Foreword

Bike Sense is intended to help make cycling in British Columbia safer, more inclusive, and more accessible.

Originally published by the Greater Victoria Cycling Coalition, Bike Sense has been a trusted source of information on bicycles and cycling to British Columbians since 2000. Learning about bikes and how to ride them—at any age, for any reason, in different conditions across British Columbia—is the purpose of Bike Sense.

New approaches to community development and city-building, as well as the adoption of transportation principles and best practices from other provinces and countries, have led to more favourable conditions for cycling in many parts of B.C., and growth in active travel province-wide.

Bike Sense was written by representatives of cycling advocacy organizations, cycling skills instructors and education providers, and a wide range of transportation planners and related subject matter experts. As with past editions, stakeholder contributions also informed the scope and tone of Bike Sense, and reflect some of the cultural changes occurring in personal mobility, whether for fitness, recreation, sport, transportation, or utility. 

The 7th edition of Bike Sense contains passages from the B.C. Motor Vehicle Act, including relevant changes to provincial laws and regulations that have occurred since the last edition. While many words and terms related to cycling are defined here, emphasis has been added for those which the reader may wish to research further.

Bike Sense is produced and published by the British Columbia Cycling Coalition, with financial support for the 7th edition provided by the Government of Canada, the Government of British Columbia, and the Insurance Corporation of British Columbia.