Windsor's 1st bike commuter of the year named
Joan Murphy-Walker is Windsor's first Bike Commuter of the Year.
The Windsor Cycling Committee made the announce Friday at CBC Windsor.
The award was part of Bike to Work Day celebrations, which started at the WFCU Centre and ended with breakfast at CBC at the corner of Crawford Avenue and Riverside Drive.
The committee received 15 nominations. Murphy-Walker received 10 letters in support of her nomination.
"In some sense, this award goes to someone who should be receiving a lifetime bike commuting award," said Chris Waters of the Windsor Cycling Committee.
Murphy-Walker is a nurse who has been riding to work daily for 30 years.
"We had a range of people who see a bike as something not only for recreation or as a toy but as a tool, one that's for getting around town, that's healthy for them and good for the environment," said Waters.
Murphy-Walker was unable to attend the event Friday, but emailed a thank you that read:
When I was young, there were two things I wished for — a doll with long hair to comb, and a bicycle. But I was born post-war, and I had seven siblings, so there was no "extras". My parents made due the best they could.
My mother had won a doll at a bazaar in November, and gave it to me for Christmas. I was happy to get a doll, but was disappointed, because the doll didn't have long hair.
I never was able to save enough money to buy a bike for myself.
In 1973, my husband and I moved to Windsor with two young children. We didn't own a car at that time. Two years later for my birthday, my husband gave me a CCM bicycle. Having two wheels offered me and my children freedom to discover the world.
We went everywhere together; my husband had fastened a bike seat to the crossbar for one child, and we had a child seat at the back. We grew to a family of eight, so I traveled with one child on the back of the bike, and one on the front, while either being pregnant or having a baby on my back. Our children learned to ride early, and we all rode off to school together in the mornings.
Windsor being flat and relatively mild weather, we could ride all year round. I worked the midnight shift and rode to work most every day for 34 years.
My husband would tease me that he has provided me with both my wishes: 4 daughters with long hair to braid, and a bicycle to ride.
I am so pleased to win the commuter of the year award. I am even more pleased that Windsor's cycling community is growing and becoming more active. We have a long way to go to make Windsor 'bike friendly' .
Thank you to the Windsor Bicycle Committee, City Cyclery, and CBC for encouraging and promoting commuting on two wheels.
Murphy was awarded a new bike from City Cyclery and a plaque commemorating her win.
Kevin Johnson's 10-year-old daughter Marta nominated him for the award.
"He cycles to work. Sometimes we drive and he rides his back to places," Marta Johnson said.
She wrote a poem in his support:
I’d like to nominate my dad
For bike commuter of the year
In spandex he is never clad
So onlookers have nothing to fear.
He sets an example everyone could learn
I say this because
He always signals every turn And obeys all traffic laws.
My dad believes in bicycling and promotes its worth.
He says it’s healthy for people and better for the earth
He writes letters to the mayor and always tries to lobby
To show that biking is a mode of transportation, not a hobby.
I hope this little poem you like
Enough that you will choose it
Because if my dad wins a bike
He will let me use it!
"It’s nice to see other people passionate about cycling and trying to get people on board," said Keri Gignac, also of the Windsor Cycling Committee.
Gignac thinks bikes can "save the world" and thinks Windsor is the ideal city in which to commute. It's flat and relatively warm all year long.
"Biking through the city is totally feasible," she said. "It’s healthy for you, your wallet and the environment."