The bike touring / bikepacking thread

thanks for that tom .

really unfortunate that human nature kinda revealed itself in what was sort of a social experiment on two wheels disguised as a not bike race .

i get the ' underground " aspect of the event , and appreciate the (non) organizers' efforts to have the participants self regulate their numbers . this (non) event had/has the potential to grow to be very large and i'm guessing the (non) organizers were not wanting to take it in that direction .

given all the logistical nightmares an event like this would involve , i can empathize , but at the same time the (non) organizers have now left the locals with a poor impression of cyclists . hopefully enough cyclists will continue to ride the route and provide enough economic spin off to offset the otherwise negative impact that has been left by this (non) event .

go natural, man.

500mg magnesium usually knocks me out and really helps with muscle cramps and recovery

if anyone is interested in a big ride, the Hellracer 250 goes July 4th. Self supported although you could have people drive with supplies.

Pemby - D'arcy - Seton Portage - Lillloet - Pemby

Just got back from 2 months cycling in Cuba..definitely something everyone should try at least once. Very bicycle friendly traffic, and food/lodging is good value. Hot hot hot. Bringing the kite board with me has changed the pace at which we ride, more opportunities to stop and smell the roses so to speak.

Up next, east to the Rockies, and then south towards Mexico, possibly along the Great Divide. Anyone have any tips/advice on taking the KVR from Hope to Princeton? Does it parallel the Coquihalla on the east side of the river?

Ride the Othello tunnels and then hit the highway. You can kinda cobble together access roads for parts of it but it isn't worth it imo. At the Portia exit head onto the pipeline road and you should find the kvr fairly quickly. That portion is nice and will kick you out by the old toll booths kinda.

Ride the Othello tunnels and then hit the highway. You can kinda cobble together access roads for parts of it but it isn't worth it imo. At the Portia exit head onto the pipeline road and you should find the kvr fairly quickly. That portion is nice and will kick you out by the old toll booths kinda.

Thanks, going to ride a lot of what I did last spring when a friend and I rode to Calgary. Coquihalla/KVR to Merritt, then Douglas Lake Ranch Road to Vernon, Hwy 6 over to Needles/Nakusp, some Crawford Bay to Creston, and then up through the Kootenays to Radium and Glacier Nat'l Park to the Icefields and Jasper.

Going to try and kite board Kalmalka or Okanaghan Lake, Kootenay Lake, Windermere..we'll see. Any little bits of fun to be had that I'm missing?

Gear list of what it takes to ride 2,745 miles along the continental divide in 14.5 days. (189miles a day average!)
http://www.pedalingnowhere.com/gear/josh-kato-tour-divide-pack-list/

Watch out for banditos!

Bike this month has stuff on bike packing and some bike packing set ups.

Also Kurt Refsnider and Kaitlyn Boyle have a book out.

http://salsacycles.com/culture/introducing_the_bikepackers_guide

Andrew Nicholson, cycling around the world in 125 days leaves Canmore, Canada. by Te Aho World Ride

Bumped into this guy at a Warmshowers host in Canmore. He had ridden 313km from Revelstoke that day…4 days from Vancouver or something crazy. Really nice fellow. He says there are 4 people attempting to beat the current world record of 125 days, and he's one of them, but even if it takes him 200 days, it's still about the journey.

The bike attempting to set a world record for circumnavigating the planet.

Link for Live Tracking

I recommend the Bike Packing group on Facebook if you aren't already a member.

On a personal note: Had my first flat in 8,000km this week. Amanda had hers too. Total of 5 flats in 3 days, plus two broken pannier racks. Nothing that a little bit of welding in Fernie wouldn't fix. We'll be crossing into the USA sometime next week and won't be looking back!

https://vimeo.com/149307844

I had a fun trip up the Fraser Canyon and down the Duffy Lake this summer. Wasn't a huge fan of the tunnels and trucks on the Fraser Canyon but loved the Duffy. Finally got around to editing the little bit of video I took.

http://vimeo.com/149993393

Another one from the summer archives. Parked in West Bank then rode out to Lumby, over the Monashees and down the Slogan valley. Loved the well maintained rail grade that has been opened up there. Then down to Castlegar and back to Kelowna on the rail grade that snakes through Christina lake, Grand Forks, Rock Creek etc. Had a blast and missed all the fires thank god.

http://vimeo.com/149993393

Another one from the summer archives. Parked in West Bank then rode out to Lumby, over the Monashees and down the Slogan valley. Loved the well maintained rail grade that has been opened up there. Then down to Castlegar and back to Kelowna on the rail grade that snakes through Christina lake, Grand Forks, Rock Creek etc. Had a blast and missed all the fires thank god.

How would you rate/compare the rail trail in the Slocan to the KVR??

How would you rate/compare the rail trail in the Slocan to the KVR??

It's is only 45 km but in very good condition and makes a great extension to the Columbia [HTML_REMOVED] western. The bits I rode between Nakusp and New Denver where mostly pretty rough or chewed by atvs but I have hear ppl are working on it.

http://vimeo.com/149993393

nice vid and like the choice of music

can you ride rail grade all the way to Grand Forks now?