More than 600 riders from 33 countries will launch onto local streets, backroads and mountain biking trails July 9 and 10 as the BC Bike Race rolls down the Sunshine Coast.
The riders are due to arrive at Earls Cove around 10:15 Sunday morning for the race’s third day, which will take riders up to Klein Lake then along the Suncoaster Trail and into the woods, hitting some of the area’s most popular trails en route to Sechelt where they’ll spend the night camped at Kinnikinnick Park.
On Day 4, the riders set off from Sechelt to the Langdale ferry terminal via the trail networks of upper Roberts Creek and Mount Elphinstone.
It’s no easy-going pleasure ride, though. Andreas Hestler, director of marketing for the BC Bike Race, told Coast Reporter this week that just like the name implies the race is, and always has been, a “hard-core competitive event. When you put ‘race’ in the title there’s no escaping that it is a race,” Hestler said, laughing. “When someone says it’s a race, guess what? It’s all on the line.”
One of the trails on Day 3 is Frogger, recently rebuilt though a cooperative effort involving local riders and the Sunshine Coast Community Forest.
“Frogger is a wonderful trail. It’s a super highlight for the day,” said Hestler, adding that the whole Sunshine Coast network has evolved a lot over the 11 years the BC Bike Race has been going, allowing a point-to-point ride. “The trail development at the north end has been slower than the south end. The West Sechelt trails are very well developed, as are the trails through Roberts Creek and [down to] Sprockids Park.”
According to Hestler around 85 per cent of the riders every year are competing in the BC Bike Race for the first time, which makes it easier to keep the experience fresh for the participants who pay more the $2,000 to register. He said while organizers are happy with the course, they’re constantly talking to riders and working to improve the “off-course” experience based on their feedback.
“Suddenly we became this bucket list thing,” Hestler said of the BC Bike Race’s enduring popularity. “We represented this achievable, extreme thing that people could do. We didn’t really see that coming… some people tell me this is their first mountain bike race.”
Hestler also said the hot, dry weather predicted for the weekend will change the character of the race. He said riders tend to slow down a bit in the heat, which, although it makes for longer times, has a positive effect as well by giving the camps a “summery and fun vibe.”
Race organizers commissioned an economic impact study from the Canadian Sport Tourism Alliance after the 2013 event. It estimates there’s about $117,000 in direct spending and spin-offs for the Sunshine Coast over the two days the riders are in the area.
“We’ve been coming to the Sunshine Coast as long as we’ve been on. You guys are a big part of our success,” Hestler said.
As well as the economic boost, there’s also an impact on ferry service.
BC Ferries, one of the race sponsors, has reserved the entire 9:25 sailing out of Saltery Bay for the riders. At the Langdale end, riders will use the overload parking lot as the finish line and staging area July 10, and BC Ferries is telling travellers to expect heavy traffic on the 2:40 and 4:45 sailings.
