Bikepacking Texada Ridge Runner

Overview

Planned number of days: 4 (including travel time)

Length of trail: 130 km

Elevation gain: 2847 meters

Texada Ridge Runner is a bikepacking trail that encircles Texada Island, located off the Sunshine Coast. It is mostly unpaved so expect lots of gravel, although generally it sounds pretty smooth and maintained. I am planning on following the guide as described here, but am open to making changes. Out of the four days total, I'm expecting us to be riding 2.5 days, with the rest being travel to and from the island.

Requirements

- A gravel or rigid mountain bike should be perfect for this trail (I will be bringing a hardtail mountain bike).

- The 10 essentials

- All equipment necessary to fix a flat tire

- Camping gear (e.g., sleeping bag, tent, bivy, food, water, meal prep. equipment)

- A high-level of cycling-specific fitness

I am a fairly strong cyclist but this will be my first bikepacking adventure. Other cyclists new to this sport are welcome! However, all participants should be familiar and comfortable with the gear they bring, and it's expected that everyone will have at least stress-tested their setup on representative road conditions.

Resources

Bikepacking.com has a primer on bikepacking if you're just discovering the activity: https://bikepacking.com/bikepacking-101/

As linked above, Bikepacking.com has an overview of the route: https://bikepacking.com/routes/texada-ridge-runner-route/. Everyone should become familiar with the trip route beforehand so you can help navigate.

Tentative Detailed Itinerary

The following is subject to change based on conversations with group members.

Day 1 (Thursday, July 24th)

Leave the general Vancouver area in the morning (carpooling as much as possible). Take the ferry from Horseshoe Bay to Langdale, and then another from Earls Cove to Saltery Bay. Arrive in Powell River in the late afternoon. Stay the night at a campsite.

Day 2 (Friday, July 25th)

Leave the vehicles behind and catch the ferry from Powell River to Blubber Bay (Texada Island). Ride approx. 55 km  with 1400 m elevation gain to Anderson Bay on the opposite end of the island, which means almost half the route will be done in this one day. Make camp and stretch our legs. 

Day 3 (Saturday, July 26th)

The first 12 km of this next day will be the steepest of the whole trip, and we'll probably have to walk parts of it with our heavy bikes. The plan is to ride until we hit Shelter Point campground, which means we'll have done about 45 km this day. Almost there!

Day 4 (Sunday, July 27th)

Our last day will be pretty chill. We've only got 25 km left to cover, and elevation gain is minimal.This would be the ideal day to relax and explore the town a bit before leaving (ex. the local Farmer's Market should be open today), as well as to enjoy a well-earned hot lunch! After taking the ferry back to Powell River, we just retrace our steps and drive home (with two more ferry rides to look forward to).

Like I said though, these details are subject to change based on what the group wants to do :)