Have dogs, will travel – program administrator and her husband compete in dog-powered sports across Canada and around the world

By day, Floriane Ono-dit-Biot is the program administrator for one of North America’s oldest materials research institutes. By early mornings, evenings, weekends and every vacation, the 33-year-old and her husband Jean-Christophe are training with their four seriously fast dogs and competing in national and international dryland mushing championships.

“Flo and JC are the most resilient and capable young couple I have ever met,” says Physics professor Kari Dalnoki-Veress. “They left France to work in Canada and wound up doing the most Canadian thing of all – more Canadian than most Canadians – they actually embraced the cold and got into dog sports. Nothing stops them – they’re truly inspiring.”

Let’s start with your decision to leave Normandy for Hamilton. Why did you and your husband make the move? 

All of our family and friends kept asking us the same question when we announced our plans. The short answer is we moved because of Kari. My husband was completing graduate studies at ESPCI Paris where Kari was a guest instructor. We had drinks on a terrace with Kari and his partner Laura (Parker) to discuss my husband joining Kari’s research group at McMaster. Kari was very persuasive.

Kari and Laura were the only two people we knew when we arrived in Canada. We didn’t know if the move would work out for us so my husband committed to doing a two-year master’s degree rather than a four-year PhD. Everything worked out – he’d go on to earn his PhD with Kari and then join his company MesoMat.

We made it official and became Canadian citizens in 2023. We studied like it was a comprehensive exam, constantly quizzing each other. Our swearing-in ceremony was one of the last one to be held online coming out of the pandemic. Getting sworn in online at home was bittersweet – the citizenship judge at the end of the ceremony paused in front of the Canadian flag so we could take photos with our laptop in the background.

Looking back on our decision to come to Hamilton we have no regrets. It’s gone better than we could’ve ever expected. We have such a good life here in Canada.

How did you end up at McMaster?

I was working in the tourism and hospitality industry in Paris before our move to Hamilton. I continued working for hotels in Mississauga, Burlington and Hamilton as a sales manager and guest service agent. Kari sent me a posting at the Brockhouse Institute for Materials Research (BIMR) and encouraged me to apply. At the time, all I knew about the Institute was that it served really good cookies at their seminars, according to my husband. I did my homework and got the job, starting as the communications and outreach officer in 2022 and then the program administrator in 2024. This month (January) marks my fourth anniversary at Mac.

How do you spend your days at the Institute?

I’m the primary point of contact for the Institute. I handle financial administration, communications and outreach. The Institute runs weekly seminars and three workshops a year so there is lots to be done in terms of planning and event logistics. I also maintain BIMR’s website and social media channels and coordinate all the travel arrangements for out-of-town researchers.

So how do you communicate with someone who’s yet to hear about the Institute?

Hopefully I’m doing a good job of getting the word so more and more people know what it’s about. The Institute is a multidisciplinary and collaborative institute, bringing together more than 130 researchers from our Faculties of Science, Engineering and Health Science as well as other Canadian and international universities. We’re one of the oldest materials institutes in North America. Everyone’s welcome to attend our weekly seminars. It’s a great way for undergraduate students to meet faculty and graduate students and see of bit of everything from a broad range of subjects. Our director Alex Adronov talks about BIMR being a connector and catalyst for research collaborations that advance materials discovery.

Let’s talk about the dog photos on your desk.

We have four dogs. Luna and Bolt are Siberian Huskies. Ragnar and Kitchi are Greysters – a mixed breed created specifically for the sport. They are our teammates and part of the family. We compete in a dog-powered sport called Dryland Mushing. It’s like traditional sledding but without the snow and you don’t need a full team of dogs. The sport began as a way to keep sled dogs in shape during the off-season. We discovered the sport after we came to Canada. I’ve since found out it’s popular in France. I’ve yet to find anyone at Mac who’s into the sport.

I grew up with a labrador and really wanted a dog when we came to Canada. When I met my husband, he was a cat person but I won him over.  My husband competes in Canicross – he runs while tethered to one of our dogs. I ride a specialized scooter-like mountain bike without pedals that’s tethered to one of our other dogs. It’s the ideal sport for high-energy breeds that live to run and it fits right into our lifestyle. We love to be outdoors.  Along with training our dogs, my husband and I are working out year-round so we can keep up with Luna, Bolt, Ragnar and Kitchi. I spend my lunch hours Mondays working out at Pulse at PACE.

It’s a hobby that grew into a competitive sport for us. We’ve competed in national championships and represented Team Canada at international championships in Spain and Wisconsin. Between work and dog sports, we don’t have time for anything else.

What happens when a squirrel runs in front of you while your bike’s tethered to your dog?

Everyone asks that. The first time it happens, your dog’s going to chase the squirrel. It takes training. Eventually your dog will learn your commands and know when to go left, right, stop, continue and not chase after the squirrel.

What’s the best part of Dryland Mushing?

I could talk about the sport all day. We’ve met so many great people who’ve become good friends. We’ve travelled all across Canada – something we wouldn’t have done if we didn’t have our dogs. For most of the year, we hitch a camper trailer to our car and all six of us pile into the bed at night. We like to camp in the off-season even better because there is no one around and there’s nothing better than a fall campfire after a day on the trail with the dogs. During the colder weather, we rent dog-friendly Airbnbs.

It’s great exercise for us and our dogs – we train hard and play even harder. When we competed in the world championships in Spain in 2023, we went to France after the competition so our families could finally meet our dogs.