Bike

Have you heard of the Branch Out Bike Tour?

Learn all about this unique event from Graeme and Sylvie in their review below:

From Graeme…

Last weekend, June 14-16, Sylvie and I attended the 9th annual Branch Out Bike Tour for brains. My cousin and his wife had been big supporters of the event and had been telling us to go for a number of years but a conference was always in the way. So this year I decided to register and skip the conference for the bike ride. It was as if the stars were aligned since both Sylvie and I got new bikes that need to stretch their legs (read: tires).

The ride had a really friendly party atmosphere. Like a festival that no one knows about. We had wrestlers on tandems and Disney princesses and some ex olympians mixed in for fun.
You can do the 80km, 100km or 160km ride. With the 100km and 160km finishing with the 20km queen/king of the mountain challenge. I chose the 100km and aimed to be the Squire of the Mountain (not a real award) It is a really well run event and luckily we had perfect weather for a ride. Next year I plan to do the 160km ride but honesty only because then I get two hits of the candy station at the 75km stop.

 

From Sylvie…

When Graeme’s cousin mentioned this ride few years ago, I was intrigued. The purpose was to fundraise money for neurological diseases. That resonated with me as a number of friends and relatives are affected or have faced concussions, MS or Parkinson’s disease. The fact that money raised was 100% going towards non pharmaceutical research was even more intriguing. Fast forward two years, I got a new bike and finally decided to join in and see what the fuss was all about. Ride is either 80, 100 or 160 kms from panorama mountain resort to lake Windermere and back.

 

 

It didn’t disappoint, I chose to do the 80 kms and what a ride: First 20 kms is downhill, which was glorious, then a few hills, rolling hills, in a beautiful setting, and food stops every 25 kms. Best rest stop was at 70 km mark with candies and cookies (see photo above!) How you want to ride is up to you, racing it, riding it, mountain biking or on a tandem. Truly a fantastic day and for a good cause. Looking forward to doing the 100 km ride next year.

Thank you Sylvie and Graeme for sharing your experience with us. Sounds like a fantastic weekend for a fantastic cause.  For more information, check out this link.