If you are in Vancouver, by all means rent a bicycle. We even got really good mountain bikes with disk breaks, which are a pleasure to ride. Vancouver has a lot of bicycle trails and it's a law to wear a helmet. We did a 30km ride around the city and in Stanley park, where the track goes on the ocean coast and under the shade of trees. The best time is in the morning as it's still 25 degrees, whereas later it gets as hot as 30 and tracks get busy if it is a weekend. The best view on the Vancouver skyline is in Stanley park where the statue of Harry Jerome (1st athlete to run 100m in 10 seconds flat in 1960) is located. The seawall views are also very stunning.
Even though,
Vancouver seems to be a huge city by the sheer area, but it only has ca. 600,000 of
population. A city on the ocean is always an attraction in itself. It was
around 30 degrees as we arrived with a ferry and we were surprised to see quite
a few topless folks walking around the city. The crowd looks very intercultural
and alternative. We have had quite a cultural shock to be in a big city again after
a peaceful and silent nature. We plan to rent a bike to discover the city
tomorrow…