Bike to Work Week breaks record

More children, youth and adults cycled than ever before during the latest Greater Victoria Bike to Work Week.

This was the 24th year of the annual, week-long event, organized by the Greater Victoria Bike to Work Society. It took place between May 28 and June 3.

This year almost 7,300 people reported that they travelled to school or work by bike, including more than 1,300 new participants. A push to include schools to participate was met with success, with 160 registered. A highlight was a school celebration station at Fairfield and Moss Streets.

“The momentum towards cycling in Greater Victoria has been building over the years with events like Bike to Work and School Week combined with new infrastructure,” said Andrew Cripps, president of the organization.

“The recently released CRD Household Travel Study shows biking continues to grow in the region, with more than 50,000 trips by bike in the fall of 2017.”

Highlights of Bike to Work Week include: • 7,279 people registered (up from 7,003 in 2017) • 1,301 people were new to the event (up from 1,204 in 2017) • 1,610 teams • People cycling logged 28,084 bike trips during the week (up from 23,397 in 2017) • Participants cycled 310,153 kilometres (up from 261,800 km in 2017) • 5,500 visits to 23 celebration stations along bike routes (up 15 per cent from 2017)

The event, which originated in Victoria 24 years ago, has grown to include 51 communities across B.C.