Published in The Guelph Mercury December 15, 2015

The first year Ed Hummel planned the Shortest Day of the Year bike ride, organizing the troops was easy. He was the only one who showed up for the 40-kilometre round-trip from Cambridge to Paris Rail Trail. The next year was a repeat.

In 2012, year three, after talking up the ride to members of the local Great Canadian Bicycle Tours and the Waterloo Wanderers bicycle clubs, the number of attendees doubled to two. Hummel is still pretty proud of the 100 per cent increase in ridership that year.

This year’s ride takes place on December 20th at 10 a.m. from the Cambridge trailhead parking lot. Hummel, director of touring for the GCBT, and self appointed “head Popsicle” has kept the December tradition of riding the Cambridge-Paris Trail going; to take part in the ride is to earn a metaphorical badge of honour.

For those not familiar with the trail, get familiar with this local treasure. The trail, a converted railway bed, busy with walkers, runners and cyclists follows the Grand River south to Paris and beyond. Linking up with adjoining trails, a rider can cycle all the way to Port Dover and Hamilton; the Cambridge-Paris trail is also part of the official Trans Canada Trail. A mountain or hybrid bike with fatter tires is recommended on the trail.

Attendance at the Shortest Day ride has increased since Hummel’s inaugural solo ride – last year had a record 17 riders. Two of those intrepid souls decided to keep going all the way to Brantford and back. Hero biscuits all around!

Here is how it works. Riders, most of them members of the bike clubs, meet at the trailhead in on Water St., Hwy. 24, just south of Cambridge, with a plan to ride to Paris and meet up at the Brown Dog Cafe on Grand River Street before heading back. Cyclists don’t have to go all the way to Paris; if they turn around on the trail at the community of Glen Morris it will still give riders a 20-plus kilometre ride.

I asked Hummel if there was shame in turning around early (not for me but you know for a friend). “No shame in it. Anything goes,” he said. The idea is to ride and enjoy it.

The trail is wide, easy to follow and at this time of year the leafless trees should give riders a good glimpse of the Grand River, the railway bridges and the stone remnants of an old mill, approximately 10 kilometres into the ride.

Weather is always a factor – one year Hummel’s “windshield” (cyclist’s term for glasses) froze. The ride is weather dependent. People may remember the nightmare of freezing rain the area experienced a few days before Christmas of 2013. Drivers were asked to stay off the roads, cycling would have been ridiculous. The ride was canceled and rescheduled to the following Sunday, Hummel dubbed it the Almost Shortest Day of the Year ride.

The trail can also present some challenges. “Because it’s a gravel walking trail, and if it freezes peoples’ footprints will be frozen on the ground”, said Hummel. “This can make for a very bumpy ride.” If you have ever ridden on a gravelly, washboard country road it’s easy to understand what he means, I can feel my teeth tapping together already. One year, Hummel had to get off the trail just to stop his head from rattling and continue the ride on quiet East River Road into Paris. The road parallels the trail and if it’s plowed makes for a pleasant ride as well. Survival requires adaptation.

Hummel’s reason for the December ride is pretty straightforward. “I ride in the winter and I love getting outside. Riding in the basement isn’t that great. I only went downstairs once last year to ride on the trainer.”

Think of the kudos and sense of satisfaction earned by getting out for a winter trail ride. Be careful, it could become a yearly tradition.

Published in The Guelph Mercury November 17, 2015

If you are one of the million Canadians heading to Cuba this year, due to the short flight, cheap digs and warm weather, consider getting in touch with Jeff Reid before you go. Reid is the force behind Bikes for Cuba, a volunteer organization of one that organizes donations of bicycles and gear to Cubans.

Reid travels to Cuba two, three, sometimes even four times annually. He has been doing this for the better part of 10 years now and not because he loves relaxing at resorts. The reason for his first venture to the island was to cycle. On one of his early bicycle trips, Reid met a coach who ran the cycling program at a local school. Thirteen kids were sharing one bike. Reid was shocked.

“I raced for the Canadian National Team, I grew up around bikes. My family was in the bike business and I always had good equipment. I just couldn’t believe it. So I left them my bike,” said Reid. “Then I called up old friends and got donations and sent more bikes.”

The desire to help out blossomed into his organization Bikes for Cuba. Over the last six or seven years, 325 bikes and thousands of pieces of equipment including clothes, shoes and helmets have been donated. Here is the thing, this isn’t a non-profit organization relying on government funding to run the show – Reid collects the donations, makes minor repairs, and boxes the bikes getting them flight-ready all on his own.

Tourists flying to Cuba have taken 99 per cent of the donations for him, Reid says. People have learned about his organization through word-of-mouth or by visiting his booth at the Toronto International Bicycle Show which takes place in early March each year.

Reid has made it hassle-free for people to volunteer to take the bikes with them to Cuba.

This is how it works. To take a bike to Cuba, people contact Reid through e-mail or telephone and he arranges to meet them at the Toronto airport with the boxed bike. Reid gives them the bike and a letter to the airline letting them know this is donation from Bikes for Cuba. He has an arrangement with many of the airlines that service Cuba to ship the bikes for free. At the other end, his Cuban friend, Jorge Feria, meets the traveler at the airport to pick up the bike. Feria then distributes the bikes and gear to the schools and clubs for recreation, provincial and national training programs.  He and Reid are in touch constantly. A picture gallery of some of the donated bikes are posted on the Bikes for Cuba website.

Accompanying a bike is not the only way to donate to the program. For those going to Cuba to cycle they can leave their bike behind once the trip is done. Or if Reid has a donated bike that fits you, you can take it to Cuba, do your ride and leave it behind when you are ready to come home. Arrangements can be made with Feria to pick up the bike.

There has been a growing demand for mountain bikes recently. If you have a used mountain bike in good working order you are no longer using, consider donating it.

Reid says his commitment to the cause takes up about a quarter of his day on average, between arranging to pick up donations and driving to the airport, on top of working full-time. Reid hasn’t received many corporate donations but recently Sugoi, the bicycle apparel company, surprised him. They donated 50 boxes of clothing and gear to Bikes for Cuba. My question about where he stores the donations was met with a laugh, “All over the house and in my garage,” he said.  “It’s crazy.”

For more information visit bikesforcuba.com