Sarnia’s BIG Slow Roll got off to a big start at its first event Friday evening and organizers couldn’t be happier.
“We actually had to shut off registration a couple of days ago,” said Mike Hurry, chairperson of the event organized with the Bluewater International Granfondo.
More than 500 cyclists had signed up to take part in the ride that began at City Hall and followed a 9.5-km route that ended up at Centennial Park where there was live music on the stage.
Friday evening’s riders included Hank Plug, 91, and several generations of his family.
They arranged with the volunteer organization, Cycling Without Age Canada, for a trishaw peddled by one of Plug’s sons so he could take part in the Slow Roll.
“We want to get seniors out for rides, starting with my dad tonight,” said Bryan Plug, who has been working with the organization.
His father was born in the Netherlands and lived there until age 15 when his family came to Sarnia.
Cycling “was the mode of transportation in the Netherlands,” Plug said.
“Biking is pretty close to my heart,” he said.
Cyclists out Friday were of all ages and rode all kinds of bikes, including high-wheeled Penny Farthings brought to the event by Jordan Brown and his son Konahn Brown, 10.
“I’ve had it for five years,” Brown said about modern version of the bike that was popular in the late 1800s.
“I bought for myself for my 30th birthday,” he said. “It’s awesome.”
Brown was part of a unicycle club and had tried out an antique Penny Farthing years ago so it didn’t take him long to adapt to the cycle.
His son was riding a smaller version Friday.
Penny Farthings are rare in Sarnia, Brown said.
“I think we’ve got the only two,” he said.
Ken MacAlpine, co-founder of the Granfondo and Slow Roll, said Friday’s event came about after they were approached about adding an event to the international granfondo weekend where families could participate “in a nice gentle, friendly, party-type atmosphere around the streets of Sarnia.”
Organizers approached city and police officials “and got them on board, and here we are with 550 people and the first ever Sarnia Slow Roll,” MacAlpine said.
“This is way more than we expected,” he said. “For a first-time event we thought we’d get 200-250” and would have been “very, very happy with that,” he said.
“Next year, if this all works out, we’ll go for 1,000,” MacAlpine said.
Sponsors allowed the event to raise money for Big Brothers and Big Sisters, as well as palliative care in the community, Hurry said.
The event was free for riders and the first 500 who registered got a T-shirt.
“It’s just to get people out and get them on their bikes, and get them riding in a healthy way,” Hurry said.
“I think what we want to show the city is how many people do cycle and for the city to understand that cycling is really growing.”
The Bluewater International Granfondo runs Sunday from Mike Weir Park in Bright’s Grove with 830 cyclists entered to ride several courses stretching along Lambton County’s waterfront.
