This year's bikepacking trip

My family and I are in the process of planning a family bikepacking trip along the Kettle Valley Railway this summer and the idea is that my daughter, son and I will ride the trails on our bikes while my wife who doesn't cycle will drive the support vehicle.

Expect the unexpected

Already I can sense some disagreement as to how we're going to do this.  One child is more than happy to put all his camping gear into the car and ride his bike unencumbered to the next campsite.  Whereas my youngest wants to carry all her gear on her bike. I'm in the middle - the idea of just carrying the day's requirements is appealing, yet to do the trip proper, I want to carry all my gear.

We will find peaceful campsites


There are two major scenic routes along the KVR.  There is the loop from Penticton east to Rock Creek and then up to the spectacular Myra Canyon but includes the deadly Anarchist Mountain climb.  The campsites are plentiful and most of the overnight stops have full washroom facilities.

Could run into forest fires

Then there is the route from Castlegar to Midway and back which includes the longest tunnel on the KVR and very fetching views that last for hours as you ride above Lower Arrow Lake and Christina Lake.  Not to mention the gorge at Cascade where on a hot day you can watch people swinging from the railway trestle into the ice cold, churning waters racing past the sheer granite walls beneath you.

A cool patio at a winery could be in the cards



Who carries how much gear on this trip will depend on how much conditioning each of us has had during the season and since we are thinking of going after the Labour Day weekend, all three of us will have had the maximum amount of training time possible to prepare before departure.  My wife points out that she won't have to train at all to be able to press the accelerator on the car.


While she won't have to train, my wife will miss scenes like this



Judgement Day

You can just see the top of Perry's tent

Along with my cycling partners Roy and Perry, we had enjoyed a lovely day in the town of Midway, B.C. Camping on the pleasant banks of the Kettle River reminded me not to judge a book by its cover. I don't know how many times I've passed Midway on the Crowsnest Highway and never once had the urge to pull over and check out the dusty gas station or feel any desire to look through the windows of the vacant store. But just beyond the highway towards the American border is a lovely park with an historic hotel across the way and a fully stocked hardware store across the street that reminded me of general stores of my youth with their oiled wooden floors and dry goods hanging from the ceiling.

In its day, Midway was quite the place and as the meeting point of two competing railways was the site of the"Battle of Midway" - long before the sea battle of the Second World War. 

While Roy and I dawdled at the highway gas station, Perry had gone ahead and arranged the best campsite I've ever pitched my tent at in all my years of riding the KVR.  Ample flat grass for the 3 tents, a firepit and probably the best feature: a wooden gazebo with bench seating all around its inner circumference, a solid roof and counter space for cooking and eating.  Top all this off with a clear flowing river just down a short path and you have nirvana (not the band).

The very practical gazebo

They say don't judge a book by its cover and if camping at this lovely municipal park taught me anything it is to explore possiblilties that in my usual haste to pass judgement, hurts only myself.

The Scenery Is Here - I wish You Were Beautiful

Back soon to fill you in on all our Adventure Cycling stories!




Backwoods Artistry

Will post shortly thereafter! 



One Night Stand

It's not too late to consider planning to bike camp this summer!  An easy way to do it is to go for an over-nighter.  Leave in the later morning or even in the early afternoon - get a few hours of riding in and end up at a local campground.  In enough time to set up camp, get a nice fire going, torque up the stove to boil water for the freeze-dried food you carried with you and crack open that bottle of red wine that was deep in your pannier.

Yes it will take some planning - reserving a campsite, snagging some dried food-in-a-bag, choosing an appropriate red to compliment the "DEEP WOODS STARVING CYCLIST CHILI", remembering to bring matches and planning a route to get there.
Don't bother carrying an axe or hatchet (you don't need the weight) as there will always be a camper that will kindly lend you one. Since it is only one night, you only need a change of clothes for the ride back the next day although you will need to pack everything else - tent, pegs, poles, groundsheet, sleeping bag, pillow, Thermarest mattress, bug spray,  personal grooming items, camera, shoes to relax in and you might want to bring a flashlight to illuminate that trashy paperback that you snuck into one of the myriad pockets on your saddlebags.

When you're back at work and reflecting on your one-night outdoor adventure, you're bound to begin daydreaming about slipping in just one more one-nighter before the days of summer begin to wane and  the leaves start to change colour and you start to think about all the things you have to do to get ready for winter.