The Yukon. Unplug. Re-set.

We live in a busy, uncertain, and sometimes morally challenging time. Tsunamis. Osama. Economy. Environment. The Stanley Cup. You know what i mean. While we fight to maintain our balance and sanity in this perpetual storm, it's important that we keep our feet on the ground and not loose sight of what's important in life: family, friends, reading books, exercise, fresh air, riding mountain bikes. Which leads me to invite you, my fellow mountain biker, to the Yukon & Alaska this summer. Why you ask? Because it'll help keep you grounded, it'll remind you of what's important and quite simply you'll have a blast. I'm not pointing any fingers here, just saying that we could all do with a little unplug and re-set.

Journalist Dave Smith searches for that elusive word.

The North is a place with fewer complications, where the rhythm is in tune with nature and the friendly locals will do anything to make sure you're having a great experience. Oh, and the riding just happens to be killer - big epics in wide-open landscapes, short loops on technical loamy singletrack and quick and punchy berm-infested railing-a-thon trails on firm, yet forgiving, dirt.

The colours of a palette.

The mountain bike guides on this adventure are the best hosts that you could ask for. Devon McDiarmid talks about his year: "I just returned from the North Pole where i guided two ski groups. This means I skied to both poles in one calendar year and there is a good chance i'll be getting to the South Pole again for the second time in 2011! But my biggest achievement of the year for me is kite skiing Greenland for a Guiness Book of World Record for longest kite ski expedition in the North, covering over 4000 kms" When you meet McDiarmid you'll be greeted by a low-key, humble adventurer with a great passion for guiding and a slew of truly amazing stories. McDiarmid will be joined by Ray Warner who recalls: "I moved to the Yukon after falling in love with Alaska and the North, during a summer of riding and climbing there. I went back to Banff, grabbed the rest of my gear, one backpack worth, walked to the highway and hitched to Whitehorse where I spent 17 years trying to get lost in the bush - riding, paddling, climbing and running sled dogs. The north is like nowhere else on earth, it is still pure and rugged with challenges at every turn." Warner is mad-passionate about all things Northern.
To be guided in the Yukon and Alaska on mountain bikes by McDiarmid and Warner is a great opportunity. Want to unplug and re-set this summer?

One trip only: Midnight Sun, August 21-27, 6 nights/7 days. $1995.00 USD.

The road from Whitehorse to Haines, Alaska. Is that John Denver on the radio?