Spoke O'Motion takes our commitment to the environment seriously. It's not only a matter of preserving the majesty of our natural environment for the sake of our riding, but for the sake of our very survival.

The air we breathe, the forests we love, the water that quenches our thirst on a sun-drenched afternoon. These are the stakes involved. And now is the time for change.
If not now, then when? And if not us, then who?

Join us in finding ways to improve our local environment. What may seem like a small step today, may make a big difference for tomorrow.

• we have reduced electricity consumption by 30% since 2005
  • we are not hopping onto a bandwagon, but have improved our conservation efforts every year with tangible results
  • we have retrofitted all of our interior lighting to the newest (and most expensive) low energy flourescent lighting featuring digital ballasts
  • in 2008, we installed a new roof top HVAC unit to replace an inefficient, undersized older model

• while more business often means more energy, we have worked hard on the basics:
  • turning off lights when rooms are not in use
  • using timers to control appliances that consume energy after hours
  • using moderate temperature settings for our air conditioning - unlike lots of retailers that I visit, you'll not need a jacket in our store in summer – I promise! (But you'd better leave it on when you visit in the winter.)

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• we have never bought plastic bags to promote our store
• we recycle other retailers bags instead
  • this reduces our carbon footprint
  • this reduces junk in the landfill
  • this allows us to spend money on more important things like: athlete development, our race series, land use issues; trail development

• we remain at the forefront of community involvement
• we are key sponsors for Newmarket's Bike to Work Day - the Mayor rode into work on a bike supplied by Spoke O'Motion for the past two years!
• we are working to establish Safe Routes to School throughout Newmarket
• we sat on the Advisory Board for Canada's 10th largest ecology festival, the Windfall Ecology Festival

The news today may be focused on the collapse of the global economy, but let's face facts: You and I cannot do much to change the state of global finance.

On the other hand, there are local issues that we have a direct influence on and, in the grander scheme of things, are of greater importance than a temporary economic slowdown.

This last Monday marked the third annual Bike to Work Day hosted by the Newmarket Chamber of Commerce and sponsored from day one by Spoke O'Motion, amongst others. This one day event, as part of the larger Smart Commute initiative encourages people to utilize the bike to travel to work, to school, or to run errands.

More than 150 students, community members, and local politicians joined us at the Chamber offices to celebrate the progress and opportunities that exist in making Newmarket a progressive and bike-firendly community.

The point is that you do not have to turn your life upside down to help save the planet from greenhouse gasses and Canadian society from the ills of obesity and heart disease. No one expects us all to turn into eco-zealots. However, consider the simplicity of commuting once per week by bicycle. This simple change - that many of us could realistically do - reduces your commuting carbon footprint by 20%. That singular change would easily allow us to surpass our Kyoto commitment. (Remember that? The international agreement we signed that successive goverments have completely ignored?)

How may parents drive their children a kilometer or two to school? When I was growing up, we'd actually get off our butts and walk that. Why not ride with your children to school. Teach them by example that exercise is fun and the we can actually survive without climbing into the car for every little voyage.

Your kids will grow up to thank you!