January 30, 2008 (Montreal, QC) – Montreal’s Coupe des Glaces (Ice Cup) bike race/event is back again in 2008, happening this Saturday, February 2 in Jeanne Mance Park. And on Wednesday, January 30, Torontonians will celebrate their first “The Coldest Day of the Year Ride.”

The Coupe des Glaces is billed as an event “to celebrate: winter, an active lifestyle, cycling and the [bike] messenger profession.” The winner receives a cup shaped like the Stanley Cup, but made of ice. The 2007 event featured bike messengers whipping around obstacles on a skating rink, showcasing the equipment and techniques needed to ride through a Canadian winter. Last year saw Kevin Black of Toronto driving back down the 401 with the ice cup tied to his car roof so that it wouldn’t melt. Other competitors came in from Ottawa and from the USA.

The Coupe des Glaces has been organized annually since 2003, but has previously been held down at the Old Port. Event organizer, Harry Zadek, explained that the event was more difficult to put together this year due to looming municipal blue collar worker strife. Activities are said to be continuing through most of the day Saturday in Jeanne Mance Park, between Park Avenue and St Urbain Street. Main event sponsors include Cocotte (messenger bag maker), Mountain Equipment Coop (for winter bike clothing) and Kona (messenger bike manufacturer). But not everything you need can be easily purchased in store; some of the participants craft their own studded bike tires with some 400 wood screws per tire. Visit the event website www.coupedesglaces.org

Meanwhile, the City of Toronto is hosting the first annual Coldest Day of the Year Ride on Wednesday, January 30 as part of its Bike Winter campaign to raise awareness of cycling as year-round transportation according to the Torontoist. Cyclists will congregate at City Hall starting at noon before heading off for Metro Hall where hot refreshments will be served. Statistically, January 30 is the coldest day of the year, and if you can ride through that day, you can take anything… for more info click here.

As a matter of interest, millions of cyclists commute daily to work in Beijing, China, site of the 2008 Olympic Games, where winter time temperatures are often colder than in Toronto or Montreal. The next four days see daytime highs around the freezing mark in the Chinese capital and overnight lows there of about -8 C.