A new cycling club takes off in the Tri-Cities tomorrow (Saturday) with a mandate to teach new riders to go the distance.
Created by Cycling BC in partnership with bike shops in Vancouver, North Vancouver as well as Port Coquitlam's Cap's Westwood Cycle, the new CycleFit courses are an answer to the exploding popularity of long-distance cycling events such as the Enbridge Ride To Conquer Cancer and the RBC GranFondo Whistler.
"Last year that [Whistler] event sold out so quickly and it got people excited about getting on their road bikes," said CycleFit spokeswoman Darnelle Moore. "Before that if you wanted to road bike, you were either just riding around by yourself or you had to race."
Pointing to the 7,000 cyclists who are already expected at this year's GranFondo Whistler compared to 4,000 participants last year, Moore called road biking "the new golf."
"There's a lot of middle-aged men in Lycra around and they're interested in the latest technology and all the fancy gear," she said.
But that shouldn't intimidate new riders from getting into the sport, and the goal of the CycleFit clubs is to provide entry for the everyman and -woman to the seemingly elite world of distance cycling.
Broken into CycleFit 1 and 2 - the second being for those who are in great physical shape but are new to road biking - the 12-week courses take new riders through the rules and etiquette of road biking while building enough confidence, fitness and endurance to tackle a long, mass-participation event like a gran fondo.
Josh Huston of Cap's Westwood Cycle will be leading the team of new recruits from the PoCo store on Saturday starting at 9 a.m. for what he expects will be an easy 45-minute to one-hour ride, eventually progressing through the summer to three- and four-hour tours of the Tri-Cities.
Registration for the courses is $150 and includes the 12-week training plan, 10 guided road sessions and road-cycling booklet. To register, call Cap's Westwood Cycle at 604-941-7822 or visit cyclingbc.net.
tcoyne@tricitynews.com
