BC Big Trailie Ride
June 2009
June 2009
This was another ride with some of my Canadian friends I had met through the Adventure Rider Forum. I couldn't pass up the opportunity to ride with a great collection of people and through some fantastic BC scenery. This ride has become more popular every year, and somewhere around 37 adventurers took part in this year's ride.
I rode up to Clinton, BC from Camas, WA. I arrived around 4:30pm, and immediately saw some friends from previous rides. We drank some beers, ate some dinner, then more beers before hitting the sack to get ready for the next day's ride.
Friday morning we woke to a beautiful morning, and a ride that would take us from Clinton to Mt. Currie. We took some fun roads, with great scenery. The section along Carpenter Lake was really fun, we ate lunch at the Gold Bridge Hotel. Ended up at the Pemberton Mountain Lodge just outside of Mt. Currie, and took a soak in the hot tub at the end of the day!
I rode up to Clinton, BC from Camas, WA. I arrived around 4:30pm, and immediately saw some friends from previous rides. We drank some beers, ate some dinner, then more beers before hitting the sack to get ready for the next day's ride.
Friday morning we woke to a beautiful morning, and a ride that would take us from Clinton to Mt. Currie. We took some fun roads, with great scenery. The section along Carpenter Lake was really fun, we ate lunch at the Gold Bridge Hotel. Ended up at the Pemberton Mountain Lodge just outside of Mt. Currie, and took a soak in the hot tub at the end of the day!
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We woke up to a misty morning with some light rain falling. My friend Gerald (also riding a red BMW GS) and I went to find some breakfast before packing the bikes up for the day's ride. It looked like Gerald and I were about the last to leave to start the day. We passed the Hitching Post Motel in Mt. Currie where many of the others had stayed the night, but the parking lot was empty as we rode past. So we headed out on the route.
We soon started up the the High-Line Road that starts with a bit of a short steep and rough section, while it gains altitude and then runs along the mountains on the west side of Anderson Lake. It's a beautiful road with spectacular scenery. And we caught up shortly with many of the other riders. Eventually, the road started descending back to the lake and the village of Seton Portage. I was leading the pack, and riding fairly quickly and came across a turn that was a little sharper than expected - had to really hit the binders, and lean the bike over pretty far to make the turn, and I think I may have rode a bit of the side wall of the mountain as I made the corner. Then it was into Seton Portage to wait for everybody to catch up.
As the others showed up, they explained that Gerald had missed one of the turns and had a little encounter with the side of the mountain. I'm pretty sure it was the same corner that had surprised me earlier. Gerald was making a few repairs to his bike, so we waited for a little while for him to show up; and once he arrived we made a few more repairs to his bike. In Lillooet, we stopped for gas and then ate lunch at the Lillooet Inn Restaurant.
It was more fun roads after lunch heading to Logan Lake. Today's ride was everything I had hoped for! We enjoyed a few beers and some dinner at the Logan Lake Lodge, before hitting the sack to get ready for Day 3.
We soon started up the the High-Line Road that starts with a bit of a short steep and rough section, while it gains altitude and then runs along the mountains on the west side of Anderson Lake. It's a beautiful road with spectacular scenery. And we caught up shortly with many of the other riders. Eventually, the road started descending back to the lake and the village of Seton Portage. I was leading the pack, and riding fairly quickly and came across a turn that was a little sharper than expected - had to really hit the binders, and lean the bike over pretty far to make the turn, and I think I may have rode a bit of the side wall of the mountain as I made the corner. Then it was into Seton Portage to wait for everybody to catch up.
As the others showed up, they explained that Gerald had missed one of the turns and had a little encounter with the side of the mountain. I'm pretty sure it was the same corner that had surprised me earlier. Gerald was making a few repairs to his bike, so we waited for a little while for him to show up; and once he arrived we made a few more repairs to his bike. In Lillooet, we stopped for gas and then ate lunch at the Lillooet Inn Restaurant.
It was more fun roads after lunch heading to Logan Lake. Today's ride was everything I had hoped for! We enjoyed a few beers and some dinner at the Logan Lake Lodge, before hitting the sack to get ready for Day 3.
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Today's route would take us to some roads and trails we had ridden the previous year, including a portion of the Kettle Valley Railroad (KVR). We ate breakfast at the Logan Lake Lodge before getting ready for the day. It was a pretty cloudy day, and we had some showers as we were packing the bikes and getting ready to head out. From Logan Lake, we headed south on Hwy 97C towards Merritt, and then continued east before turning off onto the gravel Kane Valley Road.
The Kane Valley Road takes us southeast, and then we head towards the old water tower at Brookmere. From there, it was onto the KVR - an abandoned railway bed that has had the tracks pulled up. Eventually we pass by Otter Lake just before reaching Tulameen. Past Tulameen, there is one section of the KVR where a slide has occurred. Last year, it was pretty rocky but this year it was much more sandy.Eventually, we reach the tunnels just before Princeton.
We ate lunch in Princeton, and then everybody headed on their way back home. I was heading to a friend's house in Sorrento, BC for a few nights, which happens to be pretty close to where Gerald calls home in Chase, BC; so we rode north from Princeton together. We took Hwy 5A to north of Merritt, and then mostly dirt roads from there.
All in all, it was another great ride in British Columbia with some great riding buddies!
The Kane Valley Road takes us southeast, and then we head towards the old water tower at Brookmere. From there, it was onto the KVR - an abandoned railway bed that has had the tracks pulled up. Eventually we pass by Otter Lake just before reaching Tulameen. Past Tulameen, there is one section of the KVR where a slide has occurred. Last year, it was pretty rocky but this year it was much more sandy.Eventually, we reach the tunnels just before Princeton.
We ate lunch in Princeton, and then everybody headed on their way back home. I was heading to a friend's house in Sorrento, BC for a few nights, which happens to be pretty close to where Gerald calls home in Chase, BC; so we rode north from Princeton together. We took Hwy 5A to north of Merritt, and then mostly dirt roads from there.
All in all, it was another great ride in British Columbia with some great riding buddies!
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