Looking at Squamish's bike trails this weekend, you might've seen a few things that were out of the ordinary in terms of riders' fashion, to say the least.
Perhaps the horse heads mounted to bikes, with riders dressed as jockeys may have turned a few heads.
Or the volunteers who created a tiki torch party at one of the rest stations.
All of this was the result of the annual Hot On Your Heels mountain bike race on Aug. 10, an event which aims to increase women's participation in the local mountain biking scene.
"It was amazing," said organizer Melissa Sheridan. "It was absolutely incredible. I'm blown away every single year with the energy of the riders and the volunteers. It was definitely another successful event."
As part of its theme to encourage female riders, only women were allowed to race. However, men were encouraged to volunteer and help run the event.
The event also raised cash for the local chapter of Go Girls!, a division of Big Brothers Big Sisters, that focuses on developing confidence in young girls.
A final tally of the funds raised hasn't been made, but Sheridan said she expects it to be a sizeable amount.
Sheridan said her favourite moments of the event actually occurred before race day.
"It's the leading up to the event when I go up to the trails for a bike ride, and I see 10 to 15 women 'sessioning' the racecourse," she said.
"I see women who don't know each other that are connecting and getting together to go on rides to practice and just getting more women out on the trails. That's absolutely incredible."
Results:
Pro Division
1st — Aja Philp — 0:14:36.476
2nd — Jo Peters — 0:14:39.812
3rd — Zoe Dawson — 0:14:55.145
Junior Division (Under 19)
1st — Sienna Dickson — 0:14:51.191
2nd — Lucy Van Eesteren — 0:16:36.228
3rd — Sena Odyakmaz — 0:16:39.360
Open Division (19 to 34)
1st — Tara Katamay-Smith — 0:15:10.359
2nd — Mackenzie Ryan — 0:15:25.925
3rd — Sierra Sullivan — 0:15:36.907
Masters (35+)
1st — Nicole Howell — 0:15:30.614
2nd — Karlene Loudon — 0:15:40.832
3rd — Anna Boyd — 0:15:51.573
***CORRECTION: This article previous incorrectly named the event. It is Hot On Your Heels, not Hot On Her Heels.
