We received great news a few days ago! Boréale’s newest package, Summer Solstice, was chosen for the Outside Magazine Hot Trip List 2011! We are really pleased as this new trip is going to be a blast! It includes a little biking, a little paddling and a little alpine hiking, all peppered with tonnes of Yukon fun!
We are at the Toronto Outdoor Adventure Show at the moment (February 24-27, 2011) and are offering a chance to win two spaces on the Summer Solstice trip. If you are in the area, please pop over and say hi to Marsha and Sylvain!
Up here in the Yukon, we are starting to feel as though we are ‘winning’ the annual winter battle. I heard a fellow rider exclaim the other day “Nope, that’s it. -30C is done for the year. It will be days like this (sunny and warm) for the rest of the spring!” It was such a proclamation, I had to smile. All Yukoners have unwavering faith in the impact of positive thinking, especially when it relates to the temperature outside. The rest of our group, sitting in the snowbank, looked at him with goofy grins and nodded. We knew he was right!
There is something about being outside and enjoying yourself while recreating that is completely enthralling. We want - rather NEED - this feeling! I call this the start of the hyper season. Yukoners are now shaking their winter slumber and are out every night and day doing something! Whether it is cross country skiing, back country skiing, snowshoeing, snow biking or just enjoying a winter walk. From solos to full families out on the trails, Yukoners have a very strong attachment to their outdoor recreational lifestyle. In fact, it is why most people choose to live here.
As we are now gaining an average of 6 minutes of additional daylight each day, one Friday afternoon is visibly longer than the previous. It is full speed ahead from now on! Right up to the end of the summer, Yukoners are going to be claiming their reward for enduring another dark winter and they will be out recreating and socializing as much as they can. Come September, you start to see people move a bit slower, start to read books and make big dinners. And it is because they are tired. Tired because they have jammed as much activity as possible into each day for months. They are tired from playing.
Where else in the world do you get to live in communities like that? We LOVE the Yukon! Go and play!
Bike Magazine and Dan Barham Photography were in town for the weekend to capture a new breed of local winter mountain bikers. It was a perfect weekend and we were happy to show them around - it forced us to play outside each day!
In two weeks Team Boréale will be heading to the Toronto Outdoor Show to introduce Ontario to the best vacation idea ever: a week of Yukon cycling and exploring with Boréale! If you are in the Toronto area and are interested in checking out the show, please let us know. We have a bunch of free tickets to give away! Just drop us an email at .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address).
If you have any questions about the Yukon or about what a vacation with us entails, please head over to our facebook page and fire away!
Have a great week!
After a weird week of very warm weather, the Yukon is remembering that it is indeed still winter! Fresh snow and -5C just in time for the start of the Yukon Quest. Known as the toughest dog sled race in the world, it covers 1000 miles between Whitehorse, Yukon and Fairbanks, Alaska. Downtown Whitehorse is starting to fill up with various dog sled trucks in preparation for the start tomorrow morning!
We have bike related media in town this weekend too, to capture the energy of the Yukon Quest and witness first hand our small group of local snow bikers! Tradition holds that they like to head out on the path of dog teams, on the newly packed winter trail. Sun and snow forecasted for tomorrow so we should be able to take some spectacular Yukon winter shots. Looking forward to it!
Sunday is also the start of the Yukon Ultra Marathon. You choose your discipline between skiing, running, snowshoeing or mountain biking to various lengths from Whitehorse to Dawson City. It is a grueling race, as temperatures can drop significantly throughout the course!
If you are in Whitehorse this weekend, see you at the Quest start!
When you live in the North and have a very passionate cycling community, it is only a matter of time before passion meets environment. In recent years we have seen a huge jump in winter cycling. In particular, ‘fat biking’. Companies like Surly and Salsa have made extra fat tired bikes that are perfect for snow riding. Interested in seeing what these bikes look like and how they handle?
A group of local puglsey riders went out and shot this video on one of our local trails. -28 C (-18 F) doesn’t stop the locals!
Enjoy!
Ryan Leech is returning to the Yukon to lead our popular Ride and Reach yoga and mountain biking retreat July 2-8, 2011. Mountain biking is a tonne of fun but can sometimes be hard on our bodies. Ryan has found over the course of his cycling career, his body has accumulated it’s share of aches and pains. He did notice a great change in his body once he started practicing yoga, and he hasn’t turned back since then! North Shore News just published an interview with Ryan detailing his path to the joining of yoga and mountain biking. Read the article here.
Our Ride and Reach has 4 spaces left. Send us an email at .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) for registration. This retreat is a great introduction to Yukon mountain biking and to explore this beautiful, wild part of northern Canada. The yoga classes are intended to start you, or to encourage you to continue, mixing yoga with your cycling routine. The benefits are real!
We have updated our photo album with new photos courtesy of Dan Barham, professional mountain bike photographer that was up to the Yukon last summer on a photo shoot. It definitely has us dreaming of the summer!
Keep warm!