The Crunchy People

In the parlance of our times, the Chilcotins, if you are to believe social media, have been done – over-ridden, over-shot and just plain over. For those who don’t know our backyard of British Columbia, we’re talking about the Chilcotin Ranges, a subdivision of the Pacific Ranges of the Coast Mountains. And they’re an awesome place to ride bikes. Or were until the internet decided otherwise. But don’t believe all you read – there’s still a lot more to discover. So in the spirit of adventure, we made some calls to local 7mesh ambassadors Laura Battista, Megan O’Brien and Angie McKirdy, mapped out a route and headed up to the Shulaps Range for one last adventure before the alpine shut down.

By car, the Shulaps Range is about five hours north of 7mesh’s hometown of Squamish (which is itself about an hour north of the city of Vancouver if that helps orientate you). Up in the Shulaps, the terrain is way more mixed – think ungroomed high alpine and hike-a-bike. Our ride took in a 21km point-to-point that, as you’ll see in the film, documents the rugged beauty of the region, and the challenges of biking in such a wild part of the world. It was also a great opportunity to get three of Squamish’s best mountain bike riders in one place, to talk about their love of the sport, the support that comes through community, and why a dose of discomfort is good for the soul.