DIY Vancouver by bike

Terry Fox waves to me.

Naturally, I wave back.

And then I stop my rental bike in the plaza in front of BC Place Stadium and the BC Sports Hall of Fame because this series of four sculptures of Fox is so striking.

The bronzes by Vancouver artist, designer and novelist Douglas Coupland are a poignant and perfect tribute to a Canadian hero who was born in Winnipeg and raised in Port Coquitlam, British Columbia.

Fox, a young cancer survivor with a prosthetic leg, ran a marathon a day halfway across Canada in the summer of 1980 to raise money for cancer research.

While Fox had to abandon his quest of running coast to coast when his cancer came back — he died at the age of 22 in June 1981 — his inspiration lives on.

The statues start with a life-size one at the back and progressively get bigger as Fox runs to the front of the plaza and emerges twice the size, a visual representation of how Fox’s legacy is larger than life.

My stop to pay tribute to Fox is part of a no-agenda, fly-by-the-seat-of-my-pants, self-guided bike tour of Vancouver.

All I know when I pick up a commuter bike at Coal Harbour Bike Rentals is that I’ll pedal around for a couple of hours to see what I can see.

After all, Vancouver is the glorious metropolis where mountains meet the sea and all you need is a sunny day and a pair of wheels to explore and enjoy the city quickly and completely.

The park

First, I turn left and cycle into Stanley Park.

You can’t overstate the majesty of this 400 hectares of West Coast rainforest with a nine-kilometre sea wall hugging the Pacific Ocean.

It’s the sea wall I will follow, taking in the spectacular views across English Bay to the go-go Vancouver skyline.

At Hallelujah Point, I come across a statue of another, lesser-known British Columbia sportsman: sprinter Harry Winston Jerome.

The bronze dramatically depicts Jerome breaking through an imaginary finish line — just as he would have when he set six world records in the 1960s.

The other stops

Cycling back downtown, I hit another statue of sorts — the Olympic cauldron in Jack Poole Plaza that became a permanent fixture after Vancouver hosted the 2010 Winter Games.

Not far away, in Granville Square Plaza, it’s worth a quick photo stop at the hot-pink Vancouver sign overlooking Canada Place and the cruise ships headed to Alaska.

Then, just a few hundred metres further, the Gastown Steam Clock attracts a gaggle of tourists every quarter-hour to hear it whistle and see it shoot out vapours.

Apparently, it’s one of just seven remaining operational steam clocks in the world.

I finish with a leisurely cycle through Coopers Park and along Marinaside Crescent with views of False Creek and Quayside Marina.

The dinner

Along the way, I spy atmospheric Provence Marinaside restaurant and patio and make a note to return there for a well-deserved dinner and drinks.

Rental bike returned, I saunter into Provence Marinaside and grab a seat at the bar to order a Niçoise salad with a glass of rosé.

The food and drink are both favourites in the restaurant’s namesake — Provence, the southern France region whose weather and vibe very much resemble Vancouver’s on this ideal evening.

The sleep

The hotel I’m staying at — The Douglas — is within walking distance.

While it’s part of the Marriott hotel empire and the Parq Casino complex, it is positioned as a boutique property under the chain’s Autograph Collection banner.

While not on the bike, I take note of another sculpture in front of The Douglas while approaching the hotel on foot.

“Slow” is a stainless-steel installation of a giant mother panda and her baby — a piece of art meant to symbolize family, love and eternity and designed to slow you down to admire and appreciate life.

The 17-storey hotel dials into its trendy downtown Yaletown location by being hip, urban and woodsy all at the same time.

The Douglas is named after the magnificent Douglas fir tree, a key species in the forestry industry, which used to be the backbone of the B.C. economy.

The check-in desk is a glass-encased, 25-foot-long Douglas fir log and on the sixth floor rooftop there’s a treed urban park.

Rooms are a contrast of wooden headboards, desks and shelves, comfy bed and carpet and exposed concrete ceiling.

And, yes, that’s a Yeti cooler on the shelf instead of a mini-fridge. Fill it with ice from the station on your floor (or call room service) to chill your kombucha, wine, iced coffee or snack.

You can take the cooler along on any of your Vancouver explorations, too.

And, if you want to make the relationship permanent, you can buy the Yeti for $600 by having the charge applied to your room.

smacnaull@nowmediagroup.ca