Today's Discovery Bike Ride to Barnston Island

We started pretty early  today, 8 am. We had a nice small group: we started from Memorial Peace Park with Dave, Geoff, Tracey and myself, and Diane joined us at the Golden Ears Bridge. It was a cloudy day, and somewhat on the cool side. A perfect day for a ride.

For me this was the second time to bike to and around Barnston Island.

It's such a treat to be able to bike on the separated path along Golden Ears Way on the Surrey side, and then the trail through Tynehead Park. Then we took the pedestrian/cyclist bridge to cross Hwy. 1, at 168th Street. Turned right at 104 Ave., a nice stretch of downhill coasting (which means uphill on the way back of course....), and arrived at the cute Barnston Island ferry.

The 10 km ride around the island is very pleasant. Hardly any cars. We stopped at the Robert Point rest area, which is actually a regional park. There was someone from Metro Vancouver doing a park user satisfaction survey. I wouldn't be surprised if we were the only ones filling out the survey during the four hours that he was supposed to sit there, poor guy!  

I took some pictures, but unfortunately I don't have any from the island, because by accident I had my camera set to "film"....

Separated path along Golden Ears Way

Dave eating super sweet blackberries

Trail through Tynehead Park

Barnston Island ferry

Update Oct. 15: Tracey just sent me the link to her great blog post about our ride with lots more pics.

Discovery Bike Ride to "Goodbye Chums"

Four of us - Dave, Barb, Tom and myself - braved the rain and cold today to ride to the Goodbye Chums event and the Grand Opening of the new Bell Irving Fish Hatchery on 256th Street. We started off ready to burn off some calories after the annual volunteer pancake breakfast at Red Robin, served by Mayor Daykin and his crew. We followed the 123 route up to 240th Street. Instead of continuing along Dewdney, we rode along the quiet, scenic back roads and down 256th to the hatchery. Great route, even though Dave was complaining that it wasn't exactly a direct route. It did add several more kms, but if you're not in a hurry it certainly beats busy Dewdney Trunk Road. It was getting kind of cold once the rain started soaking through towards the end, but there was life-saving coffee and timbits thanks to Timmy's once we got there, and after the enthusiastic presentations also great food, courtesy of Panago.

You kind of take it for granted that you can always go to the supermarket and find some tasty salmon for a special dinner. The passionate people at KEEPS (Kanaka Education and Environmental Partnership Society) are doing a really important job of helping to keep our rivers and oceans well stocked with salmon and they deserve a big thank you. I thought it was really neat for the kids to take the small salmon fry down to the river and release them, knowing that in a few years they'll be back to spawn and complete the cycle of life.

Only 2 photos to show of the ride:

Ready to start our ride

At the hatchery
Photo: Ross Davies of KEEPS

Discovery Bike Ride Goodbye Chums

On Sunday April 21 we're hoping - weather permitting - to go on our first Discovery Bike Ride of the season, to the Goodbye Chums event at the Bell-Irving Fish Hatchery on 256th Street (11 am - 3 pm). This is also the day of the Grand Opening of the new Fish Hatchery building. We will be leaving from Red Robin Restaurant, at the corner of 227th and Lougheed, at 10:30 am. A perfect opportunity to work off those extra calories for those of you attending the annual Volunteer Pancake Breakfast at Red Robin!

Our rides should be considered "non-guided". This means that you're welcome to follow us, but you do so at your own risk.

It would be great if you could let us know ahead of time if you're planning to join us, but if that's not possible that's fine too. If it looks like rain, be sure to check our blog to see if the ride has been canceled (will be posted by 9 pm the evening before).

Ride to Cranberry Festival Fort Langley, Oct. 6

Haven't bought your cranberries yet for Thanksgiving? Well, why don't you join us for possibly our last Discovery Bike Ride of the year, to the Cranberry Festival in Fort Langley, on Sat. Oct. 6. This is the second year we're doing this ride.

We'll meet up at Memorial Peace Park at 10:00 am. For those who live closer to the Golden Ears Bridge, we'll have two pick-up points:

• at 10:20 at Ridge Meadows College on Thorne Ave.
• at 10:40 at the roundabout to the bridge on the Pitt Meadows side, at the end of the Airport Parkway

The festival lasts from 10 am to 4 pm. 

Note that our rides are "unguided". This means that you're welcome to meet us at the suggested times and to ride along with us, but you do so at your own risk. We choose quiet routes where possible. If you need some guidance on the way back, feel free to tag along with any of us (make sure you make arrangements before we split up at the festival). I'll try to remember to bring along some new free Translink bike maps for those who don't have one yet.

In case we cancel the ride due to rain, it'll be posted on our blog rmcyclist.info on Friday Oct. 5 by 8 pm. 

Hope to see you on Oct. 6!

Ride Central Valley Greenway to Year of the Bike Party Vancouver, Sat. Apr. 28

This coming Saturday, April 28, we're planning (depending on the weather) to go on our first Discovery Bike Ride for the season, and we hope to gather a crowd to join us on this ride! We'll be heading out to the Year of the Bike Party in Vancouver, a big celebration for the VACC, since we'll be revealing our new look and name!

We'll be meeting at Hume Park (at Braid Station) at noon. The ride will follow the Central Valley Greenway to Science World. Along the way we'll be joining up with other groups riding from all over Metro Vancouver to the party. The final meet-up will be at 2 pm at Science World and from there we'll ride en masse to the party at the Woodwards building. This is going to be an awesome ride!! It will be about 20 km one way. On the way to the party, Rick Halas and/or Peter Jongbloed will be leading the ride.

The party should be a lot of fun, with lots of family activities, music, dancing and, of course, food! Take a look at the VACC website for the details. Would be nice if you can dress up for the occasion. There are prizes to be won!

It'll be up to participants if they want to go back on their own, or hook up with some others in the group to go together. You can either ride your bike back to Braid Station, or take the Skytrain back (it's a short, easy and pleasant ride from the Woodwards building along the Carall Street Greenway and the separated paths along False Creek to Main Skytrain Station).

We would like to get an idea how many people would be interested in joining us on this ride, so please let me know  @ jchow23708@yahoo.ca. If you send me an e-mail, I can also let you know if the ride has been canceled due to the weather. 

Discovery Bike Ride to Golden Ears Cheeseworks and Cakelicious, Sun. Dec. 4

Who's up for the last Discovery Bike Ride for this year?!?!

We have two great destinations lined up for you for this coming Sunday, Dec. 4.
It looks like we're going to have a sunny day. Just put some warm gloves on!

We will be leaving from Big Feast Bistro, 11920 227 Street, at 10:30 am.

Our first destination will be Golden Ears Cheeseworks (22270 128th Avenue ), which just opened this spring.
I announced our visit, so I'm sure we'll get to taste some yummy samples of the different kinds of artisan cheeses they produce.

For desert we'll be heading to Fraserview Village Hall (22610 - 116th Ave. - Pool Side Lounge), where another local company, Cakelicious, is having an Open House, from noon to 4 pm. Meet Heidi, the owner, and creator of the amazingly awesome looking cakes and cupcakes on her website.

Here's the approximate suggested route. This route is only about 9 kms, but there are some steep sections south of Lougheed that might require some of us to get off our bikes and walk. We're not in a hurry, so you can take your time and we'll wait for you.

As usual, I emphasize that the route is only a suggestion. Everyone is responsible for his/her own safety, as well as of any accompanying children. You're welcome to tag along!

Hope to see you Sunday!

photo Discovery Bike Ride #7, Cranberry Festival Fort Langley

Here's a photo of a group of participants of our 7th - and probably last? - Discovery Bike Ride of this year to the Cranberry Festival in Fort Langley on Sat. October 8.

photos of Greenest Household Discovery Bike Ride, Aug. 20

The weather was super, the company was great, and the destinations were awesome! It would have been nice of Casey to pull me up the hills, but oh well, I did get my exercise for the day!

Thanks for Geoff and Liz for being such wonderful hosts, and telling us all about their admirable efforts to make their household as green as possible. We really enjoyed strolling around in their vegetable garden and learning about companion planting and other details about growing your own food. Liz does lots of canning throughout the summer as well, so their pantry is well stocked for the winter. Geoff tries to take advantage of every bit of sun we get here in Maple Ridge with his solar panels. Liz doesn't just have a green thumb, she's also a skilled artist, and their house is adorned with her wonderful paintings and sketches.

After biking up and down the hills in east Maple Ridge, Liz's blueberry squares and refreshing lemon barley water tasted superb!

Click here and here to see the photos of this latest Discovery Bike Ride.

Discovery Bike Ride #5: Greenest Household in Maple Ridge, Sat. Aug. 20

Our next Discovery Bike Ride will be on Saturday, Aug. 20, to the Greenest Household in Maple Ridge. This will be an 18 km ride, with some hills, but we'll take it easy. There is a short stretch of horse trail included in the route as well where we may have to walk, so don't put on your best shoes!

We'll start the ride at 11:00 am at Starbucks at 240th Street and Dewdney, which is right along the 123 Bike Route. Here's the suggested route, which we'll ride counter-clockwise. Our first stop will be at the Bell Irving Fish Hatchery (B) for a picnic, so bring your lunch!

The second stop will be at Geoff and Liz Hancock's place on 244 Street (A). In August 2009 they won first prize in a "Greenest Household Contest" organized by the Metropolis at Metrotown Green Team, and were featured in an article in the Vancouver Sun. Let's go check it out and see for ourselves what we can learn from them.

If you like to do this ride, please send an e-mail to Jackie at jchow23708@yahoo.ca.

Please note that our rides are "unguided", and cyclists following the suggested route do so at their own risk.

Our First "Discovery Bike Ride"

Last Saturday morning a group of 16 people met at Big Feast Bistro in downtown Maple Ridge for a little cycling adventure. It was the first of a series of Discovery Bike Rides that the Maple Ridge/Pitt Meadows Chapter is organizing this year to explore Maple Ridge and Pitt Meadows neighbourhoods and surroundings, as well as visit interesting businesses, coffee shops and restaurants. These bike rides are also a great way to make some new, like-minded friends.

On this bike trip we had some minor obstacles to overcome, but somehow if things don't go quite as smoothly as expected, that makes it more of an adventure and even more memorable. Even before we left, Lucy, one of the participants, found she had a flat tire. Rick, one of the co-chairs of our VACC Committee who was there to see us off, helped her quickly fix it, so that we could be on our way. We started off mostly on quiet neighbourhood streets in eastern direction, crossed Kanaka Creek at the Rainbow Bridge, and followed an off-road gravel path along the Albion Flats, continued behind Planet Ice, and via the parking lot at the Albion Sports Fields we reached 240th. We crossed Lougheed Highway to visit a small company, Rainforest Design, that's located just south of the railroad crossing. The owner of the company, Steve Schleicher, was attracting a fair bit of attention as one of the participants of our ride. That was because he wasn't riding just an ordinary bicycle, he was riding his bright yellow velomobile, which is basically a tricycle with a fiberglass encasing built around it. Steve's company designs and manufactures these sleek-looking, aerodynamic, nifty, human-powered vehicles, as well as high-end kayaks. Steve kindly gave us a very interesting tour of his workshop and explained in short the process he uses to make his velomobiles and kayaks.

After the tour it was just a short distance to Kanaka Creek Coffee, our next destination. This is a neat neighbourhood coffee shop, where they may just serve the best coffee in town. After coming in from the cold it sure tasted heavenly to me. The yummy pastries and the cozy atmosphere also contributed to the fact that none of us was in a hurry to get up and get going again. But with our tummies filled and our hands and hearts warmed, and ready for the rest of our adventure, we finally mounted our iron steeds again to discover what else was ahead of us.

We rode through some newer neighbourhoods that made some of us realize that Maple Ridge has been expanding farther and faster than we thought. We started heading back, taking a different route with several unexpected gravel-path short-cuts, where we encountered some more obstacles. At some point a big log on our path had to be moved, and at another Steve needed some help manoeuvering his velomobile to get around some staggered gates to get onto a short steep path going down to a small bridge crossing Horseshoe Creek. He managed to follow us everywhere we went. Sometimes I already have a bit of a problem on my regular bike, with my mirror sticking out of my handlebar, and my big paniers that I purchased a few years ago in Holland, which serve me really well to carry my groceries, but sometimes make it more difficult to navigate between gates or poles that are supposed to keep motorized vehicles out.

We continued in northern direction along Creekside, through the Cottonwood area, crossed Dewdney Trunk Road, and then got onto the signed "123 Route" in eastern direction. This route leads all the way to 203 St., north of Dewdney Trunk Road. We didn't go that far though. After about 20 kilometers of pedaling we were ready for lunch, and so we stopped where we had started, at Big Feast Bistro on 227th Street, where Chef Mike Mulcahy was ready for us. One problem with his menu is that there are so many interesting and delicious dishes that it's difficult to make a choice. So far I've thoroughly enjoyed all the dishes I've tried though, so it's not a big problem. Just close your eyes and pick one!

Some of the feedback received after this ride: "Today's cycle in MR was super"..... "Had a GREAT time! Looking forward to the next one already."

Anyone who would like to join any future Discovery Bike Rides is welcome. We're catering to the average cyclist, and try to ride mostly on quieter neighbourhood streets and off-road paths. There is no cost involved, and you don't need to be a member of the VACC. We will be planning our next ride in May in Pitt Meadows. In June we will be organizing a ride exploring part of the Central Valley Greenway, which connects all the way from New Westminster to Downtown Vancouver. For those who would like to be on the e-mail list of our local chapter of the VACC - so that you can be kept informed of any planned rides and other events or issues of possible interest to Maple Ridge/Pitt Meadows cyclists - please contact Jackie at jchow23708@yahoo.ca. Our Discovery Bike Rides will be announced in the community events calendar of both The Times and The News as well.

Discovery Bike Ride, Sat. April 9, 10:00 am

Time to get your bike tuned up, if you haven't already done so, to get ready to join us for the Discovery Bike Rides we're planning to organize in Maple Ridge and Pitt Meadows this year!

We are hoping that with these Discovery Bike Rides we can help you discover neighbourhoods that you haven't visited, and routes that you may not have considered before, as well as to highlight local businesses that are doing their share to create a better community for us all. Cycling is a great, healthy and fun way to get around in Maple Ridge and Pitt Meadows, whether it's for shopping, to go to school or work, visit friends, to pedal over to a local farm to get your organic, free range eggs, or whatever.

For each Discovery Ride we'll have some interesting and/or tasteful stops planned. We're sure that there are lots of local farms and other businesses, restaurants, coffee shops and perhaps some picnic sites that many of us don't know about yet. We have some ideas, but we also hope that you have some suggestions! We would like to pick destinations in both Maple Ridge and Pitt Meadows, and we can be flexible with our start and finish points. Preferably we should finish at some type of eatery, coffee shop or ice cream parlour, because the "après-vélo" is part of the fun!

Our first Discovery Ride will be on Saturday, April 9 at 10:00 am. We'll be leaving from BIG FEAST BISTRO, 11920 227th street in Maple Ridge. Some of you who participated with our bike ride last year introducing part of the "123 Route" may have tried some of the finger licking delicacies by Chef Mike. I've got my favourites, but then, so far everything I've tried at Big Feast is my favourite, so I'll keep trying new items on the menu. Check out Big Feast's website: http://www.bigfeast.ca/. Big Feast is a very community-, and environmentally friendly business. Mike tries to buy his ingredients locally whenever he can and is big on re-using and recycling. These initiatives are certainly worthy of our support!

But, let's not forget about what's actually the most important part of the event: the ride itself. You can find the approximate route at the following link: http://www.mapmyride.com/routes/fullscreen/30759128/. This route will be close to 20 kms. With some hills. We'll be taking it easy, so don't worry if you have to get off your bike and walk up a hill if you're not in the greatest shape or if you're just a little tired. It's supposed to be enjoyable, and we're not in a rush!

This ride's first stop will be at RAINFOREST DESIGN, at #5 - 9903 - 240th Street (close to the old Albion Ferry), a very interesting local company that designs and manufactures kayaks and velomobiles. You may have seen, in a flash, a yellow velomobile somewhere on our local roads, without knowing that that's what it is. That would have been the company's owner, Steve, who uses his velomobile to get to and from work, for fun, to stay in shape, and to stay dry. Check out Steve's websites: http://velomobiles.ca/ and http://www.nimbuskayaks.com/

From Rainforest Design it's only a short ride to KANAKA CREEK COFFEE, a nice neighbourhood coffee shop, owned and operated by long-time Maple Ridge residents, that's worth a visit. They offer quite a nice variety of coffee, tea and other drinks, including healthy fruit smoothies if that's what you're looking for. Their website: http://www.kanakacreekcoffee.com/. Note that on Wednesdays between 4 and 8 pm there's live music!

We should be back at Big Feast Bistro around lunch time. It's up to you if you want to stay for lunch or head home.

Please note that we will need to ask all participants to sign a waiver at the start of the ride. Please arrive 10 to 15 minutes early to allow us to get the waivers signed. Kids under 18 are welcome to participate, however they will need to be accompanied by an adult, who will be responsible for their safety. Please ensure that any participating children are physically able to complete the ride. On our rides we will try to avoid busier roads as much as we can, however sometimes we may have to ride on a short stretch of a somewhat busier road to connect to quieter streets.

These Discovery Rides are free for participants. However, we will happily accept donations, which will help us to promote cycling in various ways in our communities.

Finally, just a reminder: cyclists are by law required to ride single file on roads, and also to wear helmets.

Please send an e-mail to Jackie at jchow23708@yahoo.ca if you're planning to participate. Also, please let us know if you have any suggestions as to destinations for our Discovery Rides.

Hope to see you on Saturday!