Went down to Queen's Park in Toronto yesterday to watch a little of the bike race featuring Tour de France competitors Ryder Hesjedal and Mike Barry, feeling just a little pumped about the Toronto Star story on Hesjedal's new fame that references my column on biking history from a recent Canada's History: While the 29-year-old from Victoria makes his living on sleek, carbon-fibre bikes that are feats of engineering, the image he chose to brand a fundraising campaign to help aspiring Canadian cyclists was the penny farthing, an absurd-looking contraption with a huge front wheel and tiny back wheel that is widely regarded as the first bicycle.It was my smart editors at the magazine who came up with the headline "Wheelmen Ride Bicycles" for my column. Now Ryder's people are using the line for their website promoting access to cycling: Wheelmen.ca
The slogan on T-shirts being sold for the campaign — Wheelmen Ride Bicycles - came from an article in Canada’s History magazine last summer that resonated with Hesjedal and childhood buddy Cody Graham. The story was about Hesjedal, the Tour de France and the Wheelmen, a different breed of cyclists who formed clubs in Canada in the late 1800s.
Photo: Well, I guess Hesjedal himself was going so fast yesterday that my shot missed him! Some other terrific Canadian cyclists are in there.
