Lost legends of the bicycle tourist

by Darrell Noakes
for Kootenay Business and Kootenay Visitors magazines, 2002

Among the annual legions of bicycle tourists who travel the Slocan valley, there persists a legend.

Cyclists tell of a man who has struck the motherlode of bicycles; a man, it is said, who aids lost souls whose mechanical steeds have faltered and died at the trail-side. Some claim to have seen a solitary figure toiling in the forests and on the hillsides, opening mysterious paths into a wilderness of lost fortunes and broken dreams.

The Slocan is famous for its history of mines and riches. The hardships endured by early prospectors and entrepreneurs are passed down in stories of heroism, lost mines and wandering ghosts.

Today, a new brand of adventurer is lured to the Slocan. Hikers and cyclists find the region irresistible. Some, like Rob Farrell, make their stay permanent. When he's not working on the local trail network, Farrell operates a bicycle shop in the garage behind his home in New Denver. Sooner or later, every cyclist finds out about Farrell.

"I came in November of ‘92," says Farrell, originally from Tillsonburg, Ontario. "Started out doing home care and working at the bar. The second year I was here, I got involved with the Denver Coasters Club. It was basically a whole bunch of local fellas and girls putting their bikes in the backs of trucks and taking them up to Idaho Peak and Silverton Creek roads, unloading all the bikes, jumping on and screaming down the hills."

Many of the bicycles needed repair: no rear brakes, bent handlebars and stems, broken seats and other damage.

"I thought, ‘hey, there's a niche here', and that's when I started the bicycle business" he says. At times, the shop has operated out of a storefront and from his home. In the spring of 2003, he plans to open a new shop near the foot of Eldorado Street downtown.

Although Farrell sells new bikes, much of his business comes from rentals. The shop has six full suspension comfort bikes, four rigid frame bikes, two trail-a-bikes for children, one children's trailer, and two bikes equipped with infant carriers. The shop can handle the repair and service needs of local youth and seasoned touring cyclists.

"We've got a good crew of youth that have started riding," he says. "I maintain most of the kids' and some of the local hard core (riders' bikes)."

"This year, probably 200 touring people came through and stopped at my shop," he says. "Mostly spokes. People tend to break a lot of spokes in this area!"

Farrell finds that there's a broad spectrum of cyclists travelling through the area. He's met people riding Bike Friday folding bikes, full suspension tandems, even a Greenspeed recumbent tricycle.

"I've seen all kinds come into the shop, from the Greenspeed to the Bike Friday," he says. I'm really fortunate, because I've seen the full range that you could possibly think of, from home made trailers that look like they've got everything but the kitchen sink on them to some really sweet machines."

Farrell is also known for his work developing and maintaining trails for cyclists. The Slocan area has an extensive network of back-country trails. Many make use of historic rail beds and wagon roads. One follows the path of an old forestry telegraph line. For tourists, the most well known is the Galena Trail, 13 kilometres along abandoned CPR rail line between Rosebery and Three Forks.

Visitors can pick up Galena Trail maps wherever tourism information is posted. A map is also available for a series of cross-country trails developed by Jeff Bustard, co-owner and operator of Sweet Dreams B&B Guest House, adjacent to town. For information on other trails, and current conditions, a cyclist's best bet is to stop in and ask Farrell for advice.

Twenty people hired under federal and provincial grants completed the Galena Trail in 1998. Since then, maintenance of the trail and development of new trails has depended on volunteers.

"I'd say there's probably a core of about half-a-dozen (volunteers)," says Farrell. "On average, I put in about three days a week out there, a lot of it by myself."

"I work at Valhalla Pure three days a week, Friday I stay at home and fix bikes, Saturday I go do trail maintenance, Sunday I ride, Monday I do trail maintenance. That varies depending on if there's somebody to ride with on Sunday - then I ride with them. If there isn't, then I do trail maintenance."

"The ‘Slow-as-you-can' Valley definitely has some appeal to people coming from larger centres that are more fast-paced!" says Farrell.

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