The spring GoByBike season kicks off on Sunday, June 2 at Nanaimo's Maffeo Sutton Park and runs until June 9, where riders have a chance to win prizes at several 'celebration stations' around town to help encourage more users to ditch their vehicles for a bicycle. (Greater Nanaimo Cycling Coalition)

By Jordan Davidson

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NANAIMO — With warmer spring weather firmly in place, the City of Nanaimo and the province of B.C. want residents to try swapping their vehicles for their pedal bikes this week.

The spring GoByBike event starts Sunday, June 2 with a kick-off and bike drive at Maffeo Sutton Park from 4 p.m. until 6 p.m.

Various celebration spots are set-up around Nanaimo through Sunday, June 9.

Nanaimo’s active transportation project specialist Sadie Robinson said the impact of switching from a vehicle to a bicycle provides several benefits.

“Cycling not only contributes to an active lifestyle, but it reduces vehicle emissions and mitigates traffic congestion. Many people participate for these reasons, but we see a lot of families cycling together and an older demographic as well with the increased popularity of e-bikes.”

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Riders can register for the Nanaimo event at GoByBikebc.ca/Nanaimo and log their kilometres ridden this week for a chance to win prizes, with this year’s provincial grand prize being a cycling adventure to Italy.

Six different celebration stations will be set up around Nanaimo at different locations every day, where riders can stop by, say hello and enter to win even more prizes.

A map of all the different locations is available here.

“People can stop by to say hi, they can grab some refreshments through free swag and participate in cycling-themed activities,” Robinson told NanaimoNewsNOW.

The spring GoByBike campaign will wrap up with the Pride Parade on Sunday, June 9. Participants are encouraged to decorate their bikes and meet at Deverill Square Park at the corner of Milton St. and Haliburton St. to line up for the parade which starts around 11 a.m.

“Instead of only celebrating ‘biking to work’, let’s celebrate biking everywhere; it’s a smart, healthy and green way to go anywhere, any time,” said Nanaimo mayor Leonard Krog.

According to their website, last year over 61,000 British Columbians participated in the winter, spring and fall GoByBike weeks, logging over 2.3 million kilometres, equating to over 500,000 kilograms of greenhouse gases.

They said that’s the emission equivalent of 112 gasoline-powered vehicles driven for one year.

More information on the Nanaimo events can be found here.

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jordan@nanaimonewsnow.com

On Twitter: @JordanDHeyNow