When Sarah and I told friends who live in Halifax where we were staying, they said, “Hey, that’s really close to the Emera Oval.” Then they went on to tell us what a cool thing the Oval is.
The Emera Oval is a year-round recreational facility on the Halifax Commons, a track originally built for the 2011 Canada Winter Games. It’s used for skating in the winter and as a multi-use rollerblade and bike track in the summer. And here’s the remarkable part: it lends out ice skates, bikes, helmets — and other wheely things too — all for free.
Turns out our friends were right. It’s close — you can see it from our hotel window. So this afternoon, during a break between talks (I’m in Halifax for the Canadian Philosophical Association meeting), I grabbed my folding bike, the bright pink Brompton, and rode over for a spin. I did half a dozen laps around the Oval.
I loved the mix of people out there: seniors and little kids just learning to ride, folks on rental bikes and folks on their own, with a few rollerbladers thrown in. Normally they divide the track into lanes, I was told, but it was too windy — the pylons kept blowing away. Check out the flag video below. There was something lovely about seeing so many people out on an ordinary weekday afternoon, riding around in circles with their friends.
It’s a small thing, maybe. But it’s the kind of small thing I wish every city had: a free, open, all-ages place to move your body for the sheer joy of it — no membership, no fancy gear, no barrier to entry beyond showing up. More of this, please.
Want to know how busy it is? Check out the live webcam here.
How windy was it?
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