Bronwyn Wilkinson and Gill Winckler tackling the Great Trail across Canada in pieces and whenever opportunity allows. It might take the rest of our lives to complete this little adventure.
We’ve been putting some more hills in the legs before the next part of our journey across the continental divide of this endless country. Hopefully the forest hill repeats in Pacific Spirit Park, spin classes and today’s climb up Cypress Mountain will prepare us for the leg from Cranbrook, BC to Banff, which lies on … Continue reading More hills ahead
A lactic-acid-flush of a ride today along a paved trail from the charming alpine town of Kimberley to Cranbrook. It was easy going, but our legs felt the accumulation of mileage from the previous four days and we were properly tired. For 35km we rode through grasslands and Ponderosa pines, into the company of deer, … Continue reading Day 22: Kimberley to Cranbrook, BC
It is an incredible privilege to have the health, stamina and opportunity to experience what we did today. Neither the words nor the pictures will do justice to this our best day ever on the bikes. But we will try to describe it and will likely share far too many photos - you are warned. … Continue reading Day 21: Gray Creek Pass to Kimberley, BC
What a cheerful morning riding the rolling hills along the exquisite, still and bucolic Kootenay River out of Nelson towards Balfour. Coffee and snack stop at the Tulsi Conscious Cafe was delightful and then we headed on to the ferry stop after about 35km of riding. Here we could buy Kootenay tie dyed shirts (and … Continue reading Day 20: Nelson to Gray Creek Pass, BC
When a Canadian says a trail is not bikeable, believe them. These people are not soft. They mean just don’t take a bike. At all. You will be pushing it, pulling it, dragging it, carrying it up and down vertical cliffs and diving to stop it falling into the river below. It was a Forrest … Continue reading Day 19: Castlegar to Nelson, BC
A bear!!! Our first on this trans-Canada journey. OK, it wasn’t quite on the trail - the young grizzly crossed Highway 3A in front of us as we drove from our overnight spot in Nelson to the start point above Christina Lake. But it counts ... Some hills are nasty pointy things. Others grind away … Continue reading Day 18: Christina Lake to Castlegar, BC
Nelson, BC A month of planning and eight hours’ drive have brought us back into the B.C. interior to start the next leg of our Trans Canada epic. Four days of tough cycling and one easy one should take us from Christina Lake to Cranbrook - up and over the Kootenay mountains and into the … Continue reading Onwards and Upwards
29 June 2019 With the Gray Creek pass and Rocky Mountains ahead of us, we've been putting some hill endurance in the legs. We've always watched the road cyclists who train by riding up one (or all) of Vancouver's triple crown mountains (Cypress, Grouse and Seymour) with a mix of admiration and disdain (because why … Continue reading A bit of Vancouver hill training
A proper breakfast AND a real pub lunch - the luxury! With a 30km climb to start, breakfast at the fabulous Copper Eagle in Greenwood, 13km in, was a treat. Greenwood has worked hard to preserve its history, and is Canada’s smallest city. Conversation with the barista at Copper Eagle: “How did Greenwood come to … Continue reading Day 17: Midway to Christina Lake, BC
One thousand kilometres done - and much more fun today! Beautiful trail along the West Kettle River through pine groves and bright farm meadows with enough diversity to alleviate boredom. Breakfast was eggs and bacon in our little cabin in Beaverdell, and we waited for the garage coffee shop to open at 9 to ensure … Continue reading Day 16: Beaverdell to Midway, BC
Trans Canada Epic 