GranFondo bike event to close roads from Vancouver to Whistler
Gruelling 122-km event celebrates its 10th anniversary this year
Thousands of cyclists are expected to converge on Vancouver streets Saturday morning for an annual bike event that starts in Stanley Park and ends more than 100 kilometres away in Whistler, B.C.
Now in its 10th year, the GranFondo Whistler has attracted more than 4,500 bike riders to complete the gruelling 122-kilometre ride up the Sea-to-Sky Highway.
Because of its size and the number of participants, roads and separated lanes are set aside for the cyclists, creating what organizers say is the safest day of the year to be on a bike.
B.C.'s Ministry of Transportation is advising drivers there will be delays of up to three hours along the route due to road closures between 5:30 a.m. and 4:30 p.m. A full list of closures and diversions can be found at the RBC GranFondo website.
Keeping over 4,000 cyclists safe means that there are a number of changes to traffic flow on Highway 99, and we have a full list of traffic impacts listed on our website here: <a href="https://t.co/YqMcZENbOU">https://t.co/YqMcZENbOU</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/rbcgranfondo?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#rbcgranfondo</a> <a href="https://t.co/vzdNfLtWJT">pic.twitter.com/vzdNfLtWJT</a>
—@rbcgranfondoBC Ferries is also advising passengers that traffic at the Horseshoe Bay terminal will be re-routed to Marine Drive through West Vancouver from 5:30 a.m. to 9:30 a.m.
The GranFondo began in Italy some time in the 1970s as a mass cycling festival. The Italian word roughly translated into English means "the big ride."
