Bending Time

There’s a trail just outside of Fernie, British Columbia that defies the laws of physics, specifically those dealing with time.

We’re used to – in the modern world, at least – thinking of time as a linear thing. Today follows yesterday, tomorrow follows today, 3:02 follows 3:01 pm.  But on this trail, the normal rules just don’t seem to apply.  I’ll tell you why.

Sacred Rides runs mountain bike trips all over the world, but the heart of our company beats in Fernie, British Columbia; it’s where the company was founded and it’s where our most popular trips take place.  I’ve ridden all over the world with my mountain bike, but nowhere does this strange time-bending phenomenon seem to be more powerful than on this particular trail.

the spectacular Lizard Range

It starts with a fairly steep 1-hour climb from town, through pine and cedar forest, every now and then a spectacular view of the Lizard Range poking out through the canopy.  It takes about an hour of clock time (I’ve timed it), but by the time you get to the top it you’ll swear you’ve been climbing for a week.  Even the air seems thinner even though you’ve only climbed about 1,200 vertical feet.

Then the magic happens. 

You wipe the sweat from your brow, take a deep breath, and point your front wheel down the trail.  And then time soon ceases to exist entirely. Your bike picks up speed and time gradually peels away, first becoming a fleeting memory, then disappearing altogether.  And it’s just you, the hushed silence of the forest, the mountains, and the 50 feet of trail ahead. 

It happens to me every time on this trail, more so than any other trail in the world: the rest of life just drops off like a layer of dead skin – no worries, no anxieties, no bills to pay, no deadlines, no stress. 

Just pure, timeless freedom.

Want to stop the clock?  Join us in British Columbia this summer...

Mike Brcic,
Rider Happiness Manager,
Sacred Rides