Sometimes the last 10 km are the hard ones. The bus depot is across town, the ferry leaves early, a wheel died, or the forecast turned. Good news: your bike can ride in an ordinary car, and drivers say yes far more often when you do two things. Prep the bike so it's compact and clean, and tell the driver what's coming before they arrive.
Three ways to get a car#
A taxi, booked ahead. Our favourite for catching early buses. One thing we've learned: the taxi app is often not good enough. When I ordered a van through the app in Kamloops it took a long time to confirm, so I phoned (gasp! I know, but it wasn't so bad), told the operator I had a bike and needed a car that would fit it, and poof: a car was there in 10 minutes. Not even a big one. My bagged bike rode to the eBus stop flat in the back of an ordinary Toyota Prius v wagon, backpacks and me along too. If the car that shows up is a hatchback, taking the front wheel off usually means the bike fits with the seats down; note that this way it's one bike and one passenger only, and a boxed bike won't fit. Bonus: taxi rides with a bike have prompted some great conversations with drivers about their own biking and travelling.
A rideshare. Our first pick is Coastal Rides, a BC-grown ride-hailing service and accredited BC Bike Stop covering the Sunshine Coast, Sea to Sky, Tofino and Ucluelet, and much of Vancouver Island. They actively court cyclists: "From the ferry terminal to the trailhead, Coastal Rides can seamlessly transport you to every mountain bike on the Coast," says their own Sunshine Coast bike road trip guide, which even suggests using them for point-to-point rides ("drop you off in Egmont and pick you up in Halfmoon Bay"). Some drivers carry bike racks, and the app lets you say how many bikes you're bringing when you request a ride.
Where Coastal Rides doesn't operate, other apps work too, with no official bike policy; it's the driver's call. Our approach is simple: message the driver "I have a clean bike in a bag and one passenger, ok?" We've never had a driver decline. In Metro Vancouver you can request a bigger vehicle outright, an Uber XL or Lyft XL. In smaller cities, check Uride, which runs in Kamloops, Kelowna, Vernon, Penticton, Nanaimo, Courtenay and Comox, and Prince George, and offers an XL tier for up to six passengers. Uride's booking screen also has a Pickup Notes field, a perfect place for the bike heads-up before anyone accepts.
A carpool. Poparide drivers all say explicitly in their listing whether bikes are welcome or not. If your bike is in a box or bag, you could also try asking a driver who accepts large luggage whether they'd take your bike; message before you book and say what shape the bike will be in.
Getting the bike car-ready#
There are three levels, and the right one depends on the vehicle and the trip:
- Front wheel off. The minimum, and often enough, even for a hatchback with the seats down. Lay the drivetrain side up, and bring a garbage bag or old towel to go under the chain so you leave the car as clean as you found it. A clean promise is your best negotiating chip.
- A soft bike bag. Our pick for taxis and rideshares. Wheel off, bike in, zip closed: now it's luggage, not a bike, and you can feel the driver relax when they see it. We use the Rhinowalk 27.5 inch/700C bike carry bag (about $60, also on Amazon.ca); it fits straight-bar and drop-bar bikes. Getting the bike in takes five minutes: bags off, handlebars turned parallel to the frame, front wheel off and padded beside the frame, zip. Full step-by-step with photos in our coach bus how-to.
- A cardboard bike box. The airport special. Boxes are big and rigid, so this is where a van really matters: phone ahead and ask for one, or at the airport taxi stand ask the curb coordinator, or just wait until a van appears, as it will at most major airports.
A couple of courtesies go a long way: allow extra time, keep the greasy side away from the seats, and tip like someone who wants the next cyclist to get a yes too.
Pairs well with our guide to taking your bike on a coach bus, which is often the other half of the same travel day.
What's worked for you? Tell us.
— Heather