WHERE HISTORY MEETS ADVENTURE

A very warm welcome to tutti gravel inn (aka TGI) located in Clinton, BC on the Historic Cariboo Gold Rush Trail within traditional Secwépemc territory.

Established in 2019, TGI is the original and premiere gravel bike hotel in British Columbia and Canada! We created TGI to be a welcoming and fun base for cyclists, dual sport adventure riders and those alike to gather and explore the epic gravel riding in the area and the beauty of the South Cariboo. We are surrounded by some of the most picturesque and challenging gravel roads to be found anywhere and we are proud to call the historic Village of Clinton home! Being locals allows us to provide our guests with the best Cariboo experience possible and not just a warm bed for the night.

The house with a storied history and a cycling connection to boot!

When we bought the house at 1411 Cariboo Highway, little did we know of the history of the property. We knew that the lady we purchased it from was a local pastor and prior to her it had been a pottery studio and shop called Vallance Pottery. After some renovations to the house and getting our business up and running, one social media post showing some of the renovations we had done prompted the learnings of a cycling connection we were not aware of but made us believe our purchase of this house was ‘meant to be’. For those of us that have been pedalling our bikes for many years or have worked in the bike industry, we all know that it is a tight community of people and connections are typically less than 6 degrees of separation. This is exactly the case with what we learned about Vallance Pottery and the Vallance family. On Oct 1, 2020 we received the following message from PV or petey_v, one of our Instagram followers - “Such a trip to find this. I grew up in this house!!!”

Upon receiving the message, Kelly was not familiar with PV’s full name but then learned it was Peter Vallance, one of the Vallance Pottery son’s. Peter grew up in the house and worked in his family’s pottery studio before the family sold the house and moved to Victoria, BC. Peter was young when the family left Clinton and he was not into cycling at the time but living in Victoria, one of the most bike friendly cities in Canada, Peter got into cycling and turned his passion into a very successful career in the bike industry. While both Peter and Kelly worked in the bike industry in BC and Kelly was familiar with Peter’s name, they had never crossed paths in person. Fast forward to Aug 2022, when the 2 would finally meet in person in Clinton, BC of all places! Peter was stoked on what we had created with TGI and in his childhood home of all places so booked a trip to stay with us. Peter brought his family, his sister and her 2 kids and his brother. Talk about a trip down memory lane for them and a lesson in history for us – a visit we will never forget!

Where did the name Tutti Gravel Inn come from?

"tutti" means “all/everyone/everybody” in Italian - so all are welcome and that's the spirit of the business. It doesn't matter who you are, what bike you ride or how long you ride — just ride! We named TGI after our beloved 1977 FIAT 500 Giardiniera aka "tutti". It is the only car of it's kind in Canada and even though it’s small, it will no doubt catch your attention when you see it on the road.

Why ‘Gravel Is The New Gold’?

‘Gravel Is The New Gold’ pays homage to the Cariboo’s deep history which is connected to the gold rush period. Back in the day, prospectors panned for gold and today its prospectors pan for gravel!

Check out this Messkit Magazine Article & Interview for more on the inspiration behind TGI - Tutti Gravel Inn — messkit (messkitmag.com)