Bike graveyard uncovered at bottom of Regina lake

A bike graveyard has been uncovered at the bottom of Wascana Lake in Regina.

The water levels in the lake were lowered at the beginning of November to do maintenance work on the shores of Pine Island. The anti-erosion gabions need repair so the water level was lowered about 1 m to allow for maintenance on the island’s retaining walls.

The lower water level exposed a fleet of bicycle remains. One CBC reporter counted 11 drowned bicycles in a 500 m stretch of shore.

The last time the lake was lowered was in 2004 for the Wascana Lake Urban Revitalization Project, or Big Dig as it was known locally, two bathtubs, a park bench and a canoe were recovered from the bottom, but the number of bikes found this year has been surprisingly high. Many were presumably ditched in the lake by thieves.

Carissa Robb, Wascana Centre Authority spokeswoman, says that what is being seen is likely an accumulation of many years worth of bicycle remains, the water not having been as low as it is now since 2004.

“Usually it’s a couple of skateboards, a couple of bikes, a couple of lawn chairs,” Robb told the CBC. “The amount this year is a little surprising.”

The excavation in 2004 deepened the lake substantially, which may be a factor causing more bikes to be lost for longer.