Bike to Work Week Vancouver

Go by Bike Week is a bi-annual event held in Vancouver and other communities within BC to encourage folks to ride their bicycles instead of driving.

The cycling campaign usually happens twice a year, once in early summer and once in the fall. It next happens during the first Monday to Sunday in June 2024.

Also happening in the first week or so of June this year is the Rotary Ride for Rescue. It’s a fundraising event where people ride up Cypress Mountain to raise money for charity. In 2024 the event happens on Saturday, June 8th.

Vancouver’s Go by Bike Week

Go by Bike Week takes place in Vancouver in late October. The event used to be called Bike to Work week. Go by Bike Week also happens in the late spring or early summer, usually around the end of May and/or beginning of June.

The first campaign of 2023 ran from May 29th until June 4th. The fall Go by Bike Week ran from October 16th to 29th in 2023. In 2024 the first week happens during the week of June 3rd to 9th.

During the week people are encouraged to ride their bikes instead of driving and to log their rides online. In Vancouver, HUB Cycling hosts Go by Bike Week.

Folks can register for Go by Bike Week as individuals or as a team. Past registrants, however, don’t need to re-register. They can just log in and record a new trip.

Prizes are available whether you register as an individual or as a team. The grand prize in the spring of 2023 was a cycling trip for two to Croatia! The grand prize for the fall 2023 Go by Bike Week was a Pedego Electric Bike. There are also other gifts to be won.

Participants are able to access “Celebration Stations” set up across Metro Vancouver. There are usually two dozen or so stations offering bike maintenance, snacks and giveaways.

History

The first Bike to Work Week event started in 1995 in Victoria with a group of cyclists. Their goal was to raise awareness about commuter cycling. The first event attracted around 500 participants. T1he scale of the event has grown significantly since 1995. There were over 50,000 participants in a recent year!

The event is also now called Go by Bike Week. Many communities across BC organize Go by Bike Week events, and some even host a Bike to School event as well.

HUB Cycling hosts the Vancouver Go by Bike Week event. The organization was founded in 1988 to improve biking conditions in Vancouver and it now has almost 3,000 members. HUB Cycling also organizes the Bike the Night event that takes place in Vancouver in September.

In the fall of 2023, Go by Bike Week ran from October 16th until the 29th.

If looking for places to cycle to, other than work, check out our October Calendar of Events. Other articles that might be of interest include the following: