Cadie Geertsema does it all: full-time firefighting student, full-time summertime park ranger & full-time cyclist

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By Farrah Philpot

There aren’t enough days in the week for Cadie Geertsema, a firefighting student at Algonquin College in Ottawa who works full-time during the summer and cycles five to six days a week.

The former Ottawa Bicycle Club athlete who now rides for The Cyclery women’s racing team will be competing in the St. John’s 2025 Canada Summer Games next week.

In only her second year of racing, Geertsema already owns a junior national virtual cycling title last year, and is now looking forward to racing outside the province.

“It will be my first time travelling outside of Ontario or Quebec, so I’m super excited for that,” the 19-year-old highlighted during an online call with the Ottawa Sports Pages.

Not only is Geertsema looking forward to travelling outside of Ontario, but she has also made it clear that the goal for her and her Ontario teammates in St. John’s is to beat the province they race against quite a bit back at home, Quebec.

“I think our team’s goal is definitely to beat Quebec, because we know a lot of them and who they are, so it’s kind of just going to be us against them,” indicated Geertsema.

Teamwork isn’t just a trait that Geertsema brings to her cycling career. She is a full-time student at Algonquin College in the firefighting program.

Algonquin College firefighting student Cadie Geertsema. *Photo: @c_geertsema Instagram*

“[I like] the team atmosphere, we all work together, and you have to push yourself as far as you can,” she explained.

Algonquin’s firefighting program includes a fire simulation and a live-fire training practice for the physically-demanding profession.

“It’s a job that you have to want badly to be able to get in there. I love challenging myself,” noted Gertseema. “The fact that you get to be seen as someone who is ready to help on your worst day is just something that I love.”

Gertseema’s inspiration to join the program was simple: she won’t be behind a desk.

“I’ve always known that I can’t be someone who sits at a desk,” said Geertsema. “I like being the person that’s trained to handle the worst things, I don’t like easy things.”

Firefighting has not only ignited a professional passion in Geertsema, but it has also helped her cycling training.

“They definitely help one another. In firefighting, my fitness from biking was a huge benefit, and then I did a lot of strength training too. I think that helped cycling,” reflected Geertsema.

But it isn’t all pluses for studying and cycling full-time.

“I was tired from school for sure. I’d do a lot of training at school and then I’d have to come home and do three hours on the bike,” recounted Geertsema. “I was absolutely so tired.

“I try to train like five to six days a week. My coach is super great with giving me workouts, because I work full-time too, and he just tries to fit it in around my work schedule.”

In the summer, while Geertsema pauses her studies, she is working full-time at the St. Lawrence Parks Commission at the Woodlands Campground, a provincial park in Ingleside, ON, not far from her family’s home in Chesterville, south of Ottawa.

“I literally do everything around there,” smiled Geertsema. “I just got promoted to an assistant park ranger.”

Her coworkers at Woodlands Campground are also very supportive of her cycling career, she added. Geertsema makes it very clear that everyone in her life is in her corner and supportive of every aspect of her busy schedule.

She’ll be competing in the road cycling events in St. John’s, which are scheduled for Aug. 11, 13 and 16.