Singletrack/MTB
Gravel/All-road
Dirt-road Touring
Fat-bike
Introducing the Alberni Bam Bam (Video)
Following the release of Canada’s latest bikepacking route, the Alberni Bam Bam, we’re pleased to share a short overview video that videographer Tom Powell put together from the scouting trip this summer. Watch the seven-minute video here…
Video by Tom Powell
After publishing the 1,000-kilometer Tree to Sea Loop on the north end of Vancouver Island, British Columbia, I realized that getting to the start of the route, halfway up the island, wasn’t an easy task. For folks who live on the coast, it’s a relatively short drive up to Comox, but for anyone traveling into British Columbia or Canada, there’s no ideal way to make the trek north.
Almost immediately, I turned my attention to Nanaimo, a city located on the southern end of Vancouver Island, which is home to a BC Ferries terminal and offers direct access to the city of Vancouver. I couldn’t think of a better launching point for a Tree to Sea-style route, but unfortunately, bikepacking on the lower half of Vancouver Island isn’t nearly as straightforward as on the northern half. In short, private logging companies are contracted to manage much of the land on Vancouver Island. Part of managing the land involves gated roads throughout, which limit public access to the stunning backcountry areas that connect the island’s east coast to its west coast. Public access isn’t cut and dry, with some gates allowing certain non-motorized users in without issues, but others are more strict. It’s frustrating for folks who travel on two wheels, respect fire bans, and always leave no trace.
The Alberni Bam Bam was born after several years of speaking with locals, asking questions in Facebook groups, and short route scouting trips. This 450-kilometer loop, starting and ending in Nanaimo, is as good as it gets for a week-long bikepacking route on the south end of Vancouver Island, with only a handful of gates that usually open during the shoulder season or when fire danger is low. It’s a stunning route that prioritizes time on lesser-known forest service roads and doubletrack, ample swim spots to cool off in, and most importantly, takes riders to the Walbran Valley, which is one of the last remaining old-growth forests on the island. Unfortunately, logging of these irreplaceable giants has only recently begun, and the activists behind the Fairy Creek Blockade are now back in the Upper Walbran Valley, trying to protect these forests.
Although the Alberni Bam Bam has everything you could want from a bikepacking vacation, it also speaks to a bigger issue at hand, which is old-growth logging in British Columbia. For anyone who is planning to ride the route this fall or next spring, I urge you to educate yourselves on the complexity of these issues and tell the local government, Ministry of Tourism, and Ministry of Forests about the route and the benefits that bikepackers can bring to the small communities on the route.
I’m pleased to share the fantastic route video above, which my friend Tom Powell put together from our route-scouting trip on the Alberni Bam Bam this summer. Tom put a lot of work into the video, and he did an excellent job at capturing the essence of the ride. Give it a watch, and head over to the route guide for more details.
Further Reading
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