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 took place on July 14th, 2024. 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.

For details about the event, or to register or make a donation, visit the Rotary Club of Vancouver website.

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

Rotary Ride for Hearing in Metro 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.

All 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!

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

Where & When

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

In the past few years, the event started at around noon and finished by 6:30 pm. In 2024, however, the races started earlier. The main ride began between 6:00 am and 7:00 am while the family ride started between 9:00 am and 9:30 am.

2024 Ride for Hearing Routes

During this year’s event on July 14th, 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.

The Main Ride

The main ride begins at Spanish Banks Beach. The route heads west along the water to UBC and continues all the way across the Canada Line Bikeway. From there, the ride heads south until the southern edge of Richmond before looping back to the bridge. Riders make their way through the middle of Vancouver along Granville Street, loop around Stanley Park and then return to the starting point at Spanish Banks.

In total, the round trip is 105 kilometers long.

The Family Edition

For families and folks 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-kilometre 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.

Ride for Hearing Registration Details

People interested in participating in next year’s event can register online as an individual or as a team. In both cases, full-price registration for the main ride in 2024 was $75 for teenagers and adults. Early bird registration cost $50. 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 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.

To register for the event, or to make a donation, visit the Rotary Vancouver website.

Rotary Ride for Hearing Video

To see what the Rotary Ride for Hearing looks like, check out the video below. It 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.

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

About Rotary

With around 1.4 million members globally, Rotary International is one of the largest service club organizations in the world. 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.

To learn more about the organization behind the Rotary Ride for Hearing, visit the rotaryvancouver.org website.

Other Information

For more information about the event, visit the Rotary Vancouver website.

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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.