The Williams Lake Cycling Club was thrilled to open a new, rebuilt trail this past Friday at its Fox Mountain Trail Network.
Dubbed ‘Fox Fire,’ the trail parallels Fox Mountain Road from Mason Road to Ross Road and spans a length of roughly 1.7 kilometres.
The WLCC said it invested 120 volunteer man hours for planning and wooden boardwalk construction in the completion of the project.
WLCC president Shawn Lewis said there has been a recognition by the club that they do not have many truly-green riding options.
“The rebuild of Fox Fire into a flowly, moderate descent with lots of rolls, banked turns and some small jumps will allow a new rider to build confidence and skill,” Lewis said. “If a rider were to combine this trail with the freshly-tuned trail, Chick Scratch, you would create a nice green-level loop of almost five kilometres — one that the entire family could have fun on and one that can be ridden in either direction, thereby creating two fun, green loops in the heart of the Fox Mountain Trail Network.”
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Lewis said many thanks to Russ Bobworski, vice president of the WLCC, for his leadership, Northern Development Initiative Trust for the majority of the funding for the project and to James Doerfling of Jimco Services for having the eye and skill to deliver an outstanding project.
“The WLCC is committed to creating the best riding experience for all riders as best we can and I am confident this trail work will show that,” Lewis said.
Bobrowski, meanwhile, said a special thanks should go out to a crew of young volunteers: Charlie Gash, Holden and Amelia Dell, Rhys and Kalin Vath, Oliver and Louis Bobrowski and Oi Molinar-Clark, who put in some hard work alongside their parents.
He noted the expertise of Mark Savard, a trail specialist and WLCC director, was also instrumental in leading this keen group of helpers.
“This project is another example of our community coming together making Williams Lake a great place to live and visit,” Bobrowski said.
Savard also added he’s excited about Williams Lake’s first adaptive mountain bike trail. Brayden Methot, a Williams Lake adaptive mountain bike rider, was on hand to test the trail during the trail grand opening on Friday.
Thomas Schoen, chair of the Cariboo Mountain Bike Consortium, echoed Lewis’s sentiments and said the Fox Fire rebuild is a great addition to the Fox Mountain network.
“We needed a green, easy, beginner’s trail for a long time,” Schoen said. “Now we have a designated trail we can send kids and youth and new riders on. In addition it makes a great connector between both network access points. Well done, WLCC and James.”
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Schoen, who is also a trail planner who has experience working with communities throughout the province, said he sees a high demand for beginner and intermediate level trails as the sport continues to rapidly grow.
“Planners, builders and clubs need to cater to entry-level riders,” he said.
“The Williams Lake Cycling Club worked hard to make this trail happen. From grant writing, to planning and construction, this was an effort made by the WLCC. We are asking all motorized and equestrian users to respect this effort and keep off the trail. Fox Mountain offers to many opportunities for other user groups and we’re hoping for the co-operation and understanding of these users. Unfortunately the soil conditions won’t allow for a shared use trail and horses will cause major damage to this new trail.”
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