Trail Tales » XC Rides

Dawn Patrol

Colin — Sun, 31 Jul 2011 05:09:44 +0000

“Ok. We leave at 5:45am,” confirmed Dre, before I headed home to get a few short hours sleep.

Relaxing on the couch of the Riding Fool Hostel in Cumberland BC with BC Bike Ride and the Mountain Biking BC tour, Andreas Hestler told Seb Kemp and Nicolas Teichrob of the great loop of Bear Buns, 42nd Street and Off Broadway.

“It’s a shame we missed those trails today” he added.

The group had been busy, their trek beginning in the Whistler valley, onto South Vancouver Island, and now into the Comox Valley, splitting the time between Cumberland and Forbidden Plateau trails. One can spend days on each area, but this quick tour was looking for the best of both sides of the lake. Tomorrow they would leave at 7:30am for the ferry to Hornby Island.

“Who’s up for a dawn patrol?”

The sum total of four people stepped up and decided to go for it. The ride should take about an hour and 15 minutes, and we have to be back by 7am… So we’re pulling out at 5:45am!

Considering it was approaching midnight already and some were planning a forray over to the Waverley Hotel, it was time to call it a night and head for bed.

A quick pack job at home making sure all the important stuff was ready to go, it was lights out.

5:25am

I had coffee ready to go and after a short 10 minute drive arrived at the hostel looking for signs of life.

Seb was first, followed by Nic and Dre.

Great morning for a ride

The air was still and the temperature was just about perfect. There was some dew on the ground, the official sunrise was 5:45am and we were on the trail 10 minutes later.

@sebastiankemp: Rode three of the funnest and most imaginative trails today. All before 7am. Today will be a good day twitpic.com/5xp2ks

We rolled back to the Hostel just shy of 7am. Smiles all around. A quick stop at the Kumberland Grind for a fresh coffee and we headed to our respective offices.

It may not my first dawn patrol, but by far one of the most enjoyable!

One last ride

Colin — Fri, 10 Sep 2010 18:32:10 +0000

Narrow trails at speed do not work well with wide bars... note the oval bark removal on the closest tree...

“Is he ok?” John asked Teresa as they watched me pick myself up off the ground and check that everything was still attached and in one piece.

While racing down a beautiful descent of Montana singletrack, I came to realize that not all regions have jumped on the 710mm handlebar choice. the lodgepole pines were a smidge too narrow and after clipping my left grip lock-on, I pin-balled for another 20 or so feet down the trail, my bike coming to rest perpedicular to the trail direction.

We were just about finished a great ride with John Friedrich of the inaugural Stumpjumper Trail Crew, and finishing up our 10 day road trip through the northwest US. Bozeman was our final stop before the trip home and a Sunday morning ride near Butte Montana seemed like a great idea.

After being rained out the last few days the sun shone down on us. The trails were very dry no matter what with a base that closely resembled crushed granite. It made for great traction and smooth flowy trails.

Our days of travel and ride at elevation were finally helping as this much climbing would have destroyed us early in the week.

Great new trails being created - looks like easy work

We had noticed Forest Service vehicles in the parking lot and a few horse trailers. The trail maintenance in the area is funded and provides for additional resources not found in our home region. We came upon their handy work as we approached Beaver Ponds.

The trails in Montana were like home with the trees roots and rocks, but in many ways completly foreign to us.

Different than Sun Valley with sage brush and wild flowers, flowing through forests of pine, it was the smooth and buff trail that set this ride apart.

A shared beer at the end, we parted ways and started our trek back to Vancouver Island.

Continental Divide Trail & Beaver Ponds, Butte Montana

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Road trip 2010

Colin — Fri, 16 Jul 2010 22:50:41 +0000

Summer has arrived, and with it comes a great opportunity to hit the road to check out new places. Through the power of the internet, blogs, twitter and the Stumpjumper Trail Crew, we have come to meet a few people who share our love for threads of singletrack.

While Vancouver Island is blessed with an abundance of trails to ride, having met many racers through the BC Bike Race, we’ve heard of great riding in so many other places. Mtnbikinggirl and I have chosen two locations to spend our time riding this summer. Sun Valley, Idaho and Bozeman, Montana. I’ve traveled these areas in the past but haven’t ridden the local trails.

Along the way we hope to sample various restaurants, brew pubs, fruit stands, bike shops, lakes, rivers and mountains.

Be sure to follow our progress.

Road Trip

Ride Report – Forbidden Plateau XC ride

Colin — Mon, 19 Oct 2009 08:00:24 +0000

Great ride today with some good friends. Trails were a bit damp in spots, but the sun which appeared later in the ride was very welcomed. Beautiful fall colours were enjoyed by all.

Forbidden Plateau XC / AM Ride

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Ride Report – Snowden Demo Forest

Colin — Mon, 05 Oct 2009 01:59:48 +0000

Snowden Demonstration Forest is a network of trails just north of Campbell River, BC on the Gold River highway. Flowy singletrack through second growth forest ranges from overgrown railbeds to rocky and rooty technical trail. Recent funding initiatives by the federal government has provided for a trail crew which has been clearing back overgrown trails, improving drainage, rebuilding bridges and creating for a much need upgrade to this longstanding trail network.

Each Labour Day weekend, this network is home to the Campbell River 50k challenge, with each loop consisting of over 25km’s of singletrack. To put it simply, if you’re looking for endless singletrack for your xc rig, this is a top location on Vancouver Island.

Snowden Demo Forest

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Valley Ride – BC Bike Race Day 3

Colin — Wed, 30 Sep 2009 23:09:20 +0000

If you want epic loops on Vancouver Island, look no further than the 2009 Day 3 BC Bike Race course. Big climbs, great decents, lots of singletrack and a few rivers to cool of in. Logging in the fall of 2009 will affect some of the trails, but new trails will soon emerge.

BC Bike Race 2009 Day 3

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Ride Report – Moe’s Misery

Colin — Thu, 24 Sep 2009 06:06:59 +0000

First night ride of the season (last ride we ended in a bit of darkness) so we headed for some simple xc trails to make sure my lights would work.

Moe’s Misery is an old school trail placed on the upper banks of the Trent River south of Royston, BC. Easy access has been good and bad for the trail as more recently ATV’s have been travelling the route and widening the once narrow trail. Just keep an eye out to the left as the trail comes close to some quite significant drops to the river below.

Moe’s Misery

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Ride Report – Sept 21st, 2009

Colin — Tue, 22 Sep 2009 05:25:46 +0000

Had a great ride tonight with Teresa and Katie (the dog). Started with Cabin Fever XC down to the Cabin, turned left and joined up with Dirty Jane. At the top of the climbing section turned right onto Black Dog and then completed the ride with Puntledge Plunge, then Bears Bait and back to the Nymph Falls parking lot via Midline trail. Great ride – awesome sunset.

Cabin Fever, Dirty Jane, Black Dog, Plunge

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Kootenay bike trip tips

Colin — Fri, 18 Sep 2009 15:25:47 +0000

The many views of The kootenays

As resource industries fade and regions need to find other forms of economic stimulus, tourism has become a strong component of revitalization. From historic tours to recreation sites, rails to trails, summer chairlift operations and bike parks, many communities are diversifying.

Our recent trip to the Kootenays showed these changes in spades. We often saw views of quiet sawmills, mining sites, equipment and empty buildings. We also saw many tourists, people enjoying outdoor recreation and great heritage and tourism related sites.

The Kootenays have been so enthralled by the opportunity for mountain biking that they have created a great guide and websites for your travel planning.

Here’s a list of resources available to you for your travel planning

Kootenay Rockies Mountain Biking Website – Tourism BC website with an overview of trails
Kootenay Rockies Mountain Bike Vacations Booklet – available in hard copy and online
Kootenay Rockies Website – Overall regional website for accommodation and tourism info
Kootenay Rockies mobile site – formatted for mobile phones and devices.

Trail maps are available for the following areas

Revelstoke – pick up at local bike shops $7
Golden – free trail map at bike shops and tourism locations
Invermere – no published maps
Fernie – maps available at local shops
Nelson – guidebook at bike shops and outdoor stores $15
Rossland – map at local bike shops $9
Christina Lake – map at Wild Ways
Cranbrook – free community forest map at Tourism office
Kimberley – nature park map at hotels and tourism offices $5

There are also many tour guide companies who work in the Kootenay region. Call local shops for info on who offers tours in their area.

Kootenay’s Photos

Colin — Thu, 17 Sep 2009 06:12:08 +0000

[svgallery name="kootenay"]