Summer. Ever the time for family travels. Some Griswald style, others filled with fun and memorable adventures.

Last year our travels took us through BC, checking out rides in Revelstoke, Golden, Nelson and Christina Lake. We were trying out for a Specialized Bikes Stumpjumper Trail Crew.

As September rolled around, we missed the cut but through twitter and their ensuing rides, we virtually met a few like-minded riders.

One person, John Friedrich, was lucky enough to make the final selection. Through his blogs, photos and videos, we added Bozeman to the list of stops for this year. We also tried to meet up with another fellow twitter user, so we added Sun Valley Idaho to our list.

This years fire season was becoming exceptionally bad in BC and for the first time that we could recall, the weather office reported current conditions “smoke”.

With such unfavorable conditions at home, timing seemed perfect for our departure. The car was packed, our bikes were ready, the house sitter was arranged, and we headed south.

We left after work to get across to the mainland and south of the border. A cheap hotel room later, we hit Seattle and dropped in on the Flagship REI store. If you make it to Seattle, be sure to check out this candy store for the outdoors type.

As with any good trip to Seattle, coffee was in order, and while we didn’t go for old standard Starbucks, we stopped across from REI at Vivace for one of the best espresso’s I’ve ever had.

While surfing the wifi I checked on the webcams for Mt Rainier as the windy road would be just a hinderance were it not for the stunning scenery on the drive. We were in luck and turned south for the hills.

As our projected route will take us through numerous state and national parks, we purchased the $80 annual pass which not only gets you into the parks, it gains you discounts on camping in various state forest service campsites.

Mount Rainier is a stunning trip, with many alpine lakes, glacier overlooks, and opportunities for hiking.

Indian Creek on Rimrock lake was the final destination for today, and after a quick bite to eat, it was time for a quick writing session and off to bed. Big day tomorrow with the hopes of setting up in Ketchum for our next few days of riding.

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

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.

Read the rest of this entry »

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Canyon Creek Trail

“Whoa! Time to put the seat right down!” I yelled to Teresa as we crested the hill and looked out over the Canyon Creek gully. I might not normally be afraid of heights, but this trail really surprises you!

Golden was our second point on our Kootenay Road Trip. An open invite from some great friends was begging for use. Timing was perfect as our arrival to town coincided with a torrential downpour! We were rolling through town, and stopped at the local bookstore in search of some guide books, but alas they were out of stock. Just after crossing the downtown bridge, we spied a group of bikes sitting out in front of a heritage building so we pulled up to investigate. Derailed Cycles is a fairly new store in Golden, but by far is the most original building in town. Read the rest of this entry »

Colin on Berm Donor

16 hours and countless miles later through pine beetle infestations and forest fire smoke we rolled into Revelstoke BC. This would be our first riding point on our Kootenay road trip. We had read from other users about Martha Creek campground along lake Revelstoke and figured it to be worthy for our late arrival. We pulled into our site at 12:30am and had our tent setup and ready for bed in less than 20 minutes. Not bad considering we hadn’t even seen the tent setup before we headed out on our trip. Lake Revelstoke formed in the early 70′s by the construction of the Revelstoke Dam is just north of the town of Revelstoke and home to Provincial Park and recreation site campgrounds and both the Sale Mountain and Keystone Standard Basin trails. Read the rest of this entry »

Road trip has started!

Leg 1 of the road trip underway! BC Ferries Coastal Rennaisance in the dock ready to load and take us to Vancouver. Quick stops in Vancouver at MEC, Obsession Bikes and Norco.

Hope to be in Revelstoke BC by later tonight.