Individual award winner: Kate Walker

Kate Walker has been a volunteer board member of Vélo Canada Bikes, the Ottawa-based national cycling advocacy organization, for the past decade. Since 2023, she has served as its Chair, contributing to the promotion of everyday cycling both in Ottawa and across Canada.

Some of her major accomplishments with Vélo Canada Bikes include: leading the organization of three National Bike Summits held in Ottawa, as well as developing policy advocacy documents and organizing lobbying days that led directly to the creation of Canada’s first National Active Transportation Strategy and a $400 million Active Transportation Fund (of which $350,000 went to support projects in Ottawa). She then advocated for a $500 million renewal of the Active Transportation Fund in 2024. Kate was also part of the team that developed Pedal Poll/Sondo Vélo, Canada’s national bicycle count, which takes place every year in early June.

Kate currently works at the University of Ottawa Heart Institute and is pursuing a PhD in Population Health. Her research focuses on cycling and cognitive function in older adults, and she has authored peer-reviewed publications on cycling, policy evaluation, substance use, and exercise physiology.

Organizational Award Winner: Békanecycles

The Békanecycles Instagram blog began when Pascal René rediscovered his passion for cycling thanks to his cousin. Originally from Haiti, Pascal uses the platform to promote life on two wheels and build connections with cyclists around the world.

Over the past few years, Békanecycles has organized or directly supported numerous group rides, including Vélo-Friday, the Move & Groove night ride, and an annual Father’s Day ride. Under Pascal’s leadership, the brand moves beyond the traditional image of the cyclist and extends the joy of cycling to new communities, including immigrants, people from disadvantaged socio-economic backgrounds, and people of colour. The resulting events are inclusive cycling experiences that prioritize confidence-building, movement, safety, and community care. They are always beginner-friendly, giving everyone the chance to try cycling and ask questions without fear of judgment. And they always emphasize the joy of cycling, leaving participants eager to come back!

It’s always challenging to start something new. Starting at a new school, a new job, going to a new country, or trying to build a new habit are all challenging, especially when we try to do them alone. That’s why trying something new with a group of people is one of the best ways to get started.

Ottawa Free Fitness (#OttFreeFit on social media) takes that a step further, sharing a list of FREE group activities taking place around Ottawa, which can help people give running, cycling, or other physical activities a try – and keep others motivated to keep active. “The social aspect is really important” says Stephen Bierbrier, who runs the account in his “free” time. “Running up a hill at 6:29am on a Friday on your own is a challenge. Running up that same hill with 50 like-minded friends at the Arboretum Hill Club is somehow funner. Connection, accountability and support will motivate just about anyone to get active and build that healthy habit!”.

Bierbrier doesn’t just stick with sharing other people’s events. He is also instrumental to bringing some of the most popular free group activities to life. One of those, the Move & Groove ride, aims to get people to see cycling in a different way. “The music, the energy, the glowing bikes, and the creativity make it a party on wheels. Getting fit just organically happens, and shouldn’t that be the best way to live our lives? Let’s find more ways to have fun moving our bodies because really we are all just a bunch of kids who one day were told to act like adults … whatever that means,” says Stephen.

Let’s Bike Month will be over at the end of June, but activities like the Move & Groove ride can keep the fun rolling throughout the summer and into the fall. For more information about the ride, or the full list of free activities taking place in Ottawa, make sure to follow Ottawa Free Fitness on Instagram or Facebook!

Follow Ottawa Free Fitness on Instagram and Facebook. Follow Move & Groove on Instagram.

A few months ago, during a meeting not related with Let’s Bike Month, a representative from the Conseil des écoles catholiques du Centre-Est (CECCE; the local French Catholic school board) mentioned in an offhand comment that it would be great to find more ways to connect bikes that are no longer used with people who need them. The lack of access to affordable bikes has meant that some events planned by schools within that board (such as students cycling to a field trip location instead of renting a bus) have had to be cancelled or changed so that no student is excluded.

This comment led to at least two wonderful stories about re-use and how we can all help connect people with bikes, so we wanted to share!

1. This spring, students from the CECCE rescued 11 bikes from the side of the road. Seven of them were in decent enough shape, and the students worked together to repair them for use at the board’s Centre agro-educatif near Navan. Students learned valuable maintenance skills, as well as the importance of giving new life to things which may have otherwise ended up in the landfill!
2. EnviroCentre connected the Ottawa Tool Library with Helping with Bikes for a one-time bike donation drive. The Tool Library’s regular repair café will be taking place at Zibi on June 20th, and Helping with Bikes will be set up outside the venue, welcoming bike donations for a good cause! You can read more about Helping with Bikes in the profile we wrote about them last year.

These are just two examples of people and organizations in Ottawa who are helping connect people who need a bike with a bike that needs a new owner. Before relegating a bike that no longer serves your needs to the trash heap, please consider finding it a new home.  

Sponsored post

We always love hearing about different ways that companies can support their employees and customers to get more active and choose sustainable options. One of our 2026 supporting sponsors, Desjardins Ontario Credit Union, offers a range of employee discounts and a reimbursement program to encourage employees to use alternate modes of transportation and to prioritize their health and wellness. Promoting active transportation is part of Desjardins’s vision for sustainable mobility, so many of their locations are equipped to accommodate cyclists.

Desjardins Ontario Credit Union also supports community initiatives that support sustainable mobility and an active lifestyle. This has included projects such as the construction of a pump track and skills course in Levack, ON, an initiative by Wheelchair Basketball Canada which works with schools in the Ottawa area to introduce wheelchair basketball to students with and without disabilities, and more.

Thank you to Desjardins for being part of Let’s Bike Month 2026!

What would you do if you had too much stuff to carry, but your destination didn’t have direct car access? Or perhaps you’re organizing an event and want to lower the emissions impact of your transportation? Or you’re eyeing the rising gas prices and wondering how to ditch a car, but e-bike prices are too high to commit?

Well, you rent an electric cargo bike of course!

From weddings to filming, from accessibility to mobility, and everything in between, Let’s Go Cargo has you covered! You can borrow an electric cargo for a few hours or a whole week. And there is even an option to have your ride delivered directly to you (by bike, of course). Based out of the Parkdale market, they are also easily reachable via transit.

As a sponsor of Let’s Bike Month, we’re thrilled to join forces with Let’s Go Cargo for an e-bike testing event, taking place Thursday June 4th at Zibi. A cargo trike, a standard adult e-bike and an electric adult tricycle will all be available! Walk-ups are welcome!

Long-tail e-cargo bike with a rear capacity of 220lbs (left) and an e-cargo trike perfect for replacing that 2nd car (right).

Hidden Harvest is a program of EnviroCentre that brings community members together to pick and share fruit. We organize volunteer-led harvest events on public and private property, and a portion of harvested fruit is always donated to a local food agency to share with community members. Since 2012, Hidden Harvest has rescued over 120,000 pounds of fruits and nuts, averting over 43,000kgs of GHG, and helping to feed thousands of local families.  

And because both food agencies and volunteers are often hyper-local, some of the work takes place by bike! Whether volunteers are cycling to a harvest or delivering freshly picked fruit to a nearby food agency on their bikes, active transportation is another way Hidden Harvest helps reduce greenhouse gas emissions.

Last year, Hidden Harvest was included in the filming schedule for Season Two of An Optimist’s Guide for the Planet, hosted by Nikolaj Coster-Waldau (best known for his work on Game of Thrones). As part of the filming, volunteers delivered rescued fruit by bicycle, highlighting how simple, community-led actions can support climate solutions and food security at the same time. If you would like to volunteer to pick fruit with Hidden Harvest, you can register as a volunteer. And if you have a fruit or nut tree, you can register your tree for harvesting to help support a great cause.

EnviroCentre staff & Hidden Harvest volunteer delivering fruit by bicycle.

Ottawa has so many amazing groups supporting underserved youth, and Trips for Kids is no exception. Serving Ottawa since 2007, Trips for Kids is now a registered charity dedicated to enriching the lives of youth through outdoor recreation activities who would otherwise not have the opportunity to participate. 

Trips for Kids offers weekly after-school programs and year-round opportunities for youth. From biking along picturesque trails to gliding on ice during skating sessions, our activities foster a sense of purpose, belonging, and resilience. In 2024, the organization served 300 youth through biking and skating programs, providing equipment to ensure everyone could participate safely.

Last year, Cat Weaver, founder of Trips for Kids, was awarded the Bruce Timmermans’ Individual Cycling Award. The 2025 winners will be announced later this week, so stay tuned to find out who rolls away with this honor! In the meantime, if you are interested in learning more about Trips for Kids, or how to support it, you can find all the information on their website.

People get drawn into cycling for a variety of different reasons, be it reliability, finances, or exercise. 

For Heller Phillips Renovations, a residential renovation company specializing in older homes in the Ottawa core, the reason was predominantly environmental. But quickly after building their bike trailer (branded, and on a Wike trailer base), they realized that for day-to-day use in urban streets the bike was far more practical. 

“I can carry my tools that are smaller on a day-to-day basis, and it was good visibility for us,” says Richard Heller, one of the founders. “In fact, it has attracted a number of clients to us.”

According to Richard, car-free and car-light families (14% of households across Ottawa reported being car-free in 2022, and the percentage is highest in the downtown wards) are more likely to reach out to them after seeing the trailer. So not only are they saving time finding parking, and saving money and emissions with their lighter transportation options, they’re also bringing in business as a result!  

We’d like to thank Heller Phillips Renovations for sponsoring this year’s Let’s Bike Month! You can take a look at their work on their Instagram here.

This post was sponsored by Heller Phillips Renovations.