● Ottawa-Gatineau region gets its own bike show (March 16-18, 2018)

Although spring seems to be a little slow in coming to our area, the Ottawa-Gatineau region is at least getting its own bike show this year. That’s right, no more need to travel to shows in Montreal or Toronto to see the latest offerings from the bicycle industry.

The Ottawa-Gatineau show will focus on both bicycles and cycle tourism and involve more than 100 exhibitors. The show will take place this weekend (March 16-18, 2018) at the Palais des Congrès de Gatineau, in the heart of what used to be downtown Hull. An adult pass for the show is $10.

On a related matter, it appears that Bushtukah will no longer be holding its annual Bike Night in March. It seemed that half of Ottawa’s cycling community would show up for this popular event, which featured various displays and presentations, as well as discounts for many bicycles and related items. (Note that Bushtukah will be one of the exhibitors at the aforementioned bike show.)

The demise of the Bushtukah’s Bike Night follows last year’s announcement by Mountain Equipment Co-op that it was shutting down its annual Bikefest. This event was billed as a daylong community celebration of all things bicycle related.

Although these two retail operations continue to be active in supporting the local cycling community, the closure of these events will have an impact. There was no admission fee for people to attend, and these events provided a free place where local bicycle organizations, clubs, and projects could set up displays to promote their activities.

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