This Summer's Trips Have Already Begun

Here it is the beginning of March and already plans are being formulated for this summer's bicycle camping trips. I say trips because it looks like there will be four bikepacking trips!

The first one will be here in my home city to celebrate the Adventure Cycling Association's 40th anniversary by spending the whole weekend travelling by bike. The trip I'm organizing has two other cyclists joining me in our city's River valley riding the trails all day and then camping in the valley itself. One extra event that weekend will be to cycle to the symphony on the Saturday night.

Cycling to the Symphony

The next cycling trip involves going with my son to southern British Columbia where we will warm up by cycling the easy-to-ride Slocan Valley and then we will do the tougher route from Castlegar to Grand Forks. One of the most scenic bikepacking trips in B.C. It has the added feature of cycling through the Bulldog Tunnel - the longest tunnel along that section of railbed.

The Bulldog

My niece's husband David wants to experience bikepacking and he and I will follow the same route that I had done with my son a couple of weeks previously. I don't know David well and I have no idea of his conditioning however, he is at least twenty years younger than me so I expect this excursion will not be that difficult for him. He will experience the mountains like he has never done before and I'm confident that he will remember this trip for a long time. Perhaps he will become hooked on bicycle camping the way I have been for the last ten years.

One of the views awaiting David

The fourth trip will be with my cycling buddy Roy and we will enjoy ourselves wherever we go. One place we have always liked is Grand Forks. If we go west from there we will be able to eat pie at the Copper Eagle Cafe in Greenwood and if we go east from Grand Forks, we can have a burger, a beer and fries at the motel at Christina Lake.

Pie at the Copper Eagle

All told, it will be an exciting summer of doing the most bikepacking that I have ever done in one season. I can't wait.

Burger, fries and a beer - ten bucks