GoldRiver XXV is going to happen!
If you are a casual weekend bike packing rider looking for a social weekend away with like-minded riders, an aspiring-but-impecunious motorsport participant wanting to try a low key motorcycle Motorsport event or, a rally enthusiast wanting an accessible road-legal roadbook rally, this is the event for you!
Following on from the format established over the past few years, this three day event will have classes appropriate for newcomers to backcountry motorcycle travel, roadbook navigation improvers and dualsport/adventure riders who wish to participate in a road-legal motorcycle motorsport.
Route profiles.
Day one. 240km distance and 2660m of climbing. Start and finish in Gold River.
Day two. 350km and 4200m of climbing. Start and finish in Gold River.
Day three. 160km distance and 5,500m of climbing. Start and finish at Gold River.
In round figures, that’s 750km over three days with 12,360m of climbing. In imperial units that is 460miles and 40,500ft of climbing….. An ordinary kind of weekend on the north of Vancouver Island.
Event classes and smartphone apps.
In keeping with the principle of encouraging new participants into rallysport, the tech systems and roadbook style will encompass all of the essential basics of rally navigation without any of the obscure details which are part of the complexity of higher level Rallysport events.
For those participating in the tour class, navigation will be by Gaia gps mapping app that runs on iOS and android smartphones and requires an annual subscription of about $70 cad.
The roadbook class will permit display of the roadbook either as a paper scroll (printed by participants) or as a PDF displayed on the Rally Roadbook Reader app (free download).
Roadbook and Regularity Raid participants won’t be allowed to view maps except when the rider finds themself in “dire straits”…
Regularity Raid participants will navigate by roadbook and have their successes at keeping to the prescribed speeds monitored by Richta (gps) Rally Timing app - also a free download.
For readers unfamiliar with how VIME events run and how the principles of regularity rallies (also known as Time/Speed/Distance rallies) are applied, you are invited to read this blog back. Previous posts explain in detail how VIME events work and contain all information required.
just a few images from the 2024 events…
Routes, accommodations and supplies.
There will be three riding days, Saturday Sunday and Monday. Arrive on Friday, either early afternoon if you have taken the day off work and caught an early ferry or laver in the evening if you have had to work and are travelling later in the day.
Please book your ferry crossing. The weekend will be a holiday weekend and demand for ferry crossings will be high. Cross from Tsawassen or Horseshoe Bay whichever is most convenient. Powell River of course if you’re coming from the Sunshine Coast. If you’re travelling from Washington State, you’ll take the Black Ball ferry from Port Angeles to Victoria and don’t forget your passport, Canada isn’t yet the 51st state…
The third riding day will be Monday before Canada Day Tuesday. Canada Day is going to be Tuesday 1 July - for us going home day unless you made a late departure the evening before. The expectation is that people will return home on Canada Day. Book your return ferry crossing!
The routes have been envisaged to provide something for everyone… They will combine some elements that returning riders may find familiar, some elements that are new, all combined in new ways to keep things fresh and require ongoing attention in order to avoid getting lost!
Day one will be a 150km introduction that will emphasise navigation skills over technical riding. Expect some dramatic landscapes, some Vancouver Island forests. There will be a fuel and lunch stop to keep rider and machine at optimal energy levels.
Day two will be a longer day, stepping the tests a little. Expect 250km of riding with two stops for food and fuel. Dramatic vistas. Heart of the north island. It’s what your Dualsport or Adventure bike was made for…
Day three will be a shorter day with a fuel stop (should you need it). The navigation challenges will be similar to previous days, the terrain will be steeper and more testing but still passable with both wheels down at all times.
Don’t be put off by visions of extreme difficulty, hard enduro or trials trickyness. The roads that these routes are comprised of are all designated public highways even though they are Forest Service Roads that sometimes follow high mountain passes. If a logging truck can drive them, you won’t have any problems on a cross country motorcycle!
Legal aspects.
All the routes will be entirely comprised of roads that are recognised as public highways. Forest Service Roads on Crown Land. They may not look like roads, they may be unmaintained, they will be steep/loose/precipitous in places but they are public roads.
For this reason, every participant must hold (and present at sign-on) a current motorcycle driving licence, proof of on-road insurance and motorcycle registration documents. Additionally, their motorcycle must be presented for scrutineering. Scrutineering won’t be onerous, the bikes need to have two working brakes, working lights and most appropriately some kind of spark arrestor in the exhaust. This can be something as simple as a wire mesh over the tailpipe - cannibalise a tea strainer if you must!
Of course, a motorcycle helmet must be worn.
Participants will be required to sign a disclaimer at sign-on. Part of the BC motoring legislation places responsibility for safe driving on backcountry roads on the motorist and in keeping with the road legal format of the event, each rider completes each route autonomously. You are responsible for your own actions. The disclaimer you will sign will acknowledge your responsibility and absolve the event organisers from mishaps arising from your own misadventures.
In this way, it is possible to stage a genuine motorsport, on public roads, that is legal, challenging, competitive and accessible to grassroots motorcycle enthusiasts.
Entry fees and escalator. Where to enter.
You can enter the event here: https://www.gr200.com/product-page/goldriver-xv-the-moto-rallysport-event-for-everyone-27-june-1-july-2025
The regular entry fee for the three day event is $350 cad.
There is a $50 discount for early entries until the end of February, then a $25 discount until the end of April. After that the full entry fee is applicable.
There will be an event bivouac camp again, venue to be decided as there are business developments going on in GR. Details will be announced as they become available. There is also a choice of motels.
Eats, breakfast again from the Uptown Cappuccino cafe (your purchase), dinners from The Ridge pub, Sea and Field Bistro, the golf club and the Three7Five cafe and the Gold River Deli.
There is a petrol station in town.
Event regulations, registration and eligibility.
The event regulations can be found here: https://www.gr200.com/post/the-goldriver-rules-2025
The event will be held on public roads, within the terms of the B.C. legislation that regulates highways, motoring and access that permit this genre of motorsport (Regularity TimeSpeedDistance navigation trials). All event participants and their machines must be compliant with applicable legislation. Full motorcycle licences are required. Minimum age 19 years.
Once again, I look forwards to meeting you!
Jonathan Binnington,
Proprietor,
Vancouver Island Motosports Events
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