Bikepacking Castlegar -> Penticton on the CW and KVR Trails - Alberta and British Columbia Canada

About to pedal off into the wilderness. From L to R: Jesse, Sean, Cory, and Tom.

A handful of us went on a 6-day rail trail adventure from Castlegar to Penticton on the Columbia Western and Kettle Valley rail lines. We drove a car out to Penticton then shuttled back to Castlegar and left another car there.

Weather conditions were HOT! No rain at all and the smokey air was never an issue - in fact, it seemed to get better as the trip went along. Even crazier: the day after we rolled through the Myra/McCullogh/Kelowna area a huge fire erupted not far from where we had been. That was close.

Please enjoy this photo essay of the adventure. If you have any questions, leave us a comment below.

The Hidden Costs of BSO's, Also Know As Department Store Bicycles

***This is a repost from our friends at the London Bicycle Cafe.***

So you're in the market for a new bike, something to get around town, visit your friends, go to the market, maybe ride the TVP on weekends. Why should you think about buying from a local bike shop instead of a department store? Canadian Tire, Walmart, Costco etc. sell bikes that come with a smaller initial price tag compared to what you find at our store. The smaller price tag can seem very appealing, especially if you're a price-conscious person. However, what you don't pay upfront at department stores, you'll almost certainly pay in the future. A bike from your local bike shop might last you decades, a bike from a department store is designed to be disposable after a year or two of riding. Here's our guide to why buying a quality bicycle from a local bike shop will result in you having a more fun with your bike, and why it will cost you less in the long run compared to a department store.

Gorge Creek Bikepacking Overnighter

In the summer of 2016 I had heard about a road that had been damaged by the 2013 floods and subsequently closed to vehicle traffic but still passable on a bicycle. I decided to go check it out and after finding the road, riding a few kilometres of it, studying Google maps, and checking out other info available, a plan was hatched to use it in an overnight loop.

Gorge Creek Road is a connector road between the southern end of Maclean Creek Road to the Sheep River Road (Hwy 536). It is just over 21kms in length but what makes it special is the middle 10kms is now closed to vehicle traffic and is essentially abandoned. Our plan was to start at the Fisher Creek picnic area in Maclean Creek, ride down to Gorge Creek, stay the night somewhere along the Gorge Creek road, then loop out and back to the car.

Comes With Baggage Movie

New Brand Announcement - Hello! Surly Bikes!

Utility. Versatility. Durability.

That it has taken us this long to get this brand in our store is probably worthy of a separate ranty post about the vagarities of the mainstream bike biz, but in an effort to stay positive and keep on keepin' on, we are really happy to finally have Surly Bikes in our shop - a brand that encompasses the same ethos as us: bikes for regular people, who like to do regular bikey things, in regular clothes, and sometimes get a little adventerous too. Kinda like Diana Prince most of the time with a dose of Wonder Woman here and there.

Carry everything. - via Surly's website

Winter Bikepacking Newbie Report

My kit for a night in the woods in the winter.

I went winter camping for the first time.

It was cold - - -16c overnight to be exact.

And it was...pretty ok, actually.

Local winter bikepacking legend and customer - Doug Dunlop, aka, Coldbike.com has been chatting to me since the day we met about his love of winter camping. He's offered on countless occasions to "show me the ropes" and this winter our schedules finally aligned and we were able to find a weekend that worked.

The True Cost Of Your Car Commute LIfestyle

Really does beg the questions: Why are you choosing to flush away all that money and why not consider getting a bike and commuting on it, even just occasionally?