Bike riders of all ages cinched up their helmets Oct. 16 and tested the downhill trails at 99 Mile in a day of racing and promotion for the Hun City Bike Club of 100 Mile House.
Forty-eight participants came from Williams Lake (WL), Kamloops, Mission, Vancouver and 100 Mile House (100) and area to tackle the 4.5-kilometre course.
The event also included a membership drive, which succeeded in bumping up club numbers from 15 to nearly 60 registered members.
Dwayne Chamberlain, a key organizer, says the event got a lot of community support, including the Rotary Club of 100 Mile House, which supplied the barbecue; Save-On-Foods and Safeway, which donated treats, and numerous volunteers who were there to help out on race day.
He is also grateful to the Storm Riders firefighting crew that built one of the bike trails and to the Williams Lake and District Credit Union for giving the bike club a grant to install signage on the trails.
Kona and Norco bicycle companies and 100 Miler Gear Garage were sponsors for the event.
Plans are already in motion for the club to hold at least a couple of bike events next year, Chamberlain says, adding there will be a cross-country race along with the downhill challenge.
People can stay posted by checking the Cariboo Mountain Bike Consortium website at www.ridethecariboo.ca.
The top 3 placings from the weekend races, from first to third, in each division were:
Under 15 boys: Connor Runge, 100; Bjorn Hunt, WL; Mason Seaward, WL.
Under 15 girls: Abayah Hunt, WL.
Men 15-18 years: Dalton Anderson, 100; David Chelli, 100; David Lea, 100.
Men 19-39: Gustav Vollmer, WL; Cory Brunelle, WL; Jeremy Stowards, Mission.
Women 19-29: Karen Bernardy, 150 Mile House; Megan Chutskoff, WL; Ezekeil Ditoro, WL.
Men 30+: Chris Masters, WL; Justin Calof, WL; Dwayne Chamberlain, 100.
Women 30+: Denise Britton, Lone Butte; Tish Diamond, 108 Mile; Jodie Saville, 100.
Youngest rider was six-year-old Nelson Swann of 100 Mile.
