GranFondo bike event to close roads from Vancouver to Whistler

Thousands of cyclists are expected to converge onVancouver streets Saturday morning for an annual bike event that starts in Stanley Park and ends more than 100 kilometres away in Whistler, B.C.

Now in its 10th year, the GranFondoWhistler has attracted more than 4,500 bike riders to complete thegruelling 122-kilometre ride up the Sea-to-Sky Highway.

Because of its size and the number of participants, roads and separated lanes are set aside for the cyclists, creating what organizers say is the safest day of the year to be on a bike.

B.C.'s Ministry of Transportation is advising drivers there will be delays of up to threehours along the route due to road closures between 5:30 a.m. and 4:30 p.m.A full list of closures and diversions can be found atthe RBCGranFondo website.

BC Ferries is alsoadvisingpassengers that traffic at the Horseshoe Bay terminal will be re-routed to Marine Drive through West Vancouverfrom 5:30 a.m. to 9:30 a.m.

The GranFondo began in Italy some time in the 1970s as a mass cycling festival. The Italian word roughly translated into English means "the big ride."