Organizers expanding Go By Bike Week area beyond Nanaimo
Published 2:13 pm Saturday, September 19, 2026
The call for people to use active transportation next week is going past Nanaimo boundaries.
During Go By Bike Week, on until Saturday, Sept. 26, people are asked to choose bicycles as a travel method, and unlike past years, Nanaimo Area Cycling Coalition is organizing and encouraging people in Parksville, Qualicum, Gabriola Island and Ladysmith to join their Nanaimo counterparts.
People that are interested are asked to register at https://logmyride.gobybikebc.ca/register, with opportunities to win prizes, reduce carbon emissions and cycle with other residents. People “can log rides for any trip, be it to work, school, the grocery store or for recreation,” a press release stated, with over 80 prizes available to be won.
Volunteers from the coalition will be at numerous celebration stations throughout the week, which riders can stop by in their travels.
In Nanaimo, there will be a station at Fifth Street and the E&N Trail on Tuesday, Sept. 22 from 4 to 6 p.m.; from 6:30 to 8:30 a.m. near Nanaimo Regional General Hospital on Boundary Avenue on Wednesday, Sept. 23 and during the same time frame at Northfield Road and the E&N Trail on Thursday, Sept. 24. A Critical Mass group ride from Diana Krall Plaza begins at 6 p.m. on Friday, Sept. 25.
There will be stations in the Oceanside area on Monday, Sept. 21, with one at Dollymount Trail and Berwick Road in Qualicum from 7 to 10 a.m. and another at Jensen Avenue Greenway and Corfield Street in Parksville from 3 to 6 p.m.
A station will be set up at Folklife Village and North Road on Gabriola Island on Sept. 25 from 2 to 4 p.m. and also, one from 7 to 10 a.m. at Sixth Avenue and Frank Jameson Community Centre in Ladysmith.
Go By Bike Week concludes on Sept. 26 with a group ride from the main parking lot at Colliery Dam Park to Big Bang Cider (1235 Nanaimo Lakes Rd.) – the event is from 3 to 7 p.m.
Speaking at the kickoff event on the Vancouver Island University campus on Saturday, Sept. 19, Rebecca Anthony, Nanaimo Area Cycling Coalition president, said funding from Go By Bike B.C. allowed for an expansion of coverage area.
There are bike routes in the area which are enjoyable, she said.
“Last time I cycled to Duncan, I went through Parkway Trail all the way down to the Extension neighbourhood,” Anthony told the News Bulletin. “Then crossed the highway as a pedestrian … biked down through Cedar and came out Cedar Road … once you get to Ladysmith, you’re on separated trail again, basically all the way to Crofton. It’s quite a lovely ride, and once you get to Chemainus, the E&N trail there is called the Cowichan Trail and it’s lovely. It’s similar to our E&N here, but there’s trees covering and it’s shady and it’s really nice.”
For more information, go to https://gobybikebc.ca.
karl.yu@nanaimobulletin.com