Louis

(Mods. this is a cross post from the General Cycling forum, thanks)

Some friends of mine are emigrating to Vancouver Is. BC. They have built a house near Nanaimo and will be moving in late August/early September.

They are interested in beginning bicycling after they are settled in. Neither has much experience as an adult recreational cyclist and neither owns a bike yet, and will not likely lean toward hard core riding like some of us have. Their interest is mostly cruising the local area for fun and excersize. They have told me the area is hilly so I have suggested they purchase comfort or hybrid bikes with triple cranks and low gears.

Some questions:

In general, how is the cycling in that area? I've been led to believe it is great. No?
Local bike shops...They will need bikes, helmets, etc. etc. and advice. Any reccomendations?
Places to ride...trails, bike paths, parks etc.? Are there any roads too dangerous for bikes?

Any advice from local cyclists will be very helpful. I'll print this thread out and give it to them in about a month.

Thanks in advance.

m. diablo

i don't live in nanaimo (i'm in victoria), but the sister of the shop i work at is located there-- Oak Bay Bikes, Nanaimo. they should have everything you are looking for, including bikes, trail maps, helpful suggestions, etc.

vancouver island is a cyclist's dream, whether you are into mountain biking, road riding, recreational....... the only thing we don't have much of is downhilling and even that is just a hop, skip & a jump away.

overthehillmedi

Another shop they might want to check out is Pacific Rim Bicycles on Bowen Rd, Low pressure and nice people,not to say Oak Bay aren't nice people.

TheAvatar

Hey there,

I live in Nanaimo. While I'm definitely on the green side (just started biking about 6 weeks ago after deciding that I should do a sprint tri) the biking here is great. Both the Mountain biking in the area I live in, Cinnabar Valley/Extension area, and the road biking around here is great.

I'm not much of a mountain biker (yet), but I've really started spending some time on the road. I've done a lot of my training for this sprint tri in Cedar which is just south of Nanaimo. There are KM's of nice pavement, rural settings, and not much traffic.

I haven't dealt too much with bike shops. I've borrowed a Cannondale that I'm using and will probably buy a used bike later this year. The two shops mentioned in this thread I've heard good things about, but will probably head to Pacific Rim Bicycles first because they are a sponsor of the event I'm going in.

I keep a map of all my routes on google maps, so I would be more than happy to talk to your friends when they move here later in the year.

Nanaimo is a great place to live

Louis

Thanks for the replies. I'm printing this out for them.

John.BC

Know I'm late but just in case...I bike in north Nanaimo area all year round and must admit it can be hard for newbies because of the hills...I ride Dumont, Biggs, Jiggle pot a lot and love it...Real good LBS in Nanaimo. Oak Bay is the newest, with really enthusiastic owners, Cory and Sean...Arrowsmith Bikes is excellent, Basion is quiet but very knowledgable and Pacific Rim is great...all these are in the north end and each sell different brands so depends on what you like...If your friends like off road there are miles of trials up Dumont but I would suggest trying the paved trails along the freeway. They go thru the bush and woods and are great for intro riding.....

graybeard

Hi , we live in Cedar and cycle a lot. Any questions about local touring or mountain biking , I can probably give helpful information. (Sorry, don't know much personnally about the road race bike scene). Only one problem right now is the crappy weather. Our solution to the bad weather is to load up the bikes and head south for a month. We leave this Monday morning for Texas on a self supported tour of the South USA and North Mexico.
We are using touring bikes equipped with racks, tent, stove and panniers. My wife and I are both in our late 50's and really enjoy the adventure of cycling afar. Will check this site in March when we get back, if you have questions.

Pig_Chaser

Wow, that sounds really cool. You should blog it or post some photos or something.

Enjoy the trip!

John.BC

Looking forward to hearing about your trip...may the winds blow at your back....