It was an historic day Saturday at the Tourism Discovery Centre when the Williams Lake Cycling Club opened its new trailhead exiting off the Fox Mountain Trail Network.
“We’ve been battling this for four years now,” said WLCC director Mark Savard. “The positive spin is having the TDC connected to the awesome trail network and all the co-operation that happened.
“Williams Lake sort of set the bar pretty high and other communities are pretty jealous of what we’re pulling off so this is showcasing it.”
Also installed is a new mural with a rider and a link to www.ridethecariboo.ca.
“We’re just ticking one thing off the bucket list and getting on with more stuff,” he said.
“We now have an amazing trailhead anyone coming to Williams Lake can bump in and get hooked up to the network. We want people to stop and enjoy Williams Lake, all the great trails, the hospitality and go home and tell people how amazing it is. There’s been a crazy amount of people coming to town this year because it’s so uncrowded compared to the Sea to Sky (trails).
Savard joined other members of the WLCC, local dignitaries and trail builders who completed the construction, which he said took roughly 1,000 man hours of labour.
The WLCC is now gearing up to host the BC Bike Ride North on the August long weekend at Desous Mountain, where Savard said there’s been lots of work taking place.
“We’re getting a lot of really cool stuff done out there that’s really going to make Williams Lake a big-time destination,” he said.
“One-hundred people from all over the world fly to Williams Lake and we take them into groups and they get to experience the best Williams Lake has for riding.”
From there, riders will hit the trails in Prince George, Smithers, Terrace and Burns Lake before returning home.
Also visiting the TDC Saturday was one of the most famous bloggers in B.C., Rebecca Bollwitt, who took to the trails for a ride.
She’s working with the Festival Seekers Program #ExploreCariboo where she’ll be writing about local events and is gathering contacts to prepare for that.
For more on the WLCC visit www.ridethecariboo.ca.