With the summer on its way, great weather coming back and myself heading to the island this weekend for a little bike trip of my own, I thought why not repost one of my favourite interviews. As a local business ourselves, and a love for pedalling around the city, when we heard about City Cycle Tours I thought it was a genius idea! So with the bike season full underway, we thought would repost our chat with Josh Bloomfield (The founder/owner of City Cycle Tours). Here is what h said, which we think everone needs to know...or at least find very interesting.
Do you find City Cycle Tours gets more tourists or locals participating?
We primarily have catered to visitors in the past due to the nature of our tours, but I’ve found that locals are getting more and more into learning about their city. In early June we will be launching the “Art Wheelers” tour program, which is a series of tours exploring Vancouver’s public art installations by bike! I’m expecting this will attract a lot of locals.
Which of the 5 tours City Cycle offers is your favourite?
I have to say my favourite tour is the Food Tour. I can’t think of a better way to explore Vancouver then by biking around and sampling delicious local cuisine bevies on a beautiful summer day? The best part is meeting the personalities behind the making the food as we tour around.
After reading your and your other guides bios I noticed you all share a passion for both biking and meeting new people, what is it about biking that you think can bring people together?
There is definitely a spirit of curiosity and friendliness that exists with all of our staff. We have all traveled by bike and know how much it means to get help from strangers and make new friends while traveling. I think it’s something we all keep in mind while we’re guiding in Vancouver.
Vancouver is known for its rain, has this affected your business at all?
Our tours operate from May through early October and rain is inevitable. While we provide ponchos and recommend that our guests come prepared with appropriate rain gear, we keep our tours moving so that guests don’t get cold and pop in for a warm drink if necessary. I think the Temperate Rainforest in Stanley Park is even more beautiful in the rain anyways!
Do you have any tips for us to prepare to ride through the rainy season (which can be all year long)?
The most important tip is to keep a positive attitude and embrace the rain. Having some good quality rain gear (jacket, rain pants, shoe covers) tucked into your backpack or pannier is definitely the way to go. Fenders help keep a lot of the road water off of your legs and face too!
Vancouver is a relatively young city, but it does have an interesting past. What is your favourite Vancouver fact that maybe not everyone knows?
Kingsway was once a horse cart path from the Hastings Mill (where Gastown is now) and New Westminster, which was the former capital. That’s why its runs diagonally across the entire grid system of Vancouver’s roadways. There is tons of interesting history, but you’ll have to come on a bike ride so I can show you in person!
With the extensive biking you have done you must know a thing or two about fixing them but for those of us who are not mechanically blessed where would you suggest we go in the lower mainland?
When I started touring while living in Japan, I really didn’t know anything about taking care of my bike... not even how to properly lubricate my chain. I learnt as I went. Learning the basics of how to maintain your bike is really quite easy if you have a good teacher. I recommend the skills courses offered by HUB (https://bikehub.ca/), for those living in the Vancouver region, but there are also lots of online tutorials on YouTube. You’ll feel empowered to go anywhere once you know the basics.
What do you think Vancouver should do next to continue to improve cycling in the city?
The more infrastructures we have, the more people will feel that cycling is a safe and convenient way to get around the city. More bike lanes, routes, parking, and workplace facilities for bikes the better.
As someone who did not grow up in Vancouver, what was/is it that made/makes you stay?
I love getting up in the morning and seeing the mountains and ocean being so close. Vancouver is a big city with a small town feel. There is so much to do year-round, both outdoors activity and indoors with its diverse culture and arts scenes.
You and your other guides have gone on some pretty epic cycling trips, do you see anything like that in the future for City Cycle Tours?
We’d like to expand into multi-day tours, perhaps taking guests to nearby Gulf Islands, but right now we are focusing on getting more people touring the city on bikes.
What should we expect next from City Cycle Tours?
Like I said, new for this summer is our Art Wheelers Tour. Our mission really is to get more people enjoying bike rides and learning about Vancouver, so we are going to continue to find new, interesting itineraries and topics to draw out more riders. Most of all, we are going to keep going with this project, because we love riding bikes, telling stories, and having fun with our guests.
For more information on City Cycle Tours, or to book a tour, check out their website!
