Bike park idea begins with survey
Advocate: mountain bike facility will spark interest in sport
Emelie Peacock
Northern News Services
Wednesday, June 14, 2017
SOMBA K'E/YELLOWKNIFE
Avid mountain bikers are taking on the challenge of building a mountain bike skills park in Yellowknife and they are seeking inspiration from community members.
Geoff Foster, president of the Yellowknife Mountain Bike Club, is asking community members to fill out a survey about their interest in the sport. - photo courtesy of Geoff Foster |
Yellowknife Mountain Bike Club president Geoff Foster said he hopes Operation Bike Park will help grow the fledgling biking community in the city.
Foster's club currently draws approximately 30 mountain bikers on group rides.
"In 10 years we haven't had any investment, serious investment, in mountain bike infrastructure at all or any serious trail development either, which is astounding," he said, adding cities like Whitehorse set aside significant funding for the development of mountain biking facilities each year.
"This isn't a dig at the city mind you but there's a culture that you have to build."
A survey, open until June 22, asks residents to fill out basic details about themselves and their interest in mountain biking, as well as what types of features they would like to see at a future bike park.
Features they can choose from include trail riding, pump tracks, a skills area, dirt jumps and a technical trail.
People whose children are interested in mountain biking, or people who don't ride but are interested in seeing a bike park, are encouraged to complete the survey. Foster said he has seen support from business owners and residents wanting to volunteer or offer in-kind donations.
Andy Matthews, owner of MBM Camp, has been running summer mountain biking camps for children and youth for 12 years. He believes the park could lead to an explosion in the mountain biking community in the city and foster professional athletes in the now Olympic sport.
"I could definitely see this sparking something for young athletes to come out of Yellowknife," he said. "Right now their progression is kind of limited by the facilities of how far they can take the sport up here."
The survey will be used to finalize a proposal the Operation Bike Park team is developing. The next step is presenting the proposal to the city, to see what type of funding and space it could provide.
Members can find a link to the survey on the Yellowknife Mountain Biking Club Facebook page.
