Bicycle Portrait: Gregor Robertson, Vancouver’s Bicycling Mayor

A number of months ago – back when it was still winter in these parts – I had the opportunity to photograph Vancouver’s mayor, Gregor Robertson. I had a window of 30 minutes scheduled with the man and two locations close to City Hall I had scouted in advance. Well, the busy mayor was a bit late, so those 30 minutes soon became about 15, give or take. A kind and soft-spoken fellow, Mayor Gregor arrived with his trusty Rocky Mountain – the same bike he has been riding since the 1990s – and a Happy Planet container in his bottle cage. Fitting for a man who chooses to shop and eat locally when possible, Rocky Mountain grew from our North Shore mountains and Happy Planet, well, that was his juice business before politics came calling. We had a successful shoot, recalling my days as a newspaper photographer and getting the shot in 5 minutes or less. 15 was a luxury!

Of course, I was shooting him for Momentum Magazine, so we were interested in his urban BikeStyle. He describes it as “suit & shell” and divulges his love for cycling in a downpour….with the right gear. Here are a few shots from this session.

Check out the July/Aug edition of Momentum (#57) online and on newsstands now.

Vancouver, 2012.