Skip to content

Cariboo on display in biking contest

Williams Lake and the Cariboo are once again drawing attention in the mountain biking world.
84655tribunePinkbike-9-18
Williams Lake and the Cariboo region were recently selected as the destination for Mountain Biking B.C.’s annual seven-day giveaway tour.

Williams Lake and the Cariboo are once again drawing attention in the mountain biking world.

This time, it’s the Western Canada Mountain Bike Tourism Association who has put its faith in the region to deliver an epic, seven-day mountain biking tour giveaway.

Mountain Biking B.C., in partnership with the Cariboo Mountain Bike Consortium, is offering up a fully supported, one week trip from Aug. 3-11 to the explore the Cariboo and its vast network of trails.

The trip includes ground transportation, accommodations, professional guides and $1,000 cash.

“Here in B.C. we are fortunate to have communities and resorts with some of the best mountain biking in the world,” said Martin Littlejohn, executive director of the Mountain Bike Tourism Association. “Each year the contest features a different region of the province and this year we are excited about the diverse sampling we have lined up in the Cariboo Chilcotin Coast region.”

This is the first time in the giveaway’s three-year existence the Cariboo has been a part of the tour.

The grand prize tour will feature communities in the Cariboo and more, beginning with some high country riding in Wells followed up with some downtime at the ArtsWells Music Festival on the August long weekend.

Next, the tour moves on to Williams Lake for a three-day adventure to experience what Littlejohn calls “the epicentre of Cariboo mountain biking culture and home to some of the best freeride and all-mountain trails in the province.”

Then it’s off to 100 Mile House and The Hills Health Ranch for some wholesome cross-country riding, followed by an overnight wilderness biking adventure at the Tyax Wilderness Resort and Spa.

The final destination will be the world-famous Whistler Mountain Bike Park.

Endless Biking, throughout the week, will provide their guiding expertise and instruction.

Justin Calof, executive director of the Cariboo Mountain Bike Consortium, said it’s a milestone for the organization to have Mountain Biking B.C. choose the region as its destination. The CMBC, for the better part of two years, has been aggressively marketing the region’s mountain biking appeal.

“We started our initiative in 2010, for the most part, when the website (www.ridethecariboo.ca) was launched,” Calof said. “Last year website traffic grew by more than 200 per cent. Generally, the word is out there that the Cariboo is a really strong destination.

“But, it sort of validates the consortium’s initiative and the investments from the Cariboo Beetle Action Coalition, the City of Williams Lake, the CRD and Northern Development Initiative Trust have made in mountain biking in the Cariboo. It’s starting to pay off and the recognition is coming and it’s drawing more people up here so that’s really validating.”

He said members of the CMBC will travel along on the trip to help showcase the region.

“Endless Biking is the main tour guide but we’ve been working closely with them — they kind of don’t know the terrain much — so myself and a couple other board members will probably be joining them for the bulk of the week showing them what we’ve got,” Calof said. “We know the alpine trails really well in Wells and that’ll be a really cool experience.

“In Williams Lake it’s going to be hard to choose what to ride from our extensive network but we’ll make some decisions and show them our best.”

Anyone interested in signing up for the contest, or for full contest details, visit www.mountainbikingbc.ca or Facebook at www.facebook.com/MountainBikingBC.

Entry deadline for the contest is June 15 when 10 finalists will be randomly chosen from all entries to tell them why they are the most deserving to win the prize. The winner will be announced June 28 and entrants must be 19 years or older.



Greg Sabatino

About the Author: Greg Sabatino

Greg Sabatino graduated from Thompson Rivers University in Kamloops with a Bachelor of Journalism degree in 2008.
Read more