Biking in Vancouver

If you love to bike, Vancouver is a pretty good place to live. We have a great network of bike paths to get to work, along with some amazing bike-friendly places to visit on weekends. Here are some of my favourite lesser-known biking locations in the Lower Mainland, for your summer weekend pleasure!



Central Valley Greenway

The Greenway connects Vancouver to New Westminster, via Burnaby. You can access the Greenway from East Broadway at Victoria Dr. The Central Valley Greenway is a loop that pretty much follows the skytrain line. It's mostly bike trails, well signed (for the most part), and a lovely ride. There are a few hills to contend with, but nothing major. Since you're cycling in the city, you're always close to a coffee shop!



Photo by LetsGoBiking



Fraser River Reserve & Iona Island

Cycling to Iona is pretty well known, especially if you're part of the road biking community. It's a lovely cycle, very flat, and with some nice views. At the end of the peninsula you will find a variety of birds to watch, and a beautiful park to picnic at and explore. However, rather than just cycling along the road there is a great little trail along the river. Quiet, peaceful, and lots of blackberry bushes! You arrive at McDonald boat launch, where you take the side road back to the main road to continue along to Iona. Directions can be found on the Richmond bike trail map.



Photo from WillWong.Net



PoCo Trail 

25km of biking trails around Port Coquitlam. You can cycle along the Pitt River, then around through gorgeous woodland. It's pretty flat, so it's fun for the whole family. You're never too far from a coffee shop to for a pit stop, and you do pass through some city parks with play areas for the kids if you need to take a break! From Vancouver, you can cycle (if you're very fit) or take the Skytrain to Braid Station, and use the bike paths that run alongside United Blvd and Maryhill Bypass to connect to the trails. This starts you at the Colony Farm, which is always worth a visit!



From PortCoquitlam.ca



Richmond Dykes

It's beautiful, it's flat, there are some gorgeous look out points, and you can get fish and chips on the wharf in Steveston! Plus if you continue along Dyke Road heading east, there are some awesome blackberry bushes and apple trees. Maybe take a container or two, and plan on making a few stops along the way :)  Great trip for the family. You can reach the dyke really easily from Bridgeport or Aberdeen Canada Line Stations, as seen on the Richmond bike trail map. 



Photo by Stephen Rees


Do you have any other favourite bike routes you would like to share?

Social Media and Tourism

An industry I've always been interested in is tourism, especially in beautiful BC! The tourism industry is using social media to promote themselves across the world. Tourism BC, for example, has a website, Facebook, Twitter, and Youtube accounts. Tourism Vancouver utilizes Blogger, Flickr, Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube. Whatever the channels a company chooses to use, they must have exciting and enticing content that connects with their target audience. There are a variety of campaigns that tourism groups use to attention; one time larger events to grab attention and pull people in to the social media sites, then ongoing campaigns to keep people coming back.

An example of a one time event to grab attention is the 'smart' mob at YVR on behalf of the "This is Great Britian" campaign. The dancers are dressed in costumes to resemble some of the most famous British acts; the Spice Girls, the Beatles, and Elton John, to name a few. The dancing is great, and the video is fun to watch. The link in the information section of the YouTube video takes viewers to the "This is GREAT Britain" Facebook page, where you can choose to interact and follow the campaign.

An example of a great ongoing campaign is Tourism BC's "Fan Photo of the Week". Fans post their photos to Facebook, and Tourism BC selects the best ones in for the "Fan Photos of the month" album, then selects one per week to be displayed as Fan Photo of the Week. I think this is a great use of social media, as Tourism BC gets a fantastic collection of photos from across the province, and fans get the excitement of having their photo shortlisted, and possibly displayed as photo of the week.

Makes me want to jump in my car and go find a lake and mountains! Photo Credit: Tourism BC Facebook page

Are there any tourism social media campaigns that caught your eye? It's not just about being clever, it's also about being memorable!