Cecilia Teixeira
- 4 min read

Vancouver by Bicycle

"Spring is in the air...” Is it?

It doesn’t look like winter will end in less than one week!

It’s time to dust off your helmets, check your tires and start planning bike rides.

Vancouver is an ideal city to cycle. There are dedicated cycle paths, increasing safety for all.

The Seawall is 28km (13.6 miles) long and has several attractions and services along the way. The “cherry on top of the cake” are the approximately 8 km that goes along Stanley Park, where most of the attractions are located.

Note that the cyclist track is "one-way" and can only be traversed counterclockwise.

Along the ride through Stanley Park, you'll have great photo opportunities, the most important attraction being the Totem Poles.

If you want to learn more about the significance of the Totem Poles and the reason why they are in Stanley Park and in various parts of our Province and Country, I can write about it here on the future. I also can tell you the history o if you me for a walking, car, or bicycle tour.

Attractions I recommend on the bike ride along Stanley Park

Length: 8.2km (5 miles) Difficulty level: Easy

Watch the seaplanes leaving and arriving (the departure is more exciting)
Boats, cargo and passenger ships (the latter from May to October) which travel along the Burrard Inlet
View of the ”all glass” city's skyscrapers, and views of the Convention Center with its fully lawned "roof"
If you have children, I recommend that you stop for a few minutes at the “Splash Park” where the kids will have a blast
Be sure to photograph the bronze sculpture "Girl in a Wetsuit" and note how the tidal movement here is accentuated (the water is to be bordering the bottom of the sculpture, as if the girl was floating, but in times of low tide you go see the difference ...)
Also do not miss the "Lost Lagoon"
"Beaver Lake" has beautiful ducks and it is always a pleasure to see them in full activity
Do not miss the opportunity to see and photograph the centuries-old trees and also the famous "Hollow Tree"
Be sure to stop for a few minutes at "Prospect Point" to enjoy a fantastic view of the "Lions Gate" and West Vancouver, where houses can cost $ 20 million
The Vancouver Aquarium is also located at Stanley Park and is an attraction for all ages.
The stroll through Stanley Park ends in English Bay, in the square with the sculptures that are giving an "Amazing Laughter"

There are several other super cool tours, but if you are getting to know Vancouver, or are planning to visit, I recommend that you take this tour first as it is where you will have the opportunity to admire / visit a large number of attractions.

Where to rent a bike in Vancouver? What kind of bike should I rent?

Should I rent a "shared" bike, or should I rent at a bike rental store for a certain number of hours or even all day?

This decision will depend on your needs.

The "Mobi" are very practical and are everywhere. You'll see a lot of them around town, always brand new (they were opened in the middle / late last year) and in blue.

What is Mobi? Mobi is a bike to be "shared". You take one place and return it in another. It is a very convenient (and inexpensive) way for anyone wishing to travel around the city.

Main Advantage: The system works at any time of day and night, every day of the year, including holidays.

To rent a Mobi you must be over 19 years old and need to buy a pass. The one-day pass costs CAD 7.50 (+ tax) and is active for 24 hours from payment.

The great advantage of this system is that it costs little but .... only if every time you get the bike you stay with it for at most half an hour. If you use the bike for a long time, such as strolling through Stanley Park and stopping at various attractions, you will “overrun" the 30 minutes and there is a table where you will be charged:

31-60 minutes: you will pay more CAD 5.00 (+ tax). After 60 minutes you will pay CAD 5.00 for every additional 30 minutes.

Disadvantage of Mobi: From the above, if you stay several hours with the bike you will spend more than renting your bike in a conventional store.

If you decide on Mobi, visit their website or download their App (“Mobi by Shawn Go) and get full details.

Note: Every bicycle already comes with a basket (very practical) and with a helmet ( helmet is compulsory). You can rent up to 4 bikes with your account. This facilitates family or friends traveling in groups.

Conventional Bicycle Stores:

There are dozens of shops renting bikes through Vancouver, with a big selection of city bikes, electric bikes, mountain bikes, trikes, tandem, children’s front seats, etc.

Tips:

Helmets are mandatory for those who ride bikes. Rental shops provide.

The stronger the lock, the better. Do not rely on thin steel cables. Advice: Wherever you park your bike, always lock it! Do not leave it unattended for 1 minute. Here nobody will “rob" the bike in the sense of showing a gun, or a knife or just push you to take your bike. But .... if you leave it unattended while taking pictures of the Totens take or going for a “quickly pee" in the bathroom ... when you return your bike will have "disappeared".

If you are planning to come to Vancouver to stroll, study, work, contact us!

We have the best tours (by car) to show our city! We use brand new vehicles (2017) and we are fully authorized by the government to carry out tours and excursions.

We can pick you and your family at the airport and on the way to the hotel, Air B & B or homestay we already create a tour and we'll show you a bit of the city for you. That is ... when you arrive at the hotel or where you will be staying, you will already know more of our city.

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