Dozens of pint sized bikers hit the trails in Brackendale during the Take a Kid Mountain Biking Day on Saturday (Oct. 2).
The sunny day and ideal conditions attracted droves of kids along with their parents and organizer Todd Pope was pleased with the day's turnout.
"The day was awesome," he said. "The weather held out and I think the kids had a good time. This day is all about getting the kids out and enjoying everything Squamish has to offer."
Pope said that 55 kids took part in this year's event, along with 42 adults and it was the first year that District of Squamish teamed up with SORCA to put on the event. In previous years, the two groups held separate events to mark the day.
Jack Doub, an avid teenage mountain biker from North Carolina who had a passion for the sport from an early age but died in 2002, inspired the event, which is celebrated throughout North America and is organized by the International Mountain Bicycling Association. It was the third year the day has been marked in Squamish.
Marco Fanzone, who attended the event for the first time with his two young children, said he enjoyed the ride.
"I thought it was great," he said. "It's always good to get the kids out on the trails and see how much they're improving as they get older."
He admitted that his kids weren't exactly enthusiastic about coming to the ride at first but really got into it as the ride progressed.
"Well they complained at the start," he said. "But that's what kids tend to do. As soon as they got out there I think they had a lot of fun."
Coun. Bryan Raiser also attended the event.
"It's a beautiful day and it's always nice to be outside and with the kids," he said. "It's so good to see so many kids out here today."
The event got underway at 2 p.m. with a bouncy castle and obstacle course set up on the Brackendale Elementary field and an information booth set up in the parking lot.
Kids rode the obstacle course and jumped around in the bouncy castle for about 30 minutes and then the ride was on.
The ride lasted anywhere from 45 to 60 minutes and featured a number of routes for riders to take. Pope said that among the most popular routes was going down the Ray Peters connector and then down the Live Wire trail.
The $2 registration fee that each rider had to pay will go directly to KidSport B.C., a group that helps provide under privileged young athletes with sporting equipment. There was also a raffle for everyone involved in the race, which included a selection of prizes from SORCA.
Those attending were encouraged to buy a ticket for an Oct. 12 draw, which featured a number of door prizes and the proceeds from that draw will also go to KidSport. Pope said that tickets are still available and those interested can contact him at 604-815-4692 or Karen Tapp at 604-898-6896.
Pope also said that the group plans to run the fourth annual event next year but that he wants to allow the event to showcase the different communities in Squamish. He pointed out that with this year's event being in Brackendale, he would like to see the event moved to Valleycliffe or Garibaldi Highlands next year.
Pope lastly wanted to thank Karen Tapp from the Brennan Park Recreation Centre and SORCA president Dave Gillie for their help running the event and making it a success.
For more on the event, visit http://www.imba.com/tkmbd.
