The BC Cycle Tourism Society wants to make British Columbia an easier, safer, and more welcoming place to explore by bike.
We're starting with building out practical information for riders, communities, and businesses. We'll share more soon about our plans and structure... but we don't want to wait until everything is finished before we start listening.
A great bike trip is made of two pieces, right? A beautiful, interesting place. We have that covered: BC is incredible. The other piece? It's the people we meet along the way who so often create the magic.
So we're starting with an invitation: we'd love to hear from you.
Subscribe, and tell us what interests you
The simplest way to help right now is to sign up for the newsletter.
Knowing there is an audience for this work helps when we talk with communities, tourism organizations, businesses, funders, and partners. It shows that people care about making BC a better place for cycle touring (which for us absolutely includes bikepacking, rail trail explorations, scenic road treks, and everything in between).
When you subscribe, there's a place to tell us what interests you. Please do: a human reads every response. Hi, I'm Heather :) You can instead email me directly at heather@bccycletourism.ca — I'd love to hear from you.
Tell us what you know
If you see something wrong, missing, or confusing, please let us know.
We also want to know what's ready in your community — and what isn't yet. Where is the best coffee shop stop? Where can riders refill water in the middle of nowhere? Which businesses are happy to let cyclists charge their phones or the e-bikes? What looks fine on a map, but is not actually great for a loaded bike?
This helps us improve We Welcome Cyclists, our developing directory of places that are useful and welcoming for cycle tourists. Check it out and let us know what you think.
Tell us what would help you ride more of BC
What information would help you get out on your bike and explore another part of the province? What advocacy issues matter to you? What rules, gaps, missing connections, or outdated assumptions make cycle tourism harder than it needs to be?
Help us find the right people
Cycle tourism sits between recreation, transportation, tourism, small business, community development, and stewardship. The right conversations matter.
If there is someone in your community we should talk to, please let us know.
That might be a tourism organization, local government staff person, campground operator, cyclist-friendly business, bike shop, trail society, cycling club, chamber of commerce, visitor centre, Indigenous tourism organization or community contact, or quiet local expert who just knows how things really work.
Introductions are incredibly helpful.
Share photos, stories, and evidence
BC is so pretty, and real trip photos beat stock art any day. If you have BC photos of ferry crossings, small-town stops, beautiful views, or real life on the road, we'd love to hear from you. Please only share photos you own or have permission to share, and let us know how you would like to be credited.
We'd also love to hear your stories of cycle camping and bike travel in BC. Where did someone make room for you? Where did a small kindness change the day? Where did a policy, missing connection, or lack of information make the trip harder than it needed to be?
Those stories matter. They help us understand what is happening on the ground, and they may help us frame the case to policy makers, funders, and partners.
Want to help in a hands-on way?
If you've got some time to spare, we'll need help manually checking listing accuracy and connecting with key businesses, campgrounds, and services that may be a good fit for We Welcome Cyclists. If you'd like to review listings, confirm details, or make friendly introductions, please get in touch. We'll provide guidance so the outreach is clear and consistent.
Do you edit OpenStreetMap? Vancouver and Victoria have great coverage of bike parking, public washrooms, and water fountains but they aren't as well captured elsewhere... more data helps us and many others too.
If you are a business or organization in the cycle tourism sector, we'll also be rolling out an Industry Partnership program, including some founding partner opportunities. Stay tuned.
We don't have a bank account set up yet, but financial support will be welcome later. We won't be issuing charitable tax receipts (tourism isn't a charitable purpose), but donations, sponsorships, and in-kind support will help us build practical resources for cycle tourism in BC.
Keep in touch
We have big plans for the next year: more routes, more digital tools, more partnerships, and more ways to help BC become one of the best places in the world to explore by bike.
For now, we're starting by listening.
Subscribe, send us what you know, tell us who we should talk to, and check back in as this grows.
We'd love to build it with you.
— Heather