Fort Langley - Golden Ears Bridge - Pitt Meadows Ride

This Saturday, August 18, we will be doing an extended bike ride from the Fort Langley Cyclery and back this coming Saturday, August 18. The weather is predicted to be sunny and clear so it will be a good day for a bike ride. As an extended ride of 52 km you will probably want to bring a lunch with you. We will be stopping at a bike friendly coffee shop just on the other side of the bridge but by the time we get to lunch there will not likely be an opportunity to purchase anything where we will be stopping to eat. I have included a link to the route and have attached a map and cue sheet. Here is a description of the route.

This route takes us from Fort Langley Cyclery over the Golden Ears Bridge, with a stop at the Stomping Grounds Coffee shop in Osprey Village, Pitt Meadows near the start of the Pitt Meadows Greenway. After coffee we follow the greenway (packed gravel) to the Lougheed Hwy under the Pitt Meadows bridge and along a multi-use path (paved) parallel to the highway. Then back over the Golden Ears and back to Ft. Langley via the Trans Canada Trail. The ride is mostly flat with the only hills being the Golden Ears Bridge (mostly the return trip) and a few rollers on the Langley side.

Details:

Meet at: Fort Langley Cyclery

Date: August 18, 2012

Time: 9-9:30 AM (we leave promptly at 9:30)

Pace: Leisurely 10-20 kph, we regroup for any stragglers, no one is left behind.

Riding surface: Mixture of paved roads and packed gravel trails

Distance: 52.2 km

Ride Duration: Approximately 4-5 hours depending on stops and speed

Bring: Bike, helmet, water, sun screen, spare tube and/or patch kit

Here is the route we will be taking.

Derby Reach Trail Opening and Group Ride

Metro Vancouver, Trans Canada Trail and the Township of Langley are sponsoring the official opening of the Derby Reach Trail and are inviting the public to the opening ceremonies at the main Derby Reach Park location on Allard Crescent near Edgewater Bar. This is a new section of trail that winds through forest, fields, nears the Fraser River and winds through active farmland to join up with the Edge Farm Trail and Fort to Fort Trail. The trail was constructed with the cooperation of Trails BC, Metro Vancouver as a part of the Experience the Fraser Project, the Trans Canada Trail and local farmers. This section has now been added to the Trans Canada Trail sections that connect from Maple Ridge over the Golden Ears Bridge to the Derby Reach Trail via 102B Street. It then joins onto the Fort to Fort Trail to Fort Langley and connects to the eastern Langley sections of the TCT. This provides another connection in their goal of connecting the entire  22,000 km Trans Canada Trail across Canada by 2017. Here is a map of the new trail section.

More information about the opening ceremonies can be found on the Metro Vancouver Event Calendar.

Group Ride Details

In support Valley VeloRiders is organizing our weekly Saturday Group ride around this event. As usual we will be meeting at the Fort Langley Cyclery at 9-9:30AM and leaving by 9:30. We will follow our normal route go onto the new trail at the 208th trailhead and from there continue on to the Derby Reach site. There the group can stop for lunch, enjoy the opening ceremonies at 1:00 PM or continue on the rest of the route back to Fort Langley. The decision on what to do from Derby Reach will be made by the group at the time.

Date: Saturday, July 23
Meet Location: Fort Langley Cyclery, Fort Langley
Meet Time: 9:00-9:30 AM
Ride Pace: Leisure (15-20 kph)
Route: http://ridewithgps.com/trips/308457

Ride On!
Richard.



Edited 7-21-2011 4:06 PM - Clean up of some of the wording.

Ride Report - Tynehead Park and Perimeter Trail ride

The day was a bit wet to put it mildly, but we left on time from the Fort Langley Cyclery which allowed us the time needed to be at Tynehead for the ribbon cutting ceremony. There were only three of us on this ride, no doubt due to the wet weather but it would have been nice if a couple more hardy souls could have joined us. In spite of the weather we had a lot of fun on the ride and were able to join up with other groups cycling their from Surrey and Maple Ridge. We all got a bit wet, but it was warm and easy to tolerate the poor weather because the route and the company was great.

It is great to see new and family friendly cycling (and walking/hiking) facilities like this become available that allow us to enjoy the outdoors and cycle safely away from traffic so the more people who turn out to support such events only encourages those in decision making positions to do more of the same.

For a more detailed write up on the ride with photos and route map check out the entry on my personal blog, Comfy Cycling along with Alex Pope's report and photos on his Living in Maple Ridge blog.

We hope to see everyone for this coming Saturday's ride to the Derby Reach trail opening. There will be more details about this event in my next post.

Ride On!

Group Ride - Tynehead Park and Bicycle/Ped Overpass opening

Event - Tynehead East Perimeter Trail Opening

This will be a ride from the Fort Cyclery that I will lead that will take us along the Trans Canada Trail from Fort Langley, through Derby Reach to 208th and then onto the Golden Ears Way multi-use path to Tynehead Park on Saturday July 16th. The pace will be a leisurely 15-20 kph (level road speed) and will be a very family friendly route. Because the route will take us along the Trans Canada Trail from Fort Langley to 208th Street which has a gravel surface, road bikes or bikes with skinny racing/training tires will not be suitable for this ride. Hybrid, mountain, kid's and recumbent bikes or trikes (adult) will be suitable and welcome. Round trip the ride will be about 40 km long.

The event is the opening of the 5 km Tynehead Trail and new cycling/pedestrian bridge over the Hwy 1 from Tynehead park. Metro Vancouver Parks are host this grand opening of the bridge and the new Tynehead Park multi-use path. We will be riding this path on the way there and back. Except for a kilometre or so the entire ride will be off the road on trails or paths specifically created for cycling and pedestrian use. This new trail and bridge along with other planned cycling improvements in the area will open up many new route options away from traffic including access to Barnston Island via the Tynehead overpass which is a very pleasant and scenic ride

You can find more detail about this event along with some maps of the various routes at the following links.

Metro Vancouver Parks - http://tinyurl.com/68lrnvd

Vancouver Area Cycling Coalition - Surrey Chapter - http://www.vacc.bc.ca/gold

Meet: Fort Langley Cyclery

Time: 8:30-9:00 AM (we leave by 9:15)

Please RSVP ( Richard Edge ) ride so I know how many are interested. I will then send that number to the VACC to let them know that there will also be a group ride coming from Fort Langley. If you are intending to join us on this ride but find yourself a little late, or have RSVP'ed but can't make it at the last minute, please contact me by phone at (604) 807-8508.

Spring around the corner and ride update

Spring is just a few days away and with it comes milder and improved weather conditions for cycling. The weekly group rides though the winter have been on a "weather permitted" basis and I have been able to get out on a few of them through January and February.

Local Trail News

For those who haven't been around the Edgewater Bar/Derby Reach area in a while, some new sections of multi-use trail have been added. As many of you may know, last year a section of trail was added from 208th Street (half a block north of Allard Crescent) which takes you toward the river, through some farm land then comes back out to Allard. From Allard, another new section of this trail has been added this last Fall/Winter which runs along the north side of Allard Crescent then turns back toward the river and joins with the trail through the Edgewater Bar trails and then the rest of the trail to Fort Langley. I will try to get a route mapped as soon as possible, but have not ridden on the newest section which was still being worked on several weeks ago. Here is a description of the newest section which is a demonstration project of the larger Experience the Fraser project.

"Derby Reach Regional Park: Golden Ears Bridge to Derby Reach Regional Park Connector - the walking/cycling segment in Derby Reach Regional Park is under construction. A grant of $107,000 was received from the Trans Canada Trail Foundation for work in Langley outside the park. This is a partnership between Metro Vancouver and the Township of Langley."

These new sections are to be a part of this much larger project to create multi-use trails from Georgia Straight to Hope along the Fraser River. These new trail sections will now make our route even more "family friendly".

Group Ride Schedule Update

We will continue with the schedule as it is for the time being with some small changes. Because of my involvement in a new part time venture which will require me to attend training sessions on many Saturday mornings, I will likely not be able to lead or join in on many of the next several Saturday rides so I hope someone else will be able to step forward to lead them. I will not be able to lead tomorrow's (March 5) ride, but I have reserved March 12 at the regular 9:30 AM start for a bike ride. Weather permitting, I will be there on that day but other than that I will not be available for the next several weeks for Saturday morning group rides.

Route Map

As a reminder of the route we use for our Saturday group rides here is a map in case you can't find it elsewhere. Note that this map does not include the new trail sections. I will create a new route map at the first opportunity I have to ride the whole route again including the newest trail additions.

VeloRiders 20K Leisure Ride - Fort Langley - Derby Reach Loop

Share your bike routes @ Bikely.com

I will update the blog as this situation changes and hopefully by the time the warmer mid to late Spring weather arrives I will again be able to lead these and other group rides. I will also be looking into arranging other longer rides using different route for later in the Spring or Summer and certainly another Pitt Meadows, Central Valley Greenway and/or US bike ride are possibilities.

Ride On!

Happy New Year - belated

A belated very Happy New Year to everyone.

Yes, I realize it has been a while since my last update, but most of the group activity has been on our bikes. While the Valley VeloRiders mailing list contains about 30-35 people, we do have a small core of 3-7 riders who come out to ride on a semi-regular basis. Even I have not been able to make several of the Fall 2010 rides due to other commitments.


Now this is an informal group and there are no regular ride announcements other than the weekly Saturday rides  as those who want to ride just show up and join the Saturday morning group. I am hoping and planning for bigger and better things for 2011 and maybe even include some longer rides or day tours. I am open to ideas and hopefully we can see a greater turnout this year. The riding season will soon be upon us except for the few (like me) who ride year round.

Don't forget your regular bicycle maintenance and support your local bike shop for cycling related products and services. They are the best option for helping you keeping your bike maintained and supplied with the necessary bike toys :). Two excellent local shops are the Fort Langley Cyclery in Fort Langley and Cranky's Bike Shop in Aldergrove. Both provide excellent service and support.

Hope to see many of you join with us on our Saturday rides on your bikes.

Richard

Summer's Coming

It has been a while since updating the blog due to a number of factors. First, I have personally been quite busy with work, my commitments as chair of our Langley committee of the VACC, team leader for my workplace Bike to Work Week team and life in general. We have been having pretty poor weather for our Saturday bike rides with only two or three good days to ride which has resulted in an understandably poor turnout. Even after my recovery from surgery which went into mid spring the weather was poor and I have only been able to ride on 3 Saturdays myself, only one day of which was sunny. I am ever optimistic that we will have good weather as we approach the summer and that we will have good turnouts as a result.

News

In local Valley VeloRider news, I are planning a little bit more promotion of these weekly rides which will include a poster and route map to be made available through the Fort Cyclery Bike Shop to hand out to those interested. In addition the rides will be promoted through the Langley VACC committee event calendar and other local media outlets. Be sure to let anyone interested know about our rides as well. Also, you can now join on our rides even if you don't currently have a bike as the Fort Cyclery now rents bikes at a very reasonable rate which includes a helmet. Check it out on their Rentals page. Since their Saturday hours are 9AM-5PM the shop will be open for the start of our rides. I have also received a request for ride information from Peter Sylvester for his church's mens group to participate in one of more rides. I have sent him the information he needs along with a link to the route.

Speaking of cycling, many of you may know that June is Bike Month and there are many cycling events planned for the month with Bike to Work Week being the first, starting today and going until June 6th. If you work at Trinity Western University and want to participate sign up at http://www.biketoworkmetrovan.ca/, look for Trinity Western University and join our Valley VeloRiders BTWW team. Log your trips daily which will enter you in the Bike-A-Day give away along with other prizes. Otherwise sign up for your workplace and join an existing team or create you own. Be sure to check out the many events during the month of June starting with Velopalooza via their Facebook link or the Velopalooza web site. Another site to check out is B.E.S.T. 's Bike Month website for other Bike Month news and events.

Lastly, if you want to have a say and participate in cycling issues, infrastructure and advocacy in Langley come to our monthly meetings on the second Tuesday of the month 7-9PM at Langley Civic Centre in the Murray Creek meeting room. More information is available at the VACC main web site an the Langley committee link.

Lets ride.!!

Fort Langley Cyclery - Grand Opening

All are invited to the grand opening at the new Fort Langley Cyclery. There will be several activities planned including the following activities organized by the bike shop owners:

Fort Langley Cyclery Grand Opening

-Enjoy a free BBQ hosted by 100.5 FM The Peak

- try the new Bionx electric assist system for bicycles (we will have a couple of demos for people to try)

-enter to win a free bike (Opus Classico)

Other Activities

In addition the Langley Chapter of the VACC will have an information tent set up with all kinds of cycling information including maps, bicycle operator manuals, cycling advocacy information and much more. Valley VeloRiders will be also be leading a 20km group bike ride from the bike shop through Fort Langley, Derby Reach Park and back. A route of the ride is shown below and will be suitable for all levels of cyclists.

VeloRiders 20K Leisure Ride - Fort Langley - Derby Reach Loop

Share your bike routes @ Bikely.com

Spring has Sprung...time to ride.

Yep, Spring is nearly here. Well I guess it could be argued that it arrived a couple of months ago, but that is another subject. The plans were to start our weekly group rides on March 6th which is tomorrow. Since the weather looks to be sunny and mild it seems like a good day to start.

Fred Lanigan and Dave Jeffery have graciously agreed to lead the first few rides while I continue to recover from surgery until I can return to cycling in early April.

Valley VeloRiders Group Ride - Weekly Group Ride

Ride Type: Leisure
Meet: Fort Langley Cyclery, 2-9110 Glover Road, Fort Langley
Date: Every Saturday Mar. 6 until late fall or later depending on weather.
Time: 9:00 (We leave no later than 9:30 AM)
Duration: 1-1.5 hours depending on stops and pace
Planned Route: http://www.bikely.com/maps/bike-path/VVR-20K-Leisure-Ride-Fort-Langley-Derby-Reach-Loop
Distance: Approx 20 km loop

These group rides are scheduled to occur every Saturday rain or shine except in the worst weather. The ride is designed to be a ride that all members of the family can participate in and due to the location can easily be extended for those wanting a longer ride after arriving back at the bike shop. It will provide a nice outing for all levels of cyclists as well as a nice warm up for those wanting to ride further.

I Ride Video, English

I Ride Video, English
Originally uploaded by communitycyclingcenter

I ride for the fun and exercise and to do my part for the environment. Why do you ride?

If you don't ride why not join us on an upcoming group ride to discover how much fun it can be?

It's official and more.

I know it has been a while since posting anything here, but I have been working on other issues as well. I am hoping that we can see this group grow for next cycling season with more and longer rides suitable for all cycling skills. Due to the time of year the weather probably won't give us much opportunity to schedule any group rides over the next few months, but be ready as we might get a break for some great winter riding for anybody up for it. ;-) Due to the unpredictability of the local weather during this time of the year, any rides will likely be short notice though.

Other News

In other news it is official! What is official you are asking? Well as many of you know one of my dreams is to see increased growth in cycling throughout the Metro Vancouver area, but Langley in particular along with associated infrastrucure for safety and accessibility. One of the long term visions I had was for a cycling advocacy group to be formed in Langley and that has now come to pass thanks to the work of others with the same vision. A couple of months ago, it seems that local transit advocate Nathan Pachal (http://www.southfraser.net/) and Dr. Suzan Guest had the same vision and they organized a meeting of what was then called Cycling Network for Langley Campaign on Thursday September 17. Over 20 people showed up with a desire to join together to improve cycling in Langley. One of the options presented was to become a chapter of the VACC (http://www.vacc.bc.ca/) which is a cycling advocacy group with chapters throughout Metro Vancouver. Most attendees agreed but understandably wanted to know more about the VACC before proceeding. Presentations were made by members of the VACC present including representatives from the Pitt Meadows/Maple Ridge chapter whose assistance through the process has been invaluable. It was agreed that the option of joining the VACC would be tabled to give everyone an opportunity to do some research on the VACC via their web site prior to a final decision.

It was at the second meeting where is was decided in agreement with all present that we take the next step toward forming a Langley chapter of the VACC. You can read more about the second meeting at Nathan's South Fraser blog.

It has now been made official and the Greater Langley VACC chapter has been created. I volunteered as co-chair along with another local cyclist Dan Millsip who was also at both meetings and we will be working together to serve the Langley cycling community in association with other Langley cyclists and VACC chapters. The Langley chapter also has a Yahoo Group which you can subscribe to. Email traffic will likely be fairly low, especially to start with, but I recommend subscribing if you want to stay on top of cycling news and information in Langley. You do not have to be a VACC member to subscribe or attend meetings so we welcome all participation. To subscribe, send an email to VACC-TheLangleys-subscribe@yahoogroups.com.

My work with the VACC The Langleys chapter is separate from work with ValleyVelo Riders as the VACC is about advocacy and Valley VeloRiders is about getting out on our bikes and riding.

Richard

Langley - Pitt Meadows Loop Group Ride - Saturday August 29, 2009

Because a few people have expressed a desire to participate in the ride in response to an informal email invitiation I sent to the group this week to Pitt Meadows tomorrow, I thought I should post some details on the web site. This will be a Leisure-Medium ride.

We will meet at Trinity Western University in front of the Reimer Student Centre between 8:30 and 9:00AM and will leave by 9 AM. The route will take us from TWU through Fort Langley, Bedford Landing and Derby Reach over the Golden Ears Bridge. From the north end of the Golden Ears Bridge we will ride west through Pitt Meadows towards the Pitt River alongside the Pitt River Dyke road to Lougheed Highway and then head east along the shared bike pedestrian path alongside but separated from the Lougheed. This bike path is now open since Pitt Meadows just finished the Katzie Slough Heron Bridge on this path and will take us all the way to Harris Road where we then head soth and then east on Hammond to the Golden Ear Maple Meadows Way bike path to the bridge. We then come back vie the Golden Ears Bridge and back to TWU by the same route through Derby Reach and Fort Langley.

The entire route is on low traffic roads and bike paths which are all paved surfaces.

Here is a map of the route from Bikely.com.

VeloRiders - TWU - Fort Langley - Pitt Meadows Loop

Share your bike routes @ Bikely.com

Central Valley Greenway Ride Report

Central Valley Greenway Loop

Start time: Aug 22, 2009, 09:45 AM
Total distance: 49 km
Total time: 3 hours 20 minutes
Average speed: 14.56 kmph
Total ascent: 411 m
Total descent: 403 m

A great ride along the newly opened Central Valley Greenway from New Westminster Quay to Telus Science World in Vancouver. The CVG is a separated shared bike pedestrian path which was opened in the Spring of 2009 and managed by Translink. It passes near Skytrain station and provides not only a great recreational route but an excellent commuter route for bike commuters. This was a Valley VeloRiders group ride I had originally scheduled for 2 weeks ago but rescheduled for today due to weather. Today’s weather was excellent with sunshine for most of the day, but did noy get too warm. I was joined on the ride by Fred Lanigan and his daughter. It was the first time on this route for all of us and we enjoyed the fact that 90% of the route is separated from traffic and a good part of it goes through some beautiful natural and scenic areas. We were also going to take in the VeloCity exhibit at the Museum of Vancouver but ran out of time.

A very enjoyable day.
Ride On!

Valley VeloRiders Group Ride - Central Valley Greenway (Rescheduled)

Ride Type: Leisure-Medium
Meet: New Westminster Quay (by the large tin soldier)
Date: Saturday, August 15, 2009
Time: 9:00 (We leave no later than 9:00 AM)
Duration: 4-6 hours depending on optional stop at Museum of Vancouver Velo-City Exhibit
Planned Route: http://tiny.cc/YBkVY
Distance: Approx 60 km (including museum stop)

NOTE: This ride has been re-scheduled for Saturday August 15th due to predictions of rain for the weekend of August 8th since couple of us including myself don't have fenders.

Rain cancels the ride. Hybrid, road or mountain bikes will be suitable for this ride as it is mostly paved except a hard pack gravel through the Brunette Fraser Conservation area. A preview of the route is available at http://tiny.cc/9TIgr.

This will be a day trip/ride on the newly completed Central Valley Greenway shared bike route from New Westminster Quay and Science World in Vancouver and back. The route is flat for the most part. More information about the CVG is available at http://www.translink.ca/en/Cycling/Central-Valley-Greenway.aspx.

For those interested we can also check out the “VELO-CITY: Vancouver & the Bicycle Revolution” exhibit at the Museum of Vancouver in Vanier Park which is a much see exhibit for cyclists as well as non-cyclists. Taking in this exhibit will only add about 10 km to the 50 km round trip CVG. Information on this exhibit is available at http://vancouverisawesome.com/2009/06/04/velo-city-at-the-mov/.

Note that the starting location is at the New Westminister Quay (look for the huge tin soldier) where there is plenty of parking but there are a number of options for getting there.

1. I can take two additional people and bikes on my minivan. My bike will fit in the van and I have a rack for two additional standard bikes. Please let me know if you want a ride.
2. You could drive the the King George Skytrain station and take your bikes on the Skytrain to New Westminster Station and ride the 2 blocks from there to New Westminster Quay.
3. Load your bike and drive and park at New Westminster Quay.
   Though there will be access to many stores, restaurants along the way, you may want to bring your own lunch as there will also be plenty of nice loactions to stop and "picnic".
   

Richard

Upcoming Events

Now that spring is well underway and summer is right around the corner there are many cycling events coming up in the Metro Vancouver area in the next few months. June is Bike Month throughout Canada and there are many events scheduled around this theme for the month of June. A full list of upcoming Bike Month events is available at http://www.bikemonth.ca/events.html.

Here is a list of a few other cycling related events going on throughout the next month.

Golden Ears Bridge Completion Celebration Sunday, June 14, 2009

This long awaited and much debated crossing to Pitt Meadows/Male Ridge is finally here. The bridge is scheduled to open to traffic on June 16, but Translink has schedule a pedestrian only bridge opening party on the bridge deck itself on Sunday June 14. This bridge is also important to cyclists as several groups including the VACC lobbied hard to have safe cycling lanes included in the planning which is extended to the roads and approaches to the bridge as well. The VACC will also be joining the party to hand our maps and other cycling materials. Car parking with shuttles as well a cycling valet service will be provided to participants. Secure bicycle valet services are provided by The Bicycle Valet. More information is available at Translink's website.


Langley side Parking and Shuttle Service - Bike Valet Map
Promotional PDF Brochure

Central Valley Greenway Opening

The Central Valley Greenway is a 25 kilometer route from Science World in Vancouver to Westminster Quay in New Westminster. This bike path route has been in the planning and construction phase for a few years now and is scheduled to be completed this month. An opening day ride is planned for June 27th and would be a great opportunity to enjoy a wonderful new cycling oriented route through the Vancouver, Burnaby and New Westminster.

More information about the greenway is available here.

"Canada Day 142" Populaire

From the BC Randonneurs Cycling Club Web site:

This year's route is 142 km long to celebrate Canada's 142th birthday. (Route available later - here's the 2008 route.) The start & finish location is at the Fort Langley Lions Seniors Hall on the corner of Glover Road and 88th (entrance to parking off 88th). There will be 3 controls along the route and each will have water, fruit and some type of sweet (cookies and/or cake). The route offers a mix of terrain and mostly quiet country roads taking you from scenic Fort Langley through Matsqui and quaint Clayburn, across Sumas Prairie, up Sumas Mountain, through Veddar Crossing, returning across Sumas Prairie, through Huntington, Aldergrove and back to Fort Langley.

Wednesday, July 1, start time between 8-9am
Start/end: Fort Langley Lions Hall, 23022 88th Ave (at Glover)
BC Randonneurs Cycling Club Canada Day ride 142km covering
scenic Fraser Valley back roads. $20 entry.Snacks.
Everyone welcome! Roger & Ali Holt 604-946-8438, aliholt@telus.net.
www.randonneurs.bc.ca


MEC Great Rides

MEC and the VACC have teamed up to organize "Great Rides" from July to October this year. From the VACC Great Rides web page:

"MEC Great Rides are circular routes taking in beautiful country lanes, vibrant city centres and fun local festivals. The rides range from 25km to 50km along quiet roads and dedicated bike routes (some of the rides will have the choice of longer or shorter routes) and are a family-friendly way to get out on your bike this summer.

Celebration Stations around the route will provide food, drink and encouragement to keep you going and there will be fun things to see as you go. We want to make the event days as worry-free as possible for riders, so we will be providing mechanical support at the Celebration Stations, plus mobile mechanical support should you have difficulties en route (or need a ride back to the start for whatever reason...) In addition, on the ride day you will get a goody bag with safety equipment from MEC and other cool SWAG, a Great Rides route book, bike valet parking and more...plus a whole day of fun and exploration."

There will be 4 scheduled rides, one each month from July through October as follows:

Sunday July 12th - Countryside, Caribbean music and the Golden Ears Bridge. Bike over the brand new bridge between Maple Ridge and Langley. Have fun at the Caribbean music festival in Maple Ridge and explore the quiet lanes of Langley.

Saturday August 15th - Pitt Meadows - Farms, bees and biking the Fraser River Dikes. Taste local honey, or see a bee beard at the honey festival. Bike by farmland surrounded by mountains and along the dikes beside the Fraser and Pitt Rivers.

Sunday September 27th - Port Coquitlam - Bike the Rivers and Trails Festival. Music, rivers, trails and festivities. Enjoy the September weather on your bike along the PoCo Trail.

Sunday October 4th - The Bikennale! A combination bike ride and cultural event, ride between monumental sculptures, music and performance events. Explore the bike paths from Stanley Park to Jericho Beach and beyond to UBC and Queen Elizabeth Park.

Register for one or more of the rides at the VACC Great Rides registration page. There is a cost to these rides as they are partially supported rides with refreshments and mechanical support at the various community stations. See the VACC Great Rides web site for more information.

Velo-City: Vancouver & the bicycle revolution June 4 to September 7, 2009

Vancouver Museum, 1100 Chestnut Street
Vancouver's human-powered revolution that's changing the way people experience and relate to the city, their neighborhoods, and to their own bodies. 604-736-4431,
http://www.museumofvancouver.ca/exhibition.php?id=6

Valley VeloRiders Group Ride

We also have a Valley VeloRiders Group Ride scheduled for Saturday June the 20th (Corrected Date) and participants are invited to my home at the end of the ride for lunch and fellowship. Here are the ride details.

Ride Type: Leisure-Medium
Meet: Reimer Student Centre Cafeteria
Time: 8:00 (We leave no later than 8:30 AM)
Duration: 3-4 hours depending on stops
Planned Route: http://www.bikely.com/maps/bike-path/VVR-Golden-Ears-Bridge-Route
Distance: 57 km

This is a new route that will not have been ridden by anyone yet as it takes us over the Golden Ears Bridge which will be opening to traffic on June 16th. Because parts of the route around the bridge are not yet mapped we will have to play things by ear a bit as the roads and approaches are so new. We will also be starting earlier this morning than previous rides.

The ride will take us around Pitt Meadows following the Fraser and Alouette Rivers along the dyke road. As this ride could incorporate riding on some non-paved bike paths, bikes with skinny road tires are not recommended. Mountain bikes or hybrid bikes would be best for this ride. The route is mostly flat with a 1.2 km climb near the beginning and a longer less steep climb into Forest Hills.

I would like to also invite anyone joining on the ride to stop at my home on the way back for lunch and refreshments before riding the last 4 km to TWU. Please RSVP if you are wanting to stop for lunch at my place so that we know how many people to prepare for.

Richard.

May 23 Group Ride Report

We had a good turn out for today's ride with beautiful weather promised for the day. Indeed the day started on a high note with a beautiful mild sunny morning. Seven people including myself turned out for today's ride which took us south from TWU out to Derby Reach, with a lunch stop in Fort Langley at the picnic area of the Fort Langley Historic Park. From there we went out past Glen Valley to Bradner road and back. The group split up as some took a wrong turn but the group rejoined back at TWU all safe and sound. It was a most enjoyable ride and we could not have asked for a better day.

A good time was had by all. Here is the map of the route.

VeloRiders - TWU-Glen Valley Loop 5-23-2009

Share your bike routes @ Bikely.com

Here are a couple of photos of the ride.

From VeloRiders Group Ride - 5-23-2009

The group (minus me).

From VeloRiders Group Ride - 5-23-2009

Landa and Jeff powering up a hill.

From VeloRiders Group Ride - 5-23-2009

Dave and Jeff.

From VeloRiders Group Ride - 5-23-2009

Enjoying a brief stop at Derby Reach Park. In the photo are Jeff, Angus and Landa. More photos are available through the gallery link on the left.

Richard.

Valley VeloRiders Group Ride - Saturday May 23, 2009

Valley VeloRiders Group Ride

Ride Type: Medium-Medium
Meet: Reimer Student Centre Cafeteria
Time: 9:30 (We leave no later than 10:15 AM)
Duration: 3-4 hours depending on stops
Planned Route: http://www.bikely.com/maps/bike-path/VVR-NW-Langley-Ft-Langley-Gle-Valley-Loop-5-23-2009
Distance: 57 km

With sunshine on the way for the next several days it seemed the right time to schedule another group ride. Saturday the 23 is looking particularly nice with sunshine and temperatures into the low 20's being predicted. This will be another ride to take us through the north Langley, Derby Reach, Fort Langley, Glen Valley and then back to TWU. We will stop in Fort Langley for a bit of a lunch break where there are several options open to us.

As it will be sunny all day don't forget sunscreen and plenty of water/hydration and snacks for lunch/breaks.

Valley VeloRiders Group Ride @ Sat May 9 9:30am – 12:30pm (Richard Edge)

Valley VeloRiders Group Ride

Sat May 9 9:30am – 12:30pm (Timezone: Pacific Time)
Trinity Western University, 7600 Glover Road, Langley, BC (map)

Ride Type: Medium-Medium
Meet: Reimer Student Centre Cafeteria
Time: 9:30 (We leave no later than 10 AM)

Planned Route: http://www.bikely.com/maps/bike-path/ValleyVeloRiders-Langley-Glen-Valley-Derby-Reach

Distance: 57 km

The group ride scheduled for today, Saturday May 9 is on as scheduled and a map of the route can be found at http://www.bikely.com/maps/bike-path/ValleyVeloRiders-Langley-Glen-Valley-Derby-Reach. The weather is looking great fantastic so it should be a great day for a bike ride. I hope many more of you will be able to make it for the ride. We will meet at 9:30 at the front of the Reimer Student Centre Cafeteria and leave by 10 AM.

Richard.

Valley VeloRiders Group Ride @ Sat Apr 25 9:30am – 12:30pm (Richard Edge)

Valley VeloRiders Group Ride

Sat April 25 9:30am – 12:30pm
(Timezone: Pacific Time)
Trinity Western University, 7600 Glover Road, Langley, BC (map)
Calendar: Richard Edge

Owner/Creator: valleyveloriders@gmail.com
Other attendees:TBA

Ride Type: Medium-Medium
Meet: Reimer Student Centre Cafeteria
Time: 9:30 (We leave no later than 10 AM)
Planned Route: TBA
Distance: 57 km

Circumstances have come up which prevents me from going on the ride this Saturday and with many others involved with graduation ceremonies this weekend I decided to re-schedule this ride for Saturday May 9. The route may or may not be the same. I will update this event sometime in the next week.

VeloRiders Group Ride

The weather delivered as promised and we had a great ride today. There were only three of us on today's ride, Landa Terblanche, Mel Buhler and I but we had a great time enjoying the ride and the early Spring scenery. We kept to the planned route and stopped at the 18 km point n Fort Langley and enjoyed a nice lunch break at Wendell's Bookstore and Cafe. We encountered quite a few other cyclist along the route going in both directions and while having lunch a group of about 30-40 cyclists came through riding moslty hybrid bikes. The weather was still a bit cool in the shade but the sun was quite warm making for a very enjoyable ride and a couple of hours exercise and fellowship. Here is the map of today's route.

VVR Group Ride - 4-04-2009

Share your bike routes @ Bikely.com

I have uploaded some photos taken on the ride which can be viewed by clicking on the gallery in the lower left, but in the meantime here are a couple of photos.

From VVR - Group Ride - 4-04-2009

Landa. We stopped here to re-group after a bit of a climb up 240th.

From VVR - Group Ride - 4-04-2009

 Landa and Mel.  We just arrived back at TWU at the end of the ride.



Hope to see more on the next ride when the weather is a little more predictable. Stayed tuned for information on another ride this month, the Bike the Blossoms ride. I will be posting some information about plans for the ride in the next several days.

Richard.