Country Tracker

country tracker for our world cycle tour

Country Tracker for our world Cycle Tour

To be honest, I didn’t know whether I should keep a Country Tracker for our trip on the website, but I like maps and my favourite colour is blue. So, here it is – the country tracker for our world cycle tour!

Check out our proposed route if you want to see where we are heading next!

After creating this map, we were curious to work out just how many countries we have each been to, so we’ve also included our individual Country Tracker maps below as well.

Cycle Trekkers’s Travel Map

On the bikes we have been to the following countries as of January 2017.

France to China trip: France, Italy, Croatia, Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Montenegro, Macedonia, Greece, Turkey, IranKazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan and China.

Canada: British Columbia, Alberta, Saskatchewan, Manitoba, Ontario, Quebec, New Brunswick, Prince Edward Island and Nova Scotia.

Kelly’s Travel Map

Kelly’s Country Tracker

Oceania:

New Zealand & Australia (Western Australia, South Australia, Tasmania, New South Wales and Victoria).

North America:

USA: Florida, Alaska, California, Washington, Oregon, Idaho, Wyoming, Utah, Arizona, Nevada, Montana, Minnesota, New York (13 states DC)

Canada: British Columbia, Alberta, Saskatchewan, Manitoba, Ontario, Quebec, New Brunswick, Prince Edward Island, Nova Scotia and Newfoundland (10 provinces).

Mexico: Baja California (north & south), Yucatan, Sinaloa, Zacatecas, Guanajuato and DF.

Europe:

Albania, Austria, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Belgium, Croatia, Hungary, Ireland, Switzerland, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Germany, Denmark, Spain, France, United Kingdom (England, Scotland & Wales), Gibraltar, Greece,  Italy, Montenegro, Macedonia, Netherlands, Poland, Portugal, Sweden and the Vatican.

Latin America & the Caribbean: 

Argentina, Chile, Colombia, Bolivia, Brazil, Belize, Costa Rica, Cuba, Ecuador (& the Galapagos Islands), Guatemala, Honduras, Jamaica, Panama, Peru and Uruguay.

Asia:

Vietnam, Singapore, Thailand, China, Brunei, Hong Kong, Indonesia, India, Kyrgyzstan, Kazakhstan, Sri Lanka, Malaysia, Nepal, Turkmenistan, Taiwan and Uzbekistan.

Africa:

South Africa, Egypt and Morocco.

Middle East: 

United Arab Emirates, Turkey, Israel, Iran, Jordan and Palestine.

 

Michael’s Travel Map

Michael’s Country Tracker

Oceania: 

Australia (Western Australia and Victoria).

North America:

USA: Alaska, California, Washington, Oregon, Idaho, Wyoming, Utah, Arizona, Nevada, Montana, Minnesota, New York (12 states DC)

Canada: British Columbia, Alberta, Saskatchewan, Manitoba, Ontario, Quebec, New Brunswick, Prince Edward Island and Nova Scotia (9 provinces).

Mexico: Baja California (north & south), Yucatan, Sinaloa, Zacatecas, Guanajuato and DF.

Europe: 

United Kingdom (England, Scotland, Northern Ireland & Wales), Albania,  Austria,Bosnia and Herzegovina, Belgium, Bulgaria, Switzerland,  Czech Republic, Germany, Denmark, Estonia,  Spain, Finland, France, Greece, Croatia, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Liechtenstein, Lithuania, Latvia, Monaco, Moldova, Montenegro, Macedonia, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Serbia, Sweden, Slovenia, Slovakia, San Marino, Ukraine, Vatican and Kosovo.

Latin America & the Caribbean: 

Belize, Costa Rica, Cuba, Ecuador, Guatemala and Panama.

Asia: 

Singapore, Thailand, China, Hong Kong, Kyrgyzstan, Kazakhstan, Turkmenistan, Taiwan and Uzbekistan.

Africa: 

Egypt and Morocco.

Middle East: 

Turkey, Israel, Iran, Jordan, Syria, Lebanon, Georgia, Armenia and Palestine.

Discovering the Patagonia Store in Halifax

Refocusing on our purpose

Right, so when I initially set up this website I wanted to focus on the environmental aspects of the trip. The eco-friendly establishments, organisation and buildings that we encounter. Admittedly, I’ve gotten a bit distracted by the cycling, the challenges and the amazing Canadian scenery and of course the people, that I’ve pretty much failed at doing this so far! That was until I rediscovered my inspiration when I came across the Patagonia store in Halifax!

A bit about Patagonia

I have loved Patagonia since my uni days. Not just because I have a soft spot for the place, Patagonia in South America, but because of the company’s values and their ethics. Patagonia is probably the most well-known and most successful company that has embraced sustainable and environmentally friendly practices. Patagonia is what most other eco-minded companies strive towards. Their values and achievements are something that other companies can learn from – no matter what the industry.

Their mission is: Build the best product, cause no unnecessary harm, use business to inspire and implement solutions to the environmental crisis.

The Patagonia Store in Halifax

Unfortunately, Perth doesn’t have a Patagonia store, and until now I have NEVER stepped foot into a Patagonia store. So you can image my excitement when I, by chance came across the Patagonia store in Halifax (conveniently located next to Alexander Keith’s Brewery – like I said complete chance I found the store). Before I knew it I had arranged a meeting with someone at the store whom passionately told me everything I needed to know about the building, the company and their values.

patagonia store in halifax

The Building

The Patagonia store in Halifax has been around for 6 years. What I didn’t know about Patagonia is that the company will only open a store in a pre-existing building, which can be transformed into an energy efficient and eco-friendly building. This demonstrates their commitment to their mission of “causing no unnecessary harm” as building a completely new building will involve far more energy and resources, as well as the potential of habitat loss and pollution.

The building that houses the Patagonia store in Halifax is over 200 years old and was originally apart of the old Halifax docks. The wood used for the floor panels and some store shelving is from an old aircraft hanger in the Annapolis Valley of Nova Scotia. The only virgin wood used is from bamboo. This is used to make the clothes hangers and some of the other shelving. Bamboo is a more eco-friendly product. It grows quick (quick to produce and harvest), requires less land and minimises rainforest and habitat destruction.

The building also has 5 solar panels on the roof that power the store’s lighting. Any power drawn from the grid (such as the power to run the store computer) is offset through Bullfrog Power.

Patagonia Halifax

What else is Patagonia doing?

On top of ensuring each store has the most eco-friendly store possible, the company has remained completely privately owned! Why? Because that’s the only way the family can ensure Patagonia maintains its mission.

They also promote “Worn Wear” and everlasting clothing and products. The company founder, Yvon Chouinard, openly says, it’s better to buy old, second hand clothes than to buy new; and that’s it’s better to repair your worn clothes than constantly replacing them. This reduces the amount of clothes ending up in landfill.

Most people that know me would likely know that I’m not a big fan of shopping, materialism or consumerism. So you can image how impressed I was when the shop assistant in the Patagonia store in Hailfax told me that last year for Black Friday the company decided to give 100% of sales (not just profits) to grassroots environmental organisations. $10 million+ dollar donation was the results! It’s totally crazy, unheard of and just outright amazing!

All these things I’ve mentioned goes completely against the supply and demand economics of owning a clothing/ retail company. A company that in theory should rely on customers having to return, time and time again to replace their products and buy the latest version. However, Yvon and Patagonia has proved that despite this, it’s possible to have a success business. 

Patagonia Store in halifax

Lessons Learnt

Patagonia products reflect the actual cost of the product, which means consumers pay a premium compared to the “fast fashion products. My concern would be whether there are enough people in the world that demand clothes that are completely traceable, humanely sourced and environmental friendly. Whether people want to pay that extra money to ensure their clothes have a minimal negative impact on the world. And, whether providing ‘ever-lasting’ clothes and products will limit your repeat customers and business. In other words: is it sustainable from a business prospective?

Patagonia is a billion dollar company and is expanding. This shows that there is a demand and the demand is growing. I also learnt that a younger demographic of customers were moving in, and Patagonia were now seeing customers in their teens shopping at the store. It’s proof to me that the world is moving in a positive way – even though at times it doesn’t seem like it. The establishment and success of Patagonia definitely fills me with happy, hope and inspiration!

I haven’t talked too much about Patagonia as a company. If you want to find out more check out some of these resources.

The Truth to Materials

Interesting facts about reclaimed cotton and other materials. After witnessing first hand the forced labour on cotton farms in Uzbekistan, and knowing about the insane amount of clothes that end up in landfill, I’m definitely interested in find out more about the reclaimed cotton industry (and other similar industries).

Let my people go surfing

A book written by Yvon Chouinard about the creation of one of the most respected environmentally friendly businesses in the world. Now on my booklist for when I start cycling again.

Other cools resources:

Wornwear

It’s all about repairing clothes instead of throwing them away. Worn wear focuses on the stories your clothes tell and the connections we make with our clothes. I love their instagram. Lots of different people with ripped clothes that have been patched up! I recently added my hat to the list – 13 years and still going strong!

Footprint chronicles

Pick a Patagonia product. Take the item code from the tag and input it into the website. Information about the supply chain of that product, including information on the factories involved, the location etc will pop up.

You can also check out some of our other ecodiscoveries – The Greenhouse, Perth and Durgas Den, Jamaica!

  • Patagonia and/or the Patagonia Store in Halifax has not sponsored us or provided any gear for our trip. All opinions are purely of our own, as nature lovers, environmentalists and as future business owners.

Eco Discoveries

10 secrets to cycle touring, british columbia cycling, ecodiscoveries, Eco Discoveries

What are Eco Discoveries?

One day we want to own a cycle-friendly, eco-guesthouse or hostel. We appreciate the need to be sustainable and want to make our hostel, as eco-friendly as possible. What better way to research and collect ideas for our future endeavour, than making eco discoveries through visiting established and aspiring eco-friendly businesses, buildings and organisations all over the world? We hope to learn how these businesses have achieved their dreams, what obstacles they’ve had to overcome, and what tips they have for ‘newbies’.

Already, we have been inspired to take a page from Patagonia’s book. To own a business that will cause no unnecessary harm, and be used to inspire and implement solutions to the environmental crisis. This is apart of Patagonia’s mission statement, and something we want to take onboard. This is an example of an eco discovery – a lesson we have learnt from a green business during our cycle trip.

The Plan

During our cycle trips, we plan to visit and learn as much as we can from different green businesses. The plan is to add our eco discoveries to this site during our travels. This will include information about what we’ve learnt, eco-friendly ideas, environmental issues that we encounter along the way, and anything else that we think might be helpful or inspirational.

How you can get involved

Get in touch, if you know of, or are the owner of a green business that might be interested in helping with our eco discoveries.

Some examples of the business we would love to hear from, include:

  • Eco-lodges, eco-guesthouses or eco-hostels.
  • Sustainable kitchens.
  • Cafes.
  • Breweries.
  • Shops.
  • Ecotourism attractions.
  • Tour companies.
  • Businesses that have implemented green/ sustainable building practices.
  • Organic Farms.

If your eco-business doesn’t fall into one of these categories, don’t worry, we would still love to hear all about it.

Why get in touch?

  • This is a great opportunity for the green business to gain some free local as well as global advertising.
  • Exposure on our social media sites.
  • Exposure on our website, in the form of reviews, interview posts and blog posts. Check out an article we’ve written for the Greenhouse restaurant, and Durgas Den.
  • You will be helping others (and us), learn to build their very own ‘green’ business, which of course, is a great way to increase sustainability, awareness and the green movement.

Cycle Touring Videos

Cycle Touring Videos

 

Welcome to our Cycle Touring Videos from our France to China cycle trip, Canada trip and other cycle trips. I hope you enjoy them. The photos and videos are shot on a GoPro Hero 2, a Lumix GF1 camera and an iphone SE.

Safe travels!

Kelly & Michael x

France to China by bike Cycle Touring Videos

  1. France
  2. Italy
  3. The first 5000km (France to Iran)
  4. Iran
  5. Turkmenistan & Uzbekistan
  6. Kyrgyzstan & Kazakhstan
  7. Kazakhstan & China
  8. A Day in the Life of a Cycle Tourist

Other Cycle Touring Videos

  1. Canada
  2. Snapshot Canada: every 100km across Canada
  3. Farewell Canada
  4. Cycling the USA
  5. Cycling Nicaragua

The Cycle Touring Videos

France to China by bike Cycle Touring Videos

France

This is where the journey began at Sty Foy ski station in the Alps! We were working a ski season in the French Alps, when Kelly was in a ski accident, and was no longer able to ski, run, walk, or do anything, except cook and eat. The doctor advised her, that cycling would be good rehab for the knee… and so, with that, the idea of cycling to China was born. With absolutely no experience, next to no planning, and several injuries, we headed off – feeling… confident! Lucky for us the first few days were all down hill, followed by the rest of the week conquering 2 mountains passes. Read more about our cycle trip through France.

Italy

When we made it to Italy, we knew that we would be able to make it the whole way to China – despite what others thought. This was the first country we cycle the whole way across. Read more about our cycle across Italy.

The first 5000km from France to China

Unfortunately, we lost all our original video footage from the first half of our trip. This happened at some point during the trip, but we didn’t realise until we got home, and by this time it was too late to do much about it. We did however manage to retrieve this video about the first 5000km cycling through FranceItalyCroatiaMontenegroAlbaniaMacedoniaGreeceTurkey and Iran. Click on the country name to read more about our cycle trip through those countries.

 

Iran

We didn’t know what to expect when cycling through Iran, but as soon as we crossed the border from Turkey, we were welcomed by friendly and extremely generous people. A day didn’t go by where we weren’t given gifts of fresh fruit, water, smiles and waves. One of the hottest, but also one of my favourite countries on the cycle trip.

Turkmenistan & Uzbekistan

We were only able to get a 5 day transit visa for Turkmenistan, which meant 5 days to cycle 600km across a very hot desert on a very bad road. Luckily, we made it to the border in time. After Turkmenistan was Uzbekistan. The most challenging country during our cycle trip. Bad roads, injured dogs, boring scenery, a killer headwind, but some amazing people. Read more about our adventures in Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan.

Kyrgyzstan & Kazakhstan

When we arrived into Kyrgyzstan we were greeted with smooth highways, beautiful scenery and lots of cows, oh and mountains. We made it to Bishkek, and then from there cycled into the last Stan of the trip, Kazakhstan. Read more about our adventures in Kyrgyzstan and Kazakhstan.

Kazakhstan & China

The last few days cycling in Kazakhstan were cold! We were looking forward to getting to China and exchanging our bikes for backpacks. The cycle into China was easy, however the bad pollution lead us to hitchhike to Urumqi. Once in Urumqi we sold the bikes, and made our way to Beijing as backpackers. Read more about our China experience.

A Day in the Life of a Cycle Tourist

Ever wonder what it’s like to be a cycling nomad? This video gives a glimpse into the life of a cycle tourist, while we cycled through the Kazakh desert, during our France to China cycle trip.

Other Cycle Touring Videos

Canada

The cycle journey started on 27th June 2016 in Vancouver, British Columbia. We then spent the next 3.5 months cycling 7000km across Canada to Halifax. The cycle trip took us through the Rocky Mountains, the Prairie lands, the lake lands of Ontario, French Canada and finally the Maritimes.

Click here to read about our cycle trip across Canada.

Snapshot Canada: every 100km across Canada 

We decided to take a photo every 100km that we cycled across Canada. The idea was to put the photos together as a slide show in the hope that it will give a perspective of how the Canadian landscape changes coast to coast. I think it definitely puts the prairies and also Ontario into perspective in terms of distance. The road quality also changes drastically. In total we cycled 7000km across the country.

Farewell Canada: Cycling Canada to the USA

After spending the winter in Halifax, we were ready to start the next leg of our cycle trip, cycling to the US! This video is about our last week in Canada, cycling from Halifax to the US border.

Cycling the USA

Michael and I, entered the USA in Maine, then headed down the coast to Boston. We spent about 3 weeks cycling in New England, before heading West to New York state. From there we had a ‘slight’ change in plan!

Cycling Nicaragua

We spent 6 weeks cycling around Nicaragua in Central America, during the wet season. Friendly people, awesome beaches and some surprisingly cycle-friendly paths and roads.

 

Vancouver City Guide for Cycle Tourists

Vancouver City Guide for Cycle Tourists

So, why did I decided to put together this Vancouver City Guide for Cycle Tourists? Last summer I was fortunate enough to land myself a summer job in Vancouver, working at Capilano Suspension Bridge. If you haven’t heard about Capilano yet, don’t worry you would have by the time you leave Vancouver. It’s hard to escape the park’s advertising! Though I loved working there, it is a tourist trap. But, what I did learn during my summer in Vancouver is the best and cheapest way to see the city. Vancouver is an expensive city, and as you probably know, most cyclist tourists are on a bit of a tight budget. So it is handy knowing how to visit this awesome city, without blowing funds you’ve saved for a rainy day.

Vancouver is also where we choose to start our World Cycle Tour, where we bought our touring bikes and where we had to prepare ourselves for the start of our trip. I wanted to share with others what we learnt.

I’ve made a couple of assumptions of people reading this Vancouver City Guide for Cycle Tourists:

  • You’re planning a cycle tour that passes through Vancouver at some point.
  • You love the outdoors and like hiking.
  • You’re on a budget.
  • You’re visiting Vancouver during the “cycle season” (ie. May – Sept), which is also the “cruise season,” so Vancouver’s peak season.

So without further a due here is the Vancouver City Guide for Cycle Tourists!

Some things to know about Vancouver:

  • Bike theft is huge! Keep an eye on your bike. If it gets stolen you won’t get it back.
  • If you have an expensive Saddle, then lock it to your bike. No joke! Bike seats get stolen all the time. We got some old chain from a bike store and locked our seat to the bike with that. While I was in the bike store, a girl actually came into the store looking for a new bike saddle because hers had literally just got pinched.
  • Avoid staying around East Hastings & Main St (or anywhere near the bus station). It’s not the nicest area of Vancouver.
  • There are loads of cycle paths around the city.
  • You can take bikes on buses and on trains.
  • If you are visiting during July or August, then definitely book your accommodation in advance. I’ve found Airbnb to have the best accommodation deals, otherwise I would try bookings as they tend to have the cheapest hotel prices. Hostelz is also a pretty good site to use, particularly if  you are looking for dorm room accommodation.
  • Most people stay around Kitsilano, Broadway St or Downtown. My favourite areas are North Vancouver (or the North Shore) and Kitsilano. The North Shore is a bit far from downtown, however it is a great base if you plan on cycling Hwy 99 (Sea to Sky), as you will miss all the morning traffic when leaving Vancouver (and there is A LOT of traffic in Vancouver).
  • Public transport and traffic in Vancouver generally sucks! I’ve found it’s usually quicker to cycle somewhere then to catch the bus. If you are staying on the north shore, then there are no trains, which means public transport sucks even more.

Bike & Outdoor Stores

We got our bikes from Bikes on the Drive. Personally, we didn’t have a good experience with them and I wouldn’t recommend them. I’ve heard that Ride On and Ride on Again are both good bike stores to check out. There are LOADS of bike stores in Vancouver – make sure you read the reviews and do some research before dealing with the store.

Mountain Equipment Co (MEC): It is $5 for a lifetime membership and it is definitely worth it. You will love this store. They are dotted all over Canada (in the major cities, though more so in the West), have an AWESOME return policy and sell everything from bike stuff to camping gear to outdoors clothes. There are 2 in Vancouver: one in downtown and one on the North Shore.

Sport Check: Another good outdoor store. Reasonably priced with a good selection. There are a few dotted around the city.

Touristy things to do:

Unfortunately, a lot of the tourist attractions in Vancouver are over-priced, but there are a lot of free or cheap activities to do around the city. A lot of them in my opinion are more interesting than the paid attractions. Definitely skip Capilano Suspension Bridge. It’s a tourist trap and it’s ridiculously overpriced. You are going to see way more impress things on your cycle trip anyway. But, don’t skip the North Shore – it’s awesome.

North Shore

Here’s an idea of a day itinerary that I used to recommend to family and friends visiting Vancouver:

Head to Canada Place and spend a bit of time walking around the waterfront and admiring the seaplanes, view, sails on the building etc. Then, catch the ferry from there to Lonsdale Quay (on the North Shore).

At Lonsdale Quay you have a great view of Vancouver’s cityscape. There is a lookout you can walk up to and get an even better look. There is also a small market, a craft brewery (with ‘ok’ beer) and a cheap “all you can eat” Chinese buffet – if you want to start carb-loading. Lonsdale Quay also has a farmer’s market every Saturday during the summer, and a night market every Friday night during the summer months. The ‘Japanese style burrito’ food truck at the night market is delicious!

Lonsdale Quay has the North’s Shore main bus terminal. From here you can catch buses to several different trails and attractions.

A) Capilano regional Park, the Salmon hatchery, Cleveland Dam & Grouse Mountain

Take bus #247 towards Grouse Mountain. Get off the bus at Capilano Suspension Bridge or Cleveland Dam for Capilano Regional Park* (click here to see a map of the park with trails and bus stop locations).

The regional park is free and has some amazing views of the canyon and really nice walks through the rain forest. In my opinion it’s nicer than the park. I recommend heading to the Salmon Hatchery first (it’s free and takes about 30 minutes to walk to from the Capilano suspension Bridge and about the same from Cleveland dam).

From the salmon hatchery head over the bridge to the lookout that looks up at Cleveland dam (trail #8 on the map). The Coho Loop is also a nice loop to do if you want to explore a bit more. After exploring this area you can head up to the top of Cleveland Dam. It is really beautiful and a nice place for a picnic.

Once finished at the dam, you can head to the bus stop on the road. You have a couple of options here:

  • You can catch the #247 up to Grouse Mountain. Grouse Mountain has a gondola you can take up to the top ($40+). Or, you can hike the Grouse Grind (check that it’s opened if visiting in May or earlier). It’s a steep, but short hike to the top. It’s then only $10 to catch the gondola backdown, plus you get the chance to see all the attractions at the top (grizzly bears, lumberjack show, bird of prey shows etc.) and a nice view of Vancouver. Grouse Mountain has a free shuttle back to Canada Place for anyone that rode the gondola. The bus takes you over the Lion’s Gate Bridge.
  • Catch the #247 back to downtown Vancouver. This bus also takes you over the Lion’s Gate bridge. You do have the option of getting off the bus near Stanley Park.

You can also walk up the Grouse Mountain from the dam. It’s about a 30 minute walk just along the main road.

  • If you want to skip Capilano Regional Park, the salmon hatchery and Cleveland Dam, you can always stay on bus #247 from Lonsdale until the end, which is Grouse Mountain.

B) Lynn Valley and the suspension bridge (the free suspension bridge)

Take bus #228 to Lynn Valley. Get off on Lynn Valley road near the suspension bridge and follow the signs (the bus driver can tell you when to get off). There are some nice walks around the park, including the smaller, but free suspension bridge, some pools that you can swim in, and lots of canyons and waterfalls.

Alternatively, if you want to try some longer hikes you can stay on the bus until Lynn Valley Headwaters Park. There is a hike to a waterfall, and a longer hike, which leads up to Grouse Mountain (this is quite a difficult hike, so don’t attempt unless you are prepared – it also takes at least half a day to a day).

I’ve only mentioned a couple of hikes that you can do from Vancouver, however there are loads. If you are interested in doing any other hiking then definitely check out Vancouver Trails.

Capilano Suspension Bridge - the Lynn Valley one is much nicer!
Capilano Suspension Bridge – the Lynn Valley one is much nicer!

Deep Cove

Deep cove is also a nice place to check out. It’s a small town on the Indian Arm inlet, which has some great (and reasonably priced kayak hire), a famous donut shop and a nice hike known as Quarry Rock.

To get there either take the #219 bus from Lonsdale Quay to Phibbs Exchange, then catch bus #212 or #211 to Deep Cove. Or you can catch the #211 from downtown Vancouver all the way to Deep Cove.

Kayaking at Deep Cove
Kayaking at Deep Cove

Stanley Park

You can’t really visit Vancouver without taking a stroll or cycle around Stanley Park. It’s huge and it’s busy, but it’s still definitely worth doing. Usually people will cycle around the seawall and follow the cycle path along the waterfront taking in all the sites along the way. The cycle path follows the waterfront from Canada to Place, around the seawall (under the Lion’s Gate bridge), around the stadiums and science musuem, Granville Island and Kitsilano. It’s definitely a nice cycle – but it can be extremely busy.

There are also a lot of walks around the park, but personally I think the best way to see it is to cycle.

During the summer Stanley Park also has free outdoor movies.

Craft Breweries

We decided beer is pretty important and Vancouver has some pretty great craft breweries. So we thought we had better make a whole section in this “Vancouver City Guide for Cycle Tourists” dedicated to it. Since writing this guide we have also started a new site dedicated to cycle friendly breweries – check it out at Beercycle Touring.

Black Kettle on the North Shore is a small, but very good brewery. It’s in the industrial area, and is only a small place, but definitely a great spot – especially if you want to get off the tourist trail.

Steamworks does good beer and also good food (I highly recommend the quinoa burger). They are located in Gastown.

Granville Island brewery is super popular, and you will find it all over Canada. The brewery is pretty cool though, and they do brewery tours. The hummus plater is also really good.

I didn’t think much of the beers at the brewery in Lonsdale Quay, but they do have a pretty cool location.

Though it’s not in Vancouver, if you do make it up to Whistler, The Whistler Brewery does a very good Grapefruit beer.

If you want to try a bunch of local brews for cheap, then head to the liquor store and grab a few different ones to try. Drinking beer is carb loading – so, it’s great preparation for cycle touring wink, wink.

Enjoying craft beer at one of the breweries in Vancouver
Enjoying craft beer at one of the breweries in Vancouver

Liquor Stores

BC has 2 types of liquor stores:

  • Government owned (BC liquor): these stores are generally cheaper, but don’t always sell cold beer. When they do sell cold beer it’s usually only bud and coronas (if you’re lucky).
  • Privately owned: more expensive, but they usually have cold beers and wine for sale. They are more likely to sell a larger range of local beers and wines, however this is not always the case.

A lot of the privately owned liquor stores will have tasting nights of either local BC wines or beers. It’s worth keeping an eye out for these.

Free Events in Vancouver to watch out for:

Vancouver loves fireworks.

There are several firework displays on every summer. Celebration of Light and Canada Day (1st July) are 2 of the big ones. There will also be several smaller ones throughout the summer.

Night markets.

  • Richmond Night markets (Saturday night)
  • Lonsdale Quay (Friday night)

There are actually a whole bunch all over the city. This article (though for 2016) does a good job at describing all the different night markets in Vancouver.

Farmers markets.

These are dotted all around the city. Whatever day you are in Vancouver, if it’s summer, it’s likely you’ll be able to find one on, whatever day you’re there.

Outdoor movie nights.

Stanley park open aired movies are free and on every Summer. There are also a few smaller companies that have free outdoor movie showings at different locations through the Summer. The best place to find out about these is in the Straight free magazine or on Vancity Buzz (which I just discovered is now called Daily Hive).

Free salsa classes.

Free walking Tour. 

There are also lots of parades and festivals going on in Vancouver over Spring and Summer, such as the Vancouver’s International Jazz Festival and the Pride Parade. The free magazine called The Georgia Straight is the best place to check out events and festivals.

There is also some pretty useful information on the bicycle section of the Vancouver Tourism site, including information about bicycle events and links to cycle maps.

Sunset in Vancouver, while waiting for the fireworks to start, Vancouver City Guide for Cycle Tourists
Sunset in Vancouver, while waiting for the fireworks to start

Getting in & out:

So I’ve already mentioned how bicycle friendly Vancouver is with all the cycle paths, and public transport that can carry bicycles, but what about getting in and out of the city.

Vancouver Island:

There are two options for getting to and from Vancouver island and both involve BC ferries.

Nanaimo – West Vancouver

Victoria (Swartz Bay) – Vancouver (Tsawwassen)

To the rest of BC:

The two most popular routes out of Vancouver (if you’re heading across Canada) are 1) the Sea to Sky highway to Whistler/ Pemberton and, 2) Highway 1 to Hope (or rather the roads that parallel highway 1 to Hope).

Personally, I would recommend the sea to sky highway, as it is a beautiful ride with stunning views, but it is a little longer and a bit more hilly than the alternative route. The highway does get a little narrow in sections, as does the hard shoulder. Something else to keep in mind is that bicycles are prohibited on sections of Highway 1 from Vancouver to Hope. This means you will have to take the quieter country roads (which I think are actually much nicer, just not as direct), for part of this route. Check out our Canada route notes or our ebook on Cycling Canada for more information about the roads out of Vancouver.

And that much pretty sums up our Vancouver City Guide for Cycle Tourists. Vancouver is an awesome city! We absolutely loved living there, so hope you enjoy exploring the city too.

If you have any questions or suggestion on how to improve this Vancouver City Guide for Cycle Tourists, please let us know. We’d love to hear your feedback!