Vancouver is Awesome – Especially on a Pedego Electric Bike
October 31, 2023
Investing in a good rack to carry your bikes on an out-of-town adventure is a game changer.
Taking our ebikes to Vancouver for a quick weekend getaway made for a trip to remember. (The stunning sunny autumn weather also helped.)
I’ve owned my Pedego Interceptor for just over a year and my partner enjoys a Pedego Avenue. Our second riding season was significantly enhanced by adding car hauling capabilities with the ThuleEasyFold XT. We spent the summer exploring trails within our region – the West Kootenay – and then, we did a long haul – from Nelson to Vancouver.
It’s a game of trust when you strap $10,000 worth of ebike to your car. When it’s the guy who’s only had one coffee doing it, my partner Mike, you double check. It’s a good idea anyway. Working at Pedego, I’ve heard the stories of ebikes hitting the pavement and tragically needing repairs. We took a photo of our bikes loaded up in a way that provided the best fit – whose bike goes on first and how to set the pedals. We found we could never remember!
Mike and I made it all the way to Vancouver without incident of course – except a little car sickness and some queasy feelings about gas prices. It was a 10-hour drive, and I was feeling reassured as we rolled into the city because we’d called ahead to our hotel, and we knew in advance that they had a bike room where we could store our Pedegos while we stayed.
The Sylvia Hotel is a fantastic historic hotel right on English Bay and next to the bike trails. The West End of Vancouver is a fantastic home base for cycling in the city. I am not a huge fan of biking amongst traffic and this city has really dialed making it safe for cyclists. Vancouver is known for its excellent cycling infrastructure – dedicated bike lanes, separated bike paths and bike friendly intersections. We found people accepting of cyclists and courteous on the roads.
Venturing out on a sunny Saturday, we biked past the Lost Lagoon to the Stanley Park Seawall, stopping to enjoy sites along the way – the famous totem poles, Siwash Rock, and Brockton Point Lighthouse. The seawall path is well-maintained, smooth, and separated from vehicle traffic, making it safe and comfortable. The views of the Pacific Ocean, the surrounding mountains and nearby dense forest were breathtaking. We stopped at sandy beaches and rocky shorelines to snap some photos.
Having an ebike for this adventure was fantastic. Not only could we cover a lot of ground, having power helped me tackle headwinds! The breeze off the ocean makes for more resistance than I expected.
After a quick lunch, we wanted to keep riding, so we pedaled inland along False Creek past Science World with Granville Island as our destination. We found some delicious baked goods at the public market and enjoyed some great music with the cityscape in the background. The atmosphere was family friendly and laid back.
Ready to call it a day, we found our way to the Burrard Street bridge and ebiked back to English Bay and the Sylvia Hotel. Our batteries were just about spent anyway. Dinner and the sunset rounded out a super day.
When you travel, how do you explore a new city? We love staying in a city centre and parking our car, but walking can be limiting and tiresome. Having a Pedego packed along allowed us to see so much of Vancouver in one day. Where to next?!
Three tips for travel success:
- Take a photo of how your ebikes fit best on your car carrier – whose bike goes on first and how to we set the pedals. When you are leaving town with a lot on your mind, it helps.
- Call ahead and find out if your hotel has bike storage and if they have any specific rules for ebikes. This was a huge load off our minds as we came into the city.
- Gloves are something I plan to keep tucked in my bike baskets as a saving grace. Conditions can change depending on where you ride and what the skies do. I found it cold on the dark side of the seawall with the wind off the ocean adding to the chill.
