British Columbia
 

I'm thinking about visiting BC sometime next year for a few weeks and was wondering if anyone could advise on the best time of year, places of interest, bike & car hire costs, where to avoid etc.

Not interested in large cities in general although we want to visit Vancouver. The plan is to get cheap flights and travel about exploring the area.

All help appreciated.

Thanks Steve

Hello, anyone out there in the Great White North?

I know from looking at previous postings in many topics that there's a few regulars living in or around Vancouver!

Any info appreciated or have you all gone in to hibernation zzzzzzzzzzz.

Steve

I just got back from BC. Go in August if you can. Great weather that time of year. Best part of Canada, as far as I am concerned. I can't help on bike rental, I rode my own.
John

See below.it is from the BMWMOA web site.
Touring and bike rentals in North America.
http://bmwmoa.org/global/ToNorthAmerica.htm
John

I'm in Vancouver. Who wants to come here and go dual-sport riding?

I live in the mountains around Vancouver...

DRZ400s

Help me!!!

JZBC

Hey I can also lend my Kawi ZR7s. It rocks the streets.

JZBC

Hey there. It all depends on what you want to do. I would agree that August is the best month for biking because most if not all of the snow is gone at the higher elevations and the mosquito population has droppped drastically by then if you are into camping.

BC has everything for any type of rider. Like twisties? We got that. Like high mountain trails for your Dual Sport? We got that. Like riding through desert country? We got that. Mountains, valleys, plains... we got that.

Best chance for rentals is in Vancouver. The biggest city in the northern half of the province is Prince George and I havent found a bike rental shop there yet.

As for riding...you can cross the province in one day if that is all you do. Count on a 16-18 hr day if thats what you want. North to south CAN be done in a day, but there again all you are doing is riding. There are countless back roads that lead to nice sleepy little towns that beg to be explored.

One of the better routes IMHO is Highway 3 (Crowsnest Highway) which crosses the southern part of the province. It basically starts out in Hope BC (1.5 hrs east of Vancouver) and ends at the BC/Alberta border near Cranbrook. All sorts of riding falls in between these two cities. When I did this ride, it was a FULL 3 days of exploring and I didnt even reach the tip of the ice berg. Lots of opportunity to get off the beaten track and check out some great riding on some great backroads.

Well, Ive droned on long enough. BC is great. You will really enjoy it.

Thanks everyone for the replies, greatly appreciated. Hope to visit BC next year.

Steve

Steve,

You may want to purchase "Destination Highways British Columbia".

Its written specifically for motorcycles, 450 + pages, lots of info, best roads, bike shops, ferry info, etc.

Its ISBN #0 9684328 0 8 Twisted Edge Publishing

Also, travelling is a lot cheaper here than the UK. We were in your neck of the woods this summer and we found it very expensive.

Have fun,

Mark

Go in July or August. (Try to avoid BC Day in August- lots of traffic, hard to find a camp spot.)

My suggestion is to get a map and then pick curvy roads through Southeast BC. There's ton of them. Whatever you find, you'll like it. That's what I just did and it was great. (My personal favorite was a road between Kaslo and New Denver. I thought it was one of the best stretches on a 6,000 mile roundtrip to AK.)

Then head over to Alberta for a ride through Jasper. If you have time, take the Al-Can highway and come back down the Cassiar.

Steve:

Try this link, which is the BC Government's tourism site: http://www.tourism.bc.ca

Also, the BC Government tourism office has a representation in the UK, the info is as follows:

Victoria Hicks
Trade & Media Coordinator
Tourism British Columbia
British Columbia House
3 Regent Street, 3rd Floor
London SW1Y 4Ns
UK Phone: 44 207 930 6857 Ext. 206
Fax: 44 207 930 2012
Email: VHicks(NOSPAM)@(NOSPAM)TourismBC.co.uk

remove (NOSPAM) for real address. I'm sure they get a ton of spam already, but no sense in us giving them ammunition. Grant.

[This message has been edited by Grant Johnson (edited 03 December 2003).]

Thanks for the info!

Steve

Steve,
I haven't been to BC in a long time, but it's awesome. There's a road in the National Park (Jasper and Kootenay and I prob'ly spelled it wrong but I'm too danged lazy to look it up) anyway that borders Alberta called the Icefield Parkway that you wouldn't want to miss. Definately go in July or August. If you do around then, the Calgary Stampede around the 4th of July is a great time also. The only negative - there's mosquitoes big enough to er, well never mind just take a lot of repellant.

Chris

Thanks to everyone for responding, most helpful.

Steve

Here's an idea - plan to hit the Revelstoke HU Meeting - fantastic riding area and lots of great people. See the Meetings page for details.

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Grant Johnson

Seek, and ye shall find.
------------------------

One world, Two wheels.
www.HorizonsUnlimited.com

hey steve,
well i am hibernating, but in districto federal. next to oaxaca mx, bc, my home, is the biker´s paradise. i am fortunate to live outside vancouver in the back hills. i usually go for a run every night after work for 2-3 hours. usually east thru the mountains or south across the line. too many options for exploring. too many undiscovered. in october i went on the oyster run, sponsered by the washington banditos. over 8000 bikes. there i found chuckanut drive. it follows the coast down to whitby island. amazing. never knew it exsited and i have lived here for over 20 years. someone mentioned rentals. trev deeley's or steve drane h-d. rents dynas, some fl´s, and buells. can't tell you about any other makes though.enjoy,K

Hello!
Be sure to look me up when you arrive, there are so many places to ride in BC, i can hardly begin to explain. I have heard of one or two adventure touring companies in the interior region, you'll have to do a search. I also have an extra bike(if i can ever get my re-call issue dealt with!! see my other posts...) If i'm not busy when you arrive, i'd love to take you through Pemberton, Duffy lake, Marble canyon and back through the Fraser Canyon. I promise you won't want to leave! Let me know if you need acomadations, i'll be glad to help! Most mountain roads south of Prince George are clear by late April and passable through late October, and they are all spectacular!
Good luck!

Mr. Ron,

Thanks for the offer, greatly appreciated!

Not sure if we'll make it to BC this year as we now have the possibility if a cheap holiday in Ecuador with friends.

If we do go to BC, you can be sure that at the very least I'll be contacting you for ideas on places to visit.

Thanks again.

Steve

steve,have you got through to Vicki Hinks?
e-mail is returned,phone rings and goes direct to fax
any other info folks ?
thanks

Bryan,

Apologies for delay in replying to your post. I've just returned from a ski trip.

I've not tried contacting Vicky as plans may be changing as we may have the opportunity to visit Ecuador instead.

Steve

Hi Steve, just browsing the threads and came across your name, you've been very helpful with a couple of queries of mine, so, for what it's worth, here's my twopennyworth. I've been there a couple of times in the last few years, but in FEBRUARY, when the roads were covered in snow. We hired a Ford Explorer 4WD, and in a total of nearly a month we didn't have a moment of uncertainty driving the beast, this included snowdrifts and sheet ice. I accept that this is completely irrelevant as far as biking is concerned, but it does seem that you intend driving there as well. You asked about car hire rates: all I can remember is that they seeed very reasonable at the time: most of the big hire firms are there; check out Avis, Hertz, Budget & Dollar rental on the net. Remember that the downtown hire rates are usually a lot cheaper than if you arrange the pick up at their airport depot. Also, most hire companies will give an extra five or ten percent off if you're in a trade union with a deal with them. I worked with BT and the NCU (Nat. Communications Union)did have a deal with two of the larger hire companies, just quote the agreement number.
Also, remember to hang on to your receipts while in Canada, they have a visitors' tax refund system. You will probably be given the information on how to reclaim it at your point of arrival, remember, you do not need to use an agency to reclaim your tax although it's a little easier, but then they take their cut, too. I did it myself, piece of piss. The local HUBB members will be far better placed to advise on winter riding in BC, but if they agree, head for the Icefield Parkway, from Jasper to Banff. Oh, then carry on via Canmore to Calgary, that's nice, friendly and modern-have a look at the Calgary Museum to find out about its history. I'm not a museum man myself, but found it very absorbing. It's just ocurred to me that this is now Alberta, but if you're going to BC then Alberta is also an obvious "must" What made the holiday especially memorable for me was that I hired a plane at Jasper-Hinton Airfield (I've got a licence) and flew over the northern part of the Icefield Parkway, the Columbia Icefield and Mount Edith Cavel. I think that was about £90 for about an hour and a half. That was with the proprietor of Air Jasper, Jim Bacon by my side, making sure I and his plane didn't get lost in the Rockies. Sound. You can get Air Jasper up on a search engine, no bother. Jim was full of information about the area we flew over and made the trip even better. I promise you, you will never run out of attractions in the Rockies. Oh, and if you do go in winter we were assured by the hotel that if it snows really badly then the highway authorities are geared up to cope, they'd have the snowploughs out and clear the roads in a jiffy. We had to stop a few times while the ploughs cleared a way, that, in a car was no bother, of course. I do hope this is of interest even though a lot may be irrelevant to biking: give me a bell if you like: 01758 72044. Regards, John

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Johnefyn

John,

Thanks for the info, as always, greatly appreciated.

Not sure if still going to BC as we have friends in Ecuador who we may visit instead, as they're only there until the end of the year.

How are you getting on with your brake lines - let me know if you need any of the bolts shortening on the lathe?

Regards

Steve

Hi Steve
Wow, that was quick!
Thanks for the offer of machining, but it's OK, I've got a lathe. Got to go, I'll be writing again soon.
Regards,
John

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Johnefyn

The trip to BC could well be happening after all. If not BC, then possibly Colorado instead?

Any links to Bike Rental outfits in either area appreciated.

Thanks

Steve

[This message has been edited by Steve Pickford (edited 07 May 2004).]

Ridewest BMW rent BMW's in Seattle they are pretty reasonable puts you within spitting distance of BC.

www.ridewest.com