Earlier this year, I tackled a 118km 4-Peak solo mountain bike ride in the Fraser Valley, and thought I would one-up myself by attempting a challenging 7 Summits ride. NOBL Wheels invites you to take on the Valley 7 Summits challenge and experience some of the best trails the Valley has to offer!
This will be an endurance ride for people in good shape, but you won’t need to be super fit to do it. It will be a medium-paced ride without a ton of stopping. We won’t achieve a race-pace at any point in the ride. Your bikes will need to be in good mechanical condition, brakes checked, reliable tires etc. Reducing the amount of involuntary stops will be key to tackling this ride as a group, so please make sure your bike is in good shape and you are prepared as possible.
If the idea of this ride is exciting but you are doubting your ability to finish, we still encourage you to start the ride with us and see how far you can stick it out. You’ll have to arrange a few bailout points, but there should be good cell reception for most of the ride except for on Bear/Red Mtn. at the end of the ride.
McKee Peak
Vedder Mtn.
Sumas Mtn.
Bear Mtn.
When: Saturday September 12th, 2015
Climbing: Approximately 4,000 Meters (15,000 feet). 90% off-road
Distance: Approximately 160 Kilometers (100 miles). 90% off-road/gravel
Food and Water Stations:
- Bottom of Duck Farm
- Top of Westview Blvd. (before we go off-road for the Ledgeview/McKee climb)
- Sumas Mtn. Lower Parking Lot (Lunch will be provided here by NOBL Wheels)
- Mill Pond Parking Lot
What to Bring:
- Appropriate riding clothing. We can arrange to have some spare clothing at food/water stations.
- 2 water bottles or a hydration pack. You should be able to go packless and get by on 2 water bottles as the water stations are strategically placed.
- Bring a chain tool, pump, spare tube(s), tire repair kit, and a multi-tool. We’ll sort out our gear and eliminate unnecessary items at the start of the ride, but everyone should come with their fair share.
- Sunscreen lotion, snacks, cell phone
- Very comfortable shorts!!
Parking:
6:40 a.m. arrival and 7:00 start at the Tamahi group parking lot. We’ll leave at 7:00 sharp and want people to arrive a bit earlier so we can sort out our gear to eliminate some duplication. Take Chilliwack Lake road and take an immediate right onto a gravel road after you cross the first bridge on Chilliwack Lake Road. Don’t park in the first area you see, drive down the road straight across a bridge and the parking lot will be on your left hand side. There will be a sign saying “staging area”.
5:00-7:00 p.m. Finish at Mill Pond in Mission, off Dewdney Trunk Road.
The Route:
- Ride up Tamahi and do a lap and a half, finish on Slippery Salamander.
- Take the Trans Canada Trail towards Cultus Lake, down Wild Hazel and then up the Vedder climbing Trail (Notorizor to Sunny Side Up, and then the FSR up from there). Valley Bike Guides has something special planned for us and we’ll end up coming down the Duck Farm near Yarrow.
- Cross the train bridge over the river, and take the dyke over to the Vedder Canal. Take the dyke north towards the Fraser River and head over to Abbotsford.
- Up Whatcom road and to the top of Ledgeview, take Mixed Bag, head back up to Berminator, down LeBiteMe to Lost Oakley’s.
- Ride Straighton road and up to the peak of Sumas Mountain.
- Take Knob Gobbler to Mid-Noah, back up to Squid Line to Lower Emma Peel
- Head North on Sumas Mountain road down to the Fraser River and take the dyke trails all the way to the Mission Bridge, over to Heritage Park.
- Ride Gondola to the top of Heritage Park and make our way back down to Stave Lake Road.
- Up Stave Lake road to the end of Doyle street, climb Cranks/Bombardier/Backdoor to the top of Bear Mountain. Down Luge/Sorcerers Apprentice and over to Super Bear and take that down to Mill Pond.
- Cross the road and climb to the top of Red Mtn, take Big Red, Black Tie, Momentum, Moth and back to Mill Pond. You’re done, beer time!
Feel free to reach out to me directly: trevor@noblwheels.com
Cheers,
– Trevor
