Image

If you thought your drive was snowy, consider Vic Colpert commute.

Around 10 am Monday (Feb. 2), as the cars inched past him on Oil Heritage Road near LaSalle Line, Colpert was pushing his bicycle up the hill on his way to help a friend in need on Gypsy Flats Road.

The Petrolia man, who moved here four years ago, uses his bicycle for a variety of reasons and saw no reason to stay home even though every school bus had been pulled off the road and many businesses didn’t open. When The Independent talked to the cyclist, Colpert wasn’t even aware of the snow day.

“I wondered why nobody was going to work this morning.”

Colpert doesn’t mind riding in the winter. “I don’t get sick,” he says adding it a healthy to get around. “Down to minus 15 is okay, after that, the wind chill, it’s too cold.”

Colpert has two sets of gloves, one for warmth and another to stop the wind. He says he curls his fingers into a fist while riding to keep them warm.

It doesn’t always work. During the recent cold snap he waited a little to long to protect his digits; they’re just now healing with the old dead skin breaking away from the newly formed skin.

And Colpert doesn’t mind the snow; the fluffy stuff is easier to ride instead of the hard-tire tracks.

Usually, Colpert makes good time on his bicycle, taking only a morning to make the round-trip Sarnia in good weather. But in the snow, he’s slower adding “It took me two hours to get home last night (from his friend’s house in between Petrolia and Wyoming) just because of the visibility.”

 

Share This

Image
Front Page

Sarnia all-candidates debate a revealing evening

October 21, 2026

Cathy Dobson/The Independent With less than a week until election day, 28 candidates vying for eight council seats, spent four hours Tuesday trying to stand out as the right choice for Sarnia voters. They gathered at The Imperial Theatre in front of an audience of 200, with another 500 streaming the marathon event online. Compared to Monday night’s mayoral debate,

Read More

Image
Front Page

St. Clair will be reimbursed for help at Chatham ethanol plant fire

October 21, 2026

Heather Wright/The Independent St. Clair Township Councillor Brad Langstaff wants to know what it cost for the fire department to help fight an ethanol plant fire in Chatham. Sept. 16, 15 firefighters, the township’s two tower trucks and its drone headed to Chatham to help battle a massive fire at Greenfield Global. St. Clair was called on because it has

Read More

Image
Front Page

Enniskillen rejects request for ATVs on township roads

October 21, 2026

Blake Ellis/The Independent ATVs won’t be allowed on Enniskillen roads. A request by Enniskillen Resident Mark Braet failed to sway Enniskillen Township Council to allow all terrain vehicles on township roads. Braet made a presentation to council on Oct. 8 along with representatives from the Tri-Shore ATV Club. Braet wanted to be allowed to drive ATVs on roads in the

Read More

Image
Front Page

LAMBTON VOTES: Petrolia Candidate Surveys

October 21, 2026

The Independent sent a questionnaire to each candidate for Petrolia Council. Below are the unedited responses from the candidates: Work Experience: Policy Advisor, Sarnia-Lambton Chamber of Commerce; former Constituency Assistant to MPPs Bob Bailey and Billy Pang; former parliamentary intern with MPs Marilyn Gladu and Jake Stewart; former Town of Petrolia Parks & Recreation Summer Labourer; former Dietary Aide at

Read More