Mt. Seymour Cycling!
Mt. Seymour is one of the few world-class hillclimbs we have in Vancouver (ok North Vancouver) and it’s an awesome ride. Luckily I had the chance to ride up the slopes with some people from the Fixed Vancouver forum last weekend and had an awesome time.
If you want to give it a go, the best route from downtown is to head east and go over the Port Mann bridge, ride up the Dollarton Highway until Ellis Drive, where you make a left and roll up some seriously steep streets to Mt. Seymour Parkway. The climb up Ellis Dr. is just a prologue, if you can’t deal with Ellis, you are in for some trouble.
Make a right onto the Mt. Seymour Parkway and head down to the minimall where there’s a great ‘Bean around the World’ coffee shop that’s usually packed with cyclists on any given sunny day. Have an espresso and take a breather, maybe reload on some water. At this point it should be obvious where to turn next. Head straight up Mt Seymour Drive and prepare for some real pain. The bottom 4k is the toughest with some sustained 12% grades, which gets “easier” towards the top at about 8%.
Glory to those who reach the summit, as it’s an awesome view, and you never get tired of conquering the mountain – check it out if you’re into climbing!
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