It Started With A Dog: Safer Cycling Calgary's Story


The Very Beginning
I have a scar just under my bottom lip and under my chin from my very first bike crash. I was about 18 months old and my older sister left her tricycle right at the gate in the fence. I tried to walk around it to find my mom, who was in the front yard, and stepped or tripped on the wheel. The result was slamming my chin onto the hard seat, gashing it open while putting my tiny front teeth clear through my bottom lip.
Having recovered from that incident, I went on to spend many happy hours riding that tricycle, then moving up to other hand-me-down bikes. My parents bought me a brand new bike, with training wheels, for my 7th birthday. In January. In Calgary. Good thing they had bought a house with a decent sized basement, as I did many laps until it was warm enough to go outside.
My second memorable bike crash was later that year, 2 days before my 3rd grade school photo. I had learned to ride without the training wheels sometime that year and since it was a nice day, I went for a bike ride. Upon returning home, I tried to ride from the road up on to the sidewalk and instead found myself sliding across the sidewalk on my left hip and bottom lip. My Dad attempted to clean me up, asking me to tell him what hurt more so he could help with that first: I remember crying and saying "my 'ip, my 'ip" but I don't know what part I meant. My school picture that year is of a very unhappy Melissa with a very fat lip.
Having recovered from that incident, I went on to spend many happy hours riding that tricycle, then moving up to other hand-me-down bikes. My parents bought me a brand new bike, with training wheels, for my 7th birthday. In January. In Calgary. Good thing they had bought a house with a decent sized basement, as I did many laps until it was warm enough to go outside.
My second memorable bike crash was later that year, 2 days before my 3rd grade school photo. I had learned to ride without the training wheels sometime that year and since it was a nice day, I went for a bike ride. Upon returning home, I tried to ride from the road up on to the sidewalk and instead found myself sliding across the sidewalk on my left hip and bottom lip. My Dad attempted to clean me up, asking me to tell him what hurt more so he could help with that first: I remember crying and saying "my 'ip, my 'ip" but I don't know what part I meant. My school picture that year is of a very unhappy Melissa with a very fat lip.
Along Came A Dog
Fast forward quite a few years, as well as a number of bikes and many hours spent riding, and I am living alone with cats and no desire to ever get a small dog. A friend messaged me in a panic because she had just come home from work to find that her dog had been kicked in the face by her husband. She did not have a driver's license and he refused to take the dog to the vet. I took her and the dog to my vet. The dog went home with my vet that night, and came home with me the next day, with the intention for me only to take care of him until my friend could get out of what was clearly an abusive relationship and reclaim the dog.
That didn't happen, and the dog lost his left eye as a result of his injury, but he became known as Cube the One-Eyed Wonder Dog. There was nothing other than men that phased this dog. Snow as deep as he was? Sure thing. Camping in a tent? No problem. Riding in a basket on the front of my bike? Pure joy.
That didn't happen, and the dog lost his left eye as a result of his injury, but he became known as Cube the One-Eyed Wonder Dog. There was nothing other than men that phased this dog. Snow as deep as he was? Sure thing. Camping in a tent? No problem. Riding in a basket on the front of my bike? Pure joy.
Dogs And Bikes
I found out about a volunteer opportunity with the City of Calgary where people go into parks, primarily off-leash dog parks, to educate park users on the rules and etiquette. An excuse to take my dog for a walk and perhaps teach other people things that will make the park experience better for all? I'm in. Thus began my time with the City of Calgary Parks Ranger program.
The Rangers were actively out walking in parks and on pathways, with and without dogs. The supervisor of the program began training her dog to ride in a bike trailer so she could ride her bike to the nearest dog park instead of taking her car. Then she had the idea that volunteer Rangers would have a bigger reach and more impact outside dog parks if we could ride our bikes as part of the program, so she brought in a CAN-BIKE Instructor to teach any Rangers who wanted to how to ride safely, including me.
The course was enlightening, and yet I had no idea how it would change my life. I rode my bike more, but most of my Ranger time was spent on foot, with Cube by my side. After analyzing the cost to bring in the CAN-BIKE Instructor to teach the Rangers how to bike, the program supervisor got permission to cover the cost to get some Rangers qualified and bring the bike training in-house. 7 people, including the supervisor and myself, began Instructor Training. Pregnancy put a pause on my training.
Cube never left my side through my 23 hours of labour, keeping me in his sights the whole time. When my daughter was born at home and she let out her first cry, Cube was thrilled to welcome her. When she started eating solid foods, and throwing them on the floor, he loved her even more.
We kept on going to the park, now a trio. Unfortunately, the City tightened budgets: it was determined that the Ranger program was doing Bylaw education but was currently under the Parks budget and Parks needed to trim their budget. The Ranger program, and the bike instructor training, was shut down.
The course was enlightening, and yet I had no idea how it would change my life. I rode my bike more, but most of my Ranger time was spent on foot, with Cube by my side. After analyzing the cost to bring in the CAN-BIKE Instructor to teach the Rangers how to bike, the program supervisor got permission to cover the cost to get some Rangers qualified and bring the bike training in-house. 7 people, including the supervisor and myself, began Instructor Training. Pregnancy put a pause on my training.
Cube never left my side through my 23 hours of labour, keeping me in his sights the whole time. When my daughter was born at home and she let out her first cry, Cube was thrilled to welcome her. When she started eating solid foods, and throwing them on the floor, he loved her even more.
We kept on going to the park, now a trio. Unfortunately, the City tightened budgets: it was determined that the Ranger program was doing Bylaw education but was currently under the Parks budget and Parks needed to trim their budget. The Ranger program, and the bike instructor training, was shut down.



The Journey Continues
With a new baby came a growing awareness of how many overlook safety in the pursuit of fun. When the Ranger program shut down, I soon realized that I missed sharing knowledge with others. I reached out to the CAN-BIKE Instructor and in the summer of 2011, I completed my Instructor Training.
I was now a Certified CAN-BIKE Instructor.
Turning The Pedals
As a born-and-raised Calgarian who was taught to ride a bike by her parents, I naively believed that my most popular course would be the one to teach adults how to ride on the road, for recreation or commuting. However, I was proven wrong: I only received requests for the course called Adult Learn to Ride.
I began offering Child Learn to Ride courses in 2015.
With a growing awareness of other offerings and staff in 2018, courses to teach people how to ride on the road have also expanded. Introducing summer day camps allowed me the opportunity to have incredible adventures and see the world through the eyes of children while teaching them how to be safe and effective cyclists. Getting to try different flavours of ice cream every week is also fun!
I have met so many people and heard so many stories: thanks to my job, I have learned to be incredibly grateful for things that I used to take for granted. Mainly, my sheer luck in being born in Canada to parents who were privileged enough to buy me a bike and provide the opportunities that created the person I was on that fateful day when I heard about an injured dog.
CAN-BIKE, at that time, didn't have a Child Learn to Ride course, but that didn't stop parents from asking me to teach their children: I refused, believing it not to be difficult. My daughter was 2 years old when she got her first bike: a glide bike which she happily stood over and walked with, not sitting on the seat at all for nearly all of the first summer. In the summer she was 3, I sometimes had to take her with me to start Adult Learn to Ride courses, and she oddly mimicked what the participants were doing, though she refused to do the same things when I told her directly when we were not in a course.
The following year, my 3rd year of teaching adults how to ride, with a child of my own who was stubbornly refusing to learn from me and with growing frustration long after our time on bike, I was starting to understand the continued requests from parents to teach their child to ride a bike. Finally, in August the year she was 4, my daughter mastered pedals and became a cyclist.
I began offering Child Learn to Ride courses in 2015.
With a growing awareness of other offerings and staff in 2018, courses to teach people how to ride on the road have also expanded. Introducing summer day camps allowed me the opportunity to have incredible adventures and see the world through the eyes of children while teaching them how to be safe and effective cyclists. Getting to try different flavours of ice cream every week is also fun!
I have met so many people and heard so many stories: thanks to my job, I have learned to be incredibly grateful for things that I used to take for granted. Mainly, my sheer luck in being born in Canada to parents who were privileged enough to buy me a bike and provide the opportunities that created the person I was on that fateful day when I heard about an injured dog.

It Was Downhill From There
Not to pretend it was all easy cycling, without dropped chains, speed bumps and headwinds along the way, but starting my 12th year teaching people how to be safer cyclists, it feels like I've overcome the biggest challenges and learned more than I ever imagined. I never expected to become a Cycling Instructor, and yet looking back on the last 11 years, I can't imagine what else I could have done that would have brought me so much joy and introduced me to so many amazing people.
From a battle with a tricycle to having touched the lives of over 1,000 people via bicycles... it has been a remarkable journey that really got rolling because of a dog.
From a battle with a tricycle to having touched the lives of over 1,000 people via bicycles... it has been a remarkable journey that really got rolling because of a dog.
- Melissa Malejko, Owner of Safer Cycling Calgary
Important Dates
Apr 18: Cut off for Intermediate (adult) & Advanced course starting Apr 25.
May 6: Expected start date for First Time courses.
Jun 2-4: CIAC Instructors course hosted by SCC.
Jun 19: Application deadline for Week 1 Intermediate day camp (July 3-7).
May 6: Expected start date for First Time courses.
Jun 2-4: CIAC Instructors course hosted by SCC.
Jun 19: Application deadline for Week 1 Intermediate day camp (July 3-7).
Summer Camp!
Do you have a 9-15 year old whose time you need to fill during the summer?
Do you worry about your child's safety when they're riding their bike?
Are you unsure how to teach your child how to use their bike for transportation?
If you answered yes to any of these questions, we can help! We offer a 5 day summer camp for youth to learn how to ride their bike for transportation and recreation in order to safely ride to school, friend's homes, parks, restaurants and more!
Do you worry about your child's safety when they're riding their bike?
Are you unsure how to teach your child how to use their bike for transportation?
If you answered yes to any of these questions, we can help! We offer a 5 day summer camp for youth to learn how to ride their bike for transportation and recreation in order to safely ride to school, friend's homes, parks, restaurants and more!