Hey Cycling Vikings,
So Yonna promised you that I would write about my fatbike trip in Canada. OK, here some information. But first let me tell you, that although I’m from Holland I am not nearly as crazy and ‘tuf’ as Yonna. So my story is less heroic and ‘kul’ than hers. And yes, I also have no ‘tuf’ beard
The trip I made is based on two routes I found on bikepacking.com. The first one is the Great Divide Mountain Bike Route (GDMTR), that runs from Jasper in Canada through the US to the Mexican border. The total length is aprox 4000 km. I rode the section from Banff to Fernie which is 250 km. This takes you through beautiful parts of the Rocky Mountains, 90% gravel roads and MTB tracks. From Fernie I took the BC Trail (BCT) towards Cultus Lake, about 200 km from Vancouver. This is 1200 km gravel and MTB tracks of which 700 km on old railway tracks, mostly on the Kettle Valley Railway KVR). The KVR was constructed in the early 20th century as a way to transport lumber and coal to the coast. Some people say it’s the most expensive railroad ever built. Sadly, after WWII the railroad became too expensive and was closed. In the 80-ies MTB-ers started to rediscover the old tracks and slowly after removing the rails, the KVR became a popular cycling route. Nowadays the KVR is part of the BC trail.
The KVR, being a railway track, never exceeds a 2% gradient but runs through mountainous areas. This make the riding quite relaxed. However, doing 40 km at 2% can drive you crazy after a while. And the railroad was never built to be a tourist attraction, so some parts are as straight as a ruler so sometimes you can look ahead for 4 km. Also, the locals love riding their quads/ATV on these tracks (although it’s not aloud). Their wheels ruin the track’s surface and turn it into thick layer of loose gravel. Combined with a 2% gradient, riding can be very exhausting. I was happy I rode a fatbike, 3+ tires would be my minimum choice.
But luckily the KVR also has very nice things, namely beautiful nature and… many bridges and tunnels. This makes the KVR a joy to ride, especially if you love industrial heritage surrounded by amazing nature. Most bridges and tunnels are still operational. Because of frequent destructive forest fires in British Colombia some bridges have been rebuilt sponsored by local businesses. Also tunnels have been restored after collapsing. But unfortunately some section of the railway have been lost, maybe for ever unless enough money is raised to restore them. At this moment forest fires and landslides are the main cause for costly maintenance.
I used both GPX tracks that are available from bikepacking.com. I added campsites and other interesting waypoints, that I found scanning internet. The tracks are mostly accurate but sometimes you have to be a bit creative finding your way. Besides the GPX track, there’re also physical sign boards, for the KVR, BCT and TCT (Trans Canada Trail). This can be confusing because they don’t all follow the same tracks. I used OSM maps in my GPS and they are fine. I also printed the route in maps-with-track section to use as an overview for planning.
My Surly Wednesday proofed to be a good choice, especially because of all the thick gravel and wash board sections. But an MTB with front suspension is fine too as long as you go up to 2.6-3.0 inch tires. I choose a bike packing set up because I read of narrow single tracks trails and the many cattle gates (although I met some people with side panniers). But the main reason for my choice was that I wanted to test my DIY/MYOG gear. And it performed well!
The ride was perfect, sometimes more challenging than expected. Temperatures ranged from 44C during the day till 2C at night. And the many forest fires made it hard to breath at times. Collapsed bridges lead to scary river crossings, landslides to battling steep, unstable moraines with a loaded stubborn bike. But in the end, drinking a beer in front of my tent, every day was a great experience. Unforgettable, satisfying and rewarding. I wouldn’t have wanted missed this ride for anything in the world! The only disappointment was, when some of my gear was stolen. At a seemingly safe campsite I had put my food, toiletry bag and cooking gear in the outhouse locked away from the present bears. Unfortunately the next morning I found it was stolen, not by bears but by humans. I travelled China, Vietnam, Borneo, Morocco, Tanzania, Peru, Bolivia and never anything was stolen from me. Luckily Canadians are also very friendly and helpful people so I managed to replace most of my stuff locally and continue my trip.
Yonna has already posted many pictures of my trip but I’ll try to post some more.
Hedja, Maarten