page_title: Cycling in Canada
section_title: History
hierarchical_section_title: Cycling in Canada / History
caption_attribution_description: A composite photograph taken in 1884, the Wanderer’s Bicycle Club is depicted in front of the Queen’s Park fountain (University Ave, Toronto). The Toronto Daily Mail described one of their trips to Hamilton, August 16, 1883: “As customary to this club, they wandered in small parties into that city, (...) There were, in all, about 30 wheelsmen present, the dark blue and scarlet of the Hamilton club making an appealing contrast with the grey and black of the Wanderers.” Creator: Humme, Ludwig Eugen Julius Friedrich (1839-1891) Date: 1884 Identifier: X 28-5 Cab II Format: Picture Rights: Public domain Courtesy: Toronto Public Library. More information: (view details and larger image)
context_page_description: Cycling in Canada is experienced in various ways across a geographically huge, economically and socially diverse country. Among the reasons for cycling in Canada are for practical reasons such as commuting to work or school, for sports such as road racing, BMX, Mountain bike racing, freestyle BMX, as well as for pure recreation. The amount and quality of bicycle infrastructure varies widely across the country as do the laws pertaining to cyclists such as bicycle helmet laws which can differ by province.
context_section_description: Interest in early Velocipede bicycles exploded during the winter of 1868-69 in Montreal, Quebec, Canada as evidenced by advertisements. The first person in North America to ride a Penny Farthing style bicycle was Albert Lane who in Montreal rode an imported 50 inch Coventry on July 1, 1874. He also co-founded the first bicycle club in Canada, the Montreal Bicycle Club in 1878 which later joined with the Lacrosse and Snowshoe clubs to form the Montreal Amateur Athletic Association in 1881.
  Before the widespread adoption of private automobiles, bicycles were a popular mode of transport in Canada, although Canada's snowy winters posed a problem for year-round use. Travel by horse and carriage (or sled) or streetcar offered a more robust alternative. As Canadian became more suburban after World War II, cars became the principal mode of transportation for many people, and cycling shifted to being solely for sport or recreation.
  In the 1970s a bike boom saw a sharp increase of bicycle sales in Canada The advent of the mountain bike in the later twentieth century made off-road recreational bicycling particularly popular.
  In the twenty-first century, with longer and longer commute times between suburbs and central business districts, there has been a trend towards urbanization, with people moving into cities. together with gentrification, this has created a more dense urban environment less like the mid-century North American norm and more like Old World cities where cycling commuting is more popular. This has led to a new era of cycling advocacy and can create conflicts with motorists over road space prioritization, funding and planning decisions at the local municipality level.
caption: The Wanderer's Bicycle Club at Queen's Park, Toronto in 1884. Penny-farthings and safety bicycles were used in Canada as early as the late-19th century.
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