While Vancouver is relatively bike-friendly, its major arteries and busier streets can be uncomfortable and unsafe for all but the experienced cyclist. As a helpful gesture, the city introduced 16 interconnected bikeways, identified by green bicycle signs; although most routes share the road with cars, they're well chosen for safety, and include cyclist-activated signals and other bike-friendly measures. Many TransLink buses have bike racks, and bikes are welcome on the SeaBus and on the SkyTrain at off-peak times. Aquabus Ferries transport bikes and riders across False Creek.

The most popular recreational route, much of it off-road, is the Seaside route. It runs about 32 km (20 mi) from the seawall in Coal Harbour, around Stanley Park and False Creek, through Kitsilano to Spanish Banks. For detailed route descriptions and a downloadable map check out www.city.vancouver.bc.ca. Vancouver cycling routes connect with routes on the North Shore, in Richmond and Delta to the south, and in municipalities to the east. For sub-area and region-wide maps go to the regional transportation authority, TransLink (www.translink.bc.ca) or the Metro Vancouver (formerly Greater Vancouver Regional District) Web site (www.gvrd.bc.ca). Cycling maps are also available from most bike shops and bike-rental outlets. Helmets are required by law and a sturdy lock is essential.

Bike Rentals

Most bike-rental outlets also rent Rollerblades and jogging strollers. Cycling helmets, a legal requirement in Vancouver, come with the rentals. Locks and maps are also normally supplied.

Bayshore Bicycles. If you're starting your bike ride near Stanley Park, try this friendly store. It has a range of bikes and Rollerblades as well as baby joggers and bike trailers. 745 Denman St., West End. 604/688-2453.

Reckless Bike Stores. This outfit rents bikes on the Yaletown section of the bike path. To explore the Granville Island and Kitsilano area, a better bet might be their Kitsilano branch. 110 Davie St., Yaletown. 604/648-2600.

Spokes Bicycle Rentals. Located at Denman and Georgia, near Stanley Park, Spokes has a wide selection of bikes, including kids' bikes, tandems, mountain bikes, and Rollerblades. They also offer 90-minute tours of Stanley Park for C$33 and 3½-hour rides around Stanley Park, False Creek, and Granville Island for C$66; rates include bike rentals. 1798 W. Georgia St., West End. 604/688-5141.

Mountain Biking

Mountain biking may be a worldwide phenom, but its most radical expression, known as free-riding, was born in the 1990s on the steep and rugged North Shore Mountains. Here, the mostly young thrill-seekers ride ultra-heavy-duty bikes through gnarly forest, along log-strewn trails, over rocky precipices, and down stony stream beds (not to mention along self-installed obstacles like planks and teeter-totters)—and live to tell about it. And while this madcap sport has found greater fame at the Whistler Mountain Bike Park, where 100,000 people ride each year (and ascend by lift), North Shore free-riding remains true to its literal roots. This anarchic culture can be explored at the North Shore Mountain Biking Web site, www.nsmb.com.

Lower Seymour Conservation Reserve. Nestled into the precipitous North Shore Mountains, this reserve has 25 km (15.5 mi) of challenging rain-forest trails. The Seymour Valley Trailway is a 10-km (6-mi) paved pathway, suitable for cyclists, in-line skaters, baby strollers, and wheelchairs; it meanders over streams and through woods. Other trails, like Corkscrew and Salvation, are classified as advanced or even extreme. End of Lillooet Rd., North Vancouver. 604/432-6286.

Pacific Spirit Regional Park. Pacific Spirit is beautifully sited on the Point Grey peninsula on Vancouver's west side, close to the University of British Columbia. Open year-round, dawn to dusk, it includes 38 km (23.5 mi) for cycling and horseback riding. 4915 W. 16th Ave., Point Grey. 604/224-5739.

Cypress Mountain Bike Park. A privately run biking facility within Cypress Bowl Provincial Park, the terrain will host free-style skiing and snowboarding events during the 2010 Winter Olympics but is closed for venue construction until further notice. Cypress Bowl Rd., West Vancouver. Exit 8 off Hwy. 1 westbound. 604/913-2453.

Mountain Bike Rentals

Cove Bike Shop. In the village of Deep Cove on Indian Arm, the Cove Bike Shop pioneered the design and construction of mountain bikes for this punishing terrain and continues to market them worldwide. Given huge insurance costs, it's also the only bike shop that rents them. Bikes of all types and sizes are available March through October. 4310 Gallant Ave., North Vancouver. 604/929-2222 or 604/985-2222.