Folding Bikes Make Travel by Float Plane Easy and Affordable
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Image by Richard Masoner
Folding bikes are the perfect mode of transport for cyclists hopping back and forth between Vancouver and Victoria
Compared to the cost and carbon emissions of travelling by car and ferry, the float planes connecting Vancouver, Victoria and the Gulf Islands are an option well worth considering for the eco-conscious traveller.
In fact, local seaplane company Harbour Air says its service between Vancouver and Victoria is the most climate-friendly way for a single passenger to make the trip (compared to ferry, jet, helicopter or twin engine seaplane).
But once you arrive, the challenge of getting to your final destination in a timely, sustainable fashion can still be an issue.
Harbour Air's carbon neutral air service
Puddle jump from Vancouver to Victoria with folding bike in tow via local air carrier Harbour Air
Renting a car is time-consuming. Relying on cabs is expensive. Trusting in transit is a gamble. One solution is to travel with a folding bike. Not only is it a green way to get around, the cost savings make a folder a fiscally smart reason to ride too.
But travelling green means travelling light, so you'll need a bike that's not too heavy. Local float plane companies have around a 25 lb (11.5 kg) baggage weight limit.
(According to Meredith Moll, Harbour Air’s sales and marketing manager, the company doesn’t charge extra for additional luggage, and if there’s room on the flight you can bring it with you, or send it on a flight before or after your scheduled trip. But it’s important to call ahead to make the appropriate arrangements.)
If short urban trips are the ideal application of two-wheeler technology, is it too much to ask of our pinstriped movers and shakers (especially those working in government) to lead the way by pedalling portable bikes to those downtown business meetings?
As for those who want to run away to the Gulf Islands for a weekend, what better way to establish green credentials and fit in with eco-conscious locals? If you want to be the change you wish to see, these three bikes are light enough to let you ride, fold and fly.
I agree that Campbell River & Port Hardy are the same-as is Ukee-Prince Rupert and Bella Bella are similar ditto Nanaimo -local roads are in no way cycle friendly in fact most are a shortcut to the ER locals generally drive like drunken Diablo 3madmen.
Thanks for your comments. I do feel compelled to address a couple of them in the interests of accuracy.
As mentioned in the article Harbour Air does make some allowances for passengers who have more luggage than the weight limit allows. Please note the fourth paragraph.
As for all Vancouver and Victoria destinations being within walking distance of the seaplane terminals, there are lots of places a traveler might wish to go outside of Vancouver's downtown core or Victoria's Inner harbour, and for time-pressed people, being able to travel at roughly four times the speed of walking, even to nearby destinations, may be an attractive option, especially if they are only traveling with a briefcase or laptop computer on business.
As for the other areas you note, they weren't mentioned in the article, although, having ridden a bicycle in Campbell River, Nanaimo, and Port Hardy, I didn't notice the drivers or road conditions to be any worse than in Vancouver.
Thanks again for reading. Chris Keam
Note that I've flown into every major floatplane terminal in BC and have never been anyplace where one of those folding bikes would be of any use whatsoever.
Starting with the obvious both Vancouver & Victoria have terminals right downtown-everything is within walking distance why would anyone tackle city traffic if they didn't have to and transit was right to hand.
Campbell River & Port Hardy are the same-as is Ukee-Prince Rupert and Bella Bella are similar ditto Nanaimo -local roads are in no way cycle friendly in fact most are a shortcut to the ER locals generally drive like drunken madmen.
The Gulf Islands 'might' be an exception depending where you wanted to go and if you were young enough to tackle the steep hills on a toy bicycle.
And luggage?
I guess a person could strap something to their back but O Yeah their luggage allowance has already been burnt up by the bike.
So it's take a flyer on whether or not the bike will fly with you or pack a single toothbrush and hope for the best-also look up the aviation term 'bulked out'-those racks take up a lot of precious space.
This is all of a piece with the New Ethos which baldly states: Internal Combustion Bad/Slogging It Out Good-IOW a textbook definition of bollocks as anyone who's ever sat in the front seat of a floatplane and smelled the unburnt avgas spewing out of the motor knows.
I wonder if the author of this article has ever actually flown in a seaplane-I think not.
Drinking Harbour Air Koolaid and combined with 'socially correct' behaviour doesn't make for objective journalism.
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