A Self-Discovery Journey through Cycling

Bike Minds

On April 29, 2026 I had the opportunity to give a presentation at Bike Minds, a positive storytelling event focused on cycling. Held at the Ottawa Bike Café, I was one of four speakers telling their cycling story, and talked about my upcoming participation in the 2026 Ottawa Ironman Triathlon.

How the event unfolded

Pre-event socializing

I arrived at the venue shortly before 6:30 pm, in advance of a 7:00 pm start, got a myself a drink and pastry, and introduced myself to the event organizers. There was some socializing leading up to the main event as the organizers set things up, though I was focused on getting in the zone before my presentation and did not engage much.

My presentation: Deriving meaning from cycling and triathlon

I was the third of four speakers. My bilingual (English and French) presentation focused on the meaning and self-discovery derived from cycling and triathlon training. I first overviewed my cycling experience to date (including a bike tour in Europe, a hospital fundraiser, the Rideau Lakes Cycle Tour, and Abu Dhabi).

From there, I described my three reasons for undertaking the Ironman Triathlon, summarized as follows:

1. I am not at all a risk-taker in my day to day life, and prefer to be relatively certain of the outcome before undertaking an action. The Ironman Triathlon, however, has a huge uncertainty in that I may fail to complete it, an uncertainty that I embrace completely. Hence through cycling/triathlon, I have discovered a new side of my personality that is prepared to take risks and is unafraid of failure.
2. If I have the good fortune of living long enough that my health begins to fail, I want to be at peace with that by looking back with no regrets about what could have been. Doing difficult things is an act of gratitude for the gift of physical and mental health I have been given.
3. Children have a natural fascination with the world, because everything is new to them. We gradually lose that fascination as adults, as we grow accustomed to things being a certain way, and stop asking questions. I never lost that child-like wonder, and through cycling and triathlon I continue to ask myself who I am, what I am capable of, and what more is there to learn about the world.

I could summarize my talk with the phrase “temet nosce,” Latin for “know thyself”.

The video of my presentation is below.

Other speakers

The first speaker was a University of Ottawa Assistant Professor of management who moved to Ottawa from Montreal. He talked about his involvement in cycling advocacy and being part of a movement to help Ottawa become more cycling-friendly.

The second speaker re-enacted his bike ride from Toronto to Ottawa with a buddy by reading out a series of Facebook posts they published in real time during the ride. Suffice to say that two friends spending so much time together in sometimes close quarters is very much a test of the friendship, LOL.

The fourth speaker described how cycling forms an integral part of her identity, having cycled in countries around the world and completed the Rideau Lakes Cycle Tour. Most compelling (to me) was her wedding in her native China, where she eschewed the tradition of having a convoy of luxury cars for a procession of people riding bicycles.

Post-event socializing

After the presentations I was feeling more social, and talked to other presenters and to audience members. A few of us exchanged contact information and agreed to stay in touch.

Final thoughts

This event reinforced something I already knew: strangers united by the common interest of cycling get along very easily. We told and heard many great stories at the event, met interesting people, and overall had a great evening. Hopefully there will be another Bike Minds event this year, and if so I very much look forward to attending again.