Steveston Velo is a newly formed road cycling club based out of Sanctuary Café in Richmond B.C. that focuses on building the community through cycling and coffee.
The newly launched club is the first and only cycling club in Richmond which has been considered a popular and desirable place to cycle as the 40 km “Richmond Loop” is a favourite trail of many riders.
Tim Lee, owner of Sanctuary Café and founder of Steveston Velo, wanted to create the club, and make it something a little bigger and more than just customers on a particular day.
It’s become something that seems to go hand in hand. Cyclists stopping for some mid or post ride caffeine and croissant and Sanctuary Café has become a local hub for tons of cyclists.
Erin Lee, president of the Steveston Velo, shares the important role the café plays for the club.
“The connection really is that we want to have this type of atmosphere where once you finish your ride, the idea is that you come back, have a coffee, have some food, socialize and build that connection both with your club members, but also with the community as well.”
- Erin Lee, President of Steveston Velo
The first-year club has already exceeded all the Lee’s expectations, accruing roughly 120 members in just 3 months.
The demand and interest in Richmond for a cycling club is extremely visible to the Lee’s, giving them tons of hope that the club and community will only continue to grow.
“We were blown away by the amount of interest we had in the club. Originally we had thought, there is always that fear you start something and nobody comes. And then we originally were going to cap the club at 50 and within the first day we had 50 people signed up and then we were like, oh, we’re going to cap it at like 100 and now we are at almost 120 members. As a first year for first club, it’s amazing to have that many people interested.”
- Erin Lee, President of Steveston Velo
The club has 4 levels and rides on Thursday evenings for about 60 kilometres and on Saturday morning for about 100 kilometres, making for a fun and inclusive way to get some exercise and socialize.
A road bike is required and their are certain speed limits so make sure your ready ride and pump those legs.
Check out their website for more information at https://www.stevestonvelo.com