A group of four men from North Vancouver’s Steed Cycles recently completed in the inaugural Chilko Challenge , a 3-day, 126 kilometer XC mountain bike stage race through the heart of southern British Columbia. The group posted highly informative write-ups of their experiences on the Steed Cycles Blog . Following are excerpts from the write-ups. Perhaps this will encourage you to sign up for next year?!

Chilko Challenge Day 1- The Beginning
The Chilko Challenge! What a nutty event! Loved it! The organizers were super cool and explained the night before Day 1 that this event was grass roots and we shouldn’t be expecting dream single track riding on groomed trails. Instead we should be ready for a tough plow through the Chilcoutin on some of the most remote beautiful trials, which would entail SOME bushwacking. A must was a GPS which they gave us co-ordinates for each day in advance so we could program them into the unit. The views were incredible! Continue reading…

Chilko Challenge Day 2- Epic Suffering!
Day 2 was our longest day by far. My Giant Reign was the perfect bike. It would consist of huge climbs, long alpine meadow rides and fantastic views. The initial weather forecast called for sun and clound, but the day started with beautiful sunny skies. Looking at the weather at the start of the day I re-evaluated what I was going to bring – neoprene gloves, nope don’t need those. Goretex pants, gone. Wow could I have made any worse decisions. Continue reading…

Chilko Challenge Day 3- Creek Crossing Fun!
It was cold the night before day 3. We woke up with a good layer of frost on our tents and grass. There was a dog that had followed a group of riders through all of day 2 (someone had to take a 2 hour car ride to return this dog to its home ranch) and it barked half the night. Continue reading…