Today we parked near the 22nd Street Skytrain station in New Westminster, headed towards the Skytrain and picked up the trail heading west. The trees were at their best today -- brilliant reds and yellows. It felt like a
Foliage Fall Tour on the East Coast.
This
BC Parkway 7-11 Skytrain Trail is a great urban ride along the old InterUrban train tracks starting in New Westminster, heading into Burnaby and then towards Vancouver. The route is fairly flat and tucks in behind MetroTown Center and alongside Central Park. I really liked peeking into back yards and seeing many interesting collections in yards along the way. There's old stores and my first school - Maywood Elementary along the route.
Some of the 7-11 trail signage seems to have disappeared over the years, but we followed as best we could and reached Commercial Drive in less than an hour. The Drive is a great place to end your path -- head north and find a good spot for lunch. Some of my favourites:
The Little Nest on Charles at Commercial is amazing - great food and coffee and lots of parents and kids to watch.
Sweet Cherubim makes the best salad and vegie dishes,
Brittania Sushi for delicious sashimi and
JJ Bean for coffee and a grilled cheese sandwich. If you fit in this tour at dinner-time, I highly recommend
Carthage Cafe or
Havanas for a good coffee + food + art gallery, or Stella's for beer and mussels. Of course there is so much more on The Drive!
Because the sun came out late today, we linked two routes together and followed the
Central Valley Greenway down to False Creek and had lunch at my favourite Mediteranean spot --
Branas Mediterranean Grill at 617 Stamps Landing, right next door to Monks. Lunch here is amazing (as would be dinner!). It's inexpensive and the view is fantastic. Everyone felt like we'd flown to the Mediterranean for lunch. Well, I guess we had sort of flown -- down the pathway! (see details at http://www.colleenrides.com/2009/08/central-valley-greenway.html)
After lunch you can cycle back along the BC Parkway 7-11 Trail and retrace your route. Today my cycle-mates kept saying "but we didn't come this way" -- it all looks different when you're heading in another direction.
Or -- if you've had enough or it's threatening to rain, then just load into the Skytrain Station at Commercial and Broadway and whisk back to the car.
All in all -- a great route. 12.6 km one way or 25 km return, fairly flat and easy
Here's the map in MapMyRide:
and on
bikely.com: http://www.bikely.com/maps/bike-path/Skytrain-Trail-7-11
Happy Riding! Colleen
