2022 Update of the Hemlock Valley 300.

The route has been mildly tweaked from its last incarnation:

Following the demise of the Knight and Day Restaurant the start has been moved a bit eastward to Brentwood in Burnaby. The Whole Foods there is not open that early but will serve as the rando start staging area. The finish will be a block west on the Lougheed Hwy at Brown's Social House. Brown's closes at Midnight but the finish Control is open until 2AM. 

The ride is packed with scenic, low traffic roads and bikeways. There are few sections of the familiar Lougheed Hwy to get in the drops and tick away the kilometers. Just before the Sasquatch Inn on the Lougheed you'll make a left on to Morris Valley Rd. A short stretch on this road before the turn off to "Sasquatch Mountain Ski Resort" on your left. This is like a sample size version of Alpe D'Huez (or Alpe du Zwift if you've been riding indoors). The first 3km of this road is very steep before relenting about a km before the pavement ends. The pavement is new and the vistas are stunning. At the end of the pavement you will find a full service rando control to reward your efforts.

The inbound route has been softened slightly with the removal of Old Orchard Rd on the backside of Chilliwack Mountain. The rest of the run-in features the classic rando Control stops at Birchwood Dairy and Fort Langley before winding your way to the Port Mann Bridge via the Golden Ears Greenway and through Tynehead Park in North Surrey. Across the bridge you'll migrate the finals kms along Lougheed and Government/Winston back to Brentwood.

Notes from the Pre-Ride:

We were faced with bracingly cold conditions for the first part of the ride with temperatures at the freezing level. The sun was out most of the day with a brief rain front over Sumas Mountain. Headwinds during the first part of the ride had us hoping for a tailwind for the return. This did not come to pass and the wind had shifted to a Southwesterly as is the norm.

Note: RidewithGPS shows ~2750m elevation but data from the Pre-Ride on Garmin/Strava indicated ~2400m.

Congrats to new rider Rabih Bosaid who put in a stout effort to complete his first ever brevet on the Pre-Ride! Click below for Pre-Ride photos.

Pre-ride photo album:

Photo credit: Matt Lee

There are notably long sections of the ride with no services. Consider stocking up at the Iron Mountain Store on Dewdney Trunk, the Chevron on Lougheed after Sylvester and the Fas Gas before and after Hemlock Valley Rd. Low gears and good brakes are required.

Note: Due to overwhelming demand a "Challenge Version" of this route will once again be offered. The Challenge Version involves and extra gravel climb up to the Ski Station "Sasquatch Mountain". The gravel road is rough and steep. Organizer permision is required before approval of attempt. Extra low gears and wide tires are required. This route is ~20km longer with ~800m more elevation gain. All controls and card are the same as the standard route. No extra time dispensation is afforded for the extra distance/elevation. GPS navigation may be required. The best time up Sasquatch Mountain will be rewarded with a genuine "Maillot a pois" (KOM jersey) from the Tour de France.

https://ridewithgps.com/routes/39131465

Bonne route!