Mission Possible: a monster bike tour of Vancouver, which included the historic district, the coastal region and the expansive Stanley Park. We’d need protein to get us going so we set out to find an egg breakfast on our way to JV Cycle to rent our favorite electric bikes. Darryl left his personally homemade lemon-cranberry scones for us this morning, which wrapped for our daypack to enjoy on a mid-morning break. The radar said sunny and 60 but the morning read cloudy with looming rain.
On our walk down Davie Street en route to JV Cycle we happened upon The Elbow Room Cafe with a sign that read “Vancouver’s Famous Breakfast Cafe.” Curious to what they are famous for, we took a chance on the promise of a country style breakfast. From the moment we met Rajean Patrice Savoie aka Patrick in the Anglo-Saxon form and the sign that read “We serve you your first cup of coffee, if you want more get off your ass and get it yourself,” we knew there nothing country about this place.
We each ordered the “Gee Honey I don’t feel like trying something new,” breakfast #s 3 and 4 – your standard eggs, meat and potatoes fare. Patrick glided around the cafe with a foul mouth, reminding every diner that if you leave food on your plate you have to make a donation to Loving Spoonful because no one living with AIDS should live with hunger. They provide 2000 meals a week to homebound people with AIDS. Although we happily cleaned our plates, we also made a donation.
The mile walk to JV Cycle was brisk and concerning. Note to the owner: post your hours online (we waited 40 minutes for them to open at 10) and don’t list electric bikes for rent if you’re only selling them, not renting them. We’d now have to go to plan B – walk another 1.5 miles to Cycle BC. They were open and accommodating, primarily focused on motorcycles. Eric thought about it, salivated a little, and we were off on our 7 hour Vancouver expedition by electric bike. You just can’t ride the Seawall on a Honda ST1300.
Winding our way through through the downtown waterfront under rolling rain clouds, we stopped at The Met for the Electric Vehicle show.
In its quest to be the greenest city in the world, TransLink operates the only fleet of electric trolley buses in Canada. 262 green machines get their power from overhead wires and switches to carry us efficiently around town. They also have a fleet of eco-friendly hybrid diesel buses to get you to the suburbs.
Back on our bikes we headed to Canada Place where the cruise ships come in. This would be the only drop of rain we would see on our journey!
Navigating traffic is easy in BC, you just have to obey the hand, as every, and I mean EVERY person does. You could be standing on a deserted street and people will stay on the curb if the hand is red. With a high walk and bikability index, they have their own lanes and traffic signals. Everyone follows the rules and it works.
Winding through Coal Harbor we found The King and Queen. There are large scale art installations all over the city. This one, by Sorel Etrog of Canada, makes manifest the complex relationship between man and machinery and the conflict between individualized agency in craft and industrialized mass manufacturing in the modern world. Hmmm.
Coal Harbor led us into Stanley Park, an intricate maze of walking and bike trails at the edge of the city. We had walked the left side of this map along the Seawall the day before so the plan was to take the Seawall up and around the right side almost to the tip then trek into the interior to ride the Beaver Lake, Bride, Lover and Rawlings trails. Traveller tip – stick to the Seawall. If you like variation, it’s all on the outside where we saw cricket matches, rugby games, sunbathing, kite flying and more. If you like trees, ferns, bigger trees and gravel paths, the interior is for you. Lost on the trails in the interior for an hour, we finally made our way out to the familiar beaches on the western border and were on the move back into the city.
There are a lot of activities in Vancouver. Maybe there are a lot of activities in our own hometowns, but I haven’t seen them like I have here. This is lawn bowling. It’s like bocci ball, but with a long flat expanse of grass and larger, heavier balls. Every lane was taken, as well as every tennis court, sports field and grassy knoll.
Now 2pm and very hungry, the search was on for a waterfront lunch spot. Just shy of the Burrard Bridge we found “Engagement,” by Dennis Oppenheim, USA. In this painted aluminum and steel glass sculpture, the artist re-conceptualizes the diamond ring, reflective of romantic unions and celebrating commitment to incite thought and engage dialogue via exaggeration and overstatement. Okay ….
The Pirates Pub had just what we were looking for. A pitcher of Whistle Powder Mountain Lager and a Piquant thin crust pizza with spicy sausage, roasted mushrooms, caramelized onion and mozzarella. The perfect snack to rest, refuel and absorb the sun. Yes, sun!
Heading across the harbor to Granville Island, we took the long way along the seawall. Granville Island is one part artists colony, one part tourist trap, and one part market. This is, by far, the freshest and most gourmet market either of us have ever visited. Blows every other market away. Never shop in a grocery store again! The only issue is it’s BUSY – lines of cars in and out, weaving our bikes around walkers, shoppers and sightseers was a strenuous activity. I procured a ring and earrings from a local artist made from block glass like nothing I’ve seen before.
On the way out of town, Eric’s electric bike broke down and he was stuck in charge mode which is infinitely more difficult to pedal than neutral or support mode. We cut our route short and headed for Cycle BC – 4 miles, mostly uphill, the man got a workout followed by a 2 mile walk home!
31km of biking and 6 miles of walking, we were famished, sore but still running on Vancouver energy. Quick change at home then back out to find dinner. Deciding to venture away from Davie Street, we walked to Granville where we stepped into another world. It reminded me a lot of Baltimore Street, only seedier if that’s possible! A quick right and few blocks south we found Yaletown and The Hub. Watched the Pacquao/Bradley title fight (was the fix in?) and inhaled 4 delicious dishes – yam fries, steak sandwich, beef dip and the most incredible comfort dessert – the hot baked skillet chocolate chip cookie topped with vanilla ice cream. Heaven on earth.
Next stop … Chilko Lake
Location:Vancouver BC