The wheels keep turning as many of our fine Gastown locals bike to work. We met up with Heather Fleck, from Global Relay –  the market leader in compliance messaging, archiving and message management, located on Cambie and Cordova and with Jakob Schmidt and Joel Cheyne from the great and mighty visual effects giant – Industrial Light & Magic located on Water Street.

They are Gastown locals and they too, love biking to work.

Heather Fleck – Data Import Specialist and Coordinator on the Data Services Team at Global Relay 

Heather: There are a lot of reasons that influence my decision to bike to work. It’s more cost effective and it’s really nice, getting fresh air at the start of the day. It’s also a nice way to clear your head at the end of the day and it’s great exercise. I’ve been biking all year round for a couple of years now.

Favorite spots in Gastown:

I love Revolver for coffee and Tacofino is one of my favourite spots for food. I also just discovered Bao Down recently and I’m loving their steam buns for lunch.

Jakob Schmidt – Creature Technical Director at Industrial Light & Magic 

Jakob: It’s so convienient to ride my bike to work. I can get from home to work in about 15 minutes. It’s fast, enjoyable and relaxing – most of the time. I feel a lot fresher when I get to work rather than stressing in traffic or being on a crowded bus with some weird people. I still need coffee when I get to work though.

Favorite spots in Gastown:

It’s Gastown itself which is my favourite area in Vancouver. I love that there is a noticible absence of any big chain stores. It’s that which makes the neighbourhood so much more interesting. It’s has a lot more character than other areas in the city, so it’s Gastown as whole, which I particularly like.

Joel Cheyne – Production Coordinator at Industrial Light & Magic 

Joel: It’s actually way faster than taking the bus or driving. When I leave for work in the morning, I can get door to door in under 10 minutes. As I live on the top of a hill, I get a good workout with some cardio on the way home, which feels good. The of convenience of it is the biggest thing for me right now. I also don’t need another coffee when I get to work as I’m wide awake after being on my bike.

Favorite spots in Gastown:

My favorite lunch spot is Smart Mouth Cafe – I go there about three times a week. I fill  in the week with Tacofino every now and then. For night spots – I like The Charles Bar and The Metropole is a lot of fun.