Mountain bikers from all over the world will be passing through Burns Lake during the month of August.
The B.C. Bike Ride North opened their registration on Feb. 7.
The ‘ultimate road-trip experience’ passes through different communities in the north, including Burns Lake, Smithers and Terrace. The tour will explore 14 distinct trail networks, including a bonus ride on the north shore of Vancouver.
The bikers will be passing through Burns Lake on their third day of the trip, on Aug. 8, 2017.
According to Dean Payne, president of B.C. Bike Ride North, the tour helps people explore different trails they normally wouldn’t.
“The idea is that we bring people on tour through the different towns to explore their trail networks one day at a time,” he said.
Payne recognizes B.C. Bike Ride North isn’t the first to do tours; however, he explains this tour is one of ambition.
“This is an ambitious tour, we are really trying to go across the north. Some tours will go to a town and will stick around for a few days, but what we are familiar with is transporting people. That’s what we’ve gotten really good at for the past 10 years,” he said.
He explained at the B.C. bike race, B.C. Bike Ride North is used to moving 1000 people a day for seven days.
“With this one, it is a smaller group than what we are used to, but we got the transportation logistics, we food them, we put up their tent. It’s an all-inclusive vacation for mountain bikers,” said Payne.
He believes this race will attract people from all over the world. In previous races, he has had people from 30 different countries come out and experience British Columbia.
“These are people who are regular everyday mountain bikers that want the experience. At the race, it is about achieving a goal, not much as seeing the communities we go through. This one is less goal-oriented but more of a vacation,” he said.
What makes an event, according to Payne, is the social gathering of people. He said he likes to call mountain bikers one tribe.
“We went to France in the fall and met people who did our race. They look a little different, they talk different, they ride different bikes, but there is one common thread. Loving that feeling of mountain biking on single track is where we bring people together,” he said.
