After a long and torturous winter season I have decided that I am never going to take summer in Toronto for granted ever again. Now that I have running ingrained  into my life, I’ve been thinking that there is no better time than now to take on a new challenge. Just in time for Bike Month here in Canada, the team at Schwinn have given me an amazing opportunity to not only take advantage of my beautiful city’s best months, but also give me an alternative to stay in shape outdoors as their first Canadian Brand Ambassador.

There are several outdoors sports and activities to partake in, so you may be wondering why cycling interests me. After doing some research and chatting with some cyclists/bike enthusiasts, I had deducted the following; cycling is going to help increase my cardiovascular fitness, muscle strength and flexibility. This acts as great supplementary training for the Nike Women’s 15k race this June. Riding will no doubt build my quads, glutes and calves, but working the handle bars will also give my upper body a workout and further sculpt my arms. Last but not least, I can burn close to the same amount of calories cycling, while putting significantly less stress on my legs, ankles and spine. Armed with this newly acquired knowledge, choosing a bike for myself was actually quite easy. Looking for a new set of wheels for yourself? The brand does have a wide variety of bikes to choose from; ranging from road, mountain, hybrid, urban and cruiser bikes.  My team at Schwinn Canada partnered with Canadian Tire to provide me with the best bike for new road cyclists, the Volare 1300 Road Bike. Perfect for fitness riders such as myself or hard core city commuters, the Volare is the perfect bike option giving me maximum control and agility.

Last week I ventured to Canadian Tire’s Toronto flagship location at Leslie and Lakeshore Rd East to get the full run down on the Volare by the store’s in-house bike specialist. The retail giant’s enthusiastic and dedicated cycling specialists do an excellent job of providing bike suggestions based on your individual needs, in the event you find making a decision challenging.

Photography by Nathalia Allen of amillionminds.ca

I have some exciting adventures planned this summer with Schwinn starting this month to help celebrate #BikeMonth and will continue until the end of the summer. It’s going to be one crazy ride (no pun intended) and I hope to bring some of you along with me – so stay tuned! You can tag along on my journey via both Instagram and Twitter  and by following the hashtags #LetsRide #SoSashaxSchwinn. For more information on Schwinn and their portfolio of bikes head to SchwinnBikes.com.