Once you start doing sports and you see its benefits, it becomes hard to stop, says a local cycling enthusiast.
Born and raised in Timmins, Yves Viel, 51, is passionate about sports. He is a certified spin instructor, an avid cyclist, a former physique bodybuilding contestant and a scuba diver.
Along with a small core team of fellow cyclists, Viel grooms and maintains trails all across the city, mostly at Hersey Lake trails.
“In the winter months, we would do some maintenance and we would walk them if it snowed a lot with snowshoes. You spend countless hours packing it down with snowshoes," he says. "You don’t get the enjoyment of riding the bike after because you’re so tired.”
So, Viel bought a snowdog and a sleigh last year. Now once a week, he rides the snowdog to make trails at Hersey Lake more accessible to riders and walkers alike.
It takes him about 2.5 hours to groom all the trails, while riding the bike takes him about an hour and 40 minutes.
“So, it’s longer to maintain than it is to ride them,” he says.
When he first started maintaining the trails it was mostly to make it more fun for his cycling group, he says.
“I figured if we maintain our single-track trail where there are fewer pedestrians, it makes it a lot easier because you can enjoy the ride,” he says. Having wide, groomed trails also allows people to keep physical distance from each other, Viel notes.
“I meet so many people on the trails, they stop me because they have no idea what a snowdog is. And I get a lot of thank you from people, from people that have given me $20 toward gas because this is all volunteer-based.”
Viel started cycling more than two decades ago. He does road and mountain biking but prefers the latter. Viel rides almost every day. His favourite route is starting at the parking lot on Highway 655 near the hospital and going all the way down to thHersey Lake trails and back.
“To me, there was a better way to see the world than sitting in a car,” he said. “You get fresh air, you get exercise, you see things you’d normally never pay attention to. And the health benefits, it was like a win-win situation.”
With so much to see and enjoy in Timmins, he says "it’s kind of tough to leave it behind." He's ridden with a friend in North Bay and would like to explore other areas.
“I would really like to go to B.C. and ride down there because the scenery and some of the downhills are beautiful. There are some beautiful trails as well down in Montreal area, in Toronto area, Barrie. Hopefully, this summer if the pandemic eased off, it would allow me to travel and go ride in those areas with the friends that I’ve made.”
Viel owns five types of bikes: a road bike, a fat bike, a hardtail, a full suspension and a service bike.
“Being bilingual definitely helps,” said Viel, who grew up in a French family and speaks both official languages. “Being out on the trails, I’ve met so many people that aren’t even from Timmins that I’ve become friends with because I met them on the trails and they either speak French only or English. It allowed me to be able to communicate with them."
Viel works as a bookkeeper/ paralegal at Girones Lawyers.
He was involved with Downtown Timmins Business Improvement Association for several years as a board member and served as president. He is also a head coach for the Timmins Ringette Association’s U19A team.
“I have three girls and my girls started ringette when they were at a young age. I started coaching little ones and up until last year, I was coaching kids under seven,” Viel says. “This year, because all my girls are playing in either 18+ or under 19, I decided it was time to step back and let other people take the reins. I’ve been coaching for 10 years, if not more.”
For more than 10 years, he has also been teaching spin classes at Rehab Plus Timmins where he currently teaches five days a week via Zoom.
“Teaching spin has been able to keep my riding ability for the summer and keep performance,” he says. “I’ve got eight to 10 spinners every day that log in remotely. It’s like a close-knit family.”
Viel is also into scuba diving. Together with one of his daughters, he would suit up and go down to the cottage to “explore the bottom.” They don’t dive in winter because of the cold weather but Viel has a dry suit which he uses if he needs to rescue something that sank.
“It’s just peace and tranquility, moving at a snail pace, and you’re just enjoying the bottom of the lake. And you see all sorts of stuff, stuff you don’t want to see sometimes, like tires,” Viel says. “And the fish seems to enjoy it because you’ll see some life inside the tire.”
For people who want to start riding, Viel advises to start slow, never give up and just enjoy the ride.
“it’s going to be a journey. But once you start and you start slow, it’s not always about being faster than anybody. It’s just getting out there and doing it,” Viel says. “The more time you spend out, the more you’re going to get better at it.”
