For Immediate Release: 2,000 Riders Expected to Sign Up for Inaugural Bike to Shop Day
Popularity of Bike to Work Week inspires new event
Vancouver, BC / Aug 5, 2016 - Drawing on the success of 10 years of Bike to Work Week events, HUB Cycling is organizing its first Bike to Shop Day on Saturday, August 13th.
Bike to Shop Day will include celebration stations near popular shopping destinations in Vancouver with free snacks, drinks, prizes, bike mechanics, and tips on how to carry items by bike. People can join in on the fun by visiting the stations, stopping by bike to get discounts, participating in a themed ride, or simply considering biking to do daily errands. Anyone who registers online will be entered to win a weekend getaway for two to the Okanagan.
“Bike to Shop Day aims to encourage and celebrate cycling for transportation in a new way,” says Alyshia Burak, HUB’s Bike to Shop Day Manager. “This event aims to show people just how easy and fun it is to bike to shop, and now with Mobi, Vancouver’s new bikeshare, it’s even more convenient”.
10% of all trips to work in Vancouver are now made by bicycle. Since most people’s trips to shop are a shorter distance on average than their trips to work, HUB says that Bike to Shop Day is a great way to begin cycling for transportation.
For those who aren’t sure how to carry items by bike, HUB will also have educational displays at the celebration stations on August 13th. “Most of the errands we run in a day - whether to go out for dinner, or to pick-up a few groceries, for example - can be easily be done by bike”, says Bike to Shop Day Coordinator Mathieu Beaudoin. “I actually have a cargo bike that I use to transport my kids and shopping items. And for those really large items we’re lucky in Vancouver to have over 2000 carshare vehicles to choose from if the need arises.”
Bike to Shop Day is being sponsored by the Downtown Vancouver Business Improvement Association, the Hastings Cross Business Improvement Association as well as the Gastown Business Improvement Association and the City of Vancouver. Bike to Shop Day is made possible by the Job Creation Partnership Program. The Employment Program of British Columbia is funded by the Government of Canada and the Province of British Columbia.
The first Bike to Shop Day in Metro Vancouver will celebrate cycling for transportation in a new way, by showing how making shopping trips by bike can be fun, healthy and convenient.
More information about the event can be found here.
People can register for Bike to Shop Day at: www.bikehub.ca
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Media Contacts
Alyshia Burak
Bike to Shop Day Manager
778-847-0392
Laura Jane
Director of Corporate Engagement and Events
604-362-2098
Bilingual Media Contact (French and English)
Mathieu Beaudoin
Bike to Shop Day Event Coordinator
778-489-4332
mathieu@bikehub.ca
About HUB Cycling
HUB Cycling’s mission is to get more people cycling more often in order to build healthier, happier and more connected communities. HUB is a charitable nonprofit that has spent nearly two decades removing barriers to cycling in Metro Vancouver, while cultivating the health, environmental and economic benefits that active transportation can bring. HUB has educated thousands of people, motivated thousands more, and championed improvements to make cycling safer and more convenient. For more information, visit bikehub.ca.