Rotary Ride for Hearing

The Rotary Ride for Hearing is a cycling event in British Columbia in support of Deaf and Hard of Hearing. The bike ride happens in Vancouver and Richmond.

The event happened on June 29th in 2025. The year before it happened in mid-July. The Rotary Ride for Hearing is a long ride, but not a race. The only competitive part is who can raise the most money. It’s a fun bike-a-thon-style event and for a great cause.

Visit the Rotary Club of Vancouver website for details about this event, or to register to make a donation.

This article includes the following information about the Rotary Ride for Hearing:

Rotary Ride for Hearing in Vancouver

The Rotary Ride for Hearing is an annual fundraising event. Participants collect pledges before cycling around one of two set routes in the Lower Mainland.

Donations support Deaf and Hard of Hearing Services in British Columbia. The funds help affected families in the province in several ways. Connections to community services are built, and young adults receive help in planning for the future. The money also provides dorms for students of the BC School for the Deaf.

Not only does the event benefit very worthwhile causes, but riders also have the chance to win prizes to take home. The more money raised, the bigger the prizes!

Visit the Rotary Vancouver website for full details about the Rotary Ride for Hearing, or to register or make a donation.

Where and When

The Rotary Ride for Hearing starts and finishes at Spanish Banks near UBC in Vancouver, at the far west end of the park.

The event used to start at around noon and finish by 6:30 pm. In 2025, however, the races started earlier. Check-in started at 5:00 am. The main ride began between 5:30 am and 6:30 am while the family ride started at 9:00 am. The change was made so that participants could ride during a cooler time of the day.

Ride for Hearing Routes

In 2024 there were two different routes to choose from. One was a long distance for more experienced cyclists while the other was a shorter option for families. New for 2025, there was a third option where people could choose to ride a distance that was halfway between.

The Main Ride

The main ride begins at Spanish Banks Beach. It used to go from there to the edge of Richmond and then back to Vancouver via Stanley Park before returning to Spanish Banks. New for 2025, the route went along the waterfront and northern edge of Point Grey and Kitsilano, over the Burrard Street Bridge, and then along the waterfront directly to Stanley Park. After doing nine loops of Stanley Park, the cyclists rode back the same way to where they started at Spanish Banks.

In past years the route headed west along the water to UBC and continued all the way across the Canada Line Bikeway. From there, the ride headed south to Richmond before looping back to Vancouver. Riders then made their way through the middle of Vancouver along Granville Street, looped once around Stanley Park and then returned to the starting point at Spanish Banks.

In total, the round trip was 105 kms long in 2024. In 2025 it was 100 kms, so just slightly shorter, but also more beautiful.

The 7.5 km Family Edition

For families and people who don’t think they can finish the full main route, the Rotary Ride for Hearing offers a shorter route as well. It’s an easy 7.5 km loop in the Spanish Banks area.

The route starts around the Spanish Banks West Concession and progresses east along the water to Jericho Beach Park. Cyclists pass the park’s pond and then turn back and return to the starting location along the same route.

The 50 km Ride

New for 2025, there was a 50 km route for cyclists who found the 7.5 km trip too easy, but didn’t want to do the full 100 km. This route was the same as the main 100 km route, except that instead of doing nine laps around Stanley Park riders just went around the park three times.

Ride for Hearing Registration Details

People interested in participating in the event can register online as an individual or as a team. In both cases, full-price registration for the main ride in 2025 was $100 for teenagers and adults. Early bird registration cost $50 or $60 depending on when you signed up. Kids ages 12 and under cost $10. Riders are also expected to raise at least $300 in donations through pledges from friends and family. The family ride this past year cost just $25 for adults and $10 for children.

As an extra incentive to raise as much money as possible, all riders who collect more than $300 are automatically entered into draws to win prizes. There are also separate draws for people who raise over $500, as well as a grand prize draw for riders who collect at least $1,000.

Visit the Rotary Vancouver website to register for this event, or to make a donation.

Rotary Ride for Hearing Video

Check out the video below to see what the Rotary Ride for Hearing looks like. The video shows the start of the event at Spanish Banks in 2024.

About the Rotary Ride for Hearing

The Rotary Ride for Hearing is an annual event hosted by the Rotary Club of Vancouver. It’s a fundraiser that has generated more than $3.5 million in support of the Deaf and Hard of Hearing in BC.

Funds raised from the event benefit Cochlear Implant Research at UBC and the BC Rotary Hearing & Balance Centre at St. Paul’s Hospital in Vancouver. The event has also helped the Rotary Club provide grants to a number of hearing-related charitable organizations including the BC Children’s Hospital, BC Family Hearing Resource Centre, Children’s Hearing & Speech Centre of BC, Hearing Foundation of Canada, UBC School of Audiology & Speech Sciences, and Vancouver Hearing Centre.

Each individual rider and team member must raise a minimum of $300 in pledges (but hopefully more) to participate in the Rotary Ride for Hearing.

About Rotary

Rotary International is one of the largest service club organizations in the world, boasting around 1.4 million members globarlly. There are dozens of Rotary clubs in the Lower Mainland and hundreds in Canada.

Founded in 1913, the Rotary Club of Vancouver is the second oldest Rotary club in Canada and the second largest in British Columbia. It has over 100 members and meets weekly at the Terminal City Club in downtown Vancouver on Tuesdays at noon.

Rotary clubs do all kinds of service projects in their communities. They also do charitable work in the developing world. Club members include both active and retired business people, professionals and other people wanting to make a difference in their communities and the world.

Visit the rotaryvancouver.org website to learn more about the organization behind the Rotary Ride for Hearing.

Rotary Club of Vancouver

Other Information

Visit the Rotary Vancouver website for more information about this event.

Other articles that might be of interest include the following:

Events hosted by other Rotary Clubs in the Lower Mainland include the following:

White Rock Polar Bear Swim – a community event hosted by Rotary clubs in White Rock and South Surrey on January 1st at the beach in White Rock.
Search for the Perfect Pint – a beer-themed fundraising event hosted by the Port Moody Rotary Club in the spring.
Rotary Ride for Rescue – a cycling and mountain biking event up Cypress Mountain in June that raises money for both the Rotary Club of West Vancouver Sunrise and North Shore Search & Rescue.
North Vancouver Canada Day – July 1st celebrations hosted by the Rotary Club of Lions Gate in the Shipyards.
Port Moody Ribfest – a community event hosted by the Rotary Club of Port Moody. Taking place at Rocky Point Park in July, it features barbecue rib vendors, a beer garden, live entertainment and family-friendly activities.
Langley Ribfest – a barbecue-themed community event in the summer at McLeod Athletic Park and jointly hosted by several Rotary clubs in Langley.