bhamjee. “There are lots of places to go and there are always people on bikes. It’s probably one of the friendlier cities I’ve been in.” 

While the idea of riding a bike is fairly simply, not to mention one that many have been comfortable with for most of their lives, there is a lot more for one to consider than simply putting wheels to pavement. 

The dreaded bike thief 

Outside of suffering some kind of serious bodily harm, there are few things 

that a cyclist fears more than their bike being stolen. Aside from the obvious financial loss when one’s bike is swiped, many people form real attachments to their bicycles even going to far as naming them and referring to them like a close friend. The horror stories echo in the heads of many dedicated cyclist of the friend-of-a-friend who had locked their bike up and left it for just a moment only to discover it missing upon return. To conquer bike thief anxiety, people cope differently. 

Rashaad Bhamjee, a U of G masters student, has both a pricey mountain bike and road bike but also, he explained, one that he wouldn’t care if it got stolen. For fear of one of the better bikes being snatched, he rides the ‘beater’ bike if he commutes. 

“I did use my road bike to commute until one of my friends got his bike stolen [from]campus and then I stopped commuting with my [good] bike,” said Bhamjee. “With my one bike, I could care less, but with my mountain bike I care a lot. I can’t afford to replace it.” 

Others follow the advice of Sergeant Doug Pflug of the Guelph Police and think strategically about where and how they leave their bicycles. 

“Park the bike in a well-lit area and park it in a designated rack if you can because there’s a lot of volume,” said Pflug. “Periodically check on it because sometimes people leave their bikes for three or four days and then they come back to find that it’s gone.” 

According to Pflug, if a bike is left totally unlocked it will likely be stolen simply because the opportunity presented itself but bike thieves will often go to the trouble of cutting the locks of nicer bikes that can be resold for a lot of money. 

Tim Plunkett, who works at Speed River Bicycle in Guelph, had his bike stolen from in front of a U of G campus building while it was locked and is now very choosy about the kind of lock he’ll use. 

“As a university student you will probably be leaving [your bike] for an extended period of time in a busy area,” said Plunkett. “My advice would be to use a U-Lock. You can have a relatively inexpensive one for like 25 to 30 dollars and you can get comparable cable locks but the cable lock is easier to cut…With the U-Lock, the convenience factor is down because they are quite heavy but the [security] factor is raised quite a lot.” 

Being safe in the saddleRashaad Bamjee has been hit by a car while biking on two occasions. He has been cycling on two wheels since age six and yet in two very different instances, he was struck by a motorist. 

For many cyclists, sharing the road with motorists is the worst part of riding a bike. It’s not the unfortunate weather conditions, nor the physical difficulties of the ride. It’s the cars. 

“Some cars will try to pass when they probably shouldn’t pass and if a cyclist takes up a lane, which they are legally allowed to do, most cars will get pretty mad about it,” said Bhamjee. “[Cyclists] don’t have quite the presence that a four-by-four has on the road. With some motorists it’s just a matter of ‘There’s a bike on the road. It’s getting in my way.’ They’re not necessarily out to cause harm but they’re definitely quite aggressive.” 

While many motorists seem unaware of the rights of cyclists on the road, Sergeant Doug Pflug advices cyclists to yield to pushy motorists to save themselves from harm. 

“Always air on the side of caution,” said Pflug. “A car is several thousand pounds and [a bike] is not. When in doubt, give way to the car because there’s no point being a martyr with a broken leg.” 

In a list of bike safety tips distributed by the Guelph Police cyclist are urged to make sure their bikes are complete with bells and lights, that they scan the road around them as they drive, that they obey all traffic signs and signals, ride headphone-free and, everyone’s favourite, wear a helmet. 

“I’m a huge helmet wearer,” said Bhamjee. “I’ve hit my head multiple times and smashed at least one helmet. Ever since I was a kid and I got in one good bike accident, I’ve been a helmet wearer ever since.” 

Despite this demonstrated dedication to helmets, Bhamjee acknowledges the awkward appearance of protective headgear. 

“I sucks but it’s less dorky than having to wear a helmet for the rest of your life because your head’s been smashed in or something,” he said. “The temporary dorkiness outweighs the long-term…Ever since they changed the law where people under 18 have to wear helmets, it’s been less of an issue because everyone grows up wearing a helmet. It’s not quite as crazy.” 

Photo by Megan Verhey

The bicycle and its rider 

With all of the different bicycles out there, it can be a little overwhelming when one walks into a shop filled with all manner of them. The most important thing, according to Tim Plunkett of Speed River Bicycle in downtown Guelph, is to come into a bike shop with some idea of what you would like to use the bike for. 

“One of the most important things is what [you] plan on doing with the bicycle,” said Plunkett. “Whether it’s primarily for commuting, commuting with some mountain biking, commuting with some road-cycling or road cycling. Having a good idea of what you wish to be doing for now and in the foreseeable future and what their goals are is the biggest thing.” 

The work is not over once the bike is purchased though. Rashaad Bhamjee, a proud owner of ‘too many bikes’ has always done all of his own maintenance. Regularly he cleans the chains, tightens the cables and keeps air in the tires and once a year he takes everything apart and cleans it. 

“When I bought my first road bike, I could barely afford to buy the bike let alone maintenance. It’s really not that hard because everything’s exposed. You can’t botch it up too much.” 

But according to Bhamjee, there are dire consequences to not maintaining ones bike properly. 

“It would sound like a lot of the bikes on 

campus seem to sound,” he said. “It’s my kryptonite when a bike goes by and it’s all squeaky, the wheels aren’t really straight and things aren’t shifting properly. Most bikes are pretty decent if you don’t take care of them then you can only expect so much from it.”