Cycling residents take to the streets to help save life-saving program

For immediate release: September 26, 1996

This Sunday hundreds of Ottawa-Carleton cycling residents will take to the streets to help preserve a life-saving program recently axed by Ministry of Health bureaucrats. They'll be joining Citizens for Safe Cycling's Ride for Cycling, the first fundraising ride to support children's cycling education and other bicycle programs.

This spring, Citizens for Safe Cycling (CfSC) ran the second year of a three-year pilot program to train Grade 5 students in the basics of cycling safety. It was a great success, with 9000 children taught across Ottawa-Carleton, tripling the 1995 totals. The Ontario government had recognized the usefulness of this injury-prevention program (especially compared to the cost of treating children's head injuries) by agreeing to fund it for three years. However, this month, ministry bureaucrats canned the third year and would not commit to paying the full cost of the second year — after CfSC had undertaken the program with its approval.

"There's no way this ride will make up for all that we're losing," said CfSC President Brett Delmage. "But the money we raise from this ride will allow us to continue some of our student programs, as well as the other awareness and advocacy programs we run for children and adults." More than a third of a million Ottawa-Carleton residents ride bicycles, and 161,000 bicycle trips are made daily, according to an RMOC study.

The Ride features supervised routes for all ages and fitness levels. Starting at Carleton University, cyclists will have a choice of 15 and 35 km routes through Ottawa/Hull (or for the very fit, an 100 km tour of the region's new bikeways from Kanata to Gloucester). They will return to the start point for refreshments, live entertainment and a prize ceremony. The event is planned to appeal to families riding together, with special safety tips and a free 45-minute Kids CAN-BIKE Festival rodeo aimed at the younger members, to be held after the ride.

Registration forms are available at bike stores, libraries, and other locations across the Region. They are also available on request by phone at 722-4454, by e-mail at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it and on the web at http://flora.ottawa.on.ca/cfsc/

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Contact: The Ride for Cycling, 722-4454