Bike to Work Week may be over, but Angus Johnston can still feel the electricity.
As part of a North Vancouver Chamber of Commerce initiative, Johnston spent the week on an eBike, vrooming from his Lynn Valley home to his job at Hatfield Consultants just south of the Northshore Auto Mall.
On the morning commute the eBike felt similar to a standard bicycle. But Johnston says the electric bike boost felt like a “get-out-of-jail” card when he was traversing the terrain around Keith Road and East 29th Street during the afternoon commute.
Other than a few pangs of guilt about zooming past the cyclists gamely pedalling against gravity, Johnston describes the eBike as quick and fun. A former motorcycle rider, Johnston says he often eschewed bike lanes.
“I really felt more comfortable on the road . . . integrated within traffic.”
There seems to be an overall uptick in eBike ridership recently, particularly among seniors, according to cycling advocate and HUB North Shore chairman Tony Valente.
HUB reported 383 cyclists over two hours (an hour in the morning and one hour in the afternoon rush) at the north end of the Ironworkers Memorial Second Narrows Crossing on a single day during Bike to Work Week. HUB volunteers also counted 148 cyclists over two hours at Ambleside in West Vancouver.
The strong turnout was likely due to nice weather, Valente says, explaining he usually hopes for rain during Bike to Work Week.
“It’s easy to get people out there when it’s sunny, but if you get them out there when it’s raining, that’s how you’re going to get the change.”
Valente is in the midst of lobbying for more separated bike lanes on the North Shore.
“We continue to have developments along routes on the bike master plan and we are not building the separated (all ages and all abilities) infrastructure.”
Two Arc’teryx employees also steered eBikes to work as part of the chamber of commerce initiative.
“For us, the focus for the last two years has really been on breaking down barriers to getting people just riding,” says Jessica O’Dowd, who handles talent communication for the North Vancouver-based clothing company.
Both employees submitted rave reviews, O’Dowd says.
“It’s not an alternative to a bicycle, it’s an alternative to a car,” O’Dowd says of eBikes.
As many eBikes range between $2,600 and $5,000, Johnston says he’d be more inclined to rent than buy.
“I’d probably want to wait a year or two just to see how the technology advances before purchasing a bike,” he says, explaining he’d also like to see how eBikes evolve in terms of battery weight and life span.
He also noted that his experience was limited to dry, sunny days.
“Once winter hits, that might be a little bit of a different story.”
Still, he came away impressed by the experience.
“Sometime in the future I expect to be an eBike owner.”
