Start: Victoria & Adanac

End: UBC

Time to UBC: 50 minutes                Distance: 18.3 km

Time to return: 55 minutes           Distance: 18.3 km

Safety: 3 stars

Difficulty: moderate

Route: Adanac -> Seawall (south side) -> Seaside route through Kitsilano -> Balsam -> Point Grey Road -> 4th Avenue -> Chancellor Blvd -> UBC

For comments on the seawall portion of this ride see the False Creek tab. The only difference with this ride was that instead of biking along Jericho Beach, I took a left (after passing the royal yacht club) and got on to 4th Avenue. This was a bit risky I found, as  the traffic is fairly heavy in this hill and there is not a designated lane for bikers (although there is quite a bit of space and has marking for cyclists). Once you reach the turnoff for NW Marine Drive, you must cut across a lane to cross the lights to the bike lane going up 4th. I found this section rather dangerous and wouldn’t recommend this portion of the ride. Once past NW marine drive turnoff, the hill is quite safe, but long. I would prefer to ride up the hill on NW marine drive as that one is steep, but short lived. The 4th hill is long, drawn out, and fairly unenjoyable. At the top of the hill 4th turns into Chancellor Blvd which is also a dangerous section if you choose to remain on the road (there is a bumpy bike path on the south side of the road). All in all I would prefer the scenic and arguably easier ride along NW marine drive.

the long road ahead (4th avenue hill)

mid-hill selfie…having a hard time