Cyclists on the seawall encircling central Vancouver.
Green cityscapes, glass skyscrapers, grand mountains, and a gracious embrace of diversity make Vancouver a natural for the sporty gay. But come late July, southwestern British Columbia should be about the queerest place on the continent: There’s the city’s Queer Arts Festival (July 26–August 13), Vancouver Pride (July 25-31), and the North America Outgames (July 25-31), when this Olympic region again proves its athletic prowess. Competitors from as far away as Uganda will compete in various sports — a 10k run in Stanley Park, an EcoChallenge and Alpine marathon in Whistler, poker — and the event will hold an affiliated human rights conference to boot. Here, the city’s best places to fuel up and kit out your inner sportsman.