Better city for road cycling - Vancouver or Calgary?
 

Hi guys,

Which is the better city for road cycling - Vancouver or Calgary?

In terms of:

• number of bike-friendly roads
• kilometers of continuous dedicated bike lanes on roads
• kilometers of continuous separated bike paths
• friendliness of vehicle drivers towards cyclists
• ease of access of places by bike
• fewest cyclist accidents
• and any other criterion you wish to add

I've never ridden in Calgary but Vancouver has better weather where cyclists can easily ride all year so my guess is more commuting cyclists and better cycling infrastructure.

Vancouver has great cycling options for recreational cycling with access to decent local hills (Cypress & Seymour), great mountain biking on the North Shore, plenty of quiet, rural roads fairly close by and a vibrant cycling community.

And most important of all: fewer pickup trucks :)

Cowtown is basically unrideable for several months a year. There is brutal cold, during the depths of winter.

But the worst are the shoulder seasons, in which the afternoon temps are well above freezing, and the nighttime lows well below. This causes surface water to freeze to an almost skating rink-quality, and terrifying riding most mornings.

Calgary roads are also chewed up by frost heaving and potholes, leaving to scary riding in the spring.

Calgary can also be a lot hotter in the summer, and in the height of the summer months subjected to violent hailstorm and flash flooding. So if you commute to work, brace yourself for 20 degree (C) temperature swings between the morning and afternoon rides, and the unfortunate phenomenon where there are gorgeous blue skies all day, until 4:30 where massive thunderheads form, and by quitting time you are faced with gale-force winds and a torrential downpour. For 30 minutes.

Repeat for 40 days in a row.

If you're looking for a decent path system and "bike friendly" city; I'd say Vancouver beats Calgary by a substantial margin. I live in Calgary and absolutely avoid all of the paths (they are multi-use); I have the advantage of living on the edge of the city and being within 5 minutes of rural roads, which are great (decent drivers as well); but weather is still a factor as someone else pointed out.

Calgarian here
It is not the same city comparing with Calgary during Winter Olimpics games in this city 1989
Run down and falling apart.
City street crack pothols everywhere.
Sticking water valves dangerous riding if you dont watch asphalt when you ride.
How many times city of Vancouver was sued by drivers with ruined cars on potholes?
In Calgary alread 3 times this year.
Parhways are substandard eve new ones not smooth.
Many pathways are cracked across every 5-10-20 meters which makes riding annoying
C of Calgary is good at bragging how great city it is , Road Dep underfunded that is for sure
Weather is another topic,

Van