Meet Cycling Nova Scotia’s Intern- Lian Vroege!

We’re excited to welcome Lian Vroege to our team here at Cycling Nova Scotia for the summer months! Lian has joined us with support from the Clean Foundation internship program and will be undertaking the role of Active Transportation Assistant. Lian is a recent graduate of the Bachelors of Community Design program at Dalhousie University and has a keen interest in active transportation planning.

We asked Lian a few questions to get to know him better:

What kind of bike do you ride? 

I currently ride a KHS Urban Xcel, a nice, light road bike. I grew up cycling around Halifax as a teenager on my mom’s old mountain bike—a 1989 Mongoose IBOC. Not exactly a road bike, but it’s super sturdy! 

What is your cycling origin story? 

My cycling “origin” was biking to school with my parents as a kid, but I didn’t really fall in love with it until my teenage years. In 2016, my family rented an RV and went for a road cycling trip around the Gaspe Peninsula—a beautifully scenic introduction to rural road cycling. Then during COVID lockdowns in 2020, when there were hardly any cars on the road, I started biking around Halifax as way to stay active and got quite comfortable biking on city streets. 

What have been the biggest changes to cycling in Nova Scotia that you’ve seen or you’ve been a part of over the past 2-3 years? 

Over the past year or so, I’ve attended a few Critical Mass bike rides—these are monthly group rides in Halifax where cyclists of all ages and comfort levels form a “critical mass” to physically take up road space. It’s a great way to show our presence and advocate for safer streets as cyclists, and it’s a very fun and welcoming environment. It’s encouraging to see that there’s such a vibrant and growing cycling community here, and I think that’s important to push for positive change in Nova Scotia.  

What is your favourite bike ride in NS? 

Riding the Salt Marsh Trail from Dartmouth to Lawrencetown Beach comes to mind. It’s a nice length—not too far but it gets you out of the city—and it’s always great riding along the ocean. 

What excites you about the Blue Route? 

I’m really excited about the Core AT Networks project, which aims to make key connections through towns and communities along the Blue Route. Creating a province-wide cycling network is a great opportunity to build safer cycling infrastructure in Nova Scotia’s densely populated areas. I’m hopeful this will help more Nova Scotians see cycling as a practical mode of transportation, as well as a fun recreational activity! 

Do you have any other interesting things to share about yourself? 

If I didn’t do a planning degree, I probably would’ve done music school—and I still like to keep it up as a hobby. I’ve been playing bass with a band in Halifax for about a year. We’re called the Josh Janes Band and you can catch us at Ribfest at the end of June!