In 2023 I was approached by Max from Love Machine Cycling, who creates gravel-focused routes around town, about collaborating on a Burnaby route. He was tipped off by a mutual friend that I had been piecing together some fun stuff from my explorations. I created the Burnabop route for him and we rode it together, then a short while later he published it to his site.
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The stoke from putting that route together, which was sized to fit into the 2-3 hour kind of range, had me dreaming up an XL version as an all-day adventure. This turned into the Burnabop XL, published in late 2023. I hosted a group event in October 2025 called Burnabop XL Day. It’s my pride and joy and I’m still really stoked on it. I’ve made tweaks here and there to try to make it run the best I can but it’s remained mostly unchanged.
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I started considering a re-imagining of the route in late 2025 largely because a significant section in Fraser Foreshore is blocked off due to construction for the next two years or more, and potentially will never link up the same again. I also appreciated that the time investment to ride the ~77 km course was too much for many, and often people would bail out before the final stretch – and miss some parts I didn’t want them to miss.
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The target distance became 50 km, and I featured the sneaky Beecher Creek ravine right near the start. Some familiar sections remain, but a good fraction of the course is different. With the course being a little shorter I also took the opportunity to include a couple sections that felt too mean to include in a 75+ km route.
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So without further ado, introducing BBXL. Isn’t it just an acronym for Burnabop XL? Pretty much, but I think that pays homage to the fact it’s an evolution of the same route. Rather than the two distinct loops, BBXL is one large, oddly shaped loop that touches nearly every area of Burnaby and a little bit of Port Moody, too. I think it’s a lot of fun. The route starts at Confederation Park at Beta Ave, offering washrooms and covered areas. The finish is a phenomenal western view at Capitol Hill Reservoir Park after one final push up from the Trans-Canada trail.
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