The last time I was in the islands was in high school -- an overnight biology field trip to Galiano Island. When I heard about a bikepacking trip happening in a two weeks, I decided that it was time to upskill. I had done other tours before, but all on road, and all with overnight lodging.

On a hike to Garibaldi Lake, I asked my friend Sarah, an experienced backpacker, all about camping and food management. On a road ride with my friend Dara, an avid randonneur, I asked her about bikepacking logistics. Dara generously offered to lend me her "expedition horse" for my first trip. 

With the trip just two weeks away, I urgently needed to prepare. I had barely ridden in the last six months. And I need to be comfortable on mixed surfaces. A common refrain -- "I mean, how hard could it be? Right??" 

Ride 0 (July 31): Pacific Spirit Park, 20km

Dara took me on an "introduction to gravel" ride. It took me a while to get used to the looseness of riding on forest floor, and using my arms and legs as suspension. The handling felt very different. On steep uphills, I needed to commit or dismount. On a loose descent, my heart rate spiked when I lost rear traction. We enjoyed some well-deserved ice cream after this effortful ride. 

Ride 1 (Aug 2): Loaded Ride To Costco, 30km

The next step was a loaded road ride. AKA, being willingly suckered into doing a Costco run. When Dara added chicken stock to the cart, I grew rather concerned. Luckily, she held off on the canned tomatoes. I practiced strapping the tent to the handlebars. After the bike was loaded, the biggest annoyance was swinging my leg over the carton of croissants. The riding itself was fine, since I had a 34-36 gear combination. Having a backpack on was far less sweaty than I expected. I am really appreciative of the disk brakes. 

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Then sometime before the trip, I'll do a loaded ride through Pacific Spirit Park. A few other preparations: practice setting up and taking down the tent, practice filtering water, and buy sideload cages + bidons.  

Dara's expedition horse is very dialled-in, so a few things are taken care of for me. For one, she's got a dynamo for front and rear lights. The rack and bag felt rock solid (no wag) even with 6kg in the rear. She's got a compact aerobar in the cockpit for comfort, and it's also where I mount the tent. 

I'm feeling pretty good!