Stage 1

Route: Shawnigan Lake - Cowichan Lake District

Assembled in front of Shawnigan Lake School’s Marion Hall, racers will surely be anticipating the days ahead as they gaze through the start line and eagerly await the first starter pistol fire of BCBR 2008.

With the crack of the pistol, racers will have to jockey for position through two loops of narrow road and double track on the school’s 300 acre campus, before heading west through the Field of Dreams and onto some of the campus’ sweet singletrack. This gently climbing trail opens onto a gravel service road. A short steep climb is followed by a singletrack descent. This magical trail winds back and forth through a thick fern forest. You will hear the hoots and hollers of fellow racers as you catch glimpses of them winding through the switchbacks below you.

After a few kilometres on a narrow doubletrack trail and a climb through an old clear cut, you will emerge onto a fantastic rocky lookout with the Koksilah River far below you. From here a maze of singletrack trails meander closer to the river until you are at the Kinsol Trestle and the Trans Canada Trail, one of the Cowichan Valley’s prominent land marks.

A quick shunt down a secondary gravel road takes you into the Burnt Bridge mountain bike area.

Burnt Bridge crosses the Koksilah River, a beautiful meandering stream. You turn left and drop into the green riverside trails of the Burnt Bridge Classic race course, steadily working your way up the Koksilah Valley. Rejoining the logging road, a short climb is rewarded by a blazing rip down a flowing ridgeline of singletrack, once used as part of the Burnt Bridge downhill course. This brings you back to Burnt Bridge itself, and you head left for yet another classic singletrack, the Can-Am trail. The Can-Am takes you east along the banks of the Koksilah.

Shortly after leaving the Can-Am trail, an old logging road takes you up the side of the mountain for the biggest climb of the day. The climb summits near Lois Lake and is followed by a logging road descent into the Deerholme area west of Duncan. You'll join up again with the Trans Canada Trail. and have about 20km of flat trail to hammer on your way to the finish line in the beautiful village of Lake Cowichan. At the end of the day reward your feet with a soak in this amazing lake. Sit back, relax and enjoy.

*Stage & Route details subject to change.

Base Camp Directors' Insights

Your journey begins at Shawnigan Lake School in the community of Shawnigan Lake, approximately 45kms north of Victoria and right at the trailhead to your 7-day adventure.

Your first night of the BC Bike Race will be in the town of Lake Cowichan, which has a little something for everyone - from cafes to groceries to some great local arts and craft shops. Base Camp will be set up at the Cowichan Lake Recreation Centre which has everything you need to settle in for your first night, including showers to wash away the Day 1 dirt. When you roll into the Centre, you will find Tent City to the right and all the amenities in the buildings around the parking lot. Head to Centennial Hall for your meals and awards show before enjoying your first night's sleep.

Top 10 Moral Support Crew Teasers

Check out these tempting options to keep your moral supporters busy from point-to-point today!

• Go for a swim in Cowichan Lake
• Take a tour of Cowichan Valley wineries and vineyards
• Explore the old-growth forest trails of the Carmanah Walbran Provincial Park
• Stroll the new floating boardwalk in the town of Lake Cowichan 
• Experience the Honeymoon Bay Wildlife Reserve
• Visit the Kaatza Station Museum, featuring a 1928 Shay locomotive and a 1918 wooden caboose
• Take a guided totem tour in the city of Duncan
• Ride a steam train at the BC Forest Discovery Centre
• Get your photo op beside the world's largest hockey stick
• Venture along the restored 66-Mile and Holt Creek train trestles on the Cowichan Valley portion of the Trans Canada Trail