British Columbia Roadtrip

[juanbendedknee]

My lady and I are heading to Canada in a few weeks to get married in Squamish, BC. We'll be immediately leaving from there to tour the Province and have been storming ideas and places to go.

Currently on our radar:

Bike Parks:
Whistler
Silver Star
Coast GP

Cities:
Kelowna/ Penticton
Pemberton
Liloot
S. Chilcotin Park
New Denver/ Retallack (anyone want to do a shuttle?)
Nelson (though it is way the hell out there...)

Vancouver Island:
Cumberland
Hornby Is.

We're no stranger to big days, and intend on spending 11 days in a row riding our asses off- all to finish in Port Angeles for the Cascadia Dirt Cup's Cascadian National Championship!

Where should we look/ skip? Will anywhere be too hot/dry? What about an awesome spot for a Solstice party? All info is awesome, bike shops that are rad, anything!

[mntlion]

PM: Lee Lau (no, really)

[kootenayskier]

Rossland is worth a visit. It's a bit out of the way, and doesn't get much hype, but we have great trails and a passionate riding community.

[BCMtnHound]

Don't now how much time you have, but based on your town preference, go straight to Hornby/Cumberland for the honeymoon, then back up the sea to sky to whistler/pemberton, over Duffy to Lillooet. Here make a decision and think perhaps a trip to Williams Lake for the Caribou riding (stop in at Red Shreds for beta) otherwise head over to Kamloops/Sun Peaks. Again, stop and think about either heading up Hwy 5 to Jasper, then down the Parkway to Banff, or straight over to the Shuswap and Okanagan. Head over to Golden and cruise down the Kootenay trench taking in the hot springs along the way. Decide to go to detour over to Fernie or head straight over the Kootenay Pass to Nelson. As far as high elevation stuff (Retallack) confirm beforehand as melt in the alpine is just getting going now in the interior. And consider anything east of Squamish to be bug territory coupled with June often being the wet month of spring/summer. It's been very dry so far this spring, but June is the deciding month whether or not we have a potential nasty summer fire season. And if you are thinking of camping in the provincial parks, now is the time to make reservations for the popular ones. As far as heat, Lillooet and the Fraser Canyon is the hottest, with the Okanagan a close second. If heat is an issue for you, and Pemberton/Lillooet area cooks ya, skip the Okanagan and take the Kootenay trench - it will still be dry but not quite as hot.

Have a great wedding and hope the road trip is fantastic!

[XXX-er]

its a fucking huge province so 11 days ain't that much time to live the dream & do it all, but since you are in seattle you are close enough to come back (assuming you stay married ) so plan it out as a couple of trips that keep the driving at a minimum

[BCMtnHound]

Holy, only 11days? Missed that somehow. Yea, scratch my 1st post. Spend 4 days on the Islands, then the remainder in Squamish/Whistler/Pemberton. Maybe finish with a short road tour over the Duffy, then down the Fraser Canyon back home. Even with the long daylight, way too little time to go into the interior from Squamish, especially if you want to visit the islands too, and still get many decent riding days in.

[evdog]

its a fucking huge province so 11 days ain't that much time to live the dream & do it all, but since you are in seattle you are close enough to come back (assuming you stay married ) so plan it out as a couple of trips that keep the driving at a minimum

Ha ha, was thinking the same thing. I always suggest getting the most from a vacation by leaving stuff within long weekend striking distance to long weekends, and spending as much time as possible far away on longer trips. From Seattle you can fairly easily do Vancouver Island in a long weekend. Squamish/Whis too but since you are getting married there I'd stick to the area and what can best be accessed from it, there is plenty to fill up 11 days. You'll need to consider snow pack too given timing, as well as what type riding you want to do (lift/shuttle vs earn your turns). A couple days in each of Squamish, Whistler, Pemberton, Chilcotins would take up much of that time but barely scratch the surface in each. Sunshine coast would be another alternative that is worthwhile. Agreed that Interior/Kootenays/Nelson type trip is too far and would make a great trip another time. Congrats on getting married!

[juanbendedknee]

This is awesome. I know its not much time, but I'm moving to Bellingham this summer, so I'll be an hour from the shore, less than 2 to Squamish. Woop!

I'll definitely look at keeping it further west! I've ridden a bunch in Squamish/Shore thus far, and have plans to go back the the Sea to Sky at least two more times this summer.

I feel it necessary to mention how amazing the riding community is in BC, you lucky bastards have some of the most amazing trails and riders I've ever spent time with.

[Eluder]

Yo dude, if you make it out to central/eastern BC let us know. We would try to meet you for sure.

[powking12]

New Denver is an awesome idea. Hit up Rob at Wilds of Canada bike shop. Awesome guy.

[XXX-er]

having been married many times I would suggest concentrating on the quality wedding/HM experience as opposed to knocking off a bucket list

[shirk]

BC sucks, better to ride somewhere else.

[iscariot]

Rossland is worth a visit. It's a bit out of the way, and doesn't get much hype, but we have great trails and a passionate riding community.

This.

If you're going out to Nelson, definitely stop by Rossland.



Edit: Jesus. Only 11 days.

Spend it on the Island.

To do a trip, and hit up all the places you want to, I'd take 3 weeks. That way you can enjoy and get to know each place a little.

If you try to do it in 11 days, you won't even scratch the surface of the surface.

[XXX-er]

you wana leave some destinations for the next time you get married

[jamesp]

if you are coming in a couple weeks Silver Star might not be open? Whistler is open now but most other parks don't open till the end of June, with maybe a bonus weekend before then. Unlikely any of the high alpine trails in the interior will be melted either.

& yeah, no way to hit all your list in 11 days, even if you drive every single day.

[juanbendedknee]

We're looking at this monster of a bike ride:

http://app.strava.com/activities/196416908

[xyz]

2 days Squamish
3 days Whistler
4 days Chilcotins

2 days driving

[LeeLau]

Ha ha, was thinking the same thing. I always suggest getting the most from a vacation by leaving stuff within long weekend striking distance to long weekends, and spending as much time as possible far away on longer trips. From Seattle you can fairly easily do Vancouver Island in a long weekend. Squamish/Whis too but since you are getting married there I'd stick to the area and what can best be accessed from it, there is plenty to fill up 11 days. You'll need to consider snow pack too given timing, as well as what type riding you want to do (lift/shuttle vs earn your turns). A couple days in each of Squamish, Whistler, Pemberton, Chilcotins would take up much of that time but barely scratch the surface in each. Sunshine coast would be another alternative that is worthwhile. Agreed that Interior/Kootenays/Nelson type trip is too far and would make a great trip another time. Congrats on getting married!

What evdog said. Focus your efforts.

Pick a region and stick to it

- Kootenays ie Rossland Castlegar New Denver Fernie Revelstoke

- Okanagan ie Penticton/Naramata Kelowna Vernon

- Chilcotins ( but there might still be snow in the high passes in the next couple of weeks)

- Vancouver Island ie Sooke Cowichan Valley Nanaimo Qualicum Cumberland Campbell River

Once you've picked an area come back with more questions

[XXX-er]

concentrate on staying in places where the sheets have a high thread count ... you only get married a few times

[juanbendedknee]

BC sucks, better to ride somewhere else.

You mean "Somewhere Over There" In Squamish? Great idea!

So LeeLau, we settled on doing the:

Vancouver Island ie Sooke Cowichan Valley Nanaimo Qualicum Cumberland Campbell River

Plus Sea to Sky trip. Based on the fact that we hate to drive and we're also going to check out the Fromme Epic Solstice ride then end with a two day enduro in Port Angeles, WA.

Depending on snow, we're looking at a 2500m day in the Chilcotins.

We're planning on hybrid camping and staying in hostels/hotels to get clean. Our priority is biking though. Lots of it, every f'in day.

Can you recommend the Riding Fool Hostel/ other hostels?
Does Trailforks cover a lot of the terrain I can get into without a guide to show me around? I'm pretty competent getting around the woods, but know some places are pretty scrambled up. Our priority is to stay on "long climb, long descent" type rides, but I ain't 'afraid of no XC, just so long as it is sort of fun.

What am I missing?

[LeeLau]

Vancouver Island

- Look up article under Cowichan Valley riding in PB. Stay at Funky Frog B &B. Sooke and Victoria are complicated trail systems. There is a guidebook but its still difficult to navigate. Recommend using Cow Valley to ride Maple Mountain, Cobble Hill, and Tzouhalem including Mad Dog descent. You can get two days of riding there using Funky Frog as a base. Victoria is mediocre and Sooke will be a long'ish drive to get there.

- You can ride Nanaimo as a day trip inbetween getting from Cowichan to Cumberland/Campbell River. Again look at guidebook but its a bit complicated. Abyss is still good. So are Dumont Road trails. Takes about 3 hours to drive from Cowichan to Cumberland/Campbell River

- Base out of Riding Fool cumberland or out of dolphins in Campbell River. Again there's guidebooks. Getting Island Mountain Rides as a guide for a day will maximize your riding time and cut back greatly on peering at a map and you'll get the lay of the land. Look in PB for articles about both places. Campbell River is more complex with lots of ups and downs. Cumberland/Forbidden has more of the straight up then straight down riding you're looking for. Definitely recommend finding a local for CR - through bikeshops on PB articles we rode or the local guide Island Mountain Rides

- For NVan you can camp under the Cap Bridge or stay at Pinnacle or Holiday Inn. the hotels' aren't cheap but you're honeymooners so wtf - spend a bit. Sounds like a good way to hurt yourself on trails you're not familiar with riding (lots of the trails there are of the oldskool superjanky tech variety and my experience is most non-locals walk lots and lots bwdik).

- For Chilcotins - a 2500m day tells me that you are seriously overestimating your riding abilities. Most of the trails uphill are hike a bike. They're slow going uphill and not all pretty groomed downhill. Look under "Dale Douglas" in Facebook for the conditions updates. The high trails might be clear of snow in two weeks and they might not.

Trailforks - well it depends. It's garbage in garbage out. Better have map and compass and gps especially for high country.

Overall the trip plan sounds focused and a good start.

[juanbendedknee]

@leelau Thanks for all the info. We're looking at skipping the Chilcotins this trip so we can double back and spend more time there in the fall with friends. I doubt I'm overestimating my climbing ability based on looking at Strava #s for people riding in the area (uphill speeds and whatnot), that said- but hey- I've never been there. It also looks like the highest fun-to-work way to check out that area would be to get a float plane in, something I just don't have the skrill for.

Our backup plan is to go to Pemberton and look for Wild Bill / JTR -

[Beaver]

11 days and all that driving, get a fast car.

[juanbendedknee]

11 days and all that driving, get a fast car.

Down in 'Merica- we think little of a 5 hour drive, and I regularly drive 10 to see family. This certainly isn't the case with the Canadians I've met. The loop we are planning is tiny! 3 hours from Campbell River to Vic, thats a bruiser for you when broken into 5 days!?

Also- Mini TR: In Whistler, Day Two
Bike park day was amazing, and I highly recommend a DH bike to make the chunderfest of trails like Schleyer and Goats Gully a bit more manageable at speed.

We demoed a couple of Flatlines from Rocky Mountain (thanks guys!) at Summit. Those guys are rad, and work hard to keep your the demos running well. The RS Domain mounted to the front of them was a complete POS, however, and the bike rattled like mad.

Everyone was hating on how A-Line is dumbed down- Well, this enduro-bro handled most of the jumps well enough, and was actually a bit spooked about overshooting a couple of them. If you are looking for bigger air, they are all over the place. A Line is a beginner-intermediate jump line, no doubt about it. The huckers will be on freight train.

In other news, its dry as shit in the lower park, but the braking bumps are not too bad yet. Una Moss still has a couple of patches of snow, but they've been cut-through with tires, so just a little splashy mud is all, then mach-schnell berms for 15 minutes straight.

[Beaver]

Some times:

Whistler to Nelson 10 hours driving fast - Speed limit+20kph always.
Vancouver island to Nelson 9 hours driving + ferry wait/transit
Vancouver to Van Island count on 2 hours min ferry wait/transit.

Fuck that shit.

In Canada we prefer to do what we need to do locally then spend our time chillin with friends, a cool pint and a fat doobie.