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Team Boréale has spent the last 10 days soaking up as much vitamin D as our deprived Yukon winter bodies can take on a recent promotional trip in California. We just took our newest sister company, Boréale Explorers, to the LA Times Travel Show to introduce the concept of a Yukon vacation for the folks of southern California. So far, to a great response! People seem to be looking for somewhere unique, relatively close to home and not for a long vacation. The Yukon is perfect for all of these!

We continued on to the Bay Area to start a rumour of Yukon mountain biking. There we peppered every bike shop, yoga studio and fitness centre that our rental car came across. It was busy, but fun! We also had the pleasure of hanging out with key members of the mountain bike community, club representatives and bike enthusiasts. We are coming back in April to attend the Sea Otter Classic mountain bike festival in April and we are looking forward to hitting the trails with our new friends!

We have posted new photos from 2011 on our facebook page. Good memories for sure! 

Ride on!

Team Boréale is leaving the lovely north to the wilds of Los Angeles, California to attend the LA Times Travel Show. If you are in the area and would like some free tickets to this weekend’s travel show (January 28-29, 2012) please go to this website and enjoy as many complimentary tickets as you would like!

Website: http://lattravelshow.eventbrite.com/
Password: EXHIB

We would LOVE to chat with anyone that loves bikes and travel. I have a feeling we may be the minority at this show! Come down, we promise to entertain you with some great joke that Sylvain and Isabel have been practicing. We will be in a booth for our sister company, Boréale Explorers. Please come by and say hi!

Spread the word if you have any friends living in the LA area that may be interested in tickets.

Stay warm and if you can, get on that bike!
Marsha

If you are in the northern hemisphere, the ‘arrival’ of winter in January should not be too surprising. Especially if you live in the Yukon. But still, everyone seems to be in a bit of a stunned winter state at the acceptance that we did indeed go from -3C/25F to -40C/-40F within 5 days!

Cold weather is part of living up north in the winter. While it is difficult, dressing to go outside requires 5 layers of clothing and a mirror check to ensure bare skin is covered, it is also absolutely gorgeous. It is the appreciation for this that I believe sets Yukoners apart. Everything is harsher at these frigid temperatures, including the natural beauty. The sun is brilliant; the snow crystals are glistening; the trees are frosty ; the stars are brilliant.

If you do get the chance to experience cold winter, do it! There is a sense of adventure and it feels humbling. Especially when you still see the ravens out playing around, as they usually do!

At these temperatures vehicles protest loudly and even bikes seem to be a little unwilling to maneuver as usual. Here is a blog post from a friend who dressed appropriately and hit the trails on her snow bike yesterday. Enjoy! Mrs. North of 60. What it feels like to ride at -40

Happy new year! It’s that time of year where we often think of new resolutions and make promises to ourselves as a way to make the new year an improvement over the last. While Sylvain and I have never been big on the new resolution idea, we are definitely into planning our coming year’s travel trips. We are huge believers in the concept that experiential travel can only help you grow into a more accommodating, educated and compassionate person. Seeing new places, meeting new friends and experiencing how others live their daily lives are the biggest travel draws for us.

Like many of our great guests, we are also planning quite a few short trips for 2012. Some with bikes, some without, some for work, most for play. At a recent conference we went to, one of the speakers addressed the psychology of traveling and found that the ‘enjoyment’ of travel could be categorized as 60% in planning/anticipation, 20% in participating and 20% in sharing with friends and family afterward. Do you agree? I know that I love to plan a great, unique, spectacular trip; Sylvain prefers to spectate in the planning stages and participate fully during the trip

We raise a glass to you and your 2012 travel plans! Of course we hope to see you in the Yukon, but if it is not in the cards this year, may you spend many hours laughing with your friends while out on a great trail somewhere. Bonne année!

Marsha

Boréale has a few special gift certificates perfect for the holiday season! The specials are available from today until December 31, 2011.

2 for 1 gift certificates for our MTB instruction clinics in 2012. It’s a great year to learn a new love with a friend!

Our t-shirt & waterbottles are joining forces for $20

AND we have 2 Weekender deals at 2 for 1! Psst: 1 of these dates falls on the fun Boogaloo to Boréale race! May 17-20 & May 24-27, 2012.

Email at .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) & put “facebook” in the subject line. Have a great weekend!