Bertl Bikes

Green Lake from the Comfortably Numb trail My first ride My first Sunday after arriving was time-to-get-on-the-bike day. It was a bit of a late start, but after downloading and setting up Trailforks (a biking phone app), I had a plan of where to go. With my legs aching from the previous days squats and hike and the last of my cycling gear unpacked I was ready to go. I started off with an overgrown 'A River Runs Through It', shortly rejoined the road and, as seems to be a habit for me, the plan I'd previously made went out the window. I then proceeded to do one of the most challenging climbs of my life; almost 300m of straight elevation gain up Twenty-One Mile Creek Access Road and then Rainbow-Sproatt Flank. From the top I decided that was enough pain for now, and finally go to ride down my first proper trail so far, a Double Black Diamond - the Korova Milk Bar. At the top of Korova Milk Bar After some rather sketchy moments and a vertical rock roll I had ...

Goodbye Vancouver The morning of Thursday 26th was hectic. I had to repack my bike and suitcase ready for the journey to Whistler as well as doing a myriad of other small jobs like replenishing Alana's stock of vegan food that I'd consumed. I then headed down to see a snowboarding manufacturer just down the road called Wired Snowboards. The owner, Rob, was really friendly and gave me a small tour, hinting at some of the special new things they were going to be bringing to the table very soon to make them unique. A power walk home and it was time to head to the bus station to meet Candace (a soon-to-be-housemate), from there we were traveling with Epic Rides upto Whistler. At $24 one way or $35 for a round trip, they were the cheapest company we could find who wouldn't complain at my excessive luggage. Epic Rides... The journey, despite being only one bus across town, wasn't exactly easy with a bike, board bag, suitcase and rucksack. The sun had decided to sho...

Sunday 22nd came round incredibly fast; time to fly! Soon enough I found myself in Gatwick South with a very laden trolley; a bike bag, snowboard bag, suitcase and hand luggage. After waving goodbye to the parents I set off in search of the well-hidden Transat check-in desks. While all the other operators are upstairs, open, signposted and easy to find, Transat are tucked away downstairs in an airport version of Harry Potters cupboard bedroom. Check-in sorted, things became very normal and routine for an airport and I was soon on the other side of security trying to find Owain and Alice; 2 of my future housemates. We'd only been talking for 3 days, but coincidentally we were getting the same flight to Vancouver. Upon meeting up I discovered my 5 hours of sleep the previous night had been a luxury - they were both functioning on 2 hours each after spending all night packing and moving the last of their accumulated items out of their flat! Yup, all that is mine... With a...

It was Sunday 15th - it's just one week before I fly out to Canada and I figured that I should try to pack my bike. Top tips lay ahead! First off, assuming you're not using a big-ass box, you need a bike bag. I bought my Chain Reaction Cycles one before I went to Turkey last summer, at the time it was roughly £90. At the time of writing it is actually only £68. There're lots of options out there though, ranging from the bottom of the range CRC offerings upto Polaris' hard-box type bag at £400+ and a whole host inbetween. As per usual I was on a budget, and so have the cheapest option. Last year I was riding a 16.5" (medium) Trek Superfly 29er XC bike, which is relatively small, light and compact and a nice starting point on my bike-bag packing experience. The only problem at the time was fitting the wheels into the wheel bags, that was tight, but doable.* * Quick review - I have used the bag to and from Turkey with it weighing upto 35kg's on the r...