Bikes, Beer, Bacon, and Babes - A Team Danger Pony Weekend

It had been a while since I’d gone away with Team Danger Pony for a girl’s weekend, so I jumped at the chance to head to Vancouver Island with Isabelle and Cheryl for the Remembrance day long weekend. I’d heard great things about Cumberland from a number of people and the fact that it is one of the stages in the BC Bike Race made me even more stoked to go check out the trails.

We left Friday afternoon and despite getting to the ferry an hour and a half early, we were still lucky to make it. After arriving in Nanaimo, we loaded up on groceries and adult beverages for the weekend. The selection at the cold beer and wine store in Nanaimo was mildly overwhelming, but everyone still managed to walk away with some winners and losers in the craft beer department. 

Unfortunately Uber Blonde was a miss

We were super lucky to have Isabelle’s local friend Amber offer to show us around on Saturday. We met up at Dodge City Cycles, a friendly well stocked bike shop located in Cumberland and set off to explore the trails from there. The trails in Cumberland offered a little bit of everything; fun climbs, flowy descents, and a surprising amount of woodwork.  We were incredibly lucky to be some of the first to ride Truffle Shuffle, a fast flowy trail with steep berms that left everyone smiling. Everyone was like BRAAAAAP! After exploring for nearly four hours, we got back to the shop just before running out of light. Time to drink some beers and eat some food.

Ladies love wood ;)

Truffle Shuffle left us with smiles for miles

Forbidden Plateau was a hit with all of us

Sunday things were a little slow to get going in the morning, perhaps due to some of the aforementioned beers, but with the help of some bacon and coffee, TDP rallied and managed to get out the door. Boy was I ever glad we did. Forbidden Plateau was amazing. You can shuttle it, but since we had little bikes and only one vehicle, we pedaled up. It’s an easy road climb, but light was fading fast and none of us was quite sure where the trail head was, but it all worked out in the end. According to Strava, we rode Cabin Fever, Slither, and Puntledge Plunge.  It was a total blast and offered a little bit of everything- loam, roots, booters, rock faces, and all of it was fast fast fast.  I can’t wait to ride this in the BCBR. The ride 
finished with big smiles once again just as the sun disappeared.

Cheryl and I on Forbidden Plateau

Bacon cures what "ales" ya

Unfortunately most of Monday was spent in the ferry line-up; we’ll be making reservations next time. Nonetheless, it was a small price to pay for a weekend or bikes, beer, bacon, and babes!