Field Notes from the BC Cycle Tourism Society

Deep dives on cycling infrastructure, policy, and BC's path to becoming a world-class cycle touring destination.

Deep dives#

The longer reads: features, announcements, and policy.

Plan Your To and Fro: which buses, trains, and ferries take your bike

Plan Your To and Fro: which buses, trains, and ferries take your bike Pick two BC places and see every way we know to move you and your bike between them. 115 places, floatplanes included. August 2026

The Trailside Buffet: a cyclist's guide to BC's wild berries

The Trailside Buffet: a cyclist's guide to BC's wild berries Late August is huckleberry and blackberry season. What to look for, where and when to find it, and where picking is actually allowed. August 2026

145 places in BC that want you to visit with your bike

145 places in BC that want you to visit with your bike The first 145 accredited places are live on BC Bike Stops. No paid placements, and nobody gets in just by asking. Each one showed us, in their own words, how they welcome cyclists. July 2026

BC road rules are being rewritten

BC road rules are being rewritten BC is consulting on changes to the Motor Vehicle Act. Most of the attention goes to city streets. Here are five proposed changes that matter most when you're touring. July 2026

Every BC bike trip starts with the same questions. Not anymore.

Every BC bike trip starts with the same questions. Not anymore. Quebec and Ontario figured this out years ago. BC Bike Stops is a business directory built for what touring cyclists actually need to know. May 2026

Calling everyone who loves exploring BC by bike!

Calling everyone who loves exploring BC by bike! We're starting by listening. Subscribe, tell us what you know, and help us build BC into one of the best places in the world to explore by bike. May 2026

How to#

Practical guides for getting yourself and your bike around BC.

Get a bike mechanic to come to you

Awkward to get your bike to a bike shop? In BC, sometimes the bike shop can come to you. Mobile repair vans don't do roadside assistance, but they can still save a touring trip.

Plan around wildfire smoke in BC

Fire season is part of BC riding now. The forecasting tools are genuinely good, BC is enormous, and a bit of planning usually means changing your trip, not losing it.

Take your bike in a taxi or rideshare

No bike rack required. With a little prep, a bagged bike rides fine in a cab, an Uber, or a Coastal Rides car.

Keep your drivetrain happy on a multi-day ride

Mat from Trip Longer cleans his chain every night on tour, and it takes five minutes. Here's his routine.

Take your bike on a coach bus

Coach buses are one of BC's most underrated tools for cycle tourists: economical, low-carbon, and they usually accept bikes. Here's how to pack and ride along.

On the workbench

Topics we're working on: KVR status, getting your bike around BC by bus and ferry, wild camping, a no-turn-away policy, cycle tourism economics. Subscribe to be notified.

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From the dispatches

Aug 5

Two new sections opened August 5: a paved stretch along Airport Way at Kelowna International Airport, and 3.2 km of gravel from Old Vernon Road to Beaver Lake Road that closes a gap riders used to bridge on the Highway 97 shoulder. Only 2.6 km remains before the trail runs unbroken from Kelowna to Coldstream, pending a land transfer involving the Okanagan Indian Band. And Vernon received $3 million to strengthen the connections between East Hill and the rail trail. Castanet →

August 2026 Dispatch (in progress)

Aug 11

BCBusiness named the Kettle Valley Rail Trail (KVR) to its bucket list of five BC bike trails, alongside the Cowichan Valley Trail and the Slocan Valley rail trail. Travel writers keep discovering Coalmont, too, a tiny ex-mining town right on the trail near Princeton with trailside camping and swim spots. August's fire near Trout Creek burned close to the trail, so check current conditions before you ride. Bucket list →

August 2026 Dispatch (in progress)

Aug 17

The City of Nanaimo and the Island Corridor Foundation are adding about 900 metres to the Esquimalt and Nanaimo (E&N) Trail's south end, from Junction Avenue to Extension Road, with $550,000 approved by council. Short, but it's another piece of the corridor Island riders hope to one day follow end to end. Island Corridor Foundation →

August 2026 Dispatch (in progress)

Applications close Sept 10

Building Momentum Bikepacking, the Nelson crew whose gear library we covered in July, is running a year-end overnighter in the Kootenays: 80 km, applications close September 10. Apply →

August 2026 Dispatch (in progress)

Oct 28–30

The BC Cycling Coalition brings its Active Transportation Summit to Victoria October 28 to 30: three days, 30 sessions, and more than 80 speakers on making it easier to get around BC by bike and on foot. Heather will be one of them. Registration is open. Summit →

August 2026 Dispatch (in progress)

Aug 6

Last month we pointed at Rick McCharles's 11-day, 750 km ride across BC's rail-trail spine. The rest of the series is worth your time too: the pre-trip gear list, Myra Canyon's trestles on video, the first flat tire of his riding life, and the snapped rear rack that ended the trip in Fernie. BestHike →

August 2026 Dispatch (in progress)

Aug 7

Anna Dong wrote up the Cowichan Valley 8 for BIKEPACKING.com's Friday Debrief: a 20-person group ride from Seattle friends, 210 km over three days of trestles, lakes, and gravel, rolling into Victoria. Friday Debrief → and the route →

August 2026 Dispatch (in progress)

August

Yeti Adventure Films is a small BC YouTube channel making proper bikepacking documentaries: five friends riding gravel from Kamloops toward Abbotsford, until a washed-out climb forced a rethink partway in. Their earlier films circle Shuswap Lake. Watch →

August 2026 Dispatch (in progress)

July 13–15

Transportation Minister Mike Farnworth confirmed the province will keep the former BC Rail corridor, Squamish to Prince George, in public hands. Two days later we met with MLA Jeremy Valeriote to talk about how cycling could fit into the corridor's future. Ministerial statement →

July 2026 Dispatch

July

Building Momentum Bikepacking, a Nelson group creating space for women, non-binary and gender non-conforming riders, launched a free gear library: bikes, bags, and camping gear on 7 to 14-day loans, donations welcome, and borrowing open to everyone. An Okanagan group is already asking how to copy the model. Gear library →

July 2026 Dispatch

July

The Outdoor Recreation Council of BC wants to know which resource roads matter for your riding, and has a new guide for weighing in on the forest landscape plans now underway around the province. Resource road survey → and Forest planning guide →

July 2026 Dispatch

July 3–17

A new 14 km section between Rosemond Lake Bridge and Grindrod is open, celebrated with a July 17 ribbon cutting at Mara Trailhead alongside development partner Splatsin te Secwépemc. About 32 km of the Sicamous to Armstrong corridor is now rideable, across three separate segments. Castanet →

July 2026 Dispatch

June 18

The province stepped partway back from decommissioning the damaged Kettle Valley Rail Trail sections near Princeton. Repairs to three priority segments are now on the table, pending federal disaster-assistance funding and a long-term maintenance commitment from the regional district, whose board decides by the end of 2026. The hardest-hit 17 km near Coquihalla Lakes is still being decommissioned this summer, though the railbed stays, and the province says it is open to reroute proposals from Trans Canada Trail. Progress, not a rescue. Province's announcement →

July 2026 Dispatch

All summer

Wildfire smoke, road closures, and heat are part of BC summer riding. Our Be Prepared page gathers the checks worth doing before you roll out. Be Prepared →

July 2026 Dispatch

July 29

The Gravel Buddies crew rode out of Victoria through fields, wildflowers, and oak meadows to camp at Sooke Potholes, lunch spot overlooking Matheson Lake included, and posted it as a ready-made plan for the long weekend. Trip report on Instagram →

July 2026 Dispatch

July 27

Rick McCharles logged about 750 km across the province's rail-trail spine: the Okanagan Rail Trail, Myra Canyon, the Kettle Valley, and the Columbia & Western. Trip report on BestHike →

July 2026 Dispatch

July 25

A self-supported Reddit trip report, Banff to Vancouver, taking in Paleface Pass and the Kettle Valley Rail Trail through Myra Canyon, with a lively question thread. Trip report on Reddit →

July 2026 Dispatch

July 16

Leigh McAdam's Victoria loop for Trans Canada Trail, out the Galloping Goose and home by the Lochside, is also a stop-by-stop case for how bike travellers spread their spending through small communities. Read at Trans Canada Trail →

July 2026 Dispatch

July 10

A long read on the 1,000 km gravel loop from Comox around northern Vancouver Island. Read on BIKEPACKING.com →

July 2026 Dispatch

July 9

A reflective photo essay on a close-to-home BC overnight, riverside camping and all. Read on BIKEPACKING.com →

July 2026 Dispatch

June 5–7

Revelstoke Cycling Association and Revy Outdoors are hosting a beginner-friendly bikepacking weekend, with an in-town social Friday and an overnight campout Saturday–Sunday. Register →

May/June 2026 Dispatch

June 2–7

Vélo Canada Bikes is running Pedal Poll / Sondo Vélo — a national bike and micromobility count to help build the case for safer cycling infrastructure across Canada. Pedal Poll →

May/June 2026 Dispatch

June 1–19

A section of the Okanagan Rail Trail between Kick Willie Road and Kekuli Bay Provincial Park will be closed for erosion-prevention work. RDNO notice →

May/June 2026 Dispatch

May 30–June 5

Go by Bike Week runs May 30–June 5. Log rides, win prizes, and find a Celebration Station near you. GoByBike BC → and HUB Cycling →

May/June 2026 Dispatch

May 15

Province confirmed in Hansard that it will not sell or dismantle the CN Rail Sea to Sky corridor. Farnworth's Hansard commitments →

May/June 2026 Dispatch

May 10

The Narwhal reports that KVR decommissioning would create the first permanent break in the Trans Canada Trail, placing it in the broader context of BC Parks' maintenance backlog. Read the piece →

May/June 2026 Dispatch

May 2

Alberni Pacific Railway extended service along Port Alberni's Quay-to-Quay Railside corridor, with renewed participation from Tseshaht and Hupacasath First Nations. Read here →

May/June 2026 Dispatch

No dispatch items match that search.

The Field Notes Dispatch

Building the August 2026 Dispatch In progress

Added as news comes in. Finalized and emailed about once a month.

Aug 5 Two more pieces of the Okanagan Rail Trail

Two new sections opened August 5: a paved stretch along Airport Way at Kelowna International Airport, and 3.2 km of gravel from Old Vernon Road to Beaver Lake Road that closes a gap riders used to bridge on the Highway 97 shoulder. Only 2.6 km remains before the trail runs unbroken from Kelowna to Coldstream, pending a land transfer involving the Okanagan Indian Band. And Vernon received $3 million to strengthen the connections between East Hill and the rail trail. Castanet →

Aug 11 The Kettle Valley Rail Trail makes another bucket list

BCBusiness named the Kettle Valley Rail Trail (KVR) to its bucket list of five BC bike trails, alongside the Cowichan Valley Trail and the Slocan Valley rail trail. Travel writers keep discovering Coalmont, too, a tiny ex-mining town right on the trail near Princeton with trailside camping and swim spots. August's fire near Trout Creek burned close to the trail, so check current conditions before you ride. Bucket list →

Aug 17 Nanaimo extends the E&N Trail

The City of Nanaimo and the Island Corridor Foundation are adding about 900 metres to the Esquimalt and Nanaimo (E&N) Trail's south end, from Junction Avenue to Extension Road, with $550,000 approved by council. Short, but it's another piece of the corridor Island riders hope to one day follow end to end. Island Corridor Foundation →

All 5 stories from August + BC trip reports →

All issues

August 2026 issue →July 2026 issue →May/June 2026 issue →