Ride a Bike

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How to take action

• Learn about bike routes in your area. Your municipality should have bike route information available. Find your most convenient routes to common destinations.
• Try a few trips when traffic is light – on a weekend or early morning. Get comfortable with your route and understand how much time your trip will take. For urban trips of five kilometres or less, cycling is often faster than car travel, once you factor in the time it takes to park your car and walk to your final destination. Start slow, and work up to more trips / more distance.
• If your trip is long, check whether you can use transit for part of the way - some transit systems allow bikes inside trains or buses, or you may be able to bike to a transit point and lock your bike there for your return trip.
• Learn and obey the rules of the road and tips for bicycle safety in traffic. Consider taking a cycling course to improve your technique and confidence.
• Get the right gear for you. Helmets are mandatory; good cycling clothing will ensure your comfort and safety. Buy a jacket with reflective strips and make sure pant legs are tucked in or cinched with a strap. Gloves and breathable warm wear will make your ride more enjoyable on cold days. Sunglasses improve your vision on bright days. Wear bright clothing and consider a reflective vest to increase your visibility to others.
• Get the right gear for your bike. Lights and reflectors make you visible to traffic and are an important part of staying safe. A set of panniers, a basket, or a rack where you can strap luggage on can be more comfortable and provide better balance than carrying a backpack. Some cyclists like to have a rear view mirror. A sound alert (horn, bell) is important for warning others when you are approaching or overtaking. Know what gear is mandatory in your area.
• Learn to maintain your bike or have your bike tuned annually at a good bike shop. A well-tuned bicycle will perform better and you'll be less likely to have an unexpected repair problem.
• Consider a motorized bike if your trips are longer or have challenging hills – models vary from those where pedaling is the main form of propulsion with the motor available for assistance on hills, to those that are commonly driven with only occasional pedaling. Some have electric motors, some use other fuels. All use far less fuel and create fewer emissions than a car.
• Have fun. Find others to bike with, get a bike trailer or trail-a-bike to bring your kids, look for local trail rides and take part in Bike to Work Week (you can log your commutes, track calories burned and greenhouse gases reduced, and more).

Why it makes a difference

• Bicycling offers many exercise-related health benefits including helping you manage stress and reducing the risk of various illnesses, in a low-impact way that's easy on your body. Even on a busy street, you're exposed to less pollution than you are when sitting in a car – and if you can plan your route away from the high-volume streets, even better.
• Bikes produce zero greenhouse gas emissions. Compared to a car, they take up less space on the road and in storage, are time- and cost-effective for shorter trips, cost far less in maintenance (and fuel), and provide health benefits. Using a bike whenever possible goes a long way to reducing your environmental footprint.
• Biking saves money. Compared to a car commute, biking to work could save you $2,000 a year.

For more information

• BC Cycling Coalition – includes links to many bicycling organization across B.C.
• Vancouver Area Cycling Coalition – bicycling courses, advocacy, ideas for rides, resources and links, and more.
• Bike Sense Manual – tips mentioned above, and more. Manual can be downloaded as a PDF.
• Vancouver Electric Vehicle Association - information about electric bicycles.