Start: Victoria & Adanac

Finish: UBC

Route: Adanace -> Georgia viaduct -> Dunsmuir -> Hornby -> Burrard Bridge -> Cornwall -> Balsam -> up Trafalger to seaside bike route along 3rd Avenue -> Jericho Beach -> Along Spanish Banks -> Up the hill of NW Marine Dr to the Chan Centre

Time to UBC: 55 minutes                        Distance: 17.8 km

Time to return: 50 minutes                   Distance: 18.6 km

Safety: 4 stars

Difficulty: intermediate

The first ride is complete! I started by trying one of the bike routes through downtown and then finishing through kitsilano and NW Marine Drive. The ride went very smooth until reaching the Hornby Street bike lane. Travelling North to South I found that you were working against the lights and often had to stop at every intersection. Other than it being great to have a separated bike lane through downtown, I would probably try and avoid travelling South on this route. Going through Downtown also requires you to ascend and descend adding difficulty due to elevation changes.

Once at Pacific Street the route become a little complicated. You have to turn right on Pacific street and cross Burrard Street at the pedestrian crosswalk before getting on the correct side of the bridge. After crossing the bridge there is currently construction going on where the road diverges to Cornwall and Burrard Street. This includes the addition of a bike lane that is not yet complete which will be great. I tried riding down Cornwall, but I found it very tight with the traffic so I ducked into the park before getting to Balsam Street. It then went up Trafalger Street and followed street signs on to 3rd Street. This was unnecessary as point grey road has now been made a bike route.

Jericho was a relaxing ride, but is gravel and requires proper tires. This leads to NW Marine Drive along Spanish Banks (also nice) before climbing up the hill to UBC. This was the hardest part of the ride, but went by fairly quickly with a goof pace up the hill.