On June 4, 2023, an anticipated 10,000 cyclists will participate in the second annual Mattamy Homes Bike for Brain Health in support of Baycrest and traverse Toronto’s Gardiner Expressway and the scenic Don Valley Parkway — traffic-free! In the process, they will add to the more than $3 million raised in last year’s inaugural event to support Baycrest’s groundbreaking work to defeat dementia.
To help capture why the Mattamy Homes Bike for Brain Health became immediately beloved by the 5,000 cyclists who participated last year, BrainMatters interviewed team captains from the 2022 ride. Below are responses from Japjeev “Jup” Bhasin, who captained his family’s team; Lyndon Burrell, captain of BikePeopleDem, a GTA-based cycling club designed to promote fitness, a love for cycling, adventure and community building among members of the Caribbean community in Toronto; Jay Lacambra, a self-described adventurer, photographer and captain of the NomadsCC Team; and Alfred Sung, captain of his family’s team.
WHAT MOTIVATED YOU TO PARTICIPATE IN THE MATTAMY HOMES BIKE FOR BRAIN HEALTH?
LYNDON BURRELL: “The opportunity to literally ‘go play in the street’ and ride up and down the DVP on a bicycle was irresistible! And we wanted to ride as a group and support a worthy cause.”
ALFRED SUNG: “The ride is a precious chance for my 73-year-old dad to cycle on the highways [and] also a platform for him to express his creativity and to engage his peers to support his participation through their donations. It’s good for him both physically and mentally. Last year, we rode with the name of my late grandma written on our number bibs to remember her. She passed away in her 90s more than a decade ago from Alzheimer’s disease.”
WHAT ARE YOUR BEST MEMORIES FROM LAST YEAR’S RIDE?
JUP: “The great ride with friends and the fun atmosphere, including some very enthusiastic volunteers. I was also very proud of my 7-year-old nephew riding a full 25 kilometres on a singlespeed bike. Also, discovering some trees with amazingly scented flowers along the DVP that one would never notice in a car.”
JAY: “To be honest, it was seeing all of our friends from different clubs out and having fun. Hearing some people shout ‘Nomads!’ every once in a while was pretty cool, especially since we’re a very small club in the city. Cycling is such an individual sport and it’s crazy to enjoy it with a large number of people.”
LYNDON: “Riding on the DVP and stopping in the middle of the highway under the Bloor Viaduct for a selfie with my friends. Enjoying the scenic DVP at a speed where I could appreciate the beauty of the surrounding greenery and camaraderie of thousands of cyclists with no cars in sight!”
ALFRED: “We live in Markham. The best memories actually took place before the ride. Those of us from the suburbs all got up before 5 a.m. and then raced south to The Ex [Exhibition Place, site of the starting line]. Once you hit the major roads like Highway 7, you would begin to see a few more vehicles with bikes on their racks heading in the same direction. We all travelled together and then saw more vehicles like ours when travelling down highway 404, and then everyone dispersed at the 404/401 intersection (because of the DVP closure) and found their way downtown. Most of the vehicles arrived at Lakeshore Boulevard at about the same time and we saw each other again at The EX parking lot. Later on, we saw each other again at the DVP/Don Mills Road rest station up north, this time on bikes instead of in cars.”
WHAT ARE YOU MOST LOOKING FORWARD TO IN THE 2023 BIKE FOR BRAIN HEALTH?
JUP: “More of the same but hopefully, with more friends, both old and new, joining us on the ride! The biggest draw for this ride, outside of the fact that it’s for a great cause, is that this is the ONLY time one can bike on the DVP and Gardiner in the summertime and in a car-free environment. This ride is great for experienced riders and, more importantly, for newer cyclists.”
JAY: “I’m looking forward to seeing everyone on the DVP again and riding with a much bigger group in the club. I can’t wait to see all the cool and unique bikes people are riding this year!”
LYNDON: “Looking forward to increased participation from BikePeopleDem members and other cyclists from the Black cycling community in the GTA.”
ALFRED: “My dad and I doing the 75km ride again this year.”
WHAT DID YOU LEARN ABOUT BAYCREST THROUGH YOUR PARTICIPATION IN THE RIDE?
JUP: “I knew that Baycrest had facilities for aiding older patients… but I did not know the degree of research and innovation in this area until I looked deeper into the website when recruiting fellow riders and donors.”
From top left: Jay Lacambra and the NomadsCC Team, Alfred Sung and Tommy Sung, Lyndon Burrell, Jup Bhasin with his nephew Devyan Sahney (photo courtesy Salina Abji) JAY: “I learned how supportive the cycling community is in the city for a good cause. There are many different clubs in Toronto [and] when we all ride together, we push and support one another.”
LYNDON: “I learned dementia impacts nearly every family, whether we want to admit it or not. It’s real. We have no way to know if we will be affected. We have no way to avoid it. There needs to be more research done to find ways to prevent, treat and hopefully, reverse dementia. We need to collectively raise more funds to make this a reality.”
ALFRED: “Apart from frontline care services, Baycrest is also a very important player in the brain health research field. I didn’t know about its research role before the Mattamy Homes Bike for Brain Health.”