Vancouver island for 3-4 Days?
I'll be in BC in late April / early May for about two weeks, and I've got 3-4 days of riding to spend in the middle... originally I was planning to be in North Vancouver to ride the north shore mountains, but I thought it might be worth it to hit Vancouver Island instead. If I did, what's recommended for 3-4 days of riding? Is it possible to base in one spot, or would I need to stay in a couple different towns (not a big deal)?
I'm not good enough to take advantage of the DH shuttle stuff on Mt. Prevost, based on what I've seen in videos. For reference, I like steep tech and don't mind pedaling, and can typically ride blacks and "easier" double blacks in Whistler, Squamish, Pemberton, etc.
Vancouver island for 3-4 Days?
This will make way more sense if looking at a map:
think of the Sunshine Coast as two sections - the Sechelt section to the south and the Powell River section to the north (these two are separated by a 35 minute ferry ride)
When thinking about the southern section (which is what most people think of when they say Sunshine Coast) Sechelt is in the middle from a south to north perspective (which is the direction the main highway travels) and the town of Gibsons is at the south end (where you get off the ferry from Vancouver).
Midway between Gibsons and Sechelt is an area called Robert’s Creek which is a common area from which to access bike trails (also has a good coffee shop, restaurant, store for snacks, place to swim in the ocean after your ride etc)
As you are driving north from Gibsons to Sechelt the ocean is to your left and a mellow mountainside of forest is to your right. This whole section of the Sunshine Coast has a network of trails ranging from mild easy XC to some steep rooty fun stuff - but mostly dominated by blue trail descents.
Lee or another “local” would be able to point you to any fun stuff there - the BC bike race racers have to traverse from Sechelt to Gibsons on that race day so while they do hit some fun trails they are kinda restricted by that need to be moving all day towards the ferry dock.
Coast Gravity park is just outside of Sechelt in this same section of the Sunshine Coast.
The BCBR route that lies to the north of Sechelt (which starts at where the ferry lands from Powell River section and then ends in Sechelt) was not a fun route to bike at all until the very last area of descents down off the hills into Sechelt. I’ve also poked around on bike in this zone when not doing BCBR and didn’t find much but maybe there are good trails there - it was a decade ago when I was exploring this section.
Powell River has a big network of mostly old school tight twisty XC - and the BCBR route uses these on their race days there. There are a few fun trails scattered around this zone.
But! There is a newish zone of trails in Powell River that are full on enduro fun - and this network is growing. It’s called Mt Mahoney and it’s a 5 min drive outside the town. If you go to the Powell River area this is where you want to ride.
But to be honest I’d rate the idea of basing out of Cumberland and adding in Nanaimo, Hornby, and/or Campbell River way higher on the density of quality trails - or North Van/Squamish/Whistler/Pemberton which is unmatched in its quality.
