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Canadian comedian Dion Owen is combining his twin passions of cycling and stand-up: while performing at the Edinburgh Fringe 2023 as part of the Canadian Comedy Showcase, he is also refurbishing bicycles and making them available, free of charge, to his fellow Fringe artists.

“I have been helping people with bikes for the last decade and have combined it into a core goal wherever I do stand-up tours,” says Dion. “Last year I got a handful of artists bikes and it was such a boon to their wellbeing and festival experience. For me, the end goal is that every artist who wants a bike for the Fringe would have access to one.”

Dion’s put a call-out on social media asking for Edinburgh locals to either loan their bikes to artists or donate any bikes going unused in their sheds and basements. At the end of August, Dion donates the bicycles to The Bike Station, who in turn make them available (on a non-profit basis) to people in need of bikes in Scotland.

“Currently I am the only mechanic working on this project so I don't yet have the resources to release an open offer to all Fringe artists. Ideally, with a little publicity around this year’s efforts, the programme will grow – finding a few more organisations that could help supply short-term bikes, and maybe recruiting a few other mechanics.

“I am not the best capitalist so I am not setting my sights on securing sponsorship or backing in future. Just putting my energies and efforts into a space that feels like it makes the world a little bit better and hoping, with a bit of effort, it organically forms.”

If you’d like to get in touch about loaning or donating a bike, or you just want to find out more about Dion, head to:

• dionowen.com
• instagram.com/cyclopathcomedy