Hub and Spokes 2025 was a blast!
Saturday July 19th was our 5th annual Hub and Spokes Active Transportation tour/party! The weather was PERFECT & a GREAT time was had by all. Special thanks to City of Calgary, Gasonic Air Quality and Bow Cycle Ebikes for their support as well as pal Adrian Bollard who got this cool drone footage!
This year we started Hub and Spokes at home base: CommunityWise on 12th Ave, 10am sharp! We managed 1 of 2 on-the-road repairs right at the very outset because bike folks are often pretty smart and handy folks! Check out that rad scooter!
Hub and Spokes, a good time with cool folks and one GREAT downtown Micromobility Active Transportation Network!
Before we left, host Bentley shared a few rules of the road like hand signals for turning, sharing the Bike Paths & proper lane etiquette (and don't be afraid to use those bells, people!). And we were OFF!
1st leg was 12th Ave to 5th St then 3rd Ave, right through the heart of the downtown & entirely on Calgary Bike Lanes! If you want vibrancy in your downtown and more folks visiting more businesses, the data is IN: you want bike lanes. (Receipts here!)
Next stop was River Hall, where we talked about Placemaking & the shift from downtown car awareness to park pedestrian awareness before hitting up the Bow River Pathways. We also had friend Merv tell us about the great work Youth En Route does!
We took Bow River Pathways to Peace Bridge where Bentley related a fun story from then city councillor Druh Farrell about the the bridge's opening night before hearing City Of Calgary 's Andrew Forsyth talk about the important (& beautiful!!!) flood mitigation work in the area.
(Learn more about this really important (& we say again: BEAUTIFUL!) piece of Climate Adaptation work along the Bow River Pathways (& a ton of stuff on the new Eau Claire Plaza!) at the City of Calgary website.)
Next stop: East Village where Bentley explained how adding a grocery store was the final piece needed for it to become an option for him to live there & that this is really what a 15 Minute City is: walkable, bikeable, complete communities that have everything you need in 'em
Then we hit up St Patrick's Island where attendee Carolyn took the megaphone to talk about the longstanding Osprey nest at the top of the Bloom Sculpture there. Cool, right ?!?
Host Bentley also talked about he uses the Bow River around here for a quick dip when it gets *really* hot then talked a little about how to recognize Heat Stroke and what to do when it happens. Learn more at the City of Calgary website
A pit stop on St Patrick's Island, over the bridge on Zoo Road to Inglewood then back along the river pathway to the East Village Community Garden and the brand new Pickleball court! We also talked a little bit about this excellent piece of placemaking in Calgary: if you want folks to spend time there, GIVE THEM PUBLIC WASHROOMS. Literally every human needs them. So simple and so civilized.
Before Central Taps and Food for well deserved eats & drinks our final stop was Pixel Park, a place for humans rather than just parked cars & another GREAT piece of placemaking, again courtesy of CMLC. From a dog park to EV chargers, skateboarding, pickleball & basketball hoops this spot is a WIN!
And that was our 5th annual Hub and Spokes bike tour/party! Special thanks to our great sponsors at Gasonic AirQuality, City of Calgary and Bow Cycle Ebikes!
We'll see you on the trails!
