British Columbia Kootenay Rockies

Self Guided Ride Package

Are you ready for British Columbia? How about a week’s adventure ride?

How about an explorer ride to some of the most untouched corners of North America?

BC has some of the most spectacular backcountry left in this world.

And how about a ride with an adventure attitude but still the comforts of motels in the evening?

This is a 6 day journey around some of the most spectacular corners in the Rocky Mountains

About

This is a week’s adventure bike motorcycle ride around BC to discover great places. You know: mountains, rivers, lakes, forests, fish, elk, bear, food and drink and the people. The ride starts just inside the Canadian border in the town of Grand Forks BC. The ride will be 6 days long and will form an 1,886 km (1,150 mile) loop around the province. Riders will spend each evening in a different hotel as they travel the route. The ride will be largely on dirt roads in remote places. There will be some pavement and some tough sections. As always I have included some easy options just in case, but riders should come prepared to tackle some tough stuff and go the distance. This ride is also about the good riding. Come for the riding, leave with a smile.

Kettle Valley Rail Trail

Snack Break

Riders Should Bring

Good reliable newer bikes that can go the distance with little maintenance. Bring an adventure bike that is dirt capable. Riders should come prepared to repair their own tires on the trail. Bring tools and backup tubes. Practice this at home. Riders should bring good gear and clothes, including rain gear. The weather is likely to be good, but in the mountains it can be anything, including cold and wet and even snow in spots.

Celebration dessert at John & Jane’s home

Hanging out at Lake Harrison

Expect the unexpected

When something goes wrong on a ride, would your riding friends say that you are more likely to need help or more likely to give help? If the answer is that you are more likely to offer help you are welcome to join this ride. This ride is filled with riders that are more likely to give help, so most of the time the riders never need help.

Funny how that magic works

Why am I so excited about this ride?

Last year on the Washington BAT ride I met several great Canadians and they all suggested that we come up and ride British Columbia with them. I myself have ridden in BC several times and loved it. Canadian Bill H. offered to help plan the adventure. So Bill made a ride proposal and OMG it is spectacular. While I thought I knew a lot about BC, he has shown me some great stuff that it would have taken me years of trips to discover on my own. OK, so not only are these guys a lot of fun, but they are passionate about their home and are spectacular motorcycles riders.

I view this as a great opportunity for us all to join great Canadians and explore their home turf.

I am WAY IN!

Ride Details

I know many of you also enjoy dreaming about the ride and making your plans, so here is the detail, enjoy!

Ride Description BCAB Kootenay SG

Self Guided Adventure: The British Columbia Kootenay Rockies ride is designed to be a self-guided adventure. As GPS units have become both more powerful and easier to use, it has enabled anyone to be able to easily find their way along the trail. For many, this allows them to just experience the trail without the burden of getting lost.

Buy the GPS Card and Rider Maps:

You can order a microSD Card for your Garmin GPS and a complete set of big picture overview maps as well as tank bag reference maps designed in combination with the microSD card to fit the pocket in your "Tank Bag" See the choices below:

Rider Choice (Scroll Down Menu)

Free Shipping to Lower 48 States

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Check Current Shipping Time

Notes: I suggest you plan and order early. Normally I ship within a week. But sometimes I run out and it can take me several weeks to get new cards and maps. And sometimes I am out riding and building new adventures so that can be hard too. I list the Option for 2 SD cards because many riders like to carry a backup card or a cheap backup gps in the event of unforeseen circumstances.

View the ride maps

OK since many of you like to study more detail about the ride, below are the ride maps.

I put these ride maps on the web page because I know a few of you love looking at the ride detail and dreaming about the ride. At first glance these maps do not look so impressive, but they are way cool. If you start zooming in, you can see the ride in incredible detail. I have spent a ton of hours sorting through the details of the ride for each day, so for those of you that enjoy this sort of thing, well enjoy!

Legend:

The Blue lines are MAIN routes

The Red lines are Harder routes

The Green lines are Easy options

The Black lines are the out and back viewpoints

How does the ride navigation work?

This is a self-led GPS ride; all riding is on your own. You are responsible for your own riding. You will be given a GPS map file and instructions on how to use your Garmin GPS unit. People will hook up in small groups of less than 6 riders and tend to ride together. You are not encouraged to ride alone. You are responsible for your own riding and yourself.

(see my ride Navigation Video)

Are you right for this ride?

When something goes wrong on a ride, would your riding friends say that you are more likely to need help or more likely to give help? You should be in the more likely to offer help camp. This ride is filled with riders that are more likely to give help, so most of the time the riders never need help. Additionally there is all the normal stuff, come prepared to maintain your bike, fix your bike on the trail, repair flat tires, deal with bad weather and rain and make a joke or two.

How do I make the GPS stuff so easy?

I develop very high quality ride maps custom for our ride. They come from much of what I and others have ridden. I take the best from all my rides and make new ones.

(See my Custom Ride Maps Video)

Note from me, gpsKevin

My goal for this ride is simple: great riding. So you can count on great routes and places to ride.

But in addition, the ride is about discovering new places, meeting new friends, seeing new parts of Canada.

Thanks

gpsKevin

FAQ’s

Q: What bikes are good for this ride?

A: Almost any dirt oriented Adventure bike can work well. The routes have options suited for bikes from the 1190 Adventure to the WR250R.

Q: What gas distance range should my bike have?

A: I would suggest that you carry enough fuel to make 180 miles due to the fact that sometimes the route can have issues and it is good to have a little margin.

Q: What is the total distance of this ride?

A: Total ride distance is 1,200 miles and can vary by your personal route choice options.

Q: What are motel room arrangements?

A: Rooms are double occupancy, meaning each rider shares a two queen bed room with another rider.

Q: Is the riding really on my own?

A: Yes, but everyone hooks up and rides with a friend, or a new friend or me.

Q: Will I do this ride again next year?

A: No, sorry, I hardly ever repeat rides as I love to develop and discover new places and rides each season. And I have a long dream list of rides now. So this is likely the only time for this ride. Remember: Every time we say no to a ride that is one less ride in life.

Q: Do I need insurance?

A: Yes, you must carry proof of medical insurance and liability insurance for yourself/motorcycle.

Q: Would this be a good ride for new riders?

A: No, this ride is for intermediate and experienced riders only. The riding has easy route choices and tough route options. Each evening we will study the following day’s choices. You will find lots of supportive people at the ride.