How tos »
The mountain biker’s road trip, part 1
During the couple of years that we’ve been providing guiding services for mountain bike tours and thinking more seriously about road trips, Denise and I have found that, while a lot of people like to take road trips, very few people do any research and preparation before heading out the door. And after they get where they’re headed, the unprepared rider ends up sticking to popular spots, missing out on the ‘good stuff’. When they get home, they clean up their bikes and carry on as before they left.
This article is the first of a four-part series, where I’ll be breaking down an ‘average’ road trip into different parts, and I hope that it helps everyone get on the road and on the trails you really want to see — the ones that only the locals know about. Today I’m writing about trip research and preparation, next week’s article is about packing up the essential things that every road trip needs, week three discusses the actual road trip, and week four is about saving those memories.
Road trip research
First steps
Although my personality dictates that this part of the trip a ‘gimme’, I’ve found that most people don’t do enough research about the destination of their road trip. When I research a riding area that I’m unfamiliar with, the first thing I do is contact the local bike shops in that area and find out if they have a guiding or shuttle service that can show me around. If I can’t find any ‘official’ services, then I try to get a message with my contact information to area trail builders — often, builders are more than willing to take new people out for a ride (and if they aren’t, they can often point you to someone who will).
Be honest when describing your abilities and you’ll have a better time
When you talk to the bike shops and tour guides, do not exaggerate your riding ability because you’ll likely be sent in the wrong direction and towards trails that are too technical for your skill level. For example, if you hit are comfortable hitting gap jumps that are 8 feet across, then don’t say you do 12 footers and, similarly, if you do 6 foot drops, don’t say you do 10 footers (because you land 4 feet down the transition). It’s always a good idea to start out with stuff you’re comfortable with and move to more challenging trails later.
Besides, most guides will know a few minutes into your first ride if you fudged about your fitness level (during the climbs / hike-a-bikes) or technical skills. And then they might need to change their plans on the spot or, worse, spend the rest of day trying to figure out your overall ability. That’s wasted time that could have been spent on a great trail.
The Internet is your friend
After you contact area shops and guides and have a bunch of basic information on the different riding spots, it is time for you to sit down in front of your computer and start Googling. Generally, I start by searching for information about the riding area and the spots that are popular with the locals. This can take a while but I think that it’s a good idea to show up at a new place with at least a trail name (Comfortably Numb) and a riding area (Whistler) that I really want to see.
While I am doing the whole Google thing, I also search for other information: I want to make sure I know what the terrain is like (ie. sandy, jagged shale, soft dirt, muddy, rooty, sticky clay) and what the trail conditions are like when it rains. If I can’t find what I’m looking for using Google, I often can try online forums like those found at NSMB.com, PinkBike.com, or MTBR.com. These sites are good spots to find local riders and people who have ridden in the spots where you are going.
At this point, I start thinking about how many days (roughly) I need to spend in a specific town or area by laying out all of my information — research and feedback from forums — and figuring out what I can see in one day. While this timeline is flexible and I can change it as needed, it’s good to know roughly how long I’ll be on the road.
Preparing for your road trip
Include everyone in your plans
When planning your trip, always consider everyone that is coming along and plan accordingly (ie. if Denise doesn’t have fun, then Greg doesn’t have fun). After I’ve created a basic timeline / plan, I ask the rest of the group to go through my information and pick a couple of trails that they want to hit up. This technique works well because I don’t take heat for choosing trails the rest of the group does not enjoy.
After the others go through the list of options and I compile my list, I’ll call the shops and / or guides back and let them know what my group is thinking. Sometimes they will say, “If you want to do those trails, you would really enjoy this area too. Or take a second day and try out that area.”
Your schedule isn’t set in stone
Now don’t get me wrong, I only make a rough timeline that is subject to change (and change without notice). For example, sometimes we have so much fun at a spot that we’ll stay another night to ride the same area the next day, but with the benefit of knowing the trails. I can’t tell you how many times I have been up at 4am because we decided to preempt our ‘drive day’ with a ride.
Do you need a base camp?
If I am heading to a resort riding area like Whistler then I usually plan to use the resort as a base camp and branch out from there. For example, if I plan a 5-day trip to Whistler, I’d plan to spend one day at the bike park, one day in Pemberton, another day in Squamish, and two days in whatever areas the group liked most.
Accomodations
For guided trips, I plan accomodations well in advance so there are no major wrinkles once our group arrives at its destination. It’s pretty easy to track down information about places to stay — the Internet, local Tourist branches, and Chambers of Commerce are good places to start.
For personal trips, I don’t usually set up accommodations too far in advance although I do check availability before I leave. On the phone, I’ll ask the person on the other end if I need to book in advance and if they say, “No,” then I don’t worry about it; if they say, “It’s recommended,” I respond with an “OK,” disregard the comment, and fly by the seat of my pants. Even though this has ended up with us camping on some 4×4 backroad more than once.
If I do decide to hire a guide to take some of the planning pressure off of myself then the guides generally set the timeline. But they’re riders too, and there’s usually some flexibility in the schedule (especially if camping is involved).
Closing thoughts
Do as much research as you can, have a general idea about the type of terrain and what the weather conditions are like, and be truthful about your fitness and riding ability. If you do each of these things, you will have a more enjoyable road trip.
One last thing: it is always good karma to take presents for the local trail builders, if I talk to the builders beforehand, I ask what size spikes they use and take a box with me and give them some. It is amazing how much a baggy filled with spikes will improve relations with the locals.
I’m going riding,
Greg. OUT!!!
1. Posted by Week 2 » The Biking Hub | 6:04 am, 20 January 2006
[…] In their first article for The Biking Hub, Greg and Denise had lots of good, practical advice on the research and planning stage of a bike-focused vacation. While the material focused specifically on a freeride-style trip, many of the ideas are equally as applicable to weekend trips to regional cross country races as they are to a gravity-fed vacation. […]