Spring is in the air!

Yesterday was an absolutely gorgeous day in Vancouver. The sun was out, the weather warmer, and it seemed that everyone was out on the seawall enjoying a little taste of Spring! Having gone for a lengthy bike ride the day before, we opted to go for a family walk instead, giving the kids a chance to run around, as well as hopefully burning off some of their energy. We travelled along the seawall from Science World to Granville Island, then up over the Burrard Bridge and onto the Skytrain home. It was so lovely to be able to enjoy a day in the sun, and as an added bonus, Coralie got to document it with her camera. This post features some of the photos she took of our day!

Heading off to the seawall

View of False Creek and the North Shore from Olympic Village

Taking a stroll while Etienne runs

Taking a rest along the boardwalk

Sweet view of Habitat Island

Peaceful walk for mom and dad while Etienne messes around

Boats in the Harbour

A nice shot of Chris and I with Etienne

Etienne at the playground on Granville Island

I took this shot of my beautiful little photographer

Heading across the Burrard Bridge for home

Long arm cuddles

I see some talent in this budding photographer

Looking West from the Burrard Bridge towards English Bay

Heading home after a wonderfully sunny day!

A Car-Free Life

A couple weeks back I wrote about my family and I being the subject of a "point-of-view" documentary. We I'm pleased the share the end product - a lovely look into our little family life! 

A Car-Free Life from Brigitte Patenaude on Vimeo.

A short, point-of-view documentary on how a family of four can get from Point A to Point B by foot, bike, or public transit.

Director, Second Camera, Editor: Brigitte Patenaude
Producer, Transportation: Ian Deichen
Camera, Editor: Devon Mussett

Year End Countdown #1 - Top Ten family bike ride destinations

Well, it's nearly the end of 2012, and while I look forward to even more Velo Family Adventures to come, I thought I would share with you some of my favourite family bike ride destinations throughout the year and what makes them so special. If you're from Vancouver, and haven't ridden to these places yet, maybe next year will be a good chance to try it out. To those that don't live here, be sure to check them out if you ever get over for a visit!

#10 - Kitsilano Beach

Kits Beach is somewhere we tend to forget most of the year, being it's a fair distance from our home in East Vancouver, but every time we go, I always have such a nice time. The kids love to play in the fantastic playground they have, which, believe me, has kept them busy for hours running from station to station. The beach area itself has an almost Californian quality, which in the summer is the perfect atmosphere, with the boardwalk right at the edge of the beach hosting numerous people walking or riding, and wherever you sit on the beach, you get a perfect view westward, where the mountains end and the water opens to the straight. At sunset, it's a beautiful place to sit and be reminded why it is we chose Vancouver to be our home.

#9 - Crab Park

This funny little waterfront park is tucked away from the city, a place literally on the other side of the tracks. From False Creek you head North towards Gastown, riding along the Carrall Street separated lane, then along Water St until you reach the end on Main Street. You then head up and over a ramp, past the lions, and on the downwards slope you see it, a small gem of a park with a perfect view of the Burrard inlet and the North Shore Mountains. Whenever we visit the park, I feel like I'm in a secret place that only a select few have heard of. It's almost always quiet, and so whenever I visit I feel like just sitting and taking in the ocean air and beautiful views.


#8 - Central Valley Greenway East

We live very close to where the 10th Avenue Bikeway intersects with the Central Valley Greenway, and while most trips take us West, I really do enjoy our trips along the CVG. Usually we ride it to do errands, like groceries, or those special occasions when I get to go to the art store, but there's something about this pathway that I love. Maybe it's the fact that for most of the ride you're separated from cars, or that you get to follow along with the Skytrain a VIA Rail tracks, meaning every once and a while you get a glimpse of a passenger car heading in or out of town. Or maybe it's because it's one of the quieter bikeways, meaning when we ride as a family, we almost always get to ride side-by-side. Whatever it is, it's holds a special place for me and that's why it's on this list.

#7 - Hillcrest Park and Pool

We made many treks out to Hillcrest this year, many to visit the pool, which is always a great treat after a hot summer bike ride. But there's something else great about this destination, and that's Nat Bailey Stadium. Each summer we try to catch at least one Vancouver Canadians game. We're not huge baseball fans, but there's something about watching it live, getting to participate in the seventh inning stretch, and the deliciously bad for you ball park food. During the season, they also host firework evenings, so for the price of a ticket, which averages about $15-20, you get to watch a successful ball team (winners of the Northwest Division two years in a row), but you get a fantastic fireworks display to round out a great evening. Of course, one of the added bonuses of riding to Hillcrest is that since you've reached one of the higher point in Vancouver, the whole ride home is downhill! Can't argue with that when it's late and you're hauling two sleeping children in a trailer.

#6 - Adanac Bikeway/Union Market

The Adanac Bikeway holds a special place for my family and I. For my husband and I, we love riding through the old Strathcona neighbourhood. The area has a lot of character, and there's a real sense of community whenever we're in the area. In the summer, the kids love to play at MacLean Park, which has a great play area, as well as a splash pad for cooling down. We also like to treat ourselves after a long ride with a stop at Union Market. This cute little shop is situated right along the bikeway, and is a destination for many residents in the area for a coffee and a chat with a friend. Our kids like to stop and get "candy pop", better known as cream soda. As I've said before, life's about the simple pleasures!

#5 - Stanley Park Seawall/English Bay

This pick is sort of a no brainer. Everyone who lives in Vancouver or has visited knows there's something pretty amazing about walking or riding along the expansive seawall around 404 hectares of West Coast Rainforest right in the heart of the city. Some of our rides have included seeing bald eagles, one of the many herons who nest there every year, and even seals. Almost always, we tend to end our rides at English Bay. The kids get to play at the beach, and we almost always get a treat from one of the shops along Denman Street. It's just a great place to be any time of the year, even on a cool damp winter's day.

#4 - 10th Avenue Bikeway

If you've been following this blog for a while, you've probably caught on that I spend a lot of time on the 10th Avenue Bikeway. It's the city's East/West connector, going all the way out to UBC if you follow it long enough, but I've never ventured further than Alma by bike, being less than eager to climb to get to the campus. There is a stretch of road, from Cambie, heading East to Clark, where the trees create a beautiful canopy over the street, and I love to ride through as the seasons change. In the Spring, the Cherry Blossoms create the look of cotton candy overhead, giving way to summer and the shade from the immense Chestnut trees, followed by the sometimes harrowing experience of falling chestnuts and leaves in the fall. Riding along this bikeway is one of those experiences that makes me so happy to be able to ride my bike in this beautiful city!

#3 - Olympic Village

Without intending it, Olympic Village ended up becoming THE start and destination for many of our rides this year. It's such a convenient place to meet up with a group of people, and you're left with many options of where to head from there being directly on the seawall. For the Velo Family, we stopped during so many rides here for a rest. While the children ran through the plaza, my husband and I would get to enjoy a coffee from the nearby cafe, reminiscing about our ride that day, or just taking a moment to reflect on where life has taken us so far. It is also where we spent our wedding anniversary this year, enjoying a glass of wine and a view of the city lights across False Creek.

#2 - Granville Island

Granville Island is by far one of my favourite places to go in the summer with the kids. With the fantastic new playground, the splash pad and the water slide, it's hours of summer fun for absolutely no money. And the seawall ride to get there is nothing to complain about. About once a week I would head over with the kids this past summer, complete with a packed picnic lunch for when my husband would walk down from his office just a few blocks away on South Granville. I have so many great memories from our trips here over the summer, including sliding down the water slide with my son in what will surely be his last year needing a parent with him. I'm actually a bit sad that we haven't gone as much now that the weather's become so wet and cold, but I have to remind myself that warmer days are on their way again...eventually!

#1 - Sunset Beach

Topping off my list of destinations is Sunset Beach. Conveniently located along the North side of the False Creek Seawall, this beach holds a special place for me. It was one of the first places I took the kids on our bikes when we started this blogging adventure back in July, and it is the spot my husband and I have shared many a romantic evenings over a picnic dinner and bottle of wine. Being one of the quieter beaches in Vancouver, I tend to feel calmer, enjoying the warm sand, the views North to the mountains and West to Kitsilano. It's one of those places where words won't do it the justice I mean to give it, but trust me when I say, every trip there has been worth it!

Where will my wheels take me next year?

You never know until you try!

First off, Happy Thanksgiving to all my Canadian readers! I hope you are all enjoying the long weekend, especially those fellow Vancouverites enjoying this gorgeous sunny weather we are being spoilt with! We here in the Velo Family have been having a great little weekend together, with the highlight so far being our adventure on Saturday. Having done so much in the city throughout the summer on our bikes, my husband and I decided to use this and the Remembrance Day long weekends to try and do things we have been meaning to do outside the city but have been hesitant to do due to distance or just lack of time. So Saturday morning we set off from East Vancouver to Burnaby Mountain to go for a family hike.

Coralie and Etienne all ready for a hike,
complete with "crazy legs"

Cruising along in yoga pants and runners,
dressed for the destination!

After a hearty breakfast, we packed up a lunch, hitched up the bike trailer to Chris' bike, and set off for the 16 km journey along the Central Valley Greenway towards Burnaby Mountain. Heading East on the CVG is something we don't do very often, except as far Rupert and the grocery store there. As a family, we have never gone as far as Burnaby Lake, and I was surprised to realize how easy it is to get there. It is essentially a flat ride all the way, most of which is along cycling/pedestrian dedicated pathways, well away from exhaust fumes and cars racing to get to family gatherings for the long weekend. It was a beautiful ride, especially with the trees now changing colours, and my only complaint is that cycling on gravel is not the most smooth of rides. We also managed to go the wrong way just a handful of times, but as a result, I now know how close we are to the Burnaby Lake Sports Fields, which should come in handy for when my son starts playing soccer!

Crossing over Winston Road and heading East

The colours of Autumn

Pained bike lanes in Burnaby 

Riding alongside a freight train...pretty cool!

Once we reached the trail head for the hike up Burnaby Mountain, it was about time to refuel. We sat on the rocks and enjoyed some lunch, which, coincidentally, managed to lighten the backpack Chris carried along the back, so win-win for him! Once fueled up and ready to go, we set off on the 2 km hike from North Road up to SFU. It's been some time since we went for a proper hike that involved some challenging terrain, so while the kids had a bit of trouble from time to time on the more immediate sections, it was a great achievement to finally reach the top. While the kids didn't ride their bikes to the trail, I am pretty darned proud of my active kids, willing to come along with Mom and Dad on their silly little adventures. For Chris and I, the hike was a revelation that our kids may not be quite ready for a hike as intense as the Grouse Grind, but because we tried, we know they can handle some pretty gritty trails.

Hiking up the "Grinding Gears" trail...
it's a Black Diamond for those on Mountain Bikes!

Looking down to the city and the Island
Mountain in the background

We took a quick walk around the SFU campus, being sure to stop for a Popsicle treat, before heading back down the way we came. Going dawn, while slightly faster, was actually much trickier. Because it has been so long since we've seen rain here on the West Coast, and because the trails are shared with Mountain Cyclists, the terrain was quite dusty and soft, meaning that slipping and falling on your behind is very probably. In fact, only one of us made it to the bottom without slipping, and that was my husband, the member of our family wearing a pair of heavily worn shoes with little treads left. Despite that though, both kids enjoyed themselves thoroughly, Coralie leading us on the way up and Etienne leading the whole way down, running so far ahead that Coralie and I found ourselves frequently some distance behind Etienne and Chris who did his best to stay with him the whole way down. In Etienne's own words as he raced down, "This is SO FUN!"

Three dirty bums!

Needless to say, once we reached the bottom of the trail again and reunited with our bikes, the kids got back into the trailer and we headed home. By this point, we were obviously all pretty tired, so we opted to hop onto the Skytrain at Production Way station and caught the train West and home. We got home just before dinner, everyone ready to relax, and the kids were in bed by 7:30, which in our house on a weekend is quite early. I'd like to say that Chris and I were shortly behind them for getting to sleep, but being gluttons for punishment, we then went out to celebrate our friend's 30th birthday, including dancing away to music from from the 90's and reliving our teen years. Overall, it was a day filled with adventures and trying something new, and I'm so glad we conquered yet another item on our to do list. Next hike...the Stawamus Chief?

We made it, and are still smiling!

Public Transit to the Rescue!

A couple of days ago, when biking home from the grocery store, our reliable trailer got a flat tire. No problem, we can fix it with a patch, or so we thought, until I tried filling it at a gas station to make the 5 minute trip home, and as fast as the power air filled it, it emptied. So it turned out we needed a replacement tube. Until then, I was stuck without a means to transport Etienne with my bike, and yesterday was forecast to be another roasting, sunny day. So what's a velo Mom to do? Well, knowing we needed to find a place to cool down, Etienne and I resorted to public transit to get us to the splash pad at Granville Island. Suited up and ready to go, we hopped on the B-Line and bussed it out to Granville Street. Etienne was actually really stoked to watch the world go by outside the bus window, shouting "I'm so excited" several times! I wish I had his enthusiasm when on the bus, I'm sure it would help quell some of the motion sickness I get.

Etienne riding at the back on the B-Line

After spending a good hour splashing around and going down the water slide, it was time to head home to get Coralie from daycamp. Now, sometimes I am known for having some forethought. Yesterday was one of those days. I knew Etienne would be exhausted, so I dusted off my baby sling from my earlier mom years, and got Etienne to slip in and have a snooze. I realize I am not an official form of public transit, but Etienne got to relax and sit in the sling as I transported him to the bus home.

Etienne snuggled up in his sling...I'll admit, I kind of miss this

Not wanting to walk all the way up to Broadway from Granville Island, I hopped on a bus downtown that picks up right at the entrance to the Island, but not before picking up that replacement tube. Once downtown, we switched to the Skytrain, which takes us just one block from our front door. We are really lucky to live in the location of Vancouver that we do. We're right by the Commercial/Broadway transportation hub, and numerous local bikeways. While we sometimes dream of moving to other neighbourhoods, the convenience of public transit so close to home makes life so much easier, when taking our bikes are not an option. And Vancouver doesn't disappoint for being as accessible as any other big city when you're a family without a car!

Etienne snoozin' for the Skytrain ride

Off the train and heading home