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‘Kidical' mass ride promotes cycling safety in Carlington
‘Kidical' mass ride promotes cycling safety in Carlington

CTV News

time3 days ago

  • General
  • CTV News

‘Kidical' mass ride promotes cycling safety in Carlington

A large group of cyclists came together in Ottawa Saturday to highlight the importance of road safety for cyclists and drivers. CTV's Camille Wilson reports. A mass bike ride was held Saturday morning in Ottawa's Carlington neighbourhood to promote safer streets for kids. The gathering brought together families and community members who want to see streets that allow kids to walk, bike and scooter to get around the city. The 'Kidical Mass Ottawa Bike Ride' started at Meadowvale Terrace Park and took riders through the community and the Experimental Farm. 'As more kids want to be able to get around independently and sustainably, we need to have space so safe for them to be able to do so,' said Cassie Smith, vice president of the advocacy group Bike Ottawa. The family-friendly event hosted by the Queer Bike Club of Ottawa welcomed everyone of all ages, abilities and skill levels. 'Coming to an event like this is great because we get to meet with other families who are all about the same thing, which is safe streets for our kids,' said Caitlin Davis, who attended the bike ride. Many came together from across the province to promote safe cycling. Andrea Bidgod travelled from Guelph for the ride. 'I saw that Kidical Mass was meeting in our old neighborhood. We used to live two streets over and I just thought it was perfect,' says Bidgod, 'I really enjoy that we are listening to families and children, especially for what they need to feel safe on the roads. Not only to give children their own agency and freedom to travel, but giving families that option as well to get where they need to go safely.' Kidical Mass is an international movement inspired by 'critical mass' to emphasize the biking community's call to celebrate the joy of biking, while asking cities to make streets safe for kids and the public. Kidical Mass Ride Jeff Dudka and his son Riley at the Kidical Mass Ride in Ottawa on Saturday, July 26, 2025. (Camille Wilson/CTV News Ottawa) 'I think it's important to be able to meet people who share the same values as you and for young people. The more we expose them to different ways of getting around the city at the youngest age, the more it breeds future behaviors,' said College Ward Coun. Laine Johnson. 'I just think we need to celebrate other ways of moving around the city and take up some of the space. That's why I wanted to bring my kids today.' Chris Hircock says he's attended almost every ride with his daughter since the first event in the fall of 2023. 'This is about celebrating the joy of riding a bike and having freedom of mobility for older kids like Adele. It's about independence of being able to make those trips without always having to rely on mom and dad for a ride in the car and to do that, we need those safe places to ride,' says Hircock, 'It's about making it comfortable, safe and convenient to ride our bikes and walk the places we need to go.' About four to five rides take place every year with this being the third one of the season. The day included a chance to decorate bikes, dance, chalk and blow bubbles before the ride. Once the ride was complete, people were encouraged to bring snacks or picnics while listening to a storyteller. 'It's really about having a joyful time on your bike and enjoying how that can bring community together,' says Smith. For some the ride was also about creating some nostalgia. 'These are the bikes that I rode as a kid from the 1980s - BMX bikes. As an adult, I still ride mine around and I've shared this passion with my son,' said Jeff Dudka. 'I bought this before he was even here, and I knew someday my son would ride this bike and this is his first summer on it, so it's pretty special being able to ride with my son like this.' Kidical Mass Ride The Kidical Mass Ride in Ottawa gathered in Carlington to promote cycling safety. (Camille Wilson/CTV News Ottawa) The event comes on the same day a woman in her 70s was killed while riding a bike near Manotick on Saturday. A pair of nine-year-old's were struck while riding bicycles in separate incidents in Stittsville and Barrhaven earlier this week. Both suffered non-life threatening injuries. The organizers are asking the City of Ottawa for wide and separate bike lanes that provide access to children's destinations like schools, libraries, parks and community centres. They are also seeking reduced speed limits on residential streets. The next 'big ride' will be in September.

Pop star Olivia Rodrigo looks racy in red before enjoying bike ride in London with her beau
Pop star Olivia Rodrigo looks racy in red before enjoying bike ride in London with her beau

The Sun

time3 days ago

  • Entertainment
  • The Sun

Pop star Olivia Rodrigo looks racy in red before enjoying bike ride in London with her beau

POP star Olivia Rodrigo looks racy in red — but took a slower pace on a bike ride with her beau. The 22-year-old Californian was out with English actor Louis Partridge, also 22, on hired electric Lime bikes in West London. 2 She headlined Glastonbury music festival last month and he starred in erotic psychological thriller Disclaimer with Cate Blanchett last year. But the couple went unnoticed by fans as they cycled around the capital. The pair were recently in the Royal Box at Wimbledon together. "I love how nobody judges you for having a pint at noon. "It's the best.' "And I love English sweets. "All the sweets from Marks and Spencer. "Colin the Caterpillar, specifically."

'Jo Cox ride is everything my sister was about'
'Jo Cox ride is everything my sister was about'

Yahoo

time7 days ago

  • Politics
  • Yahoo

'Jo Cox ride is everything my sister was about'

The sister of the murdered MP Jo Cox says an annual bike ride, set up in the weeks after her death, has helped to keep her family going. Now in its 10th year, The Jo Cox Way will set off on Wednesday and see more than 100 cyclists pedal 290 miles from Yorkshire to London to remember the Batley and Spen MP, who was killed in 2016. Participants raise money and awareness for the foundation named after the late politician, which works to tackle issues she was passionate about such as loneliness and isolation "It is heart-warming to think Jo's name is at the forefront of something so positive," said sister Kim Leadbeater, who is now MP for Spen Valley. "June and July is always an emotional time of year for us," Ms Leadbeater continued. "We remember Jo's murder and that is very difficult but what keeps us going is events like the Joe Cox Way bike ride. "In the face of such dreadful tragedy, people came together and showed that we do have more in common than that which divides us." Ms Cox was killed in Birstall on 16 June 2016, a week before the EU referendum vote. She had been on her way to a constituency surgery when Thomas Mair shot and stabbed the mother-of-two. He was jailed for life following the attack. "Jo's murder still is unbelievable" Ms Leadbeater said. "It is still very, very difficult to comprehend what happened but the amount of positive energy created under the most horrific circumstances certainly kept us going as a family." This year, riders will be wearing the purple, white and green colours of the suffragettes to celebrate the women's suffrage movement. Of the 105 cyclists taking part, 58 are women - and Sam Foster is among them. "I think it is a way of channelling and making sure that positive things come out of something that was so disastrous," the 58-year-old maths teacher said. "It is not just about raising money, but actually being a part of it, bringing a load of us together from completely different backgrounds and we have to work together." After setting off from the Princess Mary Stadium in Cleckheaton the mixed-ability cyclists will arrive in Buxton in Derbyshire later on Wednesday. They are set to reach London on Sunday, July 27. Tracy Vause is taking part in the ride for the first time after watching the race set off in recent years. "I cannot actually believe that we are going from Cleckheaton to London; we know it is really hilly on day one so there is not really the shock there. "I know it is going to be a challenge and you have got to really dig deep" Ms Vause, from Gomersal, said the group would support each other through the challenge. "It is not a race, there is not a prize for being first so I am really looking forward to it". Ranging in ages from 21 to 79, cyclists taking part will climb a total of 13,000 feet during their journey. The oldest rider on this year's route, Kath Lyons, from Sheffield, celebrates her 80th birthday just after event. She is riding in the challenge for the fourth time. "I am doing The Jo Cox Way again to remind myself what Jo stood for; it is more relevant now than when she said it. "We all have 'more in common' than we think. "I also still quite fancy the challenge; can I still do it?" Ms Leadbeater added: "For those four-and-a-half days, nothing else matters - all that matters is getting up the next hill and getting to London, raising money for charity and making friendships. "That is everything that Jo was about". Listen to highlights from West Yorkshire on BBC Sounds, catch up with the latest episode of Look North. More on this story Jo Cox cycle ride 'inspirational' - sister Record number turns out for Jo Cox memorial ride Related internet links The Jo Cox Foundation The Jo Cox Way

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