In February the BEST team participated in GoByBike Week, a week-long cycling event (Feb 7 - 13) where participants sign up alone or with a team to track their kilometres biked to see how many kilograms of greenhouse gases one can save by cycling year round, and win some awesome prizes. We had a ton of fun taking part in GoByBike Week together and learned a lot about the positive impacts active transportation can have on our environment and wellbeing.
The BEST team logged 162 km together over 17 rides and saved a total of 35 kg of greenhouse gases!
BEST’s Molly, Steve, and Sara took turns “taking over” the Bicycle Valet Instagram account during GoByBike Week to share their cycling routes and take us along on their journeys.
Molly used a Mobi bike to cycle from Kitsilano to VCC-Clark SkyTrain station where our team was filming an upcoming documentary with TransLink on seniors' transportation called ROVING! ROVING, launching this spring, will focus on the personal experiences of seniors getting around in BC and will demonstrate how transportation options play a key role in giving lives meaning and purpose and how they contribute to health and wellbeing. She arrived to find filmmakers Nathan and Scott of Skillen and Co. hard at work filming on a TransLink bus with one of the key subjects in the documentary who was showing us how he gets around on transit as a senior.
Follow Molly on her bike route to the ROVING filming location at VCC-Clark, and check out the behind-the-scenes action!
Molly enjoys using Mobi bikes to get around Vancouver because they’re convenient, readily accessible at many popular destinations, and have stations near transit so you can simply park your bike and ride. Easily register with Mobi and choose your preferred plan, find your nearest Mobi bike station on their online map, and get cycling!
Molly cycled a total of 5.2 km and saved 1 kg of greenhouse gases by choosing to bike to the filming location!
Steve took us through the ABCs of good bike safety and maintenance: A for Air, B for Brakes, and C for Chain, before he cycled off to get errands done. Steve does these quick safety checks on his bike before using it every time:
A for Air: He checks the air in his tires to make sure they’re safe to go. Well-maintained and properly inflated tires are not only important for safety reasons, they're also essential for an enjoyable, worry-free ride. Sure enough, his tires needed a bit of air so he gave them a quick pump.
B for Brakes: Checking your brakes regularly to make sure they’re in good condition is super important for a safe ride and making sure you can stop quickly if you need to. If you hear squealing when you brake, they’ll need some TLC.
C for Chain: Inspect your chain for damage and wear. Wear causes the chain to hang loose on single-gear bikes and eventually causes slippage. If this is happening to you, it's time to replace your chain. If the chain is particularly grimy, clean it with a rag and solvent. If that's not enough, use a small brush, like an old toothbrush, and give the chain a good scrub. Finally, turn the crank backward to get the chain moving. If you've got sticking links, give them some individual cleaning attention. If the links are warped, you'll need to replace the chain.
Follow Steve on his route and learn the ABC’s of cycling!
For more bike safety tips and to learn how to complete regular safety checks, check out this great article on Spokester!
Steve cycled a total of 47 kilometres for GoByBike week, saving 10 kg of greenhouse gases by biking regularly!
Sara biked the Central Valley Greenway from Burnaby to Commercial-Broadway SkyTrain station in Vancouver on a sunny Sunday to go study at the Vancouver Public Library downtown. The Central Valley Greenway (CVG) is a 24-kilometre path connecting Vancouver, Burnaby, and New Westminster. It follows a shallow valley, providing a scenic route that's relatively flat for an enjoyable bike ride or walk for people of all ages.
Sara’s favourite thing about the CVG is its connections to transit, making it an excellent cycling/walking route for commuters. She cycled past Renfrew and Rupert SkyTrain stations before arriving at Commercial where she safely stored her bike at one of TransLink’s new bike parkades, and showed us how to use one!
Here’s how easy it is to use a bike parkade:
1️⃣ Register your Compass Card online
2️⃣ Enroll in the bike parkade program
3️⃣ Add stored value
4️⃣ Simply tap in and the parkade for only $1/day!
Bike parkades are only accessible to TransLink customers with a Compass Card who are enrolled in the program, making them a safe and secure place to store your bikes.
Sara cycled for 7 km of the Central Valley Greenway and saved 2 kg of greenhouse gases!
Let’s bike more!
In total, 2732 riders participated in this year’s GoByBike Week and logged 98,644 kilometres between February 7 - 13! 6816 bike trips were taken by bike in BC, saving 21,386 kilograms of greenhouse gases!
Initiatives like GoByBike Week are a great way to get both new and experienced cyclists to bike more for their every day activities, because they show us how easy it is to commit to cycling and the impact we can have on the environment if we choose active transportation daily. Safe and enjoyable cycling routes such as the Central Valley Greenway, Arbutus Greenway, and the Seawall are very central and well-connected to many important locations and places of interest in Metro Vancouver, and are serviced by transit along the way. Use the City of Vancouver Bike Route Planner to find the best and safest routes to cycle, and the TransLink Bike Parking Guide to find a transit station you can safely store your bike at while you commute.
This spring and summer, we want to keep the GoByBike momentum going and will continue to bike to work, for leisure, and to run errands as much as possible and hope you will join us in this commitment!
If you participated in GoByBike Week, use the hashtag #GoByBikeBC and post your photos on Instagram to inspire others to cycle more. Happy biking!
