The birthday tradition continues… My birthday, which falls on September 1st is the perfect time of year to go bikepacking. Up north, where I live, the beginning of September really starts to feel like fall. The evenings have begun cooling off, the rain comes and goes more freely than it did in the middle of summer, and the mid-day weather lends itself nicely to long days in the saddle. This year, we had a particularly nice weather window. The rain was falling as we drove even farther north, and crossed the Canadian border into ‘Beautiful British Columbia’, but the following days were looking sunny.
The plan was to camp in our truck the first night, bike from our camp to Fernie, BC the next day, stay in a hotel for the night, and then bike the rest of the loop back to our camp. We’d stay one more night and camp in the truck before heading back to Idaho.
Here’s route, which was almost completely gravel:
https://ridewithgps.com/routes/57002812?via=ts7NoZXsyyIrjyDCnKAlOw
The first morning of a bike trip is always a whirl of trying to put your bike together. Getting everything you need shoved into dry bags and voile strapped down, all whilst trying to enjoy your coffee, eat breakfast, put on sunscreen and break down camp. I found myself excitedly moving from one activity to the next without completing the first, and eventually, in a random and unorganized fashion, I was ready to start biking.
Day 1: 57 miles, 2,713 feet of climbing, 85% gravel
The ride was bumpy and mostly downhill to start, following the pristine bull river, with mountains looming in all directions. We didn’t eat a proper breakfast (yogurt and granola), and only packed snacks for lunch (bars, beef jerky, gummy candy), so the short section of highway leading us to a gas station around mile 35 was desperately needed. We sat on a wood pallet out front while eating fried samosas, a chicken ranch wrap, a bag of ‘all dressed’ chips, brownies, and drinking coca-cola. From there, the 20ish miles into Fernie seemed to go by in a flash. Cool, shaded, and smooth gravel roads, turned to long paved descents as the golden hour sun lowered. By the time we pulled into town we were sufficiently worn out from the day. We checked into the hotel, walked to sushi for dinner, and ate dessert in bed before a somewhat restless night sleep thanks to thin walls, and not knowing how to use the A/C unit in our room.
Day 2: 23 miles, 2,092 feet of climbing, 95% gravel
It was my birthday, 31 years young! We started the day at a nearby cafe where we had an insanely good breakfast sandwich on a black sesame bun. I also got a pancake on the side, a green juice, and an iced americano. With full bellies we stopped at the grocery store for a few more snacks, took a quick look around the Canadian Tire, and started our ride out of town. Before we knew it we were climbing a steep gravel road… we kept climbing and climbing for around 5 miles before the trees opened up and we reached the top. We ate some gummy candies, and prepared for a long descent back into camp! Along the way we met a biker who was riding from Banff, BC to Helena, Montana on the great divide route, which unbeknownst to me, we were riding on that day. He was eager to chat after 3 days of solo camping. After wishing him good luck on the rest of his journey we trucked on, me unsuccessfully trying to keep up with Kyle on the long bumpy downhill ride back to camp.
Once we got back to the car, we drove the truck about 5 miles up the road to a spot we had just biked by. This was a spot like none other. It was the perfect fishing hole, next to a rocky beach ideally positioned in the afternoon sun, all right next to our new camp. My birthday ended with a cold plunge in the river, laying out in the sun, trying to perfect my fish photos (still working on it), and a hot ramen dinner while watching the river rush by.
I was, and am, feeling quite grateful to be 31, and can’t help but wonder where I’ll be biking this time next year.
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