A new 1,000 km bikepacking route between small communities on northern Vancouver Island has just been unveiled, opening the region to a slower, more immersive form of tourism and bringing economic opportunities to the area.

Miles Arbor is part of the team at Bikepacking.com, a go-to resource the sport. Arbor describes bikepacking as a 含羞草研究社渕ix between lightweight backpacking and off-road cycling.含羞草研究社�

含羞草研究社淵ou含羞草研究社檙e kind of taking all of your camping gear from a normal backpacking set up and putting it on to a bicycle,含羞草研究社� he said.

Arbor is from Powell River, and he has had his eye on the North Island含羞草研究社檚 untapped potential for bike exploration.

含羞草研究社淭he coast and Vancouver Island have been pretty unknown to me,含羞草研究社� he said. 含羞草研究社淓veryone I含羞草研究社檝e spoken to, even people who have lived in Vancouver for a long time or people from the Island含羞草研究社� definitely nobody has done too much riding up there.

含羞草研究社淯ntil now, there hasn含羞草研究社檛 been much to follow and people have been unsure about where to ride. People just haven含羞草研究社檛 been up there for whatever reason.含羞草研究社�

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The Tree to Sea route is a 1,041 km loop that begins at the Comox ferry terminal, heads up to Campbell River then west towards Gold River. From there it goes to Tahsis, then a water taxi into Zeballos. From there, riders go north to Port Alice, Holberg and Cape Scott Provincial Park. From there it heads back down along the east side of the Island, to Port Hardy and Port McNeill Then riders leave the highway and stick to gravel roads and trails down to Woss. The route then heads into Sayward, and then to Elk Bay and back to Campbell River. The last section is along Highway 19 and back to the Comox ferry terminal.

含羞草研究社淚含羞草研究社檓 trying to mix cultural, environmental and even just interesting camp spots or beautiful views all together to make something that含羞草研究社檚 worthwhile riding,含羞草研究社� Arbor said. 含羞草研究社淚 want to get it to the point where it can含羞草研究社檛 be any better. This route can pretty much stay as it is for years, hopefully.含羞草研究社�

That is if access to the roads is maintained.

含羞草研究社淚 want to start promoting bikepacking on the North Island to hopefully start preserving some of these roads and to ensure that we have access to these roads for the long term,含羞草研究社� Arbor said. 含羞草研究社淭he whole route relies on the fact that the logging companies keep the roads open. A lot of these sections could be decommissioned and gated off without much notice.含羞草研究社�

含羞草研究社淎 side goal of mine is working with tourism boards and stuff to maintain this as an actual route that people can follow for years to come,含羞草研究社� he said. 含羞草研究社淭he route has no gates on it. You can ride the route and be sure that you含羞草研究社檙e going to get through everywhere含羞草研究社� It含羞草研究社檚 just so beautiful 含羞草研究社� the stuff on the west coast between Gold River all the way up to Cape Scott is just unbelievable terrain and it would be such a shame to have any of those sections closed down for public access.含羞草研究社�

Bikepacking can revive small town economies. Some towns in the interior of B.C. and in the United States have benefited from cycling.

含羞草研究社淭here have been tons of case studies on the economic benefits of mountain biking and cycling in these communities. It含羞草研究社檚 nothing new, (but) this is kind of a different approach of coming at it from a route-first point of view,含羞草研究社� Arbor said.

含羞草研究社淚t含羞草研究社檚 pretty cool when people become more familiar with bikepacking and you see more people out there, getting into these smaller towns. A bit of an economic boost would also be pretty great because a lot of them are struggling,含羞草研究社� he said. 含羞草研究社淏ikepackers eat a lot.含羞草研究社�

A 1,000 km bike ride may not doable for most. Arbor took 13 days to ride the route. There are shorter options, one starts in Campbell River. Arbor also created a route called Snowden or Dust that is an easier 74 km. It uses the Snowden Demonstration Forest trails and hooks on to the logging roads that lead to the north side of Campbell Lake.

含羞草研究社淚t can be done in one night,含羞草研究社� Arbor said. 含羞草研究社淵ou could expand it to two nights if you wanted to. It would also be very easy to just ride gravel.含羞草研究社�

While it can be daunting to see the amount of gear out there, Arbor suggests just using things you already have and trying a shorter route that you含羞草研究社檙e already familiar with.

含羞草研究社淚 do more overnighters than any other trips. These big 13-plus-day multi-week trips, most people aren含羞草研究社檛 doing them,含羞草研究社� he said. 含羞草研究社淭he overnighters, that含羞草研究社檚 where you含羞草研究社檙e going to learn what works. Just make it super simple.含羞草研究社�

The and the routes are available at

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marc.kitteringham@campbellrivermirror.com
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