Ride the Wild: Exclusive Northern BC MTB Tour

Jan 13, 2016 at 7:55
by Troy Lee  
Ride the Wild Exclusive Northern BC MTB Tour
Wilderness riding at its best: no lift line-ups, no crowded parking lots

On this five-day inclusive guided tour, you will experience some of Northern British Columbia’s best all-mountain wilderness riding in Prince George, Burns Lake, and Smithers. Each day will begin with a visit to a local bike shop where a resident expert and guide will introduce the mountain - followed by hours of riding. You will also experience some of the best hospitality and arts & culture in the region. Accommodations, breakfast, and lunch will be provided, and each evening you can enjoy some great locally owned restaurants and presentations by guest speakers.

Details:
Date: July 24-29, 2016
Riders: This program is for intermediate to expert all-mountain riders
Total Cost: $2400 CND (plus tax) only $1771 USD

This flowy single-track is typical of the trail network in this area. Photo Credit Jacob M.

Your first two days of riding will be at Pidherny and Otway, two trail networks characterized by well-maintained flowy single track, bermed corners, jumps, drops, and skinnies.

Flowy single-track at Otway Photo Credit D. Budd

While staying in Prince George, you will be hosted by the University of Northern British Columbia. This 25-year-old campus is surrounded by forest and a huge network of single and double-track multi-use trails.

The University of Northern British Columbia

On day three, the bus will take you to Burns Lake, BC, the home of Boer Mnt. and a network of trails designed by Gravity Logic, Jay Hoots, and IMBA Canada.

After riding Boer Mnt., the tour will head to Smither's BC to ride the trail networks on and around Hudson's Bay Mountain. I can almost guarantee that you have never ridden a jump like this:

This awesome jump is located in the Piper Recreation area on Hudson s Bay Mountain. Photo Credit D. Percy

Given that these rides are in black and grizzly bear country, all riders must complete UNBC's online Bear Awareness and Safety course prior to joining the tour.

Ride the Wild Exclusive Northern BC MTB Tour

For a detailed itinerary, what's included and other info, check out the Ride the Wild blog.


MENTIONS: @troyvanlee



Author Info:
troyvanlee avatar

Member since Oct 7, 2015
1 articles

27 Comments
  • 36 2
 $2400 hey ??..its nice country up there but come to Squamish..buy me some beer and i'll show you around for free, no bear aware course required Smile
  • 12 1
 okay but will you tell me what frame gwin is riding this year?
  • 2 0
 I'm gonna hold ya to that ;-)
  • 2 0
 Hey, I'm planning a trip from Ottawa to the West in September...should be in Vancouver for the last week of September. What are the conditions typically like there at that time?? You may get a few bites on that statement!!
  • 3 0
 Love to go on a trip like this but $2400 is a little too much for me. I'm sure it would be awesome but I'm super lucky because there are so many fantastic trails literally right in my hometown. Within a 20 minute drive, there are four other mountains to ride excellent trails as well. I'm only 2 hours from Squamish and $2400 would pay for a serious amount of gas, fast food, and hotel days. Enves or Nobl wheels would be awesome too, but I'd just like lots of great riding days.
  • 3 0
 Here is a serious question... i already have Enforms Wildlife Awareness online training 8+ hours, which includes an extensive bear section, do i still need to do the UNBC?
  • 4 0
 Does a bear shit in the woods? Yes, yes it does...and it's full of Whistles and Jingle Bells...LOL.......btw, pg 69 subsection 1.3 : "You just have to be faster than the slowest victim"
  • 2 0
 Best bet is to hide a tuna melt or strawberry jam sandwich on the fastest guy... that bear will be long gone!
  • 1 0
 "tuna melt". I LOL'd.
  • 1 0
 Its included in the program anyways so you might as well do it. Look at it as a refresher. BTY-the instructor in our course was contracted by SUNCOR to do predator control after a biologist was killed by a black bear a couple of years ago in Fort Mac!
  • 1 0
 Hey, being a Prince Georgian and have ridden lots of stuff in BC, I am curious about the audience for this. The riding in all places is really good, but very different depending on what you want. Unless you are a local, the true gems in Otway and Pidherney are less obvious. Otway is smooth - really smooth - although the trail rating show diamonds - there is nothing over a mild blue square in my opinion and I get off my bike and scramble portions of trails in Pemberton (aka Nimby 50). If you launch that jump shown in the photo in Smithers and are looking for that stuff - you may find Otway to be boring. Burns Lake has a trail called razorback and next year will open a complete new extension that means there will be one trail that is ~25 km long and fantastic riding. Too me- its just as good as anything in Whistler, Pemberton or Squamish.

Understood that the costs are high and not all of us can afford it but a Williams Lake/Quesnel/Prince George/Burns Lake/Smithers trip will leave a smile on most all mountain / xc riders faces.
  • 1 0
 I agree with you brother. No lineups no lattes or crowded parking lots. This is the last frontier of riding.
  • 2 1
 So UNBC is supposed to be a university, right? WTF are they doing turning into a travel agency for mtbikers? This is f*cked up...
  • 1 0
 Lots of universities do adventure travel-mainly targeting alumni. We have a whole series of jet boat tours that we run on the NW coast as well. There is an educational component to this program as well. If its not how you roll then no worriesSmile
  • 1 0
 Yeah the educational component is not all that obvious from the article. I can see see the interest of trying to get people up there or to come back, but I think that's what the tourism department in the town is for. I have a bit of a problem with the way universities are run across North America, i.e. like companies that aim at making money rather than focusing on the education. We see that clearly in Vancouver with SFU and UBC building condos on their property to invest in real estate. So, to me, that kind of program seems to add to that dynamic, which I believe in the long run is impeding on the quality of education.
  • 3 0
 Do I get to keep the the silverware when it's over?
  • 1 0
 just the memories dude!
  • 4 2
 Early April Fools?
  • 1 0
 the jump over the sessna would be sick
  • 3 0
 If I'm not mistaken, that trail is close to Smithers, BC and that jump is called Piper Down.
  • 3 0
 Yeah, the wreck is actually a Piper Cub. Awesome trail!
  • 1 0
 ahh cool cool eith way it looks dope
  • 2 0
 $2400!
  • 2 2
 Ooo, this or my new Enves?
  • 4 2
 Is that a serious question? The tour wins every time by my math!
  • 4 1
 you could always go with Nobl wheels and save yourself some coin
  • 2 2
 Wayne the problem solver:p







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