Americas Will Inspire a Lifetime of Cycling Adventures

With stories of 50 amazing bike rides in North and South America, from Alaska to Patagonia, EPIC BIKE

plus a further 150 route suggestions, Lonely EPIC BIKE RIDES Planet’s Epic Bike Rides of the Americas will inspire a lifetime of cycling adventures. RIDES From easy one-day trips and family-friendly of the rail trails to backcountry bikepacking expeditions, gravel races, road routes, and mountain biking challenges, each ride shares AMERICAS one defining feature: being truly epic. of the AMERICAS

1st edition US $35.00 UK £24.99 - lonelyplanet.com

Explore the Americas’ most thrilling cycling routes on road, gravel, and trails EPIC BIKE RIDES of the AMERICAS

Explore the Americas’ most thrilling cycling routes on road, gravel and trails - EPIC BIKE RIDES OF THE AMERICAS -

Easy Harder Epic

CONTENTS

INTRODUCTION 04 USA Denali Park Road (AK) 114 ARGENTINA The Sky Islands Odyssey (AZ) 120 A Wine Ride in Mendoza 08 Blast Bentonville’s Trails (AR) 126 Buenos Aires’ Bike Paths 14 Socal Desert Ramble (CA) 132 To the Tip of Patagonia 20 Sausalito to Point Reyes Loop (CA) 138 Tour of the Unknown Coast (CA) 144 BOLIVIA Ride to the Sunset in Malibu (CA) 150 Salar de Uyuni 26 The Downieville Downhill (CA) 156 The Pacific Coast (CA, OR) 162 CANADA The Colorado Trail (CO) 168 The Whitehorse Trails (YT) 34 Colorado Brewery Tour (CO) 174 The Cabot Trail (NS) 40 The Alpine Loop (CO) 180 Vancouver’s North Shore (BC) 46 The Register’s Annual Great Bicycle Whitefish to Banff(AB) 52 Ride Across Iowa (RAGBRAI) 186 Whistler Bike Park (BC) 58 Maine’s East Coast Greenway (ME) 192 Great Allegheny Passage (MD) 198 COLOMBIA The Minuteman Bikeway (MA) 204 Nairo’s Neighborhood 64 The Natchez Trace Parkway (MS, AL, TN) 210 The Katy Trail (MO) 216 CUBA Glacier National Park Loop (MT) 222 Cuba’s Southern Roller Coaster 70 New Mexico Off-Road Runner (NM) 228 Hudson Valley Escape (NY) 234 ECUADOR A Manhattan Circumnavigation (NY) 240 An Uphill Pursuit of Ecuadorian Black Gold 76 Smoky Mountains Climb (NC) 248 The Trans-Ecuador Mountain Bike Route 82 The Nestucca River Scenic Byway (OR) 254 Family Bikepacking in Ecuador 90 The Central Oregon Backcountry Explorer (OR) 260 The Lu Lacka Wyco Hundo (PA) 266 MEXICO Mountain Biking in Moab (UT) 274 Baja California’s Cape Loop 96 The Trans-America Trail (USA) 280 Oaxaca City to Playa Zipolite 102 Coast to Coast via The Southern Tier (USA) 286 The Covered Bridges of Vermont (VT) 292 PERU Shenandoah’s Skyline Drive (VA) 298 The Peru Divide 108 The Virginia Creeper Trail (VA) 304 A Circuit of San Juan Island (WA) 310

Ronaldo “Ronnie” Romance; © Firespire Photography © Firespire Romance; “Ronnie” © Ronaldo © John Watson, Clockwise from top: © John Watson, INDEX 316

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Clockwise from left: bikepacking across Ecuador; alpacas in Bolivia; the Golden Gate Bridge from Marin County, California. Previous page, clockwise from top: riding the Grinduro gravel race; mountain biking Downieville; exploring Oregon; a pitstop in Pennsylvania

INTRODUCTION

esert, forest, mountain, or urban jungle: the landscapes of ‘epic’ – is that an extraordinary range of cycling experiences of the Americas are unparalleled in their diversity. So it is available in the Americas. You can have an epic adventure followed that in order to create this book we approached straight from your front door and be back before sundown. Or D a similarly motley crew of writers to contribute tales you can follow in the tire tracks of Sarah Swallow or Caitlin of their epic bike rides on these two continents. We asked hardy Giddings and pedal from the Atlantic to the Pacific oceans. bike-packing adventurers such as Cass Gilbert, Lael Wilcox, Mark We can’t all take a sabbatical for cycling so this book also Beaumont and Sarah Swallow; road racers Keir Plaice, Andrew reflects varying levels of commitment. Some of these rides take

Bernstein and Riley Missel; the all-star editors and writers of just a couple of hours, others a day or two, a week, or several © Cass Gilbert © Cass Gilbert Bicycling magazine Gloria Liu and Caitlin Giddings; and, of course, months. We’ve given a general indication of whether a ride is Lonely Planet’s own group of globe-trotters. easy (in terms of terrain, distance, conditions or climate) or more That immense range of terrain means that whatever form of challenging (steeper hills, longer distances, fewer snack stops). cycling you’re into, it’s not difficult to indulge it, or to try something The goal of these stories is to inspire you to get your bike out totally new. For some of our contributors, biking was about escapism (dusting it off and pumping up the tires first if need be) and and involved nothing more complicated than packing some food, explore somewhere new with the wind in your hair. filling a water bottle, and meandering into the distance with the Cycling is the perfect mode of transport for the travel-lover, we wind at their backs to explore industrial history or rural bliss. One cover more ground than if we were on foot, but without the barriers or two went a lot further and, GPS unit in hand, ventured deep into that a car imposes. We are immersed in our surroundings, self- the Andes of South America on laden bikes, powered by nothing powered, independent, and forever pondering the question ‘I wonder more than their legs and a hunger to explore local cultures (and what’s over there?’. The bike rider is free to follow a whim, discover snacks). We’ve included several routes in the fast-growing field of the limits of their endurance, or stop and settle for a while. Hopefully, bikepacking (like backpacking but on a bicycle!) that will hopefully this book will prove that there’s no better way of experiencing a place, inspire readers and riders to try something new. a culture and its people than by bicycle. And as some of these tales Writers with families in tow recommended accessible rides along tell, arriving on a bicycle opens doors, literally and figuratively. such rail trails as the Great Allegheny Passage and the Katy Trail. Other contributors pulled on skin-tight Spandex and sought out HOW TO USE THIS BOOK challenging climbs on vertiginous roads, whether in Colombia This book is organized by country in alphabetical order. Each story or California. Mountain bikers often preferred the descents, features a first-hand account of a fantastic bike ride plus a toolkit making pilgrimages to places like Whistler and Downieville to to aid the planning of a trip – when is the best time of year, how to find their thrills and spills on rugged trails. Competitive types get there, where to stay. But beyond that, these stories should spark enjoyed the unique camaraderie of the new breed of gravel races. other ideas. We’ve started that process with the ‘more like this’ Our contributors crossed states (Iowa, Maine) and even entire section following each story, which offers other ideas along a similar countries (Ecuador, the USA two ways). And more than a few theme, not necessarily in the same country. Many of these ideas authors agreed that a good ride wasn’t complete without a beer or are well established routes or trails and we’ve suggested sources of two afterwards with old friends or new. detailed information. The index collects different types of ride for a

But what became indisputable – whatever your interpretation variety of interests and locations. | Lonely Planet © Matt Munro

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A WINE RIDE IN MENDOZA Paved bike lanes lead from one vineyard to the next in Argentina’s renowned Mendoza Valley, where you can swirl, sniff, sip and then spin onwards.

don’t normally drink wine for breakfast. Perhaps that’s why I was grinning like a naughty kid when I found myself, just a few MAIPÚ minutes after 10am one Wednesday morning, swirling a glass of START FINISH CORAZON malbec in Argentina’s Mendoza Valley. DE JESUS IThe enabler pouring me vino at Bodegas Lopez told me not to be ashamed: ‘The morning is actually the best time to try wine because your palate is clean and alert,’ she assured, before offering a second glass. It was a sweet wine this time with ‘hints of pear and quince’ – BARRIO VIEJO TONEL a healthy start, I supposed, for what was gearing up to be a full day LAS TORCACITAS of cycling through Argentina’s preeminent wine region, which lies to the south of its namesake city along the country’s western border. Joining me at the saddle was Mendoza native Leo Garcia, an avid cyclist who was as eager as I was to pedal the sleepy, vine- BARRIO lined roads. Before we set off on our journey, however, we opted MALCAYAES for a quick tour of Bodegas Lopez to set the mood. Opened in 1898, this was one of the first wineries built in the Mendoza Valley. It’s now one of the largest in the country, producing mostly the regional specialty of malbec. The winery lies in a dusty satellite city of Mendoza called Maipú, which is prime real estate for the nation’s top vineyards. With a new circuit of ciclovias (bike lanes), it’s also a fantastic destination for hedonistic bike trips. If there were no wines, there’d be no Maipú. Pedaling south from Bodegas Lopez on Ozamis St, in the direction of Maipú’s main plaza, we saw dozens of historic buildings that had sprung up here in the late 19th century around a handful of brick-built bodegas

(wineries). Many of these bodegas now lay in ruins beside our path. px One such relic was Antigua Bodega Giol, a once-majestic CRUZ DE PIEDRA winemaking operation that was the largest in the world during

its heyday in the 1910s. Garcia and I wandered through its three © José García | 500

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TO THE TIP OF PATAGONIA Cyclists rub shoulders with gauchos and guanacos in southern Argentina, braving howling wind to reach the tip of the South American continent.

ut on the bolt-straight roads of the Argentinian pampa (plains) my handlebars stay true, but my mind START wanders. The open expanse of Southern Patagonia EL CHALTÉN is a pensive place, a vast and empty land that stirs Omemories and emotion, like a calling to fill its void. As my legs spin, I hum along to the buzz of knobbly tyres on smooth asphalt. I listen to the snap of my open shirt, which flaps EL CALAFATE behind me like a cape. I try and clear my head. But like any meditation, I become stuck on certain thoughts, clanking around TORRES DEL PAINE like coins in a washing machine. Before long, an ostrich-like rhea waddles out of the camouflage of the plains. I smile, my spirits RÍO lifted. Then, a guanaco, the camelid native to these parts, breaks GALLEGOS rank and jumps daintily over the endless fence line I’ve been following. It makes a chuckling sound as I pass, as if remarking on the ridiculousness of my toils. It’s a sentiment that seems to be echoed by others. Once, I see TIERRA DEL the blur of a passenger photographing me from a minivan that PUNTA FUEGO hurtles past. What must they be thinking? I guess I must look a ARENAS little crazy, bearded and unkempt, out here in the emptiness. Later, a couple flag me down to quiz me about my bike. We talk a while by the roadside. I’ve noticed a distinct soulfulness in Argentinians, perhaps intensified by the thought-stirring sparseness of their land. ‘Que lindo este viaje,’ the man says, gesturing to his heart, and PARQUE shaking my hand warmly. ‘What a beautiful journey.’ NACIONAL USHUAIA A beautiful journey indeed, and one that captures Patagonia’s ALBERTO DE contemplative character, its windswept isolation and its spectacular AGOSTINI FINISH vistas. Indeed, the ride down from El Chaltén showcases one its finest moments; the granite silhouette of Mt Fitz Roy is the stuff of

picture postcards and mountaineering legends. © Cass Gilbert

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THE SALAR DE UYUNI A cycle-touring pilgrimage, the Salar de Uyuni and neighboring Coipasa have drawn two-wheeled travelers to Bolivia for years. With bleached white canvases and lavender-tinted sunrises, there’s nowhere in the world quite like them.

n the dusty village of Vichaya, a fiesta builds in momentum as drunken revelry charges the air. Hired in from La Paz, a sharp-looking band plays tirelessly, trumpets and tubas glinting LAGO in the midday sun. Bowler-hatted women swirl their skirts and POOPÓ Ipetticoats in perfect synchronicity. Their masked husbands, dressed START in the shimmering Morenada costumes of the Bolivian Andes, SABAYA launch into an elaborate dance inspired by the suffering of African slaves, brought to work in the silver mines of Potosí. The mood is generous and upbeat; luckily, full inebriation has yet to be reached. Plastic cups of beer are pressed into our hands. I make the mistake of sipping mine without first offering due thanks to Pachamama – Mother Earth. ‘We must respect Pachamama and give back to her,’ reprimands an elderly campesina with intensity. ‘Pachamama is the earth on which we walk.’ She looks over at our grubby, battle-scarred bikes, fresh from crossing the country’s beautiful and solitary Salar de LLICA Coipasa and the surrounding altiplano. ‘She’s the earth along which you ride your bikes,’ adds the lady CERRO TUNUPA for the sake of clarity. Her drunken husband, hair matted and eyes glassy, nods in solemn agreement. I try again, this time dutifully COLCHANI waving my cup skywards, sploshing beer onto the ground as custom dictates, before taking a generous swig. They smile, appeased. For almost as long as I can recall, traversing Bolivia’s Salar de UYUNI Uyuni had been my cycle-touring dream, sparked by images I once FINISH saw of a tribe of bearded, ragtag bike travelers pedaling across its open, featureless breadth. For many, riding atop the thick crust of this salt lake, and the more petite but perfectly formed Salar de Coipasa, are undisputed highlights of a trip to South America.

It is, however, a trip you’ll need to time just right. Only during © Cass Gilbert

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“Bereft of tracks and traffic, a cyclist is free to sail any which way, like a ship GHOST TRAINS out at sea, if the wind is blowing kindly” Located a short bike ride outside of Uyuni, the train cemetery is a Left to right: traditional dances in the winter, when the nighttime temperatures plummet and the must-visit (best timed Vichaya; a pause for the laden riders monsoon rains have long passed, are the salt lakes dry enough at midday to avoid the in Challacollo; an alpaca to cross. And even then the shallower edges will likely have a jeep tour groups). It’s spongy crunchiness to them, because beneath these crusts hide a surreal experience reservoirs of brine. It’s said that close to half the world’s lithium to poke around these deposits are found here. rusted, stripped-out Faint tracks crisscross its expanse. Which one you choose is up carcasses – like a to you. Wherever you point your handlebars, perspective plays scene from a post- tricks in the mind and distances lose meaning. In every direction, apocalyptic movie – islands of rock rise out of the shimmering distance. The closest which are remnants looks to be half an hour’s ride away… but perhaps it’s half a day. of a railroad project Bereft of tracks and traffic, a cyclist is free to sail in any direction, that fell through in like a ship out at sea, especially if the wind is blowing kindly. In the 1940s, when fact, I even closed my eyes and dared myself to pedal for a minute the mining industry or more at a time, knowing there was nothing to bump into. collapsed. Most Like those before me, my own crossing was segmented by a of the steam trains resupply of food and water in the small settlement of Llica. Deep herald from the UK Previous page and overleaf: sailing sand and corrugation mine the roads that cross this finger of terra and date back to the across the salt flats of Salar de Coipasa firma, one that divides the Salar de Uyuni with that of Coipasa. early 20th century. and setting camp for the night Aside from a chance to fill water bottles and feed, Llica brought with it yet another typically spirited and drunken festival. Such is the dichotomy of Bolivia. Empty desert silence one moment, rambunctious partying the next. A brass band prowled the streets, kids in traditional costumes danced and elderly women gossiped, all of them unflinching and impervious to the cold. No one even TOOLKIT seemed to know when the party had actually started, or indeed, with habitual Latin American ambiguity, how long it might go on Start // Sabaya for. Three days? Five days? ‘It will end tomorrow,’ said one lady. End // Uyuni (or the other way round) ‘It has to. We need to sleep…’ Distance // 110 miles (180km) I didn’t feel like waiting to find out, as the promise of a more Getting there // La Paz International Airport is the best restful silence called us towards the salar once more. Encircled by place to fly into. distant volcanoes, the Salar de Coipasa glittered in the afternoon When to ride // Bolivia’s winter (May–October) is the only sun, salt crystals paving our way like roughly cut diamonds. It was season to complete this ride; the nights can drop below a precious realm we had all to ourselves and we even stopped to freezing but the days are sunny and dry. During the summer, camp for the night, for no other reason than to bide our time and monsoon rains make the salt flats impassable by bike. soak up every moment of this otherworldly experience. Where to stay // The ride across both salars takes four Bolivia’s altiplano and its salt lakes will forever remain a days. Grab a rock to drive stakes into the ground if you want highlight of all my travels on two wheels. My strongest memories? to pitch your tent in the middle of nowhere. Llica offers the Squinting into the blinding, midday light. Feeling my own perfect spot to resupply between Uyuni and Sabaya, and to crispy skin crinkle, ever so dry. Pitching my tent on a bleached rest up; spend several days at altitude before setting out. white canvas. Seasoning my dinner with the ground I slept on. What to take // The riding is straightforward, aside from the Awakening in the morning to a glow of lavender light. And above sandy, bumpy tracks in and out of Llica. Bring sunglasses! all, just closing my eyes, and riding. CG All images © Cass Gilbert

29 The Salar de Uyuni

- EPIC BIKE RIDES OF THE AMERICAS -

Opposite: catch your breath on a high pass on the Ruta de las Seis Miles between Argentina and Chile

MORE LIKE THIS SALTY ADVENTURES

SALAR DE SURIRE, CHILE RUTA DE LAS SEIS MILES NORTE, BADWATER BASIN LOOP, CALIFORNIA ARGENTINA/CHILE Although there’s nowhere quite like the In the US, Death Valley, the largest Salar de Uyuni, the Salar de Surire in The Argentinian Puna also offers a very national park in the Lower 48s, offers more neighboring Chile has a similar vibe, albeit barren, windswept feel with a salty salt-tinged remoteness, but at much lower with more life. In fact, you can extend your theme. It comes complete with dream- altitudes. In fact, the salt flats in Badwater ride across the Bolivian altiplano to include like panoramas of mineral-streaked Basin lie at a mere 282ft (86m) below the Parque Nacional Lauca too. The area mountains, as well as lava flows and sea level. This area can only be explored is teeming with wildlife, from leggy pink salt fields. Skirting the border between by bike in the winter, as temperatures in flamingos, fleet-footed vicuñas (the wild Chile and Argentina, it’s lined by some the summer reach 115°F (45°C) or more, relative of the llama) and ostrich-like birds of the highest volcanoes in the world though beware of frigid nights, short days called suri, generally to be seen bounding and is far removed from any evidence of and a general lack of water. As a taster, a across the open pampa. The same advice human activity, bar occasional mining. loop can be made out of Saline Valley Rd, applies here as in Uyuni; the salar can The altitude hovers at 11,500ft (3500m), over Lippincott Pass, along Lippincott Rd, only be ridden in winter (May to October) adding to its ethereal feel. If you want Racetrack Valley Rd and back over Hunter and be sure to acclimatise thoroughly an extremely remote and physically Mountain Rd; such a ride includes 4900ft beforehand and carry plenty of warm demanding challenge here, consider the (1500m) in elevation gain. Pack plenty of layers. As a sequel to Coipasa, allow five Ruta de las Seis Miles Norte. It’s best water and expect mixed surfaces, including more days for this ride to Putre, resupplying ridden between November and January to rough corrugated (washboard) roads. on the border at Colchani/Pisiga, where avoid potential rains and electric storms. Allow time for a detour to Racetrack Playa food and fresh produce is available. Just Prep your bike with large volume tyres to to experience the mysteries of its ‘sailing be very careful about acclimatization. help tackle soft surfaces, and allow room rocks,’ slabs of dolomite and syenite that Start // Colchani/Pisiga border in your panniers for several days of food leave long, visible tracks as they slide ever- End // Putre and water, which is generally scarce. so-slowly across the playa surface. Distance // 180 miles (290km) Start // Fiambala, Argentina Start/End // Saline Valley and Hunter End // San Pedro de Atacama, Chile Pass Road Distance // 487 miles (784km) Distance // 52 miles (84km) © Alfredo Cerra | Shutterstock

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tudying a guide to Whitehorse’s mountain-bike tracks WHITEHORSE is like eyeballing a plate of spaghetti dished up by an START excessively flamboyant and generous chef. Some 700km FINISH (435 miles) of rideable trails have been mapped within theS city limits of the Yukon Territory’s capital – 300km (186 miles) of sensational singletrack, and 400km (248.5 miles) of delicious doubletrack and dirt roads. SCHWATKA I can’t think of another metropolis in the world that offers an off- LAKE road feast comparable to the bikers’ banquet served up here. But this tasty tangle of tracks also makes it difficult to decide where to start. Or finish. Or go in the middle. You could potentially pedal for RIDE THE days – weeks even – and not cycle over the same bit of dirt within this maze of interconnecting spruce-fringed paths. WHITEHORSE TRAILS It’s possible to splice several trails together into one epic continuous ride, instead of doing little circuits, but it definitely Just under the curve of the Arctic Circle, in Canada’s ultra-remote Yukon Territory, helps if you know the lay of the land – or roll with someone who

Whitehorse possesses magical mountain-bike trails beneath the midnight sun. © Dan Barham does. Which is why I’m grateful to be following the flowing lines

34 35 Ride CARCROSS

Canada’s newest mountain-bike mecca is in Carcross, home to the Tagish First Nation. Around Montana Mountain, a trail network of 46.5 miles (75km) – including 22 miles (35km) of singletrack – has been developed from old mining paths in a groundbreaking project involving local indigenous youth groups and cyclists. ‘Mountain Hero,’ the star route, is an Left to right: taking a break by IMBA epic-rated trail the lake near Carcross, Yukon; featuring 12.5 miles shredding forest singletrack in being etched in the earth in front of me by local guru, Sylvain “The Southern Tutchone – First Nation author Jack London) with heads and hearts running hot with gold (20km) of climbing and Whitehorse, Yukon. Turcotte, owner of Whitehorse MTB base Boréale Explorers, and a fever, rushed this way, in a desperate scramble to reach Dawson a 5-mile (8km) descent Previous page: cornering in pro trail hound. people of the Whitehorse region – used the City and the Klondike to stake their claim. What they would have to Nares Lake. Carcross, south of Whitehorse We’re riding around a super scenic combination route on the banks of the Yukon as a trading route” given for a sturdy dual-suspension steed I can only imagine. outskirts of Whitehorse, on the Grey Mountain side of the mighty The route rages on, clinging to cliffs and sidestepping bluffs, Yukon River – an emerald waterway that elbows right through this technical skill (or blind bravery) and double black diamond runs right through the historic ruins of an old boom town, Canyon enigmatic territory, before crossing the border into Alaska. are only for highly experienced and/or pain-impervious riders. City, an important stop-off during the 1898 Klondike Gold Rush You can reach the trailheads directly from the CBD, with Other clues to how tricky a trail might be can be found in the – stampeders would stop here before nervously negotiating the wilderness beginning as soon as you leave the city streets, extra colorful vernacular employed in the name – SFD (Straight potentially lethal rapids just downstream. TOOLKIT pass through Rotary Peace Park, cross the bridge and set off up Fucking Down) being a prime example of a track that delivers It’s not a bad spot for riders to calm their own nerves before Grey Mountain Rd. Our route – one of myriad options – begins exactly what it swears it will. pedaling the precipitous Rim Trail, which tiptoes along the edge Start/End // Whitehorse with a gentle ascent to the Upper Riverdale Trail, which quickly Leaving Boogaloo behind we venture further up the flanks of Miles Canyon and ultimately leads down to the shores of Distance // 31 miles (50km) delivers a cracking vista back across Whitehorse city and the of Grey Mountain and tie together a bunch of blue and black Schwatka Lake, where glacial waters await those courageous Tour // You can ride independently (free) or with a local great green Yukon. tracks – including Payback, SFD, Girlfriend and Juicy – for a long, enough to make the plunge. operator such as Boréale Explorers (www.be-yukon.com), Crossing Grey Mountain Rd, we follow the Yellow Brick Rd, flowing (and occasionally eye-wateringly rapid) descent around And then there’s a decision to be made. Head back to which provides good-quality bikes, expert guidance and a trail that leads (via several short connecting tracks) not to a Chadburn Lake to the start of the iconic Yukon River Trail. Whitehorse or explore more trails around the Hidden Lakes? The day yurt-based accommodation in the midst of the trails. wizard, but to the next best thing: the brilliant blue Boogaloo Trail This open and undulating trail traces the east bank of the Yukon is getting old, but that scarcely matters. It’s midsummer, a time when What to take // A decent dual-suspension mountain bike, system, which is every bit the ‘buffed out, fast-flowing and glorious River for 4 miles, rolling spectacularly along the steep ridge and the Yukon lives up to its nickname as the land of the midnight sun. along with a helmet, some armour and all the usual spares piece of singletrack’ that David, another local guide, had promised occasionally ducking and diving into the forest. The loose-dirt Whitehorse occupies a position on the globe so far north that and tools. Carry bear spray (seriously) and insect repellent. it would be. path isn’t overly technical, but it is narrow and demands full focus, the sun barely sets for several weeks around the summer solstice, When to ride // Unless you have a fat bike (a mountain Although this isn’t like Vancouver’s notoriously gnarly North because one lapse of concentration or ill-timed gaze at the lovely and the sky never gets properly dark. There’s even a 24-hour bike with supersized tyres) tracks are only rideable May to Shore scene, the trails do boast plenty of technical features. There views might result in a high-speed tumble all the way into the mountain-bike race held here, where using lights is against the October. Check out June’s 24 Hours of Light MTB festival. are chicken runs alongside some of the scarier obstacles, in case freezing embrace of the river. rules. As Robert W Service, the bard of the Yukon, once observed: More info // See www.yukonbiking.ca. Printed waterproof you veer onto a track that’s beyond your skill level, but routes are This path is steeped in history. For centuries before the arrival ‘There are strange things done in the midnight sun.’ maps can be purchased in Whitehorse’s two local bike clearly signed and graded according to International Mountain of Europeans, the Southern Tutchone – First Nation people of the We ride on towards the Hidden Lakes. To pass up the shops, Cadence Cycle and Icycle Sport. Bike Association (IMBA) standards: green circle routes are easy, Whitehorse region – used the banks of the Yukon as a hunting and opportunity of finding more cycling gold in these hills really would

blue square trails more challenging, black diamond tracks demand trading route. And in the late 1890s, prospectors (including the All images © Dan Barham be strange. PK

CANADA 36 37 Ride the Whitehorse Trails - EPIC BIKE RIDES OF THE AMERICAS -

Opposite: riding the Benchlands Trail near Canmore