I can’t think of anything more pleasant than a bicycle ride on a glorious sunny fall day, so it wasn’t hard for me to seize the opportunity to participate in the Scavenger Hunt organized by GoByBike Kamloops.

The simplicity of hopping on the bike and pedaling out into the crisp morning air to be a tourist in my own town was too enticing to resist and I’m glad I didn’t.  This year’s local GoByBike BC campaign event provided a fun challenge to visit twenty-four points of interest around the city with the opportunity to win prizes, maybe even the Grand Prize of a cycling trip for two to France!

GoByBike week has grown out of the original Bike to Work Week started in Victoria by a core group of commuter cyclists in 1995.  The first event, organized to promote cycle commuting to work, counted about 500 participants.  Over the years it developed to include annual Bike to School as well as Bike to Work events, then bi-annual events in Spring and Fall.  Eventually, the organization’s mandate expanded from a focus on commuter cycling to fostering the joy of bicycling for everyday transportation. The success of the mission can be measured by the 56,000 participants in the 2019 events.

Success can also be measured by the smiles I encountered on the faces of dozens of people I met or passed as I propelled myself from location to location over a total of 49 km.  It’s hard not to be happy when out on a bike feeling alive and healthy.  GoByBike BC Society “envisions a future in which as many people as possible experience the joy of using bicycles for everyday transportation!”  That’s great for the health of people and the planet.

There is still time to join the movement, so get out and participate in GoByBike Week, which this year is actually two weeks between September 27th and October 10th.  Ride your bike anywhere, for any purpose, register and log your rides on gobybikebc.ca  and you will be entered in the prize draw.  But regardless of who wins the Grand Prize, we all win when we ride a bike!