Mountain Biking
I found my thrill on Blueberry Hill..." the refrain echoes in your ears as you preplan your upcoming cycling tour sensing the song will soon become a living reality. Imagine in your mind's eye you are cycling high in the Coast Mountains...you burst onto a blueberry patch laden with ripe, juicy berries, down goes the bike, your helmet becomes a makeshift basket for those plump rich blueberries that make it not in but past your mouth already stained with succulent flavour. You are heedless of the moss catching in your clips as you pick and eat and eat and pick, pausing momentarily in the sun drenched berry patch savouring Mother Nature's bounty with all your senses. Effortlessly, you are fulfilling your version of every biker's dream for where else but the Sunshine Coast would you have over 1,000 km of biking trails at your disposal for solitary exploration or a group tour?
Natives, woodsmen and pioneers blazed these trails originally carving accessible paths out of virgin forest. Today's signs reflect the temperament of these trails with names like 'in-and-out', 'Little Knives', 'Midlife Crisis' and 'Highway 102'. The trail choices are a limitless gauntlet running from an early morning one hour training session to a jaunt of several days duration or more depending on you and your pedals.
Geographically, the trails range from a demanding single track over root covered mountain terrain or see yourself whizzing downhill in a seasonally dry creek-bed and then flashing across fallen tree trunks strategically transformed into well place bridges, spanning rainforest ravines. " What's that you say? Not for you?"...so be it! You are not quite ready to be so rigorously challenged and trained. For you, our guides are more than willing to set a more sedate pace cross country biking on moss covered paths roofed in with lacy cedar boughs in lower areas and as you bike to higher elevations on gentler grades you reach alpine meadows rife with flowers, berries, humming birds and butterflies.
As you bike through the meadows your progress is stopped by your desire to relish the breath-taking view of Pacific fjords...your eyes spot a bald headed eagle gliding on the updraft and your spirit takes flight. Growls in you stomach bring you back to earth soon to be appeased by a gourmet picnic lunch, your appetite enhanced by your exercise and fresh air. Dessert is fresh blackberries and blueberries in season eaten with a certain air of caution for you are not the only one nibbling at Nature's table for bears are inveterate berry munchers too!
After lunching, a period of relaxation seems to be the order of the day, a deep green carpet of moss invitingly spreads itself beneath giant old growth trees. Douglas Firs and Cedars seem to whisper secrets of past centuries in your ears as you stretch out and you bask in spine melting relaxation after several hour in the saddle of your bike. You feel the forest giant's energy seep into your soul, enveloping you into a space where you contemplate a time when human's lived in greater harmony with nature. You smell and taste the comforting and healing energy permeating the air.
Your mind turns to the native guide who will enlighten you if desired with wisdom and insight into the botanical and culinary specific features of their rich culture during your bike tour. If permitted, newly discovered treasures can be collected and carefully tucked away in your rucksack and if edible appear on your evening table. Otherwise they can go into your (digital) herbarium.
Another feature is the plethora of mushrooms and plants (golden chanterelles, pine and oyster mushrooms to name a few) particularly in early spring or autumn. One to really seek out is the saprophytic Indian Pipe plant (Monotropa uniflora) which puts in its appearance in early June to September and is a sight to behold. Mushroom experts are considerably impressed with the large red-orange fruiting bodies of the Chicken-of-the-wood (Laetiporus sulphureus) which is not a bird but an edible mushroom to boot...providing morsels to fry up with freshly caught fish. Raffishly spoken by a rugged outdoor folk from sunrise to sunset you could pick mushrooms, berries and bike to a fishing hole of plenty and finish by just shooting the breeze living the life of Riley! Our goal is to let you enjoy your nature trek with minimum interference in the landscape of your choice from an alpine paradise overlooking a Pacific fjord or a turquoise jewel of a lake set in Coast Mountain peaks. We want you to choose to spend days in a rustic camp brought up to date with a sauna or a floating cabin gently rocked by shallow waves or a stunning B&B for a base camp or...the choice is yours. Everything and any little thing is within reach a far as Mother Nature allows it. So plan what you always wanted to do, but never dared and we will do our best to make it happen regardless if you are an experience cyclist or a mountain bike greenhorn. We are your 'Dream Brokers' so do not hesitate to call us with any question or desire and then you will really know the meaning of "...I found my thrill on Blueberry Hill".
