A CENTURY of HISTORY

Milestones deserve attention and the Greater Vancouver Motorcycle Club celebrates a significant anniversary in 2022 with 100 years of history. Since inception, the GVMC has continuously promoted power two-wheeled sport, both on-road and off-road. As crucial as motorcycles are to the group, it’s always been a social club – perhaps even moreso. Proving that: “My dad met my mom at one of the GV’s dances late in 1948,” says long-time member Chris Carey.

And it all started when pioneer Vancouver motorcyclist Fred Deeley began importing BSAs in 1916, followed by Harley-Davidsons in 1917. After a short time selling motorcycles and forming bonds with like-minded enthusiasts, Deeley and a small group of friends often ventured out on their machines for weekend picnic rides.

In the Beginning

The roads they traversed were mostly gravel, and according to a GVMC history book called written by Carey’s father, Bob, who joined the club in 1948, these routes would have most likely taken the motorcyclists up the Fraser Valley. Word about these excursions spread among other Vancouver riding enthusiasts, and in 1922, Deeley established the Lions Gate Motorcycle