The name “Wild Joe Baribeau” wasn’t the invention of a manager or publicity agent; he came by it honestly, being named by the newspapers of the day. If the name Joe Baribeau isn’t familiar to most of us today it’s because a full 100 years…

Born in England in 1938, Roger like most young English lads had a good childhood with lots of activity. His cycle influence began at home where his Dad rode bikes until an accident took the life of a close friend. At 14 years of age, Roger…

Known throughout the Maritimes as Atlantic Canada’s motorsports icon, Jack Canfield was a motorcycle and car racer, the driving force behind the construction and development of Atlantic Motorsport Park, an international ambassador for…

Eric Stephenson Chitty was one of Canada’s most successful motorcycle racers even before he went overseas, and after a move to England in the late 1930s he became our biggest export until the era of Mike Duff.
Eric was born in Toronto in…

One hundred years ago, a young man from Toronto named Harold Cole gained the break he needed to launch his professional motorcycle racing career. He was only 16 but had already been riding and itching to go racing for more than a year.
At…

Dedication and generosity were hallmarks of the career of the late George Davis, who was a passionate supporter of motorcycling for most of his 84 years. He was a pillar of motorcycle sport in Quebec and played a vital role in launching…

One hundred years ago, Jacob DeRosier was the most successful motorcycle racer of his time. He was perhaps the world’s first factory-supported rider and was reputed to have won close to 900 races in his short lifetime. His career spanned…

Sadie Grimm was the winner of the first motorcycling prize ever awarded in Canada to a woman in a competition open to men. The June 20, 1914 headline in the Motoring section of the Manitoba Free Press read, Lady Wins Gold Medal. What made…

An extraordinary dedication to motorcycling was the legacy of the long lifetime of Ed Hawkes, who died in 2007 at the age of 92. Although he was not a competitor himself, he devoted endless hours to providing organization and leadership in…

Bruce Hickey hailed from Drummondville, Quebec and rose to fame very quickly. He got a taste of what two wheels and an engine can do on a 74 Indian Chief at age 15. Then came a 500cc Matchless and Bruce had quite a time of it, turning a…

Percy A. McBride was born on July 9th, 1882 on a farm in Roxborough Township, three miles from Northfield, Ontario and died in Toronto on February 15th, 1963. He was educated in Ottawa in 1903 at the Willis Business College and graduated…

Few motorcyclists made a greater mark in their time than Tony Miller, a dominant figure during his racing years and a vital influence on motorcycling long afterward. He was a fierce competitor, a keen enthusiast and a highly skilled…

Marcel, like so many other young men in the 1950’s, became very interested in engines. Previously licensed as an aircraft technician and engine mechanic, he pursued a career in the world of motorcycles that lasted for most of his life.…

It has been said that Graham Oates was one of the bulldog breed who once set their mind to a task, however onerous, will see it through. In an action packed career that spanned over two decades, he carved an unique niche for himself in the…

George Pepper was the pride of Belleville, Ont., and one of Canada’s most naturally talented motorcycle racers of the prewar era. He was an exceptional rider with successes in Canada, the United States and England. With the outbreak of the…

History has shown that one enthusiastic motorcyclist can eventually inspire dozens, even hundreds, of others to take up the sport. That is especially true when a keen rider can look back on a lifetime of more than 100 years himself. Such…

The Shanks family was instrumental in laying a solid foundation for motorcycling in Victoria, British Columbia and left an unforgettable legacy, a love of the sport and the ability to make things happen and inspire others to achieve their…

Bill modestly credits his successful career in racing, not to his talent, but to a passion for motorcycles, a life-long love affair beginning at age 16 in 1950. He rode street bikes as a chief means of transportation for thirty years and…

Historical records state that Billy Mathews was the first Canadian to win the Daytona 200 in 1941 but he wasn’t the first Canadian to win a National American event. That honour goes to Bob Sparks who in 1939 won the Langhorne, Pennsylvania…

It’s a huge asset, if you want to become involved with motorcycles, when your family also has a passion for bikes and owns a motorcycle shop on top of it. Ted Sturgess, born in Hamilton in 1920 was the son of Herbert “Pops” Sturgess who…

It would be extremely rare to have had anything to do with motorcycling during the fifties, sixties and early seventies, and not heard the names Ron & Eve White, the backbone of the Canadian Motorcycle Association (CMA) and sometimes…