It’s hard to believe that Bikes+Leadership marked our fifth event in our vitual series that began last summer. On June 24th, we heard stories from leaders across Ontario, Canada who are enabling and encouraging more people to get around by bicycle.
Jamie Stuckless kicked things off with a recollection of her impressive career as a champion of local cycling initiatives all across Ontario and how she has grown along the way. Lanrick Bennett Jr. then added the story of how his daughter, after discovering a love for cycling, went on cycling “strike” and became active in her community in advocating for more safe cycling infrastructure.
Third, we heard from Christopher McGarrell, who shared how he started cycling with a friend to get out of a rut during the pandemic in 2020, which evolved into open rides and eventually the Mandem Cycling Club with dozens of people joining each ride and over 5,000 followers on Instagram. Fourth was Hans Moor, who shared the story of Ottawa’s first protected bike lanes and his advocacy leadership in making them a reality as head of Bike Ottawa.
Finally, we concluded the evening with a virtual mingle and some questions from the audience.
Jamie Stuckless (3:26)
Jamie Stuckless is a policy advocate and transportation professional who is passionate about supporting people making change in their communities. She has turned her love of cycling into a decade long career in Ontario’s active transportation sector, leading successful advocacy initiatives to fund hundreds of kilometers of cycling infrastructure, increase active transportation to school, and engage thousands of stakeholders in meaningful policy discussions.
Through Stuckless Consulting Inc. she now works on transportation and sustainability projects across North America.
Go directly to Jamie’s story HERE.
Lanrick Bennett Jr. (18:17)
Lanrick Bennett Jr. is the Managing Director at 8 80 Cities. He held previous positions as the Hub Manager at Artscape Wychwood Barns, Regional Advisor in the Ontario Provincial Government and Education Officer at the Canadian Songwriters Hall of Fame. He is a year-round urban cyclist who champions protected cycling infrastructure in multiple forms.
Go directly to Lanrick’s story HERE.
Christopher McGarrell (32:47)
Originally from Scarborough, Christopher is the founder of Man Dem Cycling Club in Toronto. Founded in the summer of 2020, the club is open to anyone who enjoys riding a bike, and it quickly grew to over 1000 members.
Go directly to Christopher’s story HERE.
Hans Moor (45:58)
Hans Moor, known by the alias HansontheBike, lives in the National Capital Region of Canada. From 2010 to 2015, Hans was president of Bike Ottawa, Ottawa’s not-for-profit, volunteer-based safe cycling advocacy group. He has maintained a blog about cycling since 2010 with over 300 posts and works seasonally in Ottawa as a bicycle tour guide. Hans’s work has earned him the City Builder Award from the Mayor of Ottawa and several other awards. Ottawa’s mayor once tweeted that “Hans is more popular than I am“.
Go directly to Hans’s story HERE.
Join the BIKE MINDS Movement
Special thanks to the volunteers that made the event possible: Catherine, Rie, Suzanne, Gerry, and Robert.
Spreading the joys of cycling through storytelling has proven to be a powerful tool for empowering people to bring change to their communities. Why not join the effort? Here are some ways you can join the movement:
- Complete Our Feedback Survey: provide input to inform our future events
- Submit Your Story: be considered as a storyteller for a future event
- Join Our Team: join the team of volunteers that makes the series possible
- Host a BIKE MINDS: host your own affiliate BIKE MINDS event. Get in touch and we’ll tell you more
Our next event will be sometime in Fall 2021. We are always accepting stories – consider submitting yours today!
Want to keep the stories rolling? Check out more recaps and videos from our past events below:
BIKE MINDS 