Photo: Thai Nguyen

Bella Coola Adventure 1000
Williams Lake - Bella Coola - Williams Lake 1000 km
Ride dates: July 19 - 22, 2025
by Bob Goodison

There are lots of great photos from this ride. See the three gallery links at the bottom of this page. [EF]

What the Heck, Man?

TLDR version: It was hard. I finished.

Sometimes it's good to do something that scares the crap out of you. The Bella Coola Adventure 1000 was one of those things. Dave King came up with the idea last year, and after rescheduling due to a fire, four of us- Me, Nicholas Fairweather, Dara Poon and Thai Nguyen started out from Williams Lake at 05:00 on July 19. The ride has about 90 km of gravel includes the infamous Heckman Pass, which drops 1200 m from the top to where the gravel ends in about 20 km with grades up to 18%, then a further 300m to sea level over the next 80 km. The best bike I had for the job was my Trek 920 because of the hydraulic disc brakes and capacity for fat tires- I was running a 47mm rear and 40mm front (long story). The downside was that it weighs a bloody ton! Especially when loaded up with the necessities for a ride with few available services. Fortunately Nicks family offered to drive drop bags out to our overnights (both at Anahim Lake).

Dara
Photo: Bob Goodison

The ride started well on a cool slightly foggy morning. We had too start out with an out and back to Mcleese Lake to make it up to 1000 official km. It was actually substantially more than that, as there is only one road into the Anahim Lake resort. Rules state you can't use the same road more than once in each direction, so there is no credit for going over it the second night. Dara and I pulled off the front on the climb out of Williams Lake, but differences in aerodynamics, weight and power kept us from really riding together- more like a yo-yo. About 20 km in. I saw my first bear of the ride- a medium sized black bear off in the trees. I stopped back at my truck to refill water before starting up highway 20, so I had no idea whether the others were ahead or behind.

Photo: Nicholas Fairweather

Before the ride I had re-read my report from the Nimpomaniac 600 from 11 years ago, so I was not surprised by the two massive climbs on Highway 20. The views were just as spectacular as I remembered. After the Sheep Creek hill, and the long descent from it, the terrain was rolling, with a few long flat stretches. Some of the rollers were massive. A moderate but persistent West wind was steadily wearing me down. I could see storm clouds ahead, but they seemed to split as I approached, and for a few hours I stayed dry with storms and loud thunder on either side. Eventually my luck ran out and I had to put on the rain gear for a while. One of the major challenges of this ride is the lack of available services, and the limited stock and operating hours of said services. I had four water bottles on the bike- the fifth bottle cage holding a bear spray. A water refill and an ice cream bar at Alexis Creek got me to the Kinnikinic store at Redstone. I should have stopped for a meal but I wanted to get to Anahim as early as possible for a longer rest. I was feeling pretty tired by the time I got to Tatla Lake. Stopping for any length of time was unpleasant because of mosquitos and little black flies. Just before dusk, I was slowly climbing yet another hill and something ahead caught my eye. A grizzly on the road, about 300m away. I stopped, yelled something at him, and clapped my hands as loudly as I could. I figured I would have to wait for a vehicle to pass and scare him (her?) off, but vehicles were coming about a half hour or more apart. He took a few steps towards me, and a minute or two later ran off into the trees. I continued happily on my way. A little past Nimpo Lake I saw where we had turned around on the 600 at the Dean River, and I was somewhere I had never been before. To bad it was dark and I couldn't see it. The last 5 km into the Escott Bay Resort were rough gravel and I woke up every dog and his dog, all of whom were barking at me. Finally reaching the resort I had a bit of trouble finding the cabin and when I did there was a note saying the shower was broken, and to use the one in the next cabin over. I tried. Got my hair all full of shampoo and the water stopped. I managed to get rinsed and have a good wash in the sink, then back to our cabin where Jody had left our drop bags, had something to eat and went to bed.

Photo: Bob

After about three hours sleep I woke up and found I had a message from Dara- she hadn't been able to find the cabin and had settled in a different one. It was getting light out, so I might as well get going. Thai came in, and I had breakfast with him (well- i guess he was having dinner)- and then I was off. Just leaving Anahim Lake the road turned to gravel. Most of it was hard packed with minimal washboard and a few holes and loose spots. It was steadily climbing up the East side of the Heckman pass at a more or less steady 3-4%, not bad at all. Closer to the summit it had been recently graded -too recently. Loose gravel, very difficult to ride and making me very nervous about the steep descent to come. Fortunately the actual descent was hardpacked, with bad washboard only on the switchbacks. There were a couple of spots where there was a break of sorts where we regained some altitude. To avoid overheating my brakes I would brake with the rear, count to ten, switch to the front, count to ten, and repeat. It was not nearly as bad as I had feared. The last 80 km steadily descending the final 300m into Bella Coola was paved and beautiful- especially Hagensborg- gorgeous old houses with a mountain backdrop. One of the piles of bear shit on the road was massive, but apparently the bear was well fed on something with lots of seeds. I controlled at the BC Ferries terminal, had lunch at the Co-Op grocery store and headed back. Just before the end of the pavement I saw what I thought at the time was a small cinnamon coloured black bear. I later found out the it was a grizzly cub- Thai and Nick saw it with its mother when they came through. THE HILL started well- until the first switchback which had potholes and I lost traction and had to walk a bit. I got going, only to have to stop again when my eyes fill with sweat. Then my legs said no. In all, I estimate I walked well over half of that damn 20 km hill, but I don't really think it cost me much time. I tried to put on more clothes at the summit, but the bugs were too bad to stop that long. Several short stops, putting on one garment at each seemed to be the answer. It got COLD! The East side of the pass was fun- except for the last 10 km or so when I ran out of daylight. Then all those holes, rocks and washboard became very hard to negotiate. I also got to play the shadow guessing game is it a stump? a bear? a cow? Finally into the last rough ride to the resort- this time with one of the dogs coming out to chase me. Another three hour sleep.

Thai and Nicholas
Photo: Bob

Day three started cold and foggy. I met Thai and Nick, then Dara on their way in as I was on my way out. They were frozen. The morning warmed up, the fog cleared and I felt great- for a while. Then it got hot and I was into never ending enormous rolling hills. The problem was, when slowed by the hills, you would start with one black fly, then another, and another until you had dozens. At one point I counted 5 on the back of my righty hand. Descending the other side cleared them, then the process would restart on the next hill. I didn't feel bites at the time, but now find I am covered with itchy bites. I was fading, so I stopped at the restaurant at Tatla for lunch- Closed. Apparently it was open when others came later. There was a water advisory for arsenic at the store, so I bought a Gatorade to make sure I made it to the next stop, and filled one bottle with arsenic water for dumping on me to keep cool. The Redstone service station had a prepackaged microwaveable cheeseburger. I asked for a recommendation on how long to nuke it and they said 3 1/2 minutes, which turned out to be way too long. Strangely the cheese? DID NOT MELT! That concerned me a little, but calories are calories. A big coffee helped too. The next couple of hours were relatively flat, with a tailwind, then back into the hills with the fly problem. Then, BOOM!. Big thunderstorm, heavy rain, and suddenly the bugs were magically gone! It cleared a few times, and time was wasted putting rain gear on and off, but it finally cleared and stayed clear, but the flies did not come back. I lost the daylight just as I crested the last hill before the finish.

Photo: Nicholas

Writing this two days after the ride, I already have more positive memories than negative. The scenery was stunning. I saw one black bear, two grizzlies, and too many deer to count. Traffic was light and everyone gave us lots of room. Everywhere we stopped people came over to talk and businesses were friendly and helpful. I am so glad I did it. I don't think I would do it again. Dave wants to run it again, possibly on the May long weekend next year. Should you ride it? Can you do 150 km or more between services, and make do if that service is closed when you get there? Can you survive bugs, hills, heat, cold, bugs, rough roads, and more bugs? If you are the kind of rider that is prepared for anything, this ride will reward you.

Photo: Bob