It’s Bike to Work Week again, though I’m actually surprised Vancouver still even needs it. For a year-round cyclist like me (not boasting, just saying), the week doesn’t mean much. But hey, maybe this year’s event will finally be the impetus you need to get off your fat ass (not judging) and experience the daily adrenalin rush of pedal power.
The whole point of Bike To Work Week is the hope that you get the taste of the freedom and fun that cycling provides, and that you get addicted to your bicycle, just like I did many years ago.
I’ve been cycling this city of bridges and hills for about 20 years (not boasting, just saying), and it was all due to my complaints to a friend about my stress level from work. He told me that he cycled to and from his job downtown, and that he credited the biking for clearing his head both in the morning and on the way home, not to mention keeping him in shape. On your bike, he explained, you’re alone with your own thoughts; you’re like a kayaker in a river of traffic, while getting vitally important cardiovascular exercise at the same time. My friend was heading out of town, and kindly loaned me his bike to try it for myself. He was right. Cycling was infinitely more relaxing and fulfilling than driving or battling packed public transit. I was hooked.
Thanks mostly to Vancouver’s greatly increased network of separated and designated bike lanes over the past few years, many of you seem to have finally caught up to me (not boasting, just saying): in 2014, an average of 100,000 bike rides were taken throughout Vancouver, which is more than double than a decade ago. From 2013 to 2014, cycling in our city jumped by 11 per cent, while biking injuries are down, obviously due to separated bike lanes. Wondering what the most heavily-used bike path is in the city? According to the City of Vancouver, it’s the Burrard Street Bridge, followed by the path that runs near Science World that connects to the Seawall, Olympic Village, and the Adanac bike route through East Van.
The Adanac corridor is my daily commute, which was admittedly intimidating at first. Anyone who cycles the route all the way like I do, will know you cross every major north-south artery of East Van to get downtown (Renfrew, Nanaimo, Victoria, Commercial, Clark, and Main). You have to be alert, wear your helmet and reflective gear, and wait for the lights. And while car traffic is often enraging to the mildest of drivers, there’s something about bike traffic that is empowering. The flow of bikes along the Adanac route is just like the daily commute of crows above, flocking into the city in the morning, and flying out en masse in the evening. I’m proud to be a part of that flock on the ground. Our wheels are our wings.
If you don’t cycle to work yet, Bike to Work Week is your chance to join the ride. Don’t let fear of traffic be your excuse; you have separated and designated bike lanes everywhere. Don’t let the rain dissuade you, either; MEC sells relatively cheap, light, head-to-toe rain gear that will have you dry as California upon your arrival even in the nastiest of November storms.
And hey, if you take the Adanac route like me, there’s the added after-work bonus of pedaling past (or very near) a whopping seven craft breweries. Who knew that your baby seat on the back of your bike fits a couple of cold six packs perfectly? I know.
Get on your bike, start pedaling, and thank me later.
