Tag Archives: blackburn outpost

Bikepacking, Canada

Solo

Am I there yet? I rode over 4000km, just a few hundred more to go 🙂

Riding solo has it’s ups and downs, but so does the road!

I’ve been asked so many times “solo”? Yup! On my own. I’ve been asked as a single human and as a women.

I crossed path with a handful of other cyclists and half of them are on their own. Mostly men, but women too.

It’s difficult to do it alone, but it’s also sometimes better. I ride at my own pace, sleep where I want to sleep and eat what I want to eat.

But it’s lonely. It got tough when I got on the highway, when I stopped talking to the cows and waving to the farmers. Locals would ask me questions and show interest when I was on the roads less traveled, but on the highway it’s all about the destination and how fast we can get there.

I actually met a few people that I actually shared a meal with or a cup of tea. I would also have shared beers with another, but I am an old lady and like an early bedtime 🙂

I actually got a ride yesterday, not because I was tired or hurting, no mechanical, just because I was bored and really happy to have company. A 71 year old gentleman (what an inspiration) is riding across the country with a friend driving the car and luggage and another lady friend (my age).I rode with the gentleman until he got into the support vehicle, then I got in with him. I cheated and saved 50km, but chatted, shared stories and laughed. The other lady friend is faster then he is and never gets into the support vehicle. I am so impressed of all the daily mileage she does and how strong she is.

It was great, it was awesome to have company and I am so so happy I cheated and got to get out of my head for a few hours!

Riding solo may be riskier, but not worse for a woman then a man. I know how to fix my bike, I have all the safety gear and I have loved ones following my dot on a map. Riding solo means spending more time in my head and thoughts, but also opens me to talking to others which I wouldn’t do if I was with someone else.

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Bikepacking, Canada

My great trail 7ième partie

It’s all about the reward and the reward can be as stupid as a good coffee, a glass of wine or a not camping stop.

Most importantly coffee! Just knowing that a coffee shop is at the end of my ride motivates me to keep going. Just today, I had the choice of riding to waterfalls or get to the coffee shop before it closed, Coffee shop won! I got there 25min before closing and it was soooooooo…. good 🙂 I can drive to the waterfalls some other time 🙄

I shorten my ride the other day, when an Airbnb host offered me to pitch my tent on his lakeside lot for free. I wouldn’t have accepted, but he checked out and @4:30 I didn’t feel like riding 20 more km to a campground on the side of the train tracks. It was also treated to a free dinner and great company for the evening, which is a lot better then deshydrated food solo on a picnic table.

After long days on the saddle, I am not too inclined to sleep on my thermarest, so cheap motels or hotels are my reward. It’s so nice to enjoy a hot shower and a quiet evening in a comfy bed.

Type of road is a huge factor. I prefer the path less traveled, but In Ontario I find myself stuck on the highway. I can log a lot of Kilometres, but I seriously dislike it. It’s surprisingly beautiful, but very stressful to coexist with trucks and cars.

I always set a target before I go to bed. I get up early enough to have time to get to the destination, but also get lost, explore or battle a head wind.

I also like to have extra time to stop at funny diners or recommended lunch spots along the way. Nothing better then a big plate of fries to help complete a 200km day!

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Bikepacking, Canada

Get off the highway

Did you know the prairies were flat?

Did you know they were filled with lots of history? Towns that were founded due to mining or railway, now living mostly from agriculture.

Did you know lots of nice people live there? I didn’t ask for anyone to pose for me, but I really enjoyed talking with locals.

Did you know most secondary road is not paved and almost no one drives on them? When they do cross or pass me, they stop, move to the opposite and wave. Mostly bog pickups and farm tractors, everyone has been very nice, even apologetic if they thought they drove too close or too fast.

I detoured towards Gravelbourg just because I liked the name. They have a museum, grocery store, a field without toilets you can camp on, but most importantly they have a great coffee shop 😁. The cheap motels are basic and not cheap enough, but the coffee is great and the people are super friendly.

The problem with the prairies is that there are not many places to sit and relax for lunch between towns. There are also no rest areas or water water sources. So fill up your water bottles and be ready to have lunch sitting on the side of the road.

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Bikepacking, Canada

My great trail 5ieme partie

I stopped following “the great trail” and planned my own route as soon as the trail headed north.

I know the scenery will be flatter and the exciting trails are a thing of the past, but I am hoping to discover cool areas in the prairies while also making some progress east.

Honestly it’s a lot of fun to get on the highway and use the tailwind to do some pretty high mileage. On the other hand it is great to ride through small towns and learn more about the history of our country. I am surprised to notice a few towns with a strong french heritage. It is also great to see how some towns evolved after the minings shut down, but sad to see some become ghost towns.

Getting off the highway also means avoiding Tim Horton’s and discover great coffee shops, quirky diners and chat with locals. It get lonely to ride for hours on my own, chatting with people along the way is fun, locals usually ask questions, but also love to share the knowledge of their home town.

I detoured from my eastbound direction to explore Cypress hills provincial park. Headwind asides, going there was the best ting I could have done. I never road 100km so slow (14km/h average), making my detour longer then I wanted, but it was well worth it. This park is an Oasis, just a beautiful area with lakes and hills in the middle of flatland Canada.

If you ever spend time in Southern Alberta bring your mountain bike or fat tire gravel bike and ride the trails, it’s just an amazing area.

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Bikepacking, Canada

Au revoir Colombie Britannique

Was that the last singletrack I got to ride on this adventure? Fully loaded, heading to Alberta I enjoyed that endless mountain bike trail that made me avoid the highway for 25km.

The trail is supposed to start from Fernie, but some work clearing the forest makes it unrideable and I have to backtrack to town. Maybe Fernie doesn’t want me to leave 🙂 After 15km on the highway the trail could be picked up again and I could start smiling again!

The highway seemed to be the only way to go east from Sparwood, bit it isn’t that busy, the shoulder is wide and the views are amazing.

Now that I am in Alberta it’s time to hunt for gravel and cross my fingers for great coffee shops

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Bikepacking

Mon grand sentier part 4

What am I doing? What’s with trying to go fast and get somewhere quickly? Time to take a step back and smell the roses.

Canada is a big country, how can I expect the trails to be the same throughout? In the tradition of over planning and overdoing everything, I may have planned too much time on the saddle to keep it fun.

I did my homework, looked at elevation, terrain, distances between campsites and hotels. I looked at the overall elevation gain, but not at every peak!

It’s great to log 100+ km rides, but when the terrain is more difficult, it doesn’t leave a lot of time for exploration and fun trail discovery. The last 2 days were hard, I lost track of the exploration and discovery part of my journey.

Heading to Fernie, I had to get on the highway because of trail closure and then missed the next fun off road section. I ended up pushing it to get to Fernie fast, missing out on lots of amazing off roading and beautiful scenery.

Before I ended up on the highway, I had ridden rail grade gravel, followed by fun and flowy trails. I can only imagine how much fun the trails I missed would have been. Chatted with local people, encountered deers and scared a bunch of cows, before I had to coexist with all the pick ups heading to Alberta after enjoying Canada day long weekend.

So I decided to stay an extra night in Fernie and explore some of the trails I missed and their famous mountain bike trail network.

Smiles for miles!

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Bikepacking, Canada

Routine

My life is pretty simple right now, I get up, pack the bike, climb a hill for hours, descend a hill for hours, get a coffee or hot chocolate and go to bed 🙂

There are a few variations to my days. 1 day out of 2 I camp and take more time to settle in, rehydrate food and drink my hot chocolate, then slip into my sleeping bag. When I hotel, I find a good coffee shop and relax, check-in to my room, have an amazing shower and do laundry. I then find a simple place for dinner, then use the WIFI to confirm the next ride, post pictures and write this blog. I also really like having bacon and eggs for breakfast instead of instant oatmeal 🙂

There are a few reasons why I hotel, safety, comfort, power and laundry. I do not feel safe camping everywhere, I’m a chicken and am afraid of weird dudes. My inflatable mattress is amazing, but my back deserves a real mattress after spending 100km on the bike. My solar panel is very efficient, but not as much as BC hydro. I am testing Icebreaker’s claim to merino’s properties and can wear the same top 2 to 3 times, but not my shorts. BIBS NEED TO BE CLEANED DAILY!

The other daily thing is the amazing views I get when I reach the top. I wish I could show you how magnificent it is. These views, these mountains and trees make me feel like I am so small and insignificant. I can’t transfer that feeling in a picture, you really have to get there and see for yourself.

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Bikepacking, Canada

Mon grand sentier part 3

Kettle Valley Rail Trail ✅ It had it’s ups and downs, but overall an amazing trail.

After the beaten up and unused trail leading up to Summerland, came the very popular, comfort bike ridden, Myra canyon. Probably 200km of almost uninterrupted varied trails followed. Remote enough to test my nerves, but never for too long. Cell service is available on most of the section following Myra canyon and the trail crosses many villages with food and lodging.

It’s funny how gravity works. Rail grade makes it look like I am riding on a flat road and feels like I am a 🐌 who is never going to make it anywhere. The descents aren’t technical, but fast enough to be fun. The views from the highest point overlooking the Grand Forks valley was breathtaking, I didn’t think I had climbed that much 🙂

I did end up putting my bear spray away and cranked up the volume of my phone listening to my bad music or an Ebook. No bear sightings, no snake, lots of deers and marmots.

Views are amazing, It’s pretty cool to start one day up in the mountain riding the trestle bridges ending up going through green fields. Everywhere along the trail there are burnt out forests, but also lots of new growth and wildflowers.

I rode through thick forests, farmlands, old mining towns, wood mills. I am amazed by all the different industries that used to thrive along the railway. I am told that the economy is struggling here, the floods and wildfires of the last few years hurt the tourism industry. It is seriously an area worth exploring, so much more to see or to ride!

I found good hydration spots along the way! Surprised I could find good coffee places in Greenwood and Grand Forks.

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Bikepacking, Canada

Mon grand sentier part 2

There is no reason to be scared, or are there? The trail is official, the government advertises it as complete, what am I afraid of? Not afraid, but just on the edge and trying to take good reasonable decisions. I carry way too much food and water, have clothes for all conditions and I packed a safety blanket and first aid kit.

I have already done a few bonus climbs (oups!) taking wrong turns, but nothing too bad. I had to check and recheck Garmin, Google, Trailforks, “the great trait” app a few times and always found my way. The trail is well marked, but the grades and level of difficulty are not that well advertised. I will shorten some planned days to make up for some varying trail conditions and take the time to enjoy them more.

I almost road off the trail into the river today (oups!). I was enjoying the reward of that 70km rail grade climb and going pretty fast downhill when the trail disappeared into the river. Trails have suffered this winter, there are a lot of land slides, rock slides and some flooded area.

I got to log in 2 days in a row of more then 130km on mostly trails with lots of climbing. It’s fun to vary the terrain and difficulty. The shorter more technical days were a different kind of fun and I would go back to redo these trails anytime.

Now that I am sitting in my hotel room and reflecting on the last few days, I realize how lucky I am to get to ride to all these remote places and enjoy all that amazing scenery.

Thank god for hotels and hot tubs! Don’t get me wrong, I like camping, but I love hoteling! After riding 130km of Gravel 2 days in a row, I think I deserve a bit of luxury 🙂

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Bikepacking, Canada

Details

I am ready! Honestly I was ready a month ago!

I packed my bags and loaded my bike a few times already. I still don’t have a tire boot, but added an extra folded tire and sealant.

Tomorrow we make our way to Victoria (my partner joining for the first leg), just so I can start at mile 0 Tuesday morning to start that crazy 8000+km adventure.

My bike is so heavy I wish I could take some stuff off it, it is 49lbs fully loaded, even if I am keeping it pretty minimal.

-ultralight camping gear

-dehydrated food

-water and water treatment things

-tools and bike repair stuff

-bear scaring stuff

-essential clothing

-personal hygiène things

– important Garmin Edge and Garmin Inreach devices so I do not get lost or do get found

-solar panel and a multitude of charging cables

Sooo excited! But first I need to enjoy one last night in my bed, one last awesome espresso with my Rocket machine and one last tooth cleaning with my electric toothbrush

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