First bikepacking trip!
It was extremely fun and humbling! The first climb out of Goldstream is insane. It felt like unless you were ultralight, you just have to hike it. I think it’s 20% or so, and it’s loose gravel and goes on forever. (And starting from Goldstream camp is the easier version.. which is insane!! But I totally get it because there were a ton of sharp fun switchbacks going down.) I think doing it ultralight would be such a fun rollercoaster ride. The surly bridge club was really reliable but for my size/weight it was waaayyy too heavy. I’m 5’1”, around 52kg. My friend is 5’10” and his set up felt half the weight of mine. Lots of suffering and pushing. I think I’d love to do this again but I definitely feel like I need a lighter set up. I think this set up is totally fine for mostly flats, but a route with a ton of gravel climbing, I definitely would want something a lot lighter. And way less weight on the front. My shoulders and arms are cooked from the heavy handling.
Really beautiful trip though! (When I could appreciate it when I wasn’t fighting for my life 🤣)
We camped at Goldstream, Stoltz, and Bamberton. Overall for me it was about 300k cycling from Vancouver to the island.
Also, there were some new route closures so we had to figure out a bunch of detours from Stoltz to Bamberton. We took a scenic route by the ocean but also involved a lot more climbing. (But paved, so it wasn’t too bad)
by banangelamilk
3 Comments
It always feel better to have less stuff! You could also try getting your weight lower down. With it up high on the rear rack and on the front rack, along with you being shorter it makes your centre of gravity pretty high. I’ve never liked the dry bag on rack setup, it makes bikes feel floppy.
Full frame bag and mini panniers work well.
Do you have just one bag on the side of the fork? Balancing the weight across two small bags will handling easier. You want about 60% front 40% rear weight distribution.
That’s a great route, we did the other way and it’s much better.
Nice! I want to do this route sometime this summer. How’s the camping situation? Did you have to make reservations for any of the sites?