Well this is our first official newsletter; a mix of things happening around our province in the gravel world, and a taste of whats to come in these newsletters.
In this episode of the Gravel Hub you will find details about Basecamp, a cool event coming up this weekend in the Sea to Sky area, and info on another rad Okanagan gravel event we will be helping with in September.
Sea to Sky Gravel
This Saturday Feb 18th our friends over at the Squamish Gravel Cycling Club are hosting a registration party for their new gravel cycling club. Want to win a free entry to Basecamp? Stop by their event this Saturday for a chance to win one of two entries.
Squamish Gravel Cycling Club (SGCC) is a club to bring local gravel enthusiasts together, perpetuate the positive influence cycling brings to the community and inspire everyone to explore. In the winter months of late 2020 a couple of friends getting together weekly to satisfy a shared basic need to ride rain or shine quickly made something clear. The community of Squamish would benefit from having a group of individuals putting their personal time in to organize regular gravel rides. Summer of 2022 seemed to be a turning point for these few dedicated gravel enthusiasts. Weekly rides were beginning to see 20-30 riders and building interest from beyond the valley. There was exciting talk in a town that had already seen decades of passionate cyclists of all disciplines either growing up on the trails or passing through on their dream bicycle vacation. Thursday nights felt fresh and new. This momentum ends the year with a sense of hope that perhaps something more could come from a weekly ride. 2023 is here and Squamish now has SGCC to look to for continued information regarding all things gravel in the sea to sky corridor, the potential for more group rides, events and collaborations to keep the culture of gravel growing.
SGCC Registration Event Details
Location: Drop Bar Cycles 38936 Queens Way #5, Squamish, BC V8B 0V2
Date: Saturday Feb 18th, 2023
Casual Social Ride at 3pm ( weather permitting ) Registration party at 5pm
You can find more information on their instagram page here —> SGCC instagram
Looking for something fun to do in September?
Jessy, the founder of Basecamp, has partnered with Jodi and the fine folks at The Okanagan Graveller to create some awesome new courses for their 2nd annual event.
This year the Okanagan Graveller has a new start/finish and 3 awesome new courses, including a 50km, 120km & a 200km course! The event is set for September 24th, 2023 and their registration just went live. This event is brought to you by the awesome team behind the iconic Okanagan Granfondo in Penticton and is sure to be a wicked weekend. Want to see more, check out the promo video —> HERE
The inaugural event had a mix of heavy hitters like Ian Boswell, Alison Jackson, Adam Roberge, Cory Wallace and Michael van den Ham pushing the pace on the front, while tons of gravel enthusiasts from far and wide hit the pedals in what was an epic first year to remember. This years event will showcase some of the best gravel routes the Okanagan has to offer, these are the roads we ride and we are very excited to share these routes at the second annual event. Event organizers face many of challenges and one thing they can’t control is the weather, heavy rains and colder temperatures influenced moving the event to September. Not only is September harvest season in wine country, but you can also expect warmer temps, and sunny days perfect for a long pedal.
We are working on some fun collaborations with the crew at the Okanagan Graveller and are excited to share them with you soon. Stay tuned for more info.
More event and registration details here —> www.okanagangraveller.com
Basecamp 2023 details.
We have been getting asked “when is registration going live?” We were hoping to get it launched sooner, but with a new sponsor coming on board we are working on something different for this years registration platform and are hoping to have it launched in the next week or two - first week of March is our goal. We will be sure to annouce when registration is going live here a few days before it opens.
In an effort to keep the spirit of gravel alive and well at Basecamp we are capping registration at a number we feel will allow our event to grow without loosing the vibe we worked so hard to create last year. With that being said we are expecting based on the feedback in our community, that our event will sell out this year. So get ready, cause the only race at Basecamp might be the race to registration.
In our next newsletter we will annouce some of our returning and new sponsors, plus a few more details with awesome things to come with the growth of our event.
We welcome the longer days by celebrating even the short adventures by bike. As the snow melts and turns the gravel to mud, we dream about the adventures this year has for us.
We will close this newsletter with a quote and a beautiful piece of art from our dear friend Mel. We felt this speaks to the change in season, a reminder to be gentle to yourself and remember even the smallest ride can fuel your soul.
“Thank you bikes for being the absolute best medicine, always 💖 even on the long days when getting moving is the last thing I want to do, a pedal never fails to lift my spirits, lighten my mental load and remind me that I am strong and capable.”
For more rad artwork, awesome 35mm photography and just a huge inspiration on and off the bike, be sure to check out our pal and Basecamp sisters channels.
Instagram: @melwwebb Website: www.melwwebb.com
Love this. Looking forward to more content. Can't wait to get back to Basecamp!