Mountain biking has come a long way in 30 years. From an outlier sport of rogue trail cutters to the downhill era of armoured adrenaline junkies thrashing mountainsides on 40-pound behemoths to mainstream recreation where rider groups work with communities and land owners for legitimate access to trails. But kids just wanna have fun.
To build the next generation of riders who will keep evolving the sport, the Tri-Cities Off Road Cycling Association (TORCA) is holding its third annual Take a Kid Mountain Biking event on Sunday at Mundy Park in Coquitlam.
The event is free and open to kids of all ages and abilities, from newbie young riders who want to learn which hand operates which brake lever to teen shredders looking to up their riding game. The fact it’s already fully-booked is encouraging to one of TORCA’s founders and currently its vice president, Ken Porter.
When TORCA was started in 1998, riders were cutting trails on the sly, alienating land managers and attracting the attention of lawyers with warnings about liability issues. Since then, the local group and dozens like it across North America have been working hard to legitimize the sport, collaborating with landowners, businesses, environmental organizations and community leaders to build and manager trail networks as well as raise awareness about issues like trail erosion and private property. They had to, said Porter, to keep the sport alive.
“There is a lot more cooperation,” he said. “Everybody seems to be working together to do this the right way.”
According to the International Mountain Bicycling Association, participation in the sport peaked in North America in 2001 and has remained steady every since. To keep it from taking a downward turn even as cycling becomes more segmented into specialty disciplines like cyclocross, gravel riding, BMX and even motorized e-bikes, Porter said its critical to alight a passion for the trails in young cyclists.
“There’s definitely more need for mountain biking opportunities for youth.”
The five-dollar racing series TORCA launched in June, with its modest entry fee, attracted as many young riders as adults, Porter said.
Sunday’s event will build on that as 10 volunteer instructors will teach skills like body positioning on the bike to proper shifting techniques to approaching stunts with confidence, first at the beginner and intermediate skills circuit off Mariner Way at Chilko and then on trail rides through Mundy Park for the younger riders and down to Riverview Forest for more advanced cyclists.
“You want to make sure kids get out there and have a positive experience,” Porter said. “Teaching them some skills and giving them the opportunity to ride is so important.”
It’s also a chance to educate them about some of the great riding trails in their own backyard. While the Northshore and mountain resorts like Whistler have been the meccas of mountain biking for years, Porter said some of the best, most accessible trails in Metro Vancouver are in the Tri-Cities, from easy, beginner routes on the soft dirt in Mundy Park to more advanced, challenging terrain on Burke and Eagle mountains.
“There’s something challenging of everybody here,” Porter said.
But mostly Take a Kid Mountain Biking Day is about fun.
“We want to facilitate a life-long love of the sport,” Porter said.
• To find out more about Take a Kid Mountain Biking Day and TORCA, go to www.torca.ca
