Hello there.

In a couple of weeks, I’m heading to British Columbia, Canada for three weeks – most of May. My girlfriend is from that part of the world, so we’ll be spending much of the time catching up with her friends and family.

However, I can’t spend three weeks in BC and not ride a mountain bike. That would be crazy. I know from a previous trip how great it is.

I’m looking for opportunities to ride and people to ride with. I won’t be biking the whole time, but will be getting out as often as is practical, depending on other social plans. I can’t afford professional guiding the whole time, but would consider it now and then. I’m hoping to find groups of riders I can tag along with.

Places I’ll be going:
[list]
[*]Sechelt, on the Sunshine Coast[/*]
[*]Vancouver city[/*]
[*]Saltspring Island[/*]
[*]Vancouver Island (around Victoria, I think)[/*][/list]

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I don’t know how easy it will be for me to get around by car – not sure if I’ll be able to hire something.

My riding:

Medium skills, medium pace. I’ve been doing this a long time, but I’m no hero. A few bumps, jumps and North Shore to make things interesting, but I’m all about the flowing singletrack, not the sick air. And I don’t mind having to ride uphill.

[list]
[*]Where do I ride?[/*]
[*]Who do I ride with?[/*]
[*]Do I take a bike? (probably – it will cost me £60 return, which, balanced against the cost of hiring decent kit, does make sense)[/*]
[*]Do I take the hardtail (Genesis steel all-rounder) or the full-sus (Trek Remedy)?[/*][/list]

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Give me your wisdom, your ideas and your Canadian friends’ contact details! 🙂

If you are going to take a bike, take the full sus. There is riding round Sechelt – rode there last time we were there. There is a bike shop in Sechelt and they were really helpful (on learning that we were British he discussed the DH World Cup and Steve Peat with us). He pointed us to various trails and said they did a shop ride but it was after we’d been to get the ferry.

Trail maps are available in many places from the LBS’. Trails are IME well signed. If you ride alone (I did), let someone know where you’re going and take your phone. Try posting on NSMB for ride buddies.
Don’t miss out Squamish from any of your plans. Enjoy, if I were you I’d marry the GF sharpish and wouldn’t come back.

In addition, canadians IME were obscenely friendly and helpful but not in the false sense. A couple of shops invited me to ride with them also. I’ve only been once and I think I miss the place. If there is a way for me to go permanently, I will do it.

Bring the Remedy. All trails are rideable on a hardtail, but if you want to enjoy them, bring the all-mountain full-suss. Decent bike rental is expensive, perhaps $60-80 per day in Vancouver and you’ll have to adjust to a new bike.

Sunshine Coast trails seem to be generally smoother than their North Shore counterparts, so staying in Sechelt is a good move. The area between Roberts Creek and Gibsons (ferry terminal) is only 15mins from Sechelt and is full of trails. As mentioned above, find a bike shop in Sechelt, buy a trail map and have fun. Start with the blue trails! Its been a while, but I recall that Hwy102 and Sidewinder were good fun.

On the North Shore, stick with Seymour & Fromme. Most local bike shops have maps.

On Seymour, Bridal Path is a good XC introduction and links many other trails, both XC & DH. For something harder, climb Old Buck for 30-60mins and you can access steeper DH trails such as Severed, Pangor and Neds. These are still considered easy in North Shore terms, but will give most tourists a good challenge (me included!).

On Fromme, climb the fireroad and do Bobsled. New trail last year, smooth, jumpy and short enough to repeat several times. Natural High is a more technical but manageable exit trail.

I live in Vancouver, so email if you need any more info. Work & baby means I don’t get out much, but I might be able to get out for a few hours.

If you’re planning on riding the Sunshine Coast as well as Vancouver Island, you might want to look into a “Circle Pac” with the BC Ferries. You’ll save money this way http://www.bcferries.com/travel_planning/circlepac/index.html

Victoria has some good trails but most of our really good riding is in Cumberland (part of the Comox Valley) and the Snowden trails in Campbell River. They have the largest trail networks and are close to the Powell River ferry which connects you to the Sunshine Coast.

And I agree with Burts, bring the Remedy. You’ll enjoy it more than the hard tail here 🙂 Our trails are pretty rooty and bumpy.

oh you are going to have an awesome time.
roberts and gibsons creek rocks, oh as does the island and van city……

Wot Burts and Backhander says…and definitely consider Squamish.
I live right under the North Shore trails but would move to Squamish in a shot if I could get work (and the girlfriend would let me!)

A thing to note, though, is that this year has been a crazy snow season and many of the higher trails are still under snow and there doesn’t seem to be much sign of it melting very quickly 😥

NSMB should keep you informed of trail conditions and hooking up with local riders is fairly easy.

Thanks all of you for the tips. I’m really grateful.

As I read your replies I had a massive smile on my face. It’s great to know there’s good stuff around Sechelt – we’ll be based there for much of the time.

Burts – When you say “15 minutes from Sechelt” are you talking riding time or driving time?

I proposed to the GF in Tofino on the island and she lapped that shit up. Just an idea?

On the Island:

Tofino is really great, gf and I enjoyed a great stay there. Mt. Washington is great for uplifts – I hired a bike there and spent an afternoon riding trails. Telegraph Cove is nice.

Also Stanley Park, Grouse Mountain.

Ahh BC – spend a year living on the Northshore a few years back.

Cypress was my fav for a dose of serious GNARR
Sexboy/girl

Fromme good as doesnt attract the shuttle crowd so much.
Pipeline my fav there or expresso

Clive also some great xc riding on Salt spring island. really flowing singletrack through the woods – with great sea views.
Salt spring is a great little place generally. Its like canada’s Ko Samui!

I fly a week today and I’m pulling together spare parts and getting the bike bag repaired. 🙂

Another question for you helpful folks: For the trails you’ve described – particularly the Sunshine Coast stuff – full face or open face? arm/leg protection? I have the stuff – just working out whether to bother taking it.

clive – That was driving time. As I recall, Gibsons Ferry landing > Roberts Creek turn-off is about 20mins driving. Sechelt is another 15mins driving beyond that.

The trails I’ve ridden are between Gibsons <> Roberts Creek, but I guess there are also trails connecting through to Sechelt too.

XC helmet will be fine for Sunshine Coast, use whatever you use on a UK trail centre. North Shore – leg/arm pads won’t be a bad thing, full face a good idea for any steeper black trails on your first outing.

Enjoy!

Clive – take a look at this SSC Map to give you an idea of the lay of the land.

There’s also a bike shop on Wharfe Avenue in Sechelt which sells trail maps. I gotta say that the trail’s aren’t particularly well marked in the Sechelt area so you’ll need all the help you can get finding them (or hook up with a local)

There’s a race on which is following this course:

but thats more in the Roberts Creek area…

And another URLto peruse…

The chap at Sooke Cycles on Vancouver Island is a friendly sort. There’s some excellent trails around there but you’ll need someone to guide you.

Hello from the Sunshine Coast!

Thanks again for all your help. I’ve spent my first few days here catching up with friends and GF’s family around the coast and in Vancouver. Rides so far have only been short little scoots around west Sechelt. We’ve just got back from a two day trip to Vancouver without the bike, so today is the first day I had earmarked for a full day of biking. So guess what? It’s raining. Ah, well, I might go out anyway.

Thanks for all your tips and maps. I have the trail map booklet, as mentioned. I’ve met the guys in Off The Edge – the Sechelt bike shop. I’ve not yet met anyone to ride with, so I’m going solo with the map and hoping I bump into people en route.

If the rain eases, my plan for the day is to catch the bus the Gibsons, then follow the trails back to west Sechelt, where we’re staying.

I’ve already managed to pick up an injury, before I even started riding! I was building up my bike and, to test the suspension sag, I leant on the saddle with all my weight. Too lazy to sit on the bike, I leant on it with my chest. Then I felt something move. Not sure if it was the post slipping or something in my ribs, but there was a click and now my ribs are hurting the whole time.

Ah, is that the rain I can hear slowing down? Pass me the ibuprofen…

Just head to Roberts Creek and go up the service road and look around. Although ideally you’ll want to find a map or someone to ride with!

http://www.robertscreek-bc.worldweb.com/ToursActivitiesAdventures/MountainBikeParksTrails/