Disaster Relief Trials

A disaster drill in the form of a cargo bike race
simulating a Day-4 relief supplies run.
Your neighbours need help – do you have a bike?

Date: Saturday August 26, 2023

Location: 125 Victory Ship Way (near Reckless Cycles)
at The Shipyards, Lower Lonsdale, North Vancouver, BC

Schedule:

9:00 am Participant check-in
10:00 am Race start
12:00 pm Race finish (estimated)
12:30 pm Awards & prizes, media

Click here to Register To Race

Click here to Register As A Volunteer

Email us at drt.vancouver@gmail.com for more information

Congratulations!

The inaugural DRT Vancouver race was a big success. Here are some photos from the event.

The Scenario

It’s four days after The Big One, a magnitude-9 earthquake. You and your neighbours are running low on food, fresh water, fuel and medicine. Emergency services are swamped, major bridges are closed, and minor bridges may not be safe for vehicles to pass over. But it is safe for citizens on bikes to pass over those bridges and they can also route their way around closed roads and past debris.

The DRT Vancouver race is a timed event over several hours with a series of checkpoints across the North Shore to pick up and deliver relief supplies – food, water, fuel, fragile medicines, building supplies, etc. Competitors are given a map and a manifest an hour before the race, and they have only this map to plan a route (batteries are too precious to waste on handheld devices, and the cell networks are overloaded and unreliable). Obstacles will be integrated into the route such as barriers, rough terrain, and a water crossing, and by the end of the race competitors will be delivering up to 50 kg of supplies to the finish line.

All human-powered vehicles are eligible to compete including ebikes – if it has pedals and can carry cargo, you can race in the DRT Vancouver. Different categories will be used to group participants depending on the capability of their bikes and level of competitiveness. Teams and families are welcome in addition to individuals!

DRT Vancouver will be run in partnership with provincial and local emergency management services. The focus of the event is equally on showcasing the cargo capability of bikes and building community resiliency and disaster relief capability.

More Information

Please email drt.vancouver@gmail.com if you are interested in participating in the DRT Vancouver as a competitor or as a volunteer.

We are also interested in hearing from any businesses and community organizations who would like to partner with us. Please email drt.vancouver@gmail.com if you would like to learn more.