● A Merry Christmas message to cyclists from the Ottawa Police.

The Ottawa Police seem to be wishing cyclists a safe and Happy Holidays in a recent exchange of Twitter messages.

The story starts off when a Alex Pierson, a radio talk show host in the Toronto area, tweeted a photo of a winter cyclist with the following negative message “U have to be a real knob to ride a bike on a day like this.”

Lo and behold, the Ottawa Police actually responded to her by tweeting “Bicycles have every right to be on the road all year round. For many, it’s their only mode of transportation. Give them room. If you don’t have room to give them at least 1 metre of distance, wait until you do before you go around them.”

I say good for the Ottawa Police. With the tweet coming only a few days before Christmas, I think it could be construed as a Happy Holiday message for cyclists. I also like the message because it suggest that the Police may be starting to take a more proactive stance in defending cyclists’ rights on the road.

And speaking of winter cycling, a group of cyclists find themselves having to complain about the lack of snow removal on the Mackenzie Avenue bike lane in front of the U.S. Embassy, a key link between Ottawa and Gatineau. CBC has a good report about the issue.

Team Sky, the most successful pro racing team in recent years, has posted their annual effort to come up with a creative video wishing everyone a Merry Christmas. (However, I think their effort from two years ago is better.) Unfortunately, their message of Glad Tidings may be tarnished a bit by the fact that Team Sky now finds themselves embroiled in the latest doping scandal to hit pro cycling.

If you’re looking for other feel-good Christmas messages for cyclists, here are a few of my favourites from previous years – the very best way to get a Christmas tree – synchronized cycling by a gang of Santa Clauses – buying a Christmas tree in Paris on a bicycle.

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1 Comment on ● A Merry Christmas message to cyclists from the Ottawa Police.

  1. good on the ottawa police for stating so.. its true though, there are a lot of people that have no other mode of transportation as they can’t afford it. Thus, the bike is the only viable mode of transportation. We’re lucky in ottawa as many other canadian cities don’t clear the sidewalks, bikepaths, bike lanes etc.. in winter. I heard Winterpeg (winnipeg) is just a disaster to bike in all year around, drivers will run you off the road. I’ve biked most cities in Canada – best place to bike: probably NFLD – people actually stop and offer food and stuff… Ottawa is pretty good, but there are some nasty panic stressed out people in ottawa that are in a rush to no place fast… TO is a mess, vancouver is alright in spots but still a mess of a city, wouldn’t bike in montreal nor most of quebec – they really don’t give a sht… I’ve biked many eastern parts of the USA – love biking Lake placid and areas – wide shoulders. Biked the carribean islands, some islands are fantastic while others are nut case islands – they will run you down and honk continuously…barbaric some islands are. Can really get a sense of the culture, attitudes, values, ethics, morals by driving a bike… are people calm, relaxed, patient, stressed, anxiety levels high, etc…best way to visit a place is by bike, get to see it all. Barbados is a sht hole, cops will actually kick you off the roads there and people will run you down… human cruelty and greed took over that island.
    Pueto rico is a great place to bike so is costa rica… love costa rica, biked across it three times with this race http://www.adventurerace.com

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