Bicycle routes in Vancouver BC

June 4, 2011 10:35 AM

Cycling visit to Vancouver BC. Where should I stay, where should I ride?

I'm visiting Vancouver BC for a few days in July as part of my drag-the bicycle-new-places-and-ride-there vacation.

I'm looking for some good routes, maybe 40-60 miles to do on a road bike.

I'm also looking for reasonably priced places to stay (like motels,) perhaps on the outskirts of town if that makes it cost less. Feel free to toss in any advice for a bicycle crazed Californian visiting Vancouver (and Canada) for the first time.

posted by cccorlew to Travel & Transportation around Vancouver, BC (2 answers total)

here are the set of cycling route maps for the greater vancouver area, this information is also pretty well represented in google maps.

the sea wall, from the convention centre to kits beach, is roughly 30km and it is hard to imagine a nicer urban bike ride.

the central valley greenway is 24km and also pretty nice.

the north shore is full of trails, but almost all of them would immediately kill the average tourist. one more generally accessible area is the seymour demonstration forest.

you might also consider taking the west coast express out to maple ridge or mission, and then ride north up into the mountains.

a day trip to bowen island is pretty popular.

if you would like more specific information i would be only to glad to provide.
posted by paradroid at 2:23 PM on June 4, 2011

Do you know about warmshowers.org? It's a hospitality network for touring cyclists, a la couchsurfing. Lots of roadies use this site, or so I'm told. You can probably find a couch to crash on.
posted by PercussivePaul at 3:29 PM on June 4, 2011