The promise of taking a leisurely family bike ride along 32 scenic kilometres of city roads closed to motor-vehicle traffic may be too good to be true.
An unnamed Vancouver group is making the most of the BMO Vancouver Marathon on May 6 by planning a bike ride along the full-marathon race course, which begins at Queen Elizabeth Park, travels west to the University of B.C. and then turns toward downtown past Jericho and Kitsilano beaches and around Stanley Park.
It will take advantage of the financial investments and hard work of the Vancouver Marathon organizers, sponsors and volunteers in setting up a barricaded course, states an announcement for the Community Ride-Ahead sent Monday. The announcement was distributed by an unnamed sender using a Hotmail account who did not reply to interview requests.
The press release was sent April 9 and was posted online at Vancouver Is Awesome. The blog post was then Tweeted by former mayoral candidate Peter Ladner, who wrote, Im in, and linked to the website.
The announcement incorrectly indicates the roads will be completely closed to vehicles. Barricades will not be set up along the race course. Rather, rolling closures will shut down traffic only as racers advance along the 42.1 kilometres of the full-marathon course.
Charlene Krepiakevich, executive director of the BMO Vancouver Marathon, said the ride-ahead is not a sanctioned event.
Weve been issued a special permit to put our event on and with [it] come rules and regulations around what we can and cant do. We cant go outside the scope of that permit and the permit is for the marathon and half-marathon participants only.
The Vancouver Police Department manages roads closures and monitors intersections, she said.
We dont fence the whole course. Its a rolling closure so there will be police and escorts along the way, making sure that the runners are safe.
The Sunday morning ride-ahead is billed as a spontaneous, unregulated, unorganized experiment that avoids obstructing or frustrating motorists and is free. The family-friendly guerilla ride is enthusiastically promoted and encourages participants to wear costumes and to donate to the food bank and other charities supported by the marathon.
Think of this a chance for cyclists of all ages, abilities and with any kind of bike to explore our beautiful city by bicycle. It is not a race, states the announcement, which specifies a starting location near Riley Park and also urges would-be participants to respect the Vancouver Marathon.
Your first priority is not to interfere with the race or the runners in any way. Remember that cycling is not allowed on the marathon course or half-marathon course while the race is in progress.
mstewart@vancourier.com
Twitter: @MHStewart
