2026 Kootenay Rat Raid Recap
The 22nd annual Kootenay Rat Raid...what is there to say other than what an amazing weekend of great roads, amazing food and fantastic friends. We had 109 registered with 104 of our Triumph riding family and friends who made it out to the Kootenays this year and everyone showed up with great attitudes to make the weekend even better! Sorry to those who couldn't make it last minute but as always, your packages should arrive soon if they haven't already!!
The full list of sponsors is listed below but we were happy to welcome representation from Precision Powersports from Lethbridge Morto from Missoula, Grover Law Firm from Calgary, and MainJet Motorsports from Nelson who were able to make it out this year in person!
Still with our normal 3 day program with this being not an anniversary year. And while some folks still came out on Wednesday, most did arrive on Thursday. Liam always sets up to take a timelapse of the arrival day which can be found on the home page!
Friday, after a small weather delay, we headed out for Photo Friday and made our way up to Kaslo then over the 31A towards New Denver. As always, we stopped at Fish Lake to settle the group so we could space out for our annual action shot care of Liam. Some of us caught the storm that delayed us which I was clearly one of them.. I reminded folks that I am not a meteorologist, just an HR professional! However the rain did stop by the the time we reached Fish Lake, which holds different meanings for different people. Some like to visit the peacefulness it gives you, others have special ties with friends we have lost along the way. Either way, it is a beautiful place to stop and share with others. Riders were then sent out one by one with an 10 second delay to allow for space continuing on towards New Denver or turn around after the drive by Liam, it is up to each individual how they choose to get back to town! Liam does such a great job with these photos each year and the keepsake is appreciated by all!
Saturday had our usual off road ride and a choose your own adventure free day for those not offroading. Aaron from MainJet brought along his daughter and son in law who took out about 8 of our off road guys for some trail riding! Others went out and enjoyed their own route, joined Geoff F's planned ride, or even stayed off bike for the day and explored Nelson including the Saturday market. Either way, Saturday was to do as you please until judging started at 4:30 for the Show & Shine and our banquet at 6:00.
The Show 'n Shine was a huge success. Some really amazing bikes won awards. A big thank you to our judges for this year who not by coincidence were winners last year! They included Lisa Tucker, Ian Vivero, some input from Brian Smith and the Adventure Staff who chose their own favourite.
The banquet, dinner as usual was fantastic. The place settings this year were set with a Triumph Hat and patch for every attendee thanks to Triumph Canada. The Adventure always does such a great job with everything they do for us with food and beverages as well. Before dinner we thanked our sponsors and raised a glass to our fallen fellow attendees including Johh Halpop of Montana, Renee Dupree of BC and Robby McHenry of Alberta. We also took a moment to acknowledge our dear friend Jenni Bailey who was not able to make it out and we sent her some love and healing vibes.
Once everyone had had enough to eat, we started giveaways including goodies from Mainjet Motorsports, Grover Law Firm, Precision Motorsports, Gina Olson, Empire Cycle and some other items from Triumph Canada! Once we finished handing out the Show 'n Shine trophies, I was about to present the 50/50 winnings when Kate came up to steal the moment in a big thank you from the group for my efforts which included a very generous gift. We drew for the 50/50 which was $1000 to the winner, Chris Mitchell who quickly took $200 out and handed it back to donate to charity. The other half this year went to the Canadian Cancer Society in memory of Robby and in support of Jenni.
Then our banquet ended with Jason Norman taking on a role that has been handed to him...but I can't say what it is, you have to show up to see it and hope he is there!
We all need to thank our partners and sponsors in this event. Without their support, the Raid as a whole would be very scaled back. So in no particular order:
Website is now updated with next year’s dates with the registration form to be added soon. The new 2026 gallery of pictures can be found under Gallery!
IMPORTANT NOTE - We have a cap on space therefore once we hit that cap, registration comes down and a waiting list will be created. Should someone find they won't be able to attend, as long as they let me know, I can connect them on a first come first serve basis from the wait list. The transfer of that registration is up to the seller and the buyer but I do need to know the outcome so I can update on my side.
Until next year, ride safe!
Cheers,
Liane
Raid Captain
The full list of sponsors is listed below but we were happy to welcome representation from Precision Powersports from Lethbridge Morto from Missoula, Grover Law Firm from Calgary, and MainJet Motorsports from Nelson who were able to make it out this year in person!
Still with our normal 3 day program with this being not an anniversary year. And while some folks still came out on Wednesday, most did arrive on Thursday. Liam always sets up to take a timelapse of the arrival day which can be found on the home page!
Friday, after a small weather delay, we headed out for Photo Friday and made our way up to Kaslo then over the 31A towards New Denver. As always, we stopped at Fish Lake to settle the group so we could space out for our annual action shot care of Liam. Some of us caught the storm that delayed us which I was clearly one of them.. I reminded folks that I am not a meteorologist, just an HR professional! However the rain did stop by the the time we reached Fish Lake, which holds different meanings for different people. Some like to visit the peacefulness it gives you, others have special ties with friends we have lost along the way. Either way, it is a beautiful place to stop and share with others. Riders were then sent out one by one with an 10 second delay to allow for space continuing on towards New Denver or turn around after the drive by Liam, it is up to each individual how they choose to get back to town! Liam does such a great job with these photos each year and the keepsake is appreciated by all!
Saturday had our usual off road ride and a choose your own adventure free day for those not offroading. Aaron from MainJet brought along his daughter and son in law who took out about 8 of our off road guys for some trail riding! Others went out and enjoyed their own route, joined Geoff F's planned ride, or even stayed off bike for the day and explored Nelson including the Saturday market. Either way, Saturday was to do as you please until judging started at 4:30 for the Show & Shine and our banquet at 6:00.
The Show 'n Shine was a huge success. Some really amazing bikes won awards. A big thank you to our judges for this year who not by coincidence were winners last year! They included Lisa Tucker, Ian Vivero, some input from Brian Smith and the Adventure Staff who chose their own favourite.
- Best Sport/Sport Touring - Jake Wagensveld - Speed Triple
- Best Dual - Andrew Harrington - Scrambler 1200
- Best Modern Cruiser - Richard McDonald - Thunderbird
- Best Modern Classic - ?? - Bonneville
- Best Overall - Donnie Barhurst - Bonneville
- Adventure Staff Choice - Donnie Barhurst - Bonneville
- Paul England Memorial Award - Tom Allen - Indian Chiefton
- Furthest Travelled - Dixie and Kevin Farmer who took scenic route up this year from Missoula through the Rockies the right way and logging in roughly 2400km!
- Oldest Triumph - Gregg Chambers - early 2000 Bonneville took the win for the oldest this year!
The banquet, dinner as usual was fantastic. The place settings this year were set with a Triumph Hat and patch for every attendee thanks to Triumph Canada. The Adventure always does such a great job with everything they do for us with food and beverages as well. Before dinner we thanked our sponsors and raised a glass to our fallen fellow attendees including Johh Halpop of Montana, Renee Dupree of BC and Robby McHenry of Alberta. We also took a moment to acknowledge our dear friend Jenni Bailey who was not able to make it out and we sent her some love and healing vibes.
Once everyone had had enough to eat, we started giveaways including goodies from Mainjet Motorsports, Grover Law Firm, Precision Motorsports, Gina Olson, Empire Cycle and some other items from Triumph Canada! Once we finished handing out the Show 'n Shine trophies, I was about to present the 50/50 winnings when Kate came up to steal the moment in a big thank you from the group for my efforts which included a very generous gift. We drew for the 50/50 which was $1000 to the winner, Chris Mitchell who quickly took $200 out and handed it back to donate to charity. The other half this year went to the Canadian Cancer Society in memory of Robby and in support of Jenni.
Then our banquet ended with Jason Norman taking on a role that has been handed to him...but I can't say what it is, you have to show up to see it and hope he is there!
We all need to thank our partners and sponsors in this event. Without their support, the Raid as a whole would be very scaled back. So in no particular order:
- The Adventure Hotel (Nelson, BC) - for your 18th year in supporting and helping to host this event. Rob, Graham, Scott, Mandie, Chef, Rhonda and all the staff at the Adventure, you go above and beyond every year with help and stellar service for our group.
- Triumph Canada - Ian McKinstray and Bill Shelton, thank you for your continued support and sending us so much swag to give away!! We all more than appreciate the support from the brand we all love.
- Precision Powersports (Lethbridge, AB) - Richard and Trisha were able to make it out this year which is always fun!! And thank you for the first round was on Precision on Thursday!
- The Hume Hotel (Nelson, BC) - not just a favorite breakfast stop for our attendees, but also a great place to stay. Ryan, we appreciate your continued support of our event in your second year of sponsoring.
- Stirling All Suites Hotel (Nelson, BC) - came on as a sponsor in 2023 and offering a luxury stay within stumbling distance from the Adventure! If you book for the Raid through them, make sure you tell them you are with the Raid for your discount!
- Montgomery Distillery (Missoula, MT) - Ryan, god bless you for coming on board and coming back again and bringing all those amazing give aways from you and Lords of Dirt!!
- Grover Law Firm (Alberta) - Steve's firm has quickly become Alberta's go to for motorcycle related injury claims. As a long time rider himself with a fleet of his own, Steve is heavily involved in many motorcycle related events and associations. We thank him for the $400 gift basket that we gave away at the banquet!
- Big Cranium Designs (Nelson, BC) - for their help in printing our shirts and hoodies! You should really stop by their shop and check out all the other cool stuff they sell!
- Smelly Dog Machine & Design - Ian has been producing our custom Show & Shine awards since the 20th! We appreciate the time and effort that he puts into these awards!
- Morto (Missoula, Montana) - If you are ever in the Missoula area and having issues, you can always count on Morto to jump in and help out. His personal shop at his house rivals any shop out there! And you might get a great meal out of it too!
- Edwin Herrenschmidt (France) - our graphic designer extraordinaire who always comes out with a design we all love! We are so grateful to have him as our friend and designer. We hope he comes back over from France for a visit one year!
- Liam Rathgeber (Calgary, AB) - Your continued support of this event through photography does not go unnoticed. You are the reason so many of us have great memories to hold on to. The idea to shoot on the 31A has remained a success. The time lapse footage from the arrival each year was pure genius and so fun to watch! I look forward to working with you next year on making this event even better. #PhotoFridayForever
- Volunteers - Big thanks from me to all who stepped forward to help with the event. Liam for coming out early and helping me get the packs together. Kate and Liam at registration were killer! Aaron and fam, for setting up the offroad ride. Everyone who helped set up and tear down the tent and hauled boxes and water in and out of storage. Gina for help setting up the banquet. The judges mentioned above for their efforts in the Show 'n Shine judging. Edwin for his design of this year's logo which was a huge success and fan favorite once again! And anyone I missed and I am so sorry if I did.
Website is now updated with next year’s dates with the registration form to be added soon. The new 2026 gallery of pictures can be found under Gallery!
IMPORTANT NOTE - We have a cap on space therefore once we hit that cap, registration comes down and a waiting list will be created. Should someone find they won't be able to attend, as long as they let me know, I can connect them on a first come first serve basis from the wait list. The transfer of that registration is up to the seller and the buyer but I do need to know the outcome so I can update on my side.
Until next year, ride safe!
Cheers,
Liane
Raid Captain
