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Bike Week Kick Off – Bike for the Future – June 9

The 2nd Bike for the Future ride of the season will start and end at The Forks at the WRENCH satellite location, touring through West Broadway and Wolseley. Bike for the Future rides are family friendly and no one is ever left behind.

Should there still be space available in the Bezhig Miigwan, One Feather ride with Momenta starting at The Forks at 1 pm, you may have an opportunity to join it as well. If you would prefer to register for Bezhig Miigwan, One Feather ride and ensure your spot, you can find more details here. 

Please view our safety briefing video:

What is Bike For the Future?
Bike for the Future was first held in August of 2021 in response to cuts to active transportation funding, and the need to create safe speeds for active transportation users in our neighbourhoods.

We are a group of concerned citizens advocating for safe spaces for our friends and families to actively commute. Walking and cycling are the two most environmentally friendly modes of transportation and need to play a key role in our greenhouse gas reductions. Transportation makes up 50% of Winnipeg’s emissions (https://winnipeg.ca/sustainability/ClimateChange.stm).

We are in the midst of a climate emergency. Extreme weather events are happening more frequently. Locally we have been suffering through extremes of heavy rains or drought which have had an extremely negative impact on farmers and will inevitably raise the cost of putting food on our tables. Air quality warnings became common place in the summer of 2021 as fires raged in northern Manitoba and Ontario. Every day when we turn on our radios and TV’s and hear and see how our global neighbours are suffering from a host of extreme weather events being amplified by anthropogenic climate change. We have had enough foot dragging by all levels of government. They have a responsibility to make walking and riding a bike the easiest way to get around within and between our urban neighbourhoods.

In 2019, we proudly watched our youth take to the streets of downtown Winnipeg to demand action on climate. Many of us marched in solidarity with them. We intend to continue their fight to push all levels of governments to speed up the move to low carbon transportation to help protect their future.

To encourage Winnipeggers to actively commute, they need a transportation system that allows them to safely, comfortably, and conveniently travel from point a to point b, they need access to safe bike storage, and they need affordable access to bicycles. Currently 60% of Winnipeggers feel unsafe walking and cycling. To make it safe and comfortable, motorized vehicles need to drive slowly on our residential roads (no more than 30 km/h). We need separated and protected spaces on routes with higher vehicle speeds and we need plenty of places to safely cross busy streets and rail lines in a reasonable amount of time.