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Travel special!
Grab your bike and the
next ferry to Vancouver
Island for the back country
adventure of a lifetime
Words and Pics Robert Rebholz
The bikes go on the
van, and the van goes
on the boat
S
Relax and enjoy
the ride – the fun
begins across
the water
tanding in the
middle of busy
downtown
Vancouver, it’s hard
to imagine that a raw island
paradise is just a 90-minute
ferry ride away. But in about
the time it takes to cross the
English Channel, you can
travel from the heart of
Vancouver’s financial district
to an untouched wilderness
with some of the finest
singletrack on the planet.
Kick off in Cumberland
At 282 miles long, Vancouver
Island is the largest island off
of the west coast of Canada,
and there are many smaller
islands surrounding it. The
place to start your adventure
is the centrally located
Cumberland, which has tons
of great riding nearby.
Cumberland is an old
mining town that now caters
to outdoor enthusiasts of all
types. And just a minute’s
ride from the door of the
Riding Fool Hostel lies the
Cumberland Community
Forest (CCF), which has
some very accessible,
top-notch riding.
Once you’re in the CCF,
it’s easy to feel like a worm
inside of an apple. It’s insane
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»
The first must-rides are
the varied trails of the
Cumberland Community
Forest
how many interweaved trails are
packed into this zone. You can shred all
day and not ride the same trail twice.
The loamy dirt and the mossy
old-growth trees make this a very
special place indeed. If cross-country or
all-mountain trails are your thing, link
up Teapot, Crafty Butcher and Space
Nugget. If jumping is more your thing,
you can’t go wrong with the Bucket of
Blood to Broadway route.
Forbidden pleasures
When you’re ready to take your
exploration of the island to the next
level, go and check out Forbidden
Plateau. To get the most out of your
experience, it’s best to use a guiding
service to show you the trails. Island
Mountain Rides is an awesome, locally
run guiding service that can show you
around the area in style.
The Forbidden Plateau is a magical
spot with something for riders of all »
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A local guide can help
you get the most from
your Vancouver Island trip
Places
to Ride
Know before
you go…
Forbidden Plateau:
Hundreds of years ago,
two feuding tribes went
up to the plateau to work
out their differences.
No one seems to know
exactly what happened
next but it seems that one
of the tribes ‘fell’ off the
side of the mountain.
Because of this
gruesome event, this area
became considered taboo
for the indigenous people.
But if you gather the
courage to check out this
spooky zone, the rewards
are great – amazing views
of the Comox Valley,
wicked singletrack and
plenty of super fun stunts
and jumps.
Cumberland: Named
after England’s own
Cumberland county, this
old mining town’s trails
make it hard to justify
getting in your car to go
anywhere else.
The Cumberland
Community Forest has
everything from tight,
twisty singletrack that
snakes between
old-growth trees to
top-notch North Shore for
every ability level. If you’re
looking for fun and flow,
check out Bear Buns to
42nd St/Off Broadway
and finish with Bronco’s
(Perseverance). If you
want something a bit
gnarlier then try Grub To
Stub or Pity The Fool.
Fallen trees make
natural obstacles on
the smooth trails
Hard to believe all this
is just 90 minutes
from the mainland
The views from the
Forbidden Plateau
belie its spooky history
All aboard the
Hornby Island ferry
Hornby Island: With
breathtaking views of
Vancouver Island’s
Beaufort Range, world
class singletrack and white
beaches, Hornby Island is
the gem of Vancouver
Island riding. Although it
requires two ferries from
Vancouver Island to get
here, Hornby is a daytrip
you won’t forget.
Because of the gentle
slope of Mt Geoffrey, the
trails on Hornby can be
ridden in either direction.
You won’t need you’re your
brakes on Hornby Island
– the trails are designed
for maximum flow with
open banked corners and
a perfect mellow grade.
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–Once you hit the descent,
not even the view will stop
you in your tracks
abilities.
The trails
start in the
dense
canopy and
Riding Fool Hostel:
give way to
the name says it all.
Stay here!
clearings with
huge exposed rock
slabs and stunning views
of Lake Comox. The locals have
built some awesome freeride lines here,
with everything from big wooden
booters to massive 90 degree rock
rollers. If you’re ever near this area,
don’t miss the chance to ride this
one-of-a-kind location.
Killer DH
Finally, it’s time to move on to the
crown jewel of the area – Hornby
Island. It takes two ferries from the
main island to get here, so make sure
you leave bright and early to get the
most out of your Hornby experience.
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You should come expecting one of
the best riding days of your life in one
of the most beautiful places on earth.
The white sand beaches of Tribune bay
can be inviting, but wait until you’ve
ridden up and down Mt Geoffrey a few
times before you take a dip – you’ll
appreciate it much more that way.
The main ridge trail on Mt Geoffrey
offers a stunning view of Vancouver
Island’s Beaufort Range to the west and
you can see Forbidden Plateau and Mt
Washington to the north. Make sure
you take lots of pictures at these
vantage points, because once you hit
the raging downhills, you won’t want
to stop for anything. On the No Horses
trail, for instance, you’ll float through
beautiful open-cornered berms without
a hint off braking-bumps.
After sampling the goods on
Vancouver Island it’s hard to think of a
more ideal place to ride. Is this
mountain bike heaven? Perhaps – just
don’t miss the ferry. c
Cumberland’s Space
Nugget trail is one of
the tastiest fruits of
the forest
You could ride all day at
Cumberland and not hit
the same trail twice
Canada
Vancouver
Island
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Where in the world is
Vancouver
Island?
Discover Canada’s riding gem
Those crystal waters
are even more
inviting after a hot,
sweaty ride
Located 35 miles west of
Vancouver, Canada, Vancouver
Island is the biggest island on
the west coast of North
America – almost twice the
size of Hawaii. It’s the same
length of England and
two-thirds of the width.
Vancouver Island is
sparsely populated and has
less than one million
inhabitants, which is tiny
compared to England’s 51
million. There is no bridge to
the mainland and it’s a 90-minute
ferry ride to Vancouver Island from
mainland Vancouver.
Vancouver Island is an
outdoor enthusiast’s paradise with
its beautiful beaches, temperate
rain forests and mountainous
terrain. Much of the island is
untamed wilderness – home to
cougar, wolves, bear, deer, elk,
eagles and more. The surrounding
sea has myriad creatures too,
including whales, dolphins, otters,
seals, salmon and many others.
The immaculate berms of
Hornby Island’s No
Horses trail
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