Lorne Shields has been an avid collector of bicycles and bicycle ephemera since 1967, and was employed for many years as a bicycle wholesaler. His passion for bicycles led him to collect photographs on the subject as well as books, magazines, and bicycle memorabilia. He soon began collecting photography as its own pursuit, and joined the Photographic Historical Society of Canada in 1994. He has lectured widely on the history of bicycle photography, often showcasing his own collection of images. His photographic collection contains much more than bicycle imagery, however and the resulting collection represents a variety of photographic types.

In 1980 he donated much of his Cycling Collection to the Canada Museum of Science and Technology in Ottawa, Ontario. In 2007, Lorne Shields donated a part of his photographic collection (mainly those images not pertaining to bicycles) to Special Collections at Ryerson University Library. Many of his bicycle photographs remain in his possession and he continues to actively collect.

Lorne Shield's collection of bicycle photography was featured in the exhibition From Scorchers to Alley Cat Scrambles at The Market Gallery, Toronto, Ontario, from May 20 to October 1, 2006 and in a lecture by Donald Zaldin entitled ?Getting it in Gear: The Revolutionary Impact of the Bicycle on 19th Century Culture? in the Ephemera Society of America?s March 2007 conference Ephemera/27.