June 20, 2020
Fred Vandelinden runs one of the most discreet museums you'll ever visit. You might not even know you have.
Amidst the packed rows of the latest two-wheelers at Regina's Dutch Cycle, Vandelinden has on display a timeline of cycling and bicycle design.
“It's born and raised. We don't know any different,” said Vandelinden of his family’s passion for bikes.
Fred Vandelinden of Dutch Cycle in Regina may sell new bicycles, but his passion lies in the vintage models. (Greg Huszar)
The Vandelindens opened their Regina store in 1963, but the business’s roots stretch back generations to the Netherlands. Vandelinden grew up there and recalls helping his father in the shop at eight years old.
“I never thought that it would ever come to be what it is today. It’s amazing,” said Vandelinden of the business that, once transported to Canada, started out of the garage at the family home.
Vandelinden said Canada doesn’t have the same cycling culture as Europe, where two-wheelers are seen as a major form of transportation. A catalyst here for the bicycle’s popularity, he said, was the launch of ParticipACTION in the 1970s — a governmental organization that promotes healthy living and physical fitness.
“We're finding that over the years finally bikes came to be part of our lifestyle, too,” said Vandelinden. “More and more people are starting to ride bikes to work riding in winter and enjoying that, so we're making it a mode of transportation.”
Alongside that transformation, bicycles have continued to evolve, from the racing bikes of the 1960s to 10-speeds to the mountain bike era in the 1980s and now an interest in fat-tire biking as more cyclists brave winter.
It would seem Vandelinden is documenting that progression every step of the way. Although the store’s bread and butter is bicycle sales and repairs, Vandelinden’s passion lies in old bikes. His father’s passion for bicycles and collection of older models made an impression on him to the point where Vandelinden was itching to amass his own chronology of two-wheelers. He’s drawn to bikes for their backstories, for how they’re exemplars of a particular era or for their unique design elements.
His favourite is a shaft-driven bike from 1901.
Dutch Cycle didn’t close down during the COVID-19 pandemic, but the business it’s receiving these days is certainly indicative of the times. The shop is seeing a lot of cob-webbed bikes being wheeled in to be spruced up for rides when so many other activities are limited.
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“I think they really realized how much they missed by not going out and just riding their bikes with their kids or just riding by themselves and enjoying riding ... we get caught up in this rat race world of so much to do that we really don't take the time to really enjoy things we actually did many many years ago,” said Vandelinden.
