The town of Pemberton has now taken their first step and admitted publicly that they were addicted to bicycles.
The town has a population of 2,200 thousand people, and has 1,825 bikes. That is 3.4 per household, compared with the 1.45 cars trucks and motorcycles per household. Shops like the long established Bike Co are the largest dealers in bike trailers in Western Canada. However they don’t see anything wrong with their lifestyle and you won’t see anyone trying to give up their habit. They are hooked, they love it, and they want you to come cycle in Pemberton, and they want you to take it stylishly slow.
Momentum was invited to set up a booth at the Helmer’s Farm last August 15th for the celebrated 6th Annual Pemberton Slow Food Cycle Sunday. Over 3,000 cyclists that registered to bike down the Pemberton Meadows valley to sample it’s produce and soak in its culture. The sheer number of bikes on the farmer’s road that day was as strong testament to the community’s commitment to cycling, and the positive response it can have on tourism and boosting local economies.
It also provided a testament to the personal style of cyclist! This was not a black-tie affair. The weather was hot, reaching over 32 degrees Celsius, and the road was long and dusty, with the air being cloudy due to to forest fires in surrounding valleys.
Individual cycling style shone out in comfortable, rural style. All style types were represented, from West-Vancouver preppy, festival hippie, happening hipster, bohemian traveler, spandex racers and everything in between. Bright patterns, vintage sundresses, west-coast first nations prints, South East Asian accessories, and sleeve tattoos were common themes. Of course helmets and sunglasses were the most popular accessory.
Enjoy the slide show of some of the cyclists who stopped by the Momentum booth.
Special Thanks to the Helmer Family for their generosity and hard work in organizing this wonderful event.
Meaghan Orlinski
meaghan (at) momentumplanet.com
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