Things We've Done

Like actually done ourselves

A few things we've done, seen, and used. WE get out there as much as we can and tend to be picky and hard on stuff...

We Went here

Things and places we've seen with our own eyes.

We used this

Gear and equipment we've put to good use.

We learnt this

Stuff that we've learnt along the way. Either about motorcycles or ourselves.

“Get Lost…Find Yourself” Adventure and Dualsport Motorcycle camping weekend. Welcome to the Third Annual “Get Lost…Find Yourself” Adventure & Dualsport Motorcycle campout, taking place on beautiful northern Vancouver Island. This event is a charity fundraiser for HeadsUpGuys.org. https://headsupguys.org/ Download .KML for Google Maps Download the .GPX for GAIA View in Google Earth Get the Newsletter

Get Lost, Find Yourself – 2024

“Get Lost…Find Yourself” Adventure and Dualsport Motorcycle camping weekend. Welcome to the Second Annual “Get Lost…Find Yourself” Adventure & Dualsport Motorcycle campout, taking place September 5-8, 2024 on beautiful northern Vancouver Island. This event is a charity fundraiser for HeadsUpGuys.org. https://headsupguys.org/ Download .KML for Google Maps Download the .GPX for GAIA View in Google Earth GLFY 2024 Routes Brown Route –

Darkwoods

What is Darkwoods? Well, its 63,000 Hectares of Conservation land just outside of Nelson. It’s a MASSIVE hunk of preserved wilderness, but lucky for us, there’s still some roads that go through it. It’s also known for the tiny community of Tye, sitting on an empty streatch of Kootenay Lake. If you decide to go all the way to the

Bulldogish

What’s Bulldogish? Well, for lack of a better name, it’s the network of roads and trails that wander around the Bulldog Tunnel. Encompassing a loose circle that includes Castlegar, Christina Lake, Grand Forks and Edgewood this area has a ton of riding on offer. The area includes the classic C&W Railbed from Castlegar to Christina Lake along with Bulldog and

Rocky Mtn Network

What’s the Rocky Mtn Network? Well, its the corridor of awesomeness that runs North/South along and near the Canadian Rockies. And boy is it a special place! You get a bit of everything, the jagged peaks in the East and the East Kootenay Valley on the west. Download the .KML View in Google Earth Download the .GPX for GAIA Download

Get Lost, Find Yourself – 2024

Tonik Distillery

A Bit About Them… Our mission at Tonik is to create beverages that remedy life’s most common ailments. These “Miracle Cures” were passed down from our forefathers many moons ago. Following their timeless recipes, we craft drinks that taste so great they might just be delivered straight from the heavens! Click here to visit Tonik learn more And Pizza! There’s

Wild North Brewing

A Bit About Them Our mission is to bring an authentic craft beer culture to our hometown of Creston, BC in a way that honors local tastes while offering a platform into a new, adventurous world of craft beer. We’re a high-spirited group of friends who love our community, friends, and family, but we still and always will enjoy the

Kootenay Cider Works

Farm-crafted cider the traditional way. A small, mountainside cidery located in Nelson BC. It’s a boutique cider house, if you will, making cider crafted from apples grown in the Nelson area, as well as from a small orchard in Kelowna. The founder and cidermaker, Chris Schmidt, started Tod Creek Craft Cider in Victoria, then handed those reins over in 2020 to be

Tailout Brewing

Founded by friends with a shared love of outdoor activities, especially fly-fishing, Tailout Brewing has a comfortable tasting room that features its stylish fish logo prominently. Indeed, the name “Tailout” refers to a shallow part of a river where fish tend to gather, in other words, a great place to cast a fly. The idea for the brewery came

Lions Head Pub

Not to be missed! A mandatory stop if you’re anywhere near Robson… The historical Lion’s Head focuses on quality food and beer. All the food is fresh and from scratch! The taps are reserved for BC Craft Beers. All of that in a warm and friendly traditional Tudor style pub. Situated right on the Columbia river; we have 2 outdoor

Trail Beer Refinery

With a name that reflects Trail’s historic connection to mining, refining, and smelting, this brewery has a strong community focus. For the 13 local business partners who joined together to open Trail’s first craft brewery, it was an obvious choice to link its name to the city’s main industry. Trail is home to one of the world’s largest lead-zinc smelting

Kootenay Boundary

It’s amazing how varied the terrain and communities are in the Kootenay Boundary region. You can travel through completely different environments all in the same day! And it’s all here to download in one PACK. Get the .gpx or .kml file via Gaia Gaia Tutorial on using files So, here’s how the maps works. Everything is based on the type

West Kootenays

So much amazingness in the West Kootenays to explore! Smooth, twisty roads and stellar backcounty. It’s all here to download in one PACK. Get the .gpx or .kml file via Gaia Gaia Tutorial on using files So, here’s how the maps works. Everything is based on the type of riding surface. Colour-coded for your convenience! Green is paved, Blue is

Kootenay Rockies North

There sure is a heck of a lot to explore in the Kootenay Rockies North area! Sooooo many jagged peaks and mountain streams…. Get the .gpx or .kml file via Gaia Gaia Tutorial on using files This area is the real deal! OI literally stopped taking pictures because every amazingly stunning view just melted together… So much riding and camping

The WORKS

You want the works? Well, here it is! All the tracks, routes, and waypoints in one place. No better way to see the big picture, everything in one view. Way easier to plan that next ride, so get at it! Oh, and this one will be updated as new things get added, so keep checking for the newest version….. Download

Vera @missvelocity sitting on a rock at Eagle Bay

Ride Report – West Kootenays Bottom to Top

Miss Velocity joined in on this most recent scouting mission. Sooooo nice to have my partner to help stay warm at night instead of shivering all by my lonesome! Eight days living off the bikes and fine tuning our systems. Still ticking off all the low-down bits since the snow is really hanging on this Spring… It’s all mapped!! So,

Ride Report – East Kootenay Exploration

Continuing in my mission to bring you’all the most current and detailed info about riding in the Kootenays, I again braved the cold and headed out. With 5 days this time, I went to see what was doable and what was still snowbound. It’s all mapped!! Click through on any map image if you want to see where all I

Get Lost, Find Yourself – 2025

Get Lost, Find Yourself – 2024

Darkwoods

Bulldogish

Get Lost, Find Yourself – 2024

S2S Gold Rush Trail 2024

Sea to Sky Adventure Motorcycle Group Presents: S2SADV proudly presents the briefing package for the 4th Annual Gold Dust Trail (GDT)Rally, which starts on Friday August 30 in Lillooet, BC.The ride is scheduled over the Labour Day Long Weekend and the group will travel morethan 1500 km during the event.One of the great features of this multi-day event, is that

Baofeng K5 Plus

Baofeng K5 Plus Communication is key! Tired of line-of-sight helmet com systems? Lets talk about a true backcountry solution that won’t leave you cut off. The Baofeng K5 Plus is a versatile tri-band handheld transceiver designed for amateur radio operators and communication enthusiasts. It operates on VHF (136-174 MHz,220-260MHz), and UHF (400-480 MHz) frequencies, offering a wide range of communication

ADV Adventure Motorcycle with Titan Straps

Titan Straps are Here!

Titan Straps are the incredible do everything strap you didn’t know you needed! Nothing new here, right? Haven’t there been things like these around for years? Well, sort of? Me, you and everyone else has used the classic ski strap for decades. And they work. As a ski strap. But what if you want something better? Stronger? Longer? And yes,

Gear Review – Ultralight Water Filter

Ultralight Water Filter. Gotta stay hydrated, right?! No need to carry all the water you need for a trip, you can create fresh, cold water anytime you want! Fortunately we live in a part of the world with lots of water, so you can just keep your bottles/bladder topped up as you go. Cold water sure is nicer to drink

Camping stove and mug and aeropress coffee maker on a table in the mountains

Gear Review – Aeropress GO Coffee Maker

Aeropress GO travel coffee maker. If you know me, you know I LOVE my coffee. And I’ve tried every coffee maker under the sun over the years. And I’ve always struggled with making a good cuppa while camping, but no longer! Been using the Areopress GO as my primary coffee making method at home and away ever since the GO

Gear Review – Naturehike Cloud Up Tent

Naturehike Cloud Up 1, 2 & 3 Person Tent. More of a long-term review of the Cloud Up tent that I’ve had for 3 seasons now. Solo, I use the Vik 1, but this is a fantastic 2 person tent. It’s small and light, and I only upgraded to the Star River because of the 2 doors/vestibules and Sil-nylon fly.

Gear Review – Naturehike Titanium Mug

Naturehike Titanium Mug. There’s nothing quite like a little bit of titanium bling. It’s just one of those amazing materials that ticks all the boxes. Light, tough, inert, and it just makes me happy to hold in my hand. Mug Shot Tough and light: These pots are everything you’d expect from something made of titanium. Just like a Russian fighter

motorcycle repair on the side of the road

Fixing a flat on the road

Nothing puts a damper on an awesome day on two wheels quicker than a flat tire. So, what do you do? Call BCAA? A buddy with a truck? Or are you prepared to tackle it yourself. Depending where you are, you may not have a choice! And yes, I still live in the medieval times and have tubes. If you’re

motorcycle rider with neck brace and Garmin inreach

Backcountry Safety

The Kootenays are a beautiful and amazing place to explore! But how prepared are you when you’re out there enjoying everything nature has to offer? The mountains are a fantastic place to explore but there are things to consider that you may not normally think of. Poor or no cell service In this day and age, the ability to communicate

Ride Report – The Invermere Excursion

With the last week of August upon us, the summer was quickly disappearing. After almost 4 months, MissVelocity’s broken leg was finally strong enough to get back on the bike. Waahooo! That was the longest summer ever for her, so a-road-trippin we shall go! We dragged all the kit out and stuffed it all into the Enduristan bags. We try

Places to Stay

🏠 Rec Sites

Places to go

Routes

ridethekootenays is a labour of love. If it's useful, buy me a Beer!!!

Trip reports

★★★★★ Rated 5 out of 5 Wait, what? We did that and didn't die? I guess that's a win!

Craig Luke ★★★★★ Rated 5 out of 5 You're damn right we didn't die! Takes a lot more than that!

Vera Horsman