Hoping to turn more young girls on to mountain biking, the Third Williams Lake Guides is hosting a workshop out at Tyee Lake this weekend.
“It’s the first time we’re doing a bike camp,” said Guide leader Christine Constabel. It will be a full weekend with tenting over two nights.
Heather Davis will lead the workshop and set up a bike rodeo.
“She’s a better bike rider than I am,” Constabel chuckled. “Together we’ve explored some paths where we will take the girls.”
Girl Guides has a residential camp at Tyee Lake, and the local group decided to use the site to promote biking amongst its girls.
Constabel expects 35 girls at the camp and said some of them are keenly interested and have been involved in local mountain biking and the races taking place in Williams Lake.
Others have never ridden a bike before.
“I am thinking it is a great chance for everybody to explore at their own level,” Constabel said.
In addition to putting their feet to the pedal, the girls will be crafting and making necklaces out of bicycle chain links.
“They have been quite the pain to open up, but we’re all working on it so there will be a necklace for the girls at the end of the camp.”
The Third Williams Lake Guides are part of the Big Sky District. Within the District there is also the First Williams Lake Pathfinders, the Onward Division Rangers
Constabel has been involved with the Division for 17 years.
She said it has been going really well.
There are 25 girls enrolled in the Girl Guides, which is the biggest group she’s ever had.
“We have lots of Pathfinders, we could use more Brownies.”
Leaders have created two groups of Brownies and they are not at capacity. Brownies are the seven and eight year olds. There are 18 girls in the Sparks.
In anticipation of the weekend, Constabel was teaching the Guides how to set up a tent on the lawn of St. Peter’s Anglican Church Tuesday evening.
She also had one set up ahead of time so the girls could see how much room they will have for sleeping.