GoByBikeBC’s Fall Go By Bike Week returns on Monday, and local organizers are hoping to kick this year’s event into high gear.
According to Sarah Frumento, event coordinator for Capital Bike, the week-long event is poised to be a hit and already has over 1,000 registrants.
“We’re pretty stoked,” she said. “There’s a real movement around active transportation (in Victoria).”
Celebration stations, which Frumento calls “the heartbeat of the event,” will be set up along popular bike routes throughout the city. They’ll feature free food and bike checkups – and Frumento added they’re a great place to make friends with other cycling enthusiasts.
Other incentives include entering prize raffles from local sponsors and tracking progress using GoByBikeBC’s online log system.
In addition to this year’s returning activities and events, Capital Bike announced it has partnered with Xe xe Smun eem-Victoria Orange Shirt Day to run a National Reconciliation Day Ride on Sept. 30 from 10 a.m. until noon.
READ MORE: Orange Shirt Day sheds light on dark history of Canada’s residential schools
“Eddy (Charlie) and Kristin (Spray) from Victoria Orange Shirt Day partnered with us for the first time last year,” Frumento said. “It was really powerful and we wanted to build on that relationship.”
Frumento explained that the ride – which starts and ends at Centennial Square – will invite cyclists to learn more about locations of significance to nearby First Nations through storytelling. The ride’s end coincides with the Every Child Matters Ceremony at Centennial Square to encourage attendees to join the onlookers.
When asked why Capital Bike chose to forge a deeper partnership with Orange Shirt Day this year, Frumento stressed the need for truth and reconciliation in everyday activities like biking.
“It isn’t just about the day, it’s the fact that we all live on the lands of the lekwenjen (lək̓ʷəŋən)and WSANEC (W̱SÁNEĆ)peoples who were here before us,” Frumento said. “This is an opportunity to recognize that and learn more about where we’re riding, working, and living. We want to do our part to support reconciliation.”
Fall Go By Bike Week is a free event taking place from Sept. 27–Oct. 3 across the Greater Victoria region. Participants can register for Go By Bike and log their ride online at gobybikebc.ca.
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