Sacred Rides – Mountain Bike Tours
January 26, 2009 by Carl Martens
Filed under Industry News
Do you ever get tired of riding your local single-track? If you are like me, then the answer is probably yes. We ride local trails because of their convenience and our familiarity with them. Trying to imagine leaving the state or country you live in order to try out a new bike trail is pretty hard to fathom. Why? The logistics in itself can be difficult. How will you, your bike, gear, and supplies get from point A to point B? Once you get there where will you stay? What will you do? Where will you ride? You get the idea.
I recently had the chance to talk with Sacred Rides founder Mike Brcic. Started in 1996, Sacred Rides has evolved from a summer trail guide service in British Columbia to providing mountain bike adventure trips around the world. For the year 2009, they have been rated as the “Best Adventures Company on Earth” by 
National Geographic Adventure. Mike doesn’t like to use the word “trip”, instead he refers to the trips as tours. Riders participating get much more than just a trip…they get a tour of the scenery and culture of another country. Each destination in their portfolio is selected because of the jaw-dropping scenery and amazing cultural experiences…not to mention, the chance of a lifetime, to ride the world’s most incredible mountain bike trails. For over 13 years, Sacred Rides has offered award-winning small-group adventures and skills camps: in British Columbia, Ontario, Croatia/Slovenia, Peru, Guatemala, Utah and Chile.
The tours are about so much more than riding your bike. Each tour is carefully designed to give participants a glimpse into local culture, a view into another way of life, all based on the notion that we are part of one “shared humanity” and that we need to look out for each other and our planet. Sacred Rides approaches mountain biking as just a super fun and convenient way to introduce people to that notion.
Sacred Rides was born in the changing of the seasons. Mike Brcic had been working at a ski lift and with the ending of the season, was soon to be without work. A friend suggested that he should start a trail guide service. He took out a business loan and bought some bikes. It wasn’t until Mike’s third year of business that overnight trips were introduced. Today the company provides skill camps as well as trips ranging from 7 days to 14 days in length.
Interested riders may view tours online, but it should be noted that these tours are not for beginner skill level riders. All tours are designed for experienced mountain bikers with at least 2 years of regular mountain biking experience. Each tour has a skill and fitness level rating that helps riders determine if the trip is well suited to them. If you are a beginner and want incentive to progress, check out these adventure journeys…talk about “pump you up”!
Every tour is led by a local expert who will serve as both trail guide and coach. Many skills are taught, perfected and mastered on these tours.
If you are interested and would like to sign-up, then you had better book it at least 3-6 months in advance…some people book trips 1 to 1-1/2 years in advance!
Over the past 13 years the company has provided about 150 tours with over 2,000 attendees with another 500 attending their skill camps. In 2008, twenty-five tours were conducted. For 2009, an additional five tours are being added for a grand total of 30 scheduled tours.
Mike has very strict mandates for both his company as well as adventure seekers and they are summed up in his responsible riding mandate…a first in the industry. Interestingly, after some self examination Sacred Rides learned that during 2007 the company burned over $5,000 worth of fuel, equivalent to emitting about 11.5 tons of CO2 into the atmosphere. In response, last year marked the introduction of a “veggie van” which uses waste vegetable oil instead of gasoline, thus reducing the impact on the environment. I found it very admirable that Mike would have such caution to the footprint his company leaves on the land. Mike is not about business…he is about purpose! For Mike it’s about valuing our world and our neighbors…to show beauty to others…to help others grow themselves through personal challenge…to help others appreciate our shared responsibility to care for the environment and make a positive impact on the communities that are visited…to enjoy this wonderful world through the fun of mountain biking.
I applaud Sacred Rides.
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This post was written by:
Carl Martens - who has written 67 posts on Mountain bike product reviews, bike builds, trail reviews, forum, and tips – MTOBikes.com.
Carl H. Martens is founder of Made to Order Bikes, Inc. Originally from the burbs of Chicago, IL he now resides in the city of Roswell which is located just north of Atlanta. He enjoys riding Big Creek which is just down the road from where he lives.
Thanks for the great writeup, Carl. Please join me on a trip some time!
Mike
I went to his website…very cool!!!! I have a goal to shoot for.
Hi Carl,
Came across your site, great writeup. If you have anything that you might have already done and want to contribute it to YourLUME, we would love to post it. There is also a area to link back to your site.
Best,
Andrew