Local commuters get competitive ahead of Spring Bike to Work Week in Vancouver

Spring Bike to Work Week may not begin until Monday (May 29), but this morning (May 24), residents from across the Lower Mainland had the chance to test the efficiency of commuting by bike as part of the biannual event’s Rush Hour Challenge.

Organized by HUB Cycling, a Vancouver-based nonprofit that advocates for urban cycling and cycling-related education, the event saw 30 employees from 10 local businesses racing their colleagues by car, bike, and public transit. The friendly competition is meant to challenge misconceptions that cycling is often slower or more inconvenient than other modes of transport, while encouraging Vancouverites to hop on bikes as an accessible form of fitness.

The Georgia Straight participated in the race alongside organizations such as the City of New Westminster, Vancity, and TransLink. I travelled by car; Nav Chhina, our promotions and special projects manager, travelled by transit; and one of our production superstars, K.T. Dean, travelled by bike.

We agreed to begin the race from Cambie Street and West 41st Avenue and were tasked with arriving at the finish line, the London Drugs on Granville Street, by 9 a.m. (The total distance was approximately six kilometres.)

I had already suffered through a hellish commute to Vancouver from the Tri-Cities (there was an accident on Highway 1), so I wasn’t feeling too hot about my chances of coming in first. And while K.T. is a regular biker, we were putting our money on Nav, who was joking about giving us a head start because all he needed to do was take the Canada Line a few stops.

To our surprise, K.T. ended up arriving first with a time of 18 minutes. Nav clocked in at 21 minutes, describing his commute as “packed”, while I, as expected, brought up the rear with a time of 27 minutes. I also had to pay $3 for parking.

Many of the other participating businesses recorded similar results: cycling was the fastest mode of transport in five instances, while transit also proved fairly efficient. However, traveling by car beat out biking by 60 seconds in one case.   

Of course, the Rush Hour Challenge didn’t tell us anything we didn’t already know. (We have a healthy number of bikers here at the Straight office.) But the results should definitely give urban-cycling skeptics a reason to pause.

If only biking to Vancouver from the 'burbs was as feasible.

Check out the images below for the full results of the Rush Hour Challenge and a peek at this morning's finish line.

Spring Bike to Work Week takes place from this Monday (May 29) to June 4 and features over 75 celebration stations around town with free refreshments, mechanic services, and giveaways in an effort to encourage and celebrate urban cycling.

For more information about Spring Bike to Work Week, click here.