ZARA ANSAR
Zara Ansar at her home in Little Italy, Feb. 8, 2017.
“I have eight bikes, including a rainbow-coloured bike, but I’m known as the girl with the yellow bike. In the past I’d had bikes stolen, and I was devastated and never got a bike again until I met my former partner, who was a competitive cyclist. He built me a bike for my birthday, which was really nice.
“I have a blog called XOVelo, and it’s a project where I document people who dress in style on their bikes, in Ottawa. I’ve also expanded into Toronto.
“It started with one of my friends. We were jumping on a trampoline and talking about how we noticed there was a surge in cyclists who were dressing in normal clothes on their bikes. In Europe, it’s a big thing just to wear your normal clothes and go to work, and no one really cares about sweating or whatever. There’s a weird mentality here that you need to wear bike gear with advertising, and that’s fine if you’re competing or going on a long ride, but if you’re just going to work or the store, you don’t need to get geared up. So we noticed that surge in cyclists and thought, ‘Why don’t we start a blog?’ That was five years ago.
“In Europe there’s something called Copenhagen Cycle Chic, and the function of that blog is this guy that takes photos of people riding on bikes, but, at least back then, without talking to them. So I started this different aspect of the blog where I interview people and see what they love about cycling in Ottawa, where they go to stop after a ride; little questions like that people might be interested in.
“I got my yellow bike when I started the blog, because I wanted something to ride around in the city. Then I got a vintage bike restored in the colours of the blog: pink, orange and yellow. And hence my hair colour, too. And I have a bunch of one-speed bikes, which are pretty useless because going up hills is very frustrating. I also have two Creme Cycles.
“I first got a bike because it’s easier to go across town on a bike, rather than driving. I don’t want to be sitting in traffic. It’s healthier for you and it’s just more fun. You have more freedom when you’re on a bike.
“I travel mostly on side streets. If I go on the main road I’m very, very careful. Because I drive, too, I know what it’s like to be on both sides, so it makes it easier. But I find that some people who have never biked before find it harder to understand. We’re getting a lot of (bike) lanes right now, which is great, but some of them are a little bit odd, like the O’Connor one. There have been three accidents there so far. And Laurier — I’m terrified of Laurier, even though there’s a bike lane there. Every time I bike there I have a close call because the cars don’t see me. Even brightly coloured and during the day, it doesn’t matter because they never see me.
“One of the reasons I started this blog was to encourage more women to bike in the city. I know a lot of them who don’t because they don’t feel safe on some of the busier streets. But Ottawa is a good cycling city. It has tons of bike lanes and trails. We did our Plaid Parade — 200 people all dressed in plaid — through the Experimental Farm. So yeah, there are tons of places to ride your bike. It’s a pretty active city.” bdeachman@postmedia.com