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(photos: Eric)

Tour of Greater Vancouver (Permanent 30)
by Eric Fergusson

This is another Bob Koen route - this one never gets too far from home if you live in Greater Vancouver. It covers roads, including bike routes, that we all know intimately. It also uses bike paths, both paved and gravel. The day I rode started cloudy but became sunny and unseasonably warm. It's a route that reminds us that we live in a truly beautiful place.

I happened to run into Alex Pope on his way to work that morning (on his 45 km commute in from Maple Ridge). When he later saw my time he wondered if maybe I was taking it easy. My answer was no - I went my normal pace, even pushing it some stretches. Still it took me almost 11 hours. I did stop and take pictures, but that wasn't really it. I think that there are a lot of little things slowing us down on this route that add up to a lot of time. So allow yourself a lot of extra time for this one. I might even try a 6 a.m. start next time.

One part I didn't like was the River Road stretch in North Delta which you'll hit at the early end of rush hour if you ride on a weekday (with a 7 a.m. start). Lots of trucks... some sections with inadequate shoulders. Consider using the sidewalk when you get to the hill. This stretch also lacks the natural beauty of the rest of the route.

After you cross back over to New West you start the Bob's-Wacky-Urban-Adventure part of the route. The main corridor is the 7-11 bike path that runs under the skytrain between New West and Trout Lake. Unless you're really fast you'll probably be doing this in the dark this time of year. I had a little trouble refinding that path a couple of times and after Slocan Park I ran around in circles and never did find the path. Side streets took me through to Nanaimo Station where the path was again easy to find. It might be worth studying this whole section of the route carefully. Once you're back on Victoria at Trout Lake, well, Bob's you uncle - it's an easy run into Kits on the 10th Avenue bike route.

Ride date: December 3, 2008
Go to: Route 30 (206 km)

Go to: Permanents results

December 6, 2008