Cyclists ride through Rocky Point Park during Go By Bike Week. Photo: HUB/Go By Bike Week
As a bike-friendly city, it’s easy to get everywhere you want to go on a bike in Vancouver. Join the two-wheel crew from June 3 to 9, 2024 to celebrate cycling and contribute to our city’s sustainable future at Go By Bike Week.
What is Go By Bike Week?
The annual Go By Bike Week event is a week-long cycling festival that encourages everyone in the Vancouver area to try biking. You can bike commute to work, do errands on your bike, or go for a fun bike ride just because.
Register online for Go By Bike Week. It’s free! You can register on your own or as part of a team with family, friends, or coworkers. Then, each time you ride your bike during the week, log your trip to track your kilometres and calculate your greenhouse gas savings. Logging trips also helps bike advocacy groups collect data to improve cycling infrastructure around Vancouver. Last year over 60,000 people participated across BC!
The other big reason to log your trip? Prizes! The more trips you log, the more chances you have to win. The grand prize is a cycling trip to Italy, but there are also gift cards to bike shops, bike gear, and more to be won.
No Bike? No Problem!
Photo: David Niddrie/Mobi Bikes
You don’t need your own bike to participate in Go By Bike Week – you can rent one or use the Mobi bike share program. It has thousands of bikes waiting to be ridden at docking stations around Vancouver. Our guide to using Mobi has tips on how to get started and where to ride.
If you want to take a longer ride, renting is the best option. Vancouver has tons of bike rental shops that can set you up with all kinds of bikes from city cruisers, to e-bikes, to mountain bikes.
Visit a Celebration Station
Cyclists stop at a celebration station during Vancouver’s Go By Bike Week. Photo: HUB/Go By Bike Week
During Go By Bike Week, there will be dozens of Celebration Stations set up across popular Vancouver area bike routes. Visit a volunteer-staffed Celebration Station to grab some free coffee and snacks, get some free basic bike maintenance, and get cycling resources. Some stations also have draw prizes. Use the Celebration Station Map to find one on your route.
Attend an Event
There are tons of bike-centric events happening during Go By Bike Week. You can take the E-Scooter Safety Challenge on June 1 at Lansdowne Centre. Or head to the North Shore for the first annual North Van Bike Festival on June 1 to enjoy a kids’ bike rodeo, live music, bike vendors, and more.
On June 4 head to UBC for The Bike Kitchen Volunteer Night to learn about bike mechanics and help repair a bike for community programs. Or head to Kickstand in Strathcona for WTQ Night on June 6th. The shop will be open for women, trans, and queer cyclists to learn to fix their own bikes with the help of experienced mechanics.
The Cargo Bike Show and Shine is happening on June 8 at Hastings and Hornby in downtown Vancouver. Show off your cargo bike or come down to learn more about cargo bikes. There will also be prizes, live music, and kids’ activities. On the same day, you can also check out the Adaptive Bike Clinic and Ride at Trout Lake. You can try out a handcycle, recumbent or upright trike to find a bike that works for your adaptive needs.
Sign Up for a Webinar
This year’s Go By Bike Week includes four great webinars to help both beginners and experienced cyclists. Sign up for the Intro to City Cycling webinar on May 31 to get tips for riding safety in the city and sharing the road. If you’re interested in e-bikes, the Intro to E-biking webinar runs on June 4. Learn about innovative bikes and programs to help people with disabilities get into biking at the Adaptive Cycling: From Rare to Everywhere webinar on June 6. Finally, get bike fit tips and injury prevention advice from Midori Lam of the Allan McGavin Sports Medicine Clinic at the Injury Prevention for Cyclists webinar on June 5.
Where to Ride
Photo: Destination Vancouver / Cycle City Tours
Vancouver has tons of bike lanes, car-free bike paths, and multi-use routes crisscrossing the city. Use the Vancouver Bike Route Planner to map out your trip. Or use our lists of the best easy bike rides around Vancouver and car-free place to bike around Vancouver to plan an adventure.
If you want to go on a local adventure, follow one of our self-guided bike tour routes. You can bike to gardens, breweries, taco spots, and donut shops. Each tour includes turn-by-turn directions for a route that prioritizes quiet streets and bike paths. Or use Vancouver Biennale’s directions for self-guided tours that visit iconic public art pieces.
If you’d rather have an expert show you around, sign up for a guided tour. Cycle City Tours offers tours in downtown Vancouver and Stanley Park on e-bikes or classic bikes. You can also sign up for tours around downtown, Granville Island, and Stanley Park with Toonie Tours. Yes Cycle has tours of Stanley Park, Granville Island, and downtown Vancouver. And Into the Wild Tours offers guided tours of downtown Vancouver’s best sites as well as nature escapes to bike a section of the Trans Canada Trail.