A BOY, HIS BIKE AND HIS BIG ADVENTURE

 A BOY, HIS BIKE AND HIS BIG ADVENTURE

The spring of 1979 I was finishing up grade 8, I spent a lot of my free time riding my bike both on my own and with my friends. I was teased quite a bit as a child because I have a hereditary problem called spina bifida and through this it caused my feet to turn out so walking and running were often difficult. But I could ride my bike for what seemed like hours and miles.

My favourite TV show at the time was ‘BJ And The Bear’ a comedic show about a truck driver and his chimpanzee named Bear. I still don’t know to this day if I liked the show because of the truck or the idea of having a pet monkey.

I would frequently go to the Burlington Mall with my parents and occasionally go on my own either by bus or bike. I inquired at the toy store about getting the Matchbox ‘BJ And The Bear’ truck and they said they didn’t have it but a store at Centre Mall in Hamilton did. I did what any other kid did when they wanted a toy I begged and pleaded with my parents to go to Centre Mall but something always came up.

The first week in May was sunny and warm and on Saturday morning I set out on my trusty 3 speed Supercycle. I was 13, had no clue about route planning and even though I had disappeared on my bike for hours at a time I had never ridden that far before. I headed out from my townhouse complex towards Northshore Blvd. past Joseph Brant Hospital (pondered if I wanted to continue). Then continued on Lakeshore Road. I stopped at the Canal Lift Bridge and thought to myself again to I really want to do this. I continued along Beach Bld. to Woodward Ave. I had made this trip with my Mom many times before in her car but this was a first for me on my bike. I got a little lost but I was determined. Most of the trip was on sidewalks because there weren’t any bike lanes then. Instead of heading to Barton I turned on Brampton and recognized the lumber store on Parkdale. I got my bearings and headed up to Barton then on to my destination.

I went into the mall and went to the toy store and purchased my ‘BJ And The Bear Truck’ and another one I can’t remember, then I stopped in at Big Boy’s and had some fries and gravy and a cold drink.

I took almost the exact same route home but this time I got stopped at the lift bridge for a ship heading into the Harbour. Which ended up making me late for supper. But I locked up my bike and went into the house to show off my purchases. And when it was discovered where I went on my adventure I was grounded for the next week only being allowed out for school, no bike riding after school. It did open a discussion to what my new boundaries were and unfortunately regular trips into Hamilton weren’t part of them. As a grad gift from grade 8 I got a new bike and I start regularly riding in the local Bike-a-thon after that. 

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Ontario Bike Summit Presentation

Back In December 2020 I presented with the Everyone Rides Initiative at the Ontario Bike Summit. We were part of the Equity, Diversity AND Inclusion Ontario Examples Session. There have been a few updates since then I am no longer a interim board member of Cycle Hamilton I am a full fledged board member and it looks like I am going through the process of identifying a lesion under my tongue again. Below is my small part of the Everyone Rides Presentation.

Hi everyone, my name is Mark. I am an Everyone Rides Initiative rider and volunteer. I have also been a member of the Hamilton Bike Share board of directors since 2019. I have been a member of Cycle Hamilton for 4 years and this year I submitted my name to be a interim board member of Cycle Hamilton.

However, this is not where my cycling story begins. Just over 5 years ago I went through a cancer scare. Through this health scare and all the testing involved I was also diagnosed as diabetic, I was overweight and unhealthy. This was the point in time that I decided to quit smoking. This was not a simple realisation and is still not an easy task for me. At the time I smoked 75 cigarettes a day and had been smoking for 35 years. I struggled to quit smoking for 4 years, with help from CAMH, Public Health, Smokers Helpline and Good Shepherd’s - Steps to Health Program, I have now been smoke free for over 1 year. (round of applause and virtual high fives).

I am now a regular member of Steps to Health, they offer numerous programs including one called Energized. They meet twice a week for 16 weeks -- one day is nutrition and cooking and the other day is physical activity. It is here that I was introduced to bike share and group rides. Steps to Health has access to a Group Ride Pass from the Everyone Rides Initiative, this allows them to sign out bikes and go on rides with people who are learning to integrate physical activity into their lives.

Riding with a group and quitting smoking helped raise my confidence level and I started getting more involved in the cycling community in Hamilton, I went to Cycle Hamilton meetings and other group rides throughout the city. It was at one of the Cycle Hamilton meetings that I first met Theron and I signed up then and there to be a volunteer with the Everyone Rides Initiative. Through the ERI I got the awesome opportunity to do outreach in the community and with partner organizations. One of these programs was the Good Shepherd Annual Picnic, we had a fun day in Gage Park with the bikes, trikes and BBQ. It is fulfilling to be on the other side of giving and to be assisting others on bikes and encouraging them to ride.

My involvement with Steps to Health has benefited me in so many ways including building my self-confidence which has led to me pursuing opportunities to give back like being an ERI Card Delivery Volunteer, an ERI Connector and being asked to join the Hamilton Bike Share Board of Directors. This year I also applied to be Cycle Hamilton’s interim board member and was accepted!

(pause)

There have been many group rides, discussions and miles that have gotten me to this point and I am thankful to all the friends, family and cyclists along the way for their encouragement and kick-in-the-pants when I needed it.

Be safe, be seen and pedal on.