Every year on the holiday Friday of the Easter weekend for the past ten years now, our coffee outside club Camp Coffee Club has a ‘field trip’ to the mid-valley lookout in the Seymour valley. We do coffee and snacks for an hour or two, then groups set off on further rides at their discretion.
I rode up Fishermans with Tay to the spot. The day was cloudy and rain felt not far off, so I expected as we moved up the valley it would turn wetter as it usually does. However the rain never amounted to more than a sprinkle, and only occurred while we were under the protection of the gazebo. Lucked out!
There were about half as many people as last year, mostly due to the weather. Last year was beautifully sunny and we saw 30+ folks stop through. We got about 15 this year, which was a nice number too.
About half the crew joined on the old growth loop I had planned, which was essentially the Spur 4 loop I usually do with a couple short hike-in’s to see specific trees. First up were a pair of huge red cedars, a 15 minute hike up a semi-steep trail. We stashed the bikes in the trees near the start of the hike.
Then it was over to the pair of old growth Sitka that are heavily represented in my ride reports. I love these trees. They aren’t nearly the diameter of the cedars, but have an incredible presence.
Tay and I split off near the end to check out some old stumps, which were neat but not on par with the trees above in terms of interest. Here’s the Bombadil, which has seen about 50% of my 2026 mileage so far (750 of 1500km, roughly). It’s pretty heavy but doesn’t feel like it when you’re riding; it’s a great all-rounder. I’ve been commuting on it, and while the Hillborne’s been offline it’s actually been my most road-friendly bike, funny enough.
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