Editor’s note: In the summer of 2015 (10 years ago!), one of the biggest chart-toppers was “See You Again” by Wiz Khalifa featuring Charlie Puth. The title seems fitting for this story, which takes a fresh look at some of the people and places featured that summer in our third issue. (The other huge hit that year was “Cheerleader” by Omi, which is also appropriate, since we always like to cheer about good things in the Valley.)
Naked Bicycles
Naked Bicycles had already been in operation for 17 years when we first featured them; the Quadra Island business is now approaching three successful decades. It all began when founder, designer, and builder Sam Whittingham felt inspired to create “naked” bikes in response to the influx of mass-produced bikes from offshore manufacturers. As writer Dave Nowak put it in 2015, a naked bike is “one without any lavish stylings or adornments, with an aesthetic based on its purpose that reveals its raw and unfinished materials.” This has proved to be an attractive concept. A decade ago, Whittingham had designed and built well over 1,000 bicycles. Since then, he has produced around 40 each year. Each Naked bike is a completely custom build.
Both cycling and Naked have changed considerably over the past 10 years. Cross riding has evolved into gravel adventure riding and bikepacking; bikes for these pursuits now make up the bulk of Naked’s builds today. They also now build exclusively in titanium—perfect for adventure and gravel machines and hardtail mountain bikes. This allows the team to focus on what they know best and enjoy the most: building bikes that Whittingham calls “lifetime adventure unicorns.” Titanium takes longer than steel to work with, which means each build takes more time to make, and has a higher price tag. But a Naked bicycle is for the serious cyclist who’s ready to invest in a bike that will still deliver a great ride after several decades.
Compass Adventure
The Valley has long been known as a mountain community, but as Stuart Robinson of Compass Adventure wrote in 2015, it also deserves to be known as a thriving water sport town. Compass has been an ambassador for this mission over the last decade, during which the Comox Marina has seen remarkable change and expansion—and Stuart and his brother Andrew have grown their business significantly.
Once we all began emerging out of the depths of COVID, there was a huge increase in people wanting to recreate; Compass Adventure has grown by 40 to 50 per cent since the pandemic. They’re seeing more adults wanting to learn to sail, to do something for themselves to supplement their busy lives with more recreational activities. They’ve responded to a shift in demand, away from women-only programs toward couples wanting to learn and share the experience together.
Water safety is now a part of the Comox Valley School District’s curriculum for every elementary school, and Compass has worked closely with the school board to develop a program that’s tailored especially for K-7 learners. Around 400 students visit in the spring for Sail Safe programs (e.g. learning to sail and cold-water immersion).
A new offering this year is an after-school program for K-3 kids called SeaSide Adventure. Participants will be picked up after school by Ambassador Shuttles and brought directly to the marina for three hours of onshore learning (with snacks!). And once summer starts, Compass will offer seven different weekly learning programs for kids from kindergarten through Grade 8.
The Town of Comox’s new Marine Services building has allowed Compass to expand from the tiny storage space they used to occupy. There’s a new teaching area, as well as a large gift shop and rental space where visitors from all over the world can rent kayaks and paddleboards.
Bouldering At Comox Lake
Back in 2015, Amanda Shpeley wrote about the more than one hundred bouldering routes (or “problems”) created and maintained by volunteers on the basalt rock formations in the forest near Comox Lake, and how to get into the sport.
When it comes to the high-quality, abundant bouldering in our Valley, the only thing that has really changed over the last decade is the significant increase in usage as Comox Lake has become an ever more popular destination.
Climbing is a growing sport and the success of WIP Climbing, which opened in Courtenay in 2019, is a testament to the Valley’s thriving scene. However, as Tristan Geisel, an avid route developer at the lake, points out, it’s taken a little while to see the growing numbers of people taking up climbing at WIP translate to more climbers at the lake. He notes that many gym climbers aren’t necessarily interested in outside climbing. However, he has noticed a shift over the last couple of years with a marked uptick in rock climbers coming from the gym who are eager to try outdoor climbing. And because of their indoor training, they’re beginning at a much stronger level and climbing much harder grades sooner than they would have otherwise.
