Fernie Co-Ed Skills Weekend: Additional Information

Required Forms

All of our Riders are required to complete the following forms:

Please download, print and complete the forms and bring them with you to your tour starting point. (note: the waiver is legal size - if you print it on 8 1/2 x 11, it will take two pages)

Questions?

please note - once you have made your trip booking, our head office will follow up to answer any initial questions you may have. After this initial contact, please contact our BC office if you have additional questions about your trip:

e-mail: johanna@sacredrides.com
phone: (250) 278-0364 (lead instructor Johanna)

Pickup & Drop-off Information

Please note that we do not offer airport pickup and dropoff service for this trip. However, there may be a shuttle scheduled for picking up riders from our weeklong women's skills camps. If there is space, we can offer you a pickup service. Please see the schedule page for the exact pickup times for either of these trips. Unfortunately we cannot offer dropoff service. We recommend renting a car for the easiest possible option. If you are not making your own way to Fernie and need to return to Calgary, there are two options: Greyhound bus or private taxi service.

Accommodations and Check-in

You will be staying at the Red Tree Lodge in Fernie. Accommodation is on a shared basis, 2 to a room (same-sex pairings). If you would like a single room, you can select this option when making your initial booking, or can add it after by emailing our office.

Check-in at our lodge is from 5 pm to 9:30 pm on Friday night. If you don't think you can make it to the lodge during these times please e-mail our BC office at johanna@sacredrides.com or call (250) 278-0364 to make alternate arrangements for checking in. (click here for a map)

Using Your Own Accommodations

If you are using your own accommodations, please join the group after breakfast at 8:30 am at the Red Tree Lodge (click here for a map), with your bike and riding gear, ready to ride.

Early Arrival/Late Departure

If you want to extend your trip by arriving early or staying on after your trip, there are a few things you should know:

You can book extra nights at our lodge in Fernie, depending on availablity. Price is $45/person/night - this can be added to your account when making your initial trip booking, or added after via your Rezgo account.
If you want information on places to visit and things to see in British Columbia or the Banff area after/before your trip, please contact our office. Many of our clients choose to visit the Canmore/Banff/Lake Louise area after their trip. The easiest way to do this is to arrange a shuttle to Banff or Canmore when you get to the Calgary airport. These can be booked onsite or in advance by visiting the Banff Airport Taxi website.

Flights

Because our clients come from all over the world, we do not book flights for our clients. Please contact your local travel agent for information on booking flights for this trip. The airport for flights for this trip is Calgary International Airport, code YYC.

Bike Rentals

If you don't feel like hauling your bike to BC, an alternative is renting a bike. We offer beautiful DeVinci Remix SL3 bikes for rent. These are quality cross-country bikes, built to handle the demanding terrain of British Columbia. Price is $45 Cdn/day. This can be booked online when making your initial booking, or added to your account later. Here are the specs:

FORK Marzocchi 44 TST2 140mm w/remote
REAR SHOCK Fox Float RP2
REAR DERAILLEUR SRAM X.9
FRONT DERAILLEUR SRAM X.7
PEDALS Crank Brothers Smarty
FRONT WHEEL Mach 1 MX Disc/DareDevil 15mm/DT Champion
REAR WHEEL Mach 1 MX Disc/Shimano M475/DT Champion
TIRE Maxxis Ignitor 26x2.1"
BRAKES Avid Juicy 3 160mm rotor hydraulic disc

Travelling with your bike

Pika Packworks Baf If you've never traveled with your bike, don't worry - it's much easier than you think! If you don't have a case for your bike, we recommend one of two options:

1) if you think you may be travelling more than once with your bike, then we recommend purchasing a purpose-made bike bag. This will protect your bike from damages, and makes shlepping your bike around a little bit easier than with a rigid box or cardboard box. We sell beautiful handmade bags by PikaPackworks in the United States. For more information, visit our online store.

2) If you think this is the only trip you'll take with your bike for a while, then you can pick up a cardboard travel box for your bike at your local store. Some stores will also pack your bike up for you for a fee.

Alternately, you can courier your bike to our partner store in Fernie. For $40 they will take delivery of your bike and assemble it. We will then pick up your bike and have it waiting for you at our lodge.

Assembling your bike when you arrive

We have bike stands and a full toolset available for assembling your bike once you arrive. You can build your bike the night you arrive, or the next morning. We will have a prearranged time for building bikes and our staff are on hand for assistance.

Trip Additions

We have a few add-ons that will make your trip even more memorable. These can be added when you make your booking or added later:

post-ride therapeutic massage with a RMT(1 hour): $100 Cdn
extra nights at our lodge in Fernie: $45 Cdn/night/per person/double

Travel Insurance (non-Canadians and those without provincial health coverage)

Travel insurance, including emergency evacuation coverage, is compulsory for all our tours. Please do not attend any of our tours without purchasing appropriate insurance coverage. We recommend that you purchase travel insurance that includes cancellation protection so that you will be covered in the event that you are unable to attend our tour (due to injury, illness or other unforeseen circumstances) or in the unlikely event that our tour must be cancelled.

Insurance can be purchased online at www.adventureinsurance.ca

Passports & Visas

All travelers require a valid passport (with a minimum of 6 months validity). Citizens of some countries will also require a visa. For more information, please contact your local Canadian embassy, or passport office.

Emergency Contact

If you need to contact us in an emergency, you can reach us during office hours at the following numbers:

Dialing within North America: 1 (888) 423-7849
Dialing outside of North America: +1 (647) 999-7955
If you feel that you need to contact us outside of office hours, our BC office can be contacted at +1.250.423.1302

If you do not receive an immediate answer when calling the above numbers, please leave us a detailed message and we will get back to you as soon as possible.

Health Requirements

Vaccinations are not required for Canada, and Canada has one of the best healthcare systems in the world. Should you experience illness or injury while in Canada, rest assured that you will receive the best care possible.

Fitness Requirements

You should have a reasonable level of fitness and be able to bike at a moderate pace for up to three hours a day in order to fully enjoy the spectacular scenery and riding on this trip. There will also be plenty of time for relaxation at our lodges or exploring the local shopping at a leisurely pace.

Safety & Security

To maximize your safety during our tours you should exercise common sense and caution at all times. We recommend that you always stick to set travel arrangements, and avoid unknown areas. We also recommend that you wear minimal jewelry and that you keep valuable items safely stored. Always keep a copy of your passport, airline tickets, travelers checks and credit card numbers separate from where you keep the originals.

Meals

On this trip, all breakfasts and lunches are included in the trip price. Dinners can be taken in local restaurants or you can use the kitchen at our lodge (from past experience, most groups decide together whether they will eat out or stay in on a particular night). You should budget $10 Cdn per meal prepared in-kitchen, or $15-$20 per dinner in local restaurants (depending on the quality of restaurants you choose).

Other expenses

Aside from meals, there are no required additional expenses for this trip, but you might like to take spending money for such things as souvenir shopping, nightlife and Internet cafes.

Laundry

The Red Tree Lodge has a washer and dryer for your use.

Internet

Fernie has several internet cafés. We are working on wireless access at our lodges in Fernie and Golden and hope to have this in place for summer 2009.

Tipping

Gratuities of 10-20% are common in Canada. We encourage you to tip your guides if you feel you have received excellent service and have had an enjoyable trip. A typical gratuity is $10-$50 per guide.

Useful Links

For additional information about traveling in British Columbia, visit:
Tourism BC website
Canadian Tourism Commission website

Currency exchange

The Canadian currency is the Canadian dollar (CAN). For the latest currency exchange information use the Yahoo! Currency Exchange Calculator

Our Guarantee

We're so sure you'll have an amazing time on this trip that we're offering a satisfaction guarantee. View more information about our guarantee.