60 Before 60 Project: #35 - Try a Bike Sharing Service

Like many other major cities, we have a bike sharing program. Our service provides over 800 drop off and pick up spots throughout the city where through an app, you can find out how many bikes are in a location and then take one from one place and drop it off at another. 

I often seen people riding these bikes (often referred to bixi bikes) around the city but had never actually rented one myself.   

Now I do have a bike but I rarely ride it. On the odd occasion, I might cycle around our neighbourhood but that is really the extent of my biking prowess. 

It has been a couple of years since I had my own bike out and if I was to drag it out, in all likelihood it would probably need some work to get it back into riding form. So I thought why not try one of these rental bikes in another part of town to see what it was like. 

I enrolled my daughter to help.

My daughter has a seasonal bixi bike membership so she was able to take me through the process. Turns out it was pretty simple.

Through the app, she confirmed there were bikes where we wanted to pick them up. Our desired location was in walking distance from her home so we just walked over. Once there, she then scanned the QR code on the bikes with her phone in the app. Once scanned, the bike then released from its stand and off we went. 

The bikes were definitely built for comfort not for speed.

The bikes had three speeds, brakes on the handlebars and a very well cushioned seat. Given it had been a couple of years since I last rode a bike, I wasn’t exactly sure how steady I was going to be. 

Good news, the statement “it’s just like riding a bike” is true. A couple of rotations of the pedals and it felt just like yesterday since I last rode. 

We took the bikes for a spin down a canal and for a Wednesday night I was amazed at how much activity was going on. There were outside yoga classes, people having picnics and even a salsa band playing on a stage. 

The bike path was beautiful. It winded down the canal where we were able to watch canoers and people kayaking. The weather was perfect for riding. Given it was early evening, it wasn’t too hot. The only think I did forget was to wear my sunglasses as the glare from the sun was still quite bright plus there were some bugs that were flying into my face. 

The world just seemed to stop for a while as I cycled past people having fun together, admired the flowers and trees and gazed out over the water. 

I really enjoyed this experience and the fact that I didn’t have to load and unload my bike made it very simple. The added bonus was this was also very inexpensive (it only cost $1.25 for 45 minutes). I’m now motivated to think about exploring other parts of the city by bike and I am even considering buying a monthly membership. 

My 60 Before 60 Life Lesson:  The simplicity of a bike ride can help to improve your view on the complexities of life 

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